Tuesday, 25 May 2021 17:37

What To Expect From PlayStation's State of Play This Week

Written by Megan Gingerich
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Sony's upcoming State of Play Event on May 27 will highlight Horizon Forbidden West gameplay, but that's probably not all that will be shown.

Sony has a new State of Play event coming up this week on May 27, 9:00 am PT. The event will be twenty minutes long in total, which has become pretty standard for these kinds of showcases, but this one looks like it might be extra special. Finally, Sony will be giving players some new information about one of 2021's most anticipated games, Horizon Forbidden West.

While Horizon will be the star of the show, it's possible that Sony will also take a few minutes to highlight some other upcoming games like it did with the Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart State of Play. Only Forbidden West is confirmed to be showcased in the event, but there are a few specific things players are hoping for and a couple of other games that might show up.

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Sony has made it very clear in its announcements and on the PlayStation Blog that the event will focus on Horizon Forbidden West, showcasing 14 minutes of gameplay during the 20-minute event. With God of War: Ragnarok likely being delayed to 2022 at this point, Horizon Forbidden West is shaping up to be Sony's biggest blockbuster exclusive this year, so this State of Play is especially exciting.

The reveal trailer for Horizon Forbidden West debuted last June, but since that announcement almost a year ago, Sony and Guerrilla Games have been quiet about what's next for Aloy. The silence regarding Forbidden West was concerning for a lot of fans, and despite the 2021 release window in the trailer, many gamers began thinking that Forbidden West was going to be delayed until next year. CEO Jim Ryan shut those rumors down, but the lack of news wasn't very reassuring.

With this upcoming State of Play, Horizon fans finally have a glimmer of hope. The fact that Horizon Forbidden West is getting its own State of Play showcase in May gives plenty of time for the game to still release later this year.

Fans can probably expect to see some new machines in Horizon Forbidden West's gameplay reveal, and become acquainted with some of the new weapons Aloy has acquired on her journey. The showcase might also help shed some light on the timeline; it isn't clear how far apart Zero Dawn and Forbidden West are, but Aloy likes to talk to herself while she's exploring and she might give players some little clues.

The showcase will also allow players to see more of the Forbidden West and recognize what makes it difficult from Aloy's homeland. Horizon Zero Dawn is known for its beautiful environment, so the expectations for Forbidden West are high. It would be great to see Aloy near the Pacific Ocean, a landscape much different from anything she's encountered before.

With Horizon Forbidden West being one of the biggest games on Sony's schedule this year, it would seem like a waste to dedicate an entire State of Play event to it without at least narrowing down the release window, or better yet, giving an official release date.

Horizon Forbidden West is speculated to release in late 2021. Especially with all the rumors of an internal delay floating around, an announcement like this would please an overwhelming majority of fans. But, there's a possibility that Horizon Forbidden West could come even sooner than that. Fans have no way of knowing how far along Forbidden West is in development, and while Guerrilla Games and Sony will want to release a polished product, it's possible that they are waiting for the right moment.

Giving distant release dates can sometimes set fans up for disappointment because delays are so common in the industry. If Horizon has a late December release date, for example, that's still seven months away and a lot can change in that time. The industry is starting to see the beginnings of a trend towards setting release dates much closer to the release itself, that way developers feel more confident with the current state of the game and a delay is less likely.

No one should get their hopes up just yet, but it's very possible Horizon Forbidden West is much closer than seven months away. Regardless, if Sony announces a concrete release date this week, it will almost certainly narrow down the release window so fans have an idea of what to expect. It's also possible that pre-orders could go live with the event.

RELATED: 5 Indie Games To Help Fill the Void Before Horizon Forbidden West Releases

Sony's last big State of Play event focused on Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, another exclusive coming to PS5 June 11. The event spent most of its time highlight Rift Apart and showcasing gameplay as promised, but there were a couple of small opening acts. Subnautica: Below Zero got a new trailer, and Sony also made the announcement that Among Us will be coming to PlayStation consoles. This time around, it's likely Sony will do the same thing.

The Horizon showcase is reportedly 14 minutes, but the whole event is 20 minutes long. That means Sony could have six extra minutes to showcase some other upcoming games, and there are quite a few to choose from. It's important to temper expectations here; Sony isn't going to show God of War: Ragnarok or announce Spider-Man 2, but there are lots of other great releases coming to PlayStation this year.

One that stands out as a possibility is Stray, another game that was revealed at the Future of Gaming event last June. Stray is a third-person adventure where the player is a cat exploring a futuristic city populated by robots. It's rumored to be released in October, but nothing significant has been revealed about the game since its reveal.

Other games players might see featured are Solar Ash and Jett: The Far Shore, both of which look like incredible indie games to keep an eye on. As of now, both of them are scheduled to release in 2021. Little Devil Inside is also a highly anticipated indie game, but PlayStation hasn't announced a release window for it yet. The State of Play would be a great way to do that, and a nice way to kick off the Horizon Forbidden West event.

While the State of Play coming up this week is exciting, fans shouldn't expect any massive announcements apart from Horizon Forbidden West. E3 is coming up, and while Sony will not be participating directly, it will undoubtedly use the hype from gaming's biggest weekend to make some of its own major announcements.

The AAA titles like Deathloop, GhostWire: Tokyo, Forspoken, God of War: Ragnarok, and Final Fantasy 16 won't be on display this week, but it's very likely that fans will get updates on these titles in the weeks to come. In addition, fans can look forward to some exciting new announcements from Sony and from all the developers participating in E3.

Horizon Forbidden West is scheduled to release for PS4 and PS5 in 2021.

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