Hey, everybody! Kristen, Tim, and I are back this week to discuss the Ghost of Yōtei State of Play that featured an in-depth look at gameplay, the moral ramifications of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s ending, and our current gaming adventures.
Stuff We Talked About
Next week’s release highlights:
Monument Valley 3 | PS5, PS4
Wildgate | PS5
Wheel World | PS5
Killing Floor 3 | PS5
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers | PS5
Ghost of Yōtei State of Play — A gameplay deep dive with over 20 minutes of new footage, modes, and two new hardware bundles.
Bye Sweet Carole — Reveals the new mysterious character “The French” and the inspirations for this narrative-horror title that features hand-drawn visuals.
Killing Floor 3 — A look at the new launch trailer followed up by a grizzly Q&A with the devs.
The Cast
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Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Share of the Week: Ghost of Tsushima – 5 Year Anniversary https://ift.tt/IX1We9f
Ghost of Tsushima is celebrating 5 years since its legendary release. To celebrate, we asked you to share epic moments from Jin’s journey using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
Beat_Minerzshares a black and white image of Jin holding his katana against the moonlight
Yuric83shares a detailed portrait of Jin red armor with a half broken mask
calisarah1998shares Jin raising a katana beneath purple willow trees.
laya_photoshares Jin clashing katanas with an enemy against the setting sun
Keng_consoleshares Jin riding through a vibrant field
tulippooh3shares a black and white shot of Jin holding up his katana to a bolt of lightning.
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – Characters
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on July 23, 2025
Next week, we’re connecting back to Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. Share portraits of the friendly and villainous characters Sam meets on his journey using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Killing Floor 3 devs talk new weapon customization, Zed Time mechanic, and more https://ift.tt/K8MlvV3
It’s almost Zed Time again. The gore-drenched co-op FPS, Killing Floor 3, is exploding its way onto PS5 on July 24. In preparation for launch, Studio Creative Director Bryan Wynia and Design Director Leland Scali from Tripwire Interactive took me through what to expect in this big, brutal and bloody sequel to one of the best blasters on the block.
PlayStation Blog: In terms of gameplay, what was the main focus for Killing Floor 3? And what sets it apart from its previous titles?
Leland: It really was adding depth to existing systems. So, in Killing Floor 1 and 2, you could progress the player and add skills. You essentially have passive, throwable, and gadget skill sets. It’s much more robust and there’s more choices the player can make. Depending on what you choose, you could end up synergizing early skills with later skills, or you could find better mixes later.
Bryan: There’s also the new player hub, where you can adjust those skills, weapon mods, and other elements. But we wanted to find ways to keep it as immersive as possible. So these skill trees aren’t just numbers under the hood, but things you can actually see and feel when you play the game.
Leland: And we’ve modernized player movement. You can now do things like slide and clamber. But once we did that, we knew we needed to improve how the enemies moved, too. So instead of them walking around objects to get to you, they jump and climb over things. No matter where you go, they can go too.
How has the Zed Time mechanic been reworked?
Leland: When we started testing KF3, some of the early feedback we got was that this feature is cool, but what causes it? So there’s a bar at the top of the screen that you’re filling by doing different actions like destroying Critical Zones or killing enemies. And once it’s about to trigger, the whole team can take advantage at the same time. Also each Perk has two unique skills that increase as the player increases their proficiency level. This increases the effectiveness of the Perk during Zed Time as the player progresses. These are just some ways in which we’ve enhanced Zed time to be more of a meaningful tool in the player’s arsenal, rather than a random event.
Bryan: We hired a former SWAT team leader and weapons expert, and I remember him saying that in combat there’s this clarity that becomes present. That’s a huge source of inspiration for Zed Time. You can feel overwhelmed in the moment, but when it kicks in we put the power in your hands.
Can you tell us more about the new Critical Zone system?
Leland: So when you damage certain enemies enough, their armor breaks off and exposes a Critical Zone. Destroying that puts them in a state where you can perform this gory [explosive] execution on them, and by using Zed Time you can get them in that state quickly.
Bryan: I think players enjoy communicating that they’re skillful at something, so that was one of the biggest driving factors for implementing the Critical Zone system. You have multiple ways of killing enemies: you can unload rounds, go for headshots or you can look for Critical Zones to really take advantage.
Leland: For example, the Impaler boss has a ton of Critical Zones. If you destroy the ones on his arms, you’ll be able to disable him from firing rockets, while destroying the Zones on his back stops him from firing smoke grenades. Being able to disable abilities is really cool because you quickly realize if we fight him in a certain way at the beginning of the match, it’ll benefit us later in the following phases.
Are there any new updates to the weapon mods system that you can reveal?
Bryan: With a first-person shooter you experience and interact with the world through your weapons, so it was important to give players more than cosmetic ways of customizing their guns. For example, in the sharpshooter class I keep my distance and do really precise high damage. So, I’m going to craft weapon mods that are various types of sights and grips for when I aim down the sights. I can then combo those with skills, like taking a knee when I shoot does increased damage. We still want the identity of these weapons to be kept – we’re not turning a shotgun into a sniper rifle – but you can use mods to play with it the way that you like.
Leland: And you can modify ammo. So you can craft something like fire ammunition for a gun that’s not normally fire based. Which is useful for a new system called Wave Mutations, which randomly changes certain properties of the upcoming wave. A certain enemy may be more susceptible to freeze damage, for example, and instead of normally having to focus on a different enemy if you’re not a suitable class, you can craft a modded weapon to deal that freeze damage.
Are there any particular things you want players to pay attention to when they boot it up for the first time? And do you have any tips for them?
Bryan: I’d love for players to dive into some of our outer loops, looking at skill trees and weapon mods, and learning about Critical Zones. It’s about showcasing your skill and taking advantage of new features like movement and dynamically fighting your way through a wave to show you’re the best Zed hunter on the internet.
In terms of tips, the biggest thing that helps you survive is prioritizing targets. Just because that Zed is the closest one to you doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the one you should shoot first. There could be a Husk or a Siren at the back of the battlefield that’s lining up a shot that can take you out.
Leland: And when you hit the Critical Zone of some of the bigger Zeds they essentially turn into a bomb, which is super useful when you’re surrounded by low-level enemies – that big guy’s explosion will take out all the little guys. So even if you take a bit of damage focusing on that Critical Zone, that’s tactically a better move.
PlayStation’s Summer Sale arrives on July 16 https://ift.tt/lzWb2eK
PlayStation’s Summer Sale is almost here! Kick off the season with a wide range of offers on digital PS5 and PS4 games and add-ons at PlayStation Store starting July 16 at 00:00am PDT/BST/JST.
The promotion includes the likes of EA Sports FC 25 Standard Edition for 79% off (PS5, PS4), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Cross-Gen Bundle for 45% off (PS5, PS4), Assassin’s Creed Shadows Digital Deluxe Edition for 25% off (PS5), Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition for 25% off (PS5) and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for 10% off (PS5) for a limited time.*
But there’s many more titles included! You can preview just some of those games below, while the full list of PlayStation Store offers will be revealed when the sale begins – visit the PlayStation Store page here once the sale is live to browse available games and discover the next gaming adventure to embark on.
*Sale refreshes at 00:00am PDT/BST/JST on July 29 and some deals will be replaced by new offers. Sale ends on August 13 at 23:59 PDT/BST/JST. Certain deals end before August 13. Check PlayStation Store for details of individual deals.
The story behind narrative horror Bye Sweet Carole’s gorgeous hand-drawn animation https://ift.tt/3UVab1t
Hello PlayStation readers! I’m Chris Darril, creator of Bye Sweet Carole and founder of Little Sewing Machine.
Bye Sweet Carole is a special project, one that reimagines the animation that inspired me in childhood, interwoven with homages to video games that today’s players can relate to. Before the game launches on PlayStation, it’s my pleasure to introduce the first and exclusive look at The French, a mysterious character found sneaking into Bunny Hall by Lana. They seem to have an interest in heat and flames — could this be a clue to Carole’s disappearance?
Introducing The French
As mysterious as they look, this is clearly someone who has shared proximity with Carole. Eyes cast down, but what did they see? What intentions do they hide? Is there a secret in the burning flames they hover around? Players will find out alongside Lana soon enough.
Drawing inspiration for a modern fairytale
Shifting from making films to video games has been a life-changing experience. Carole started off as a mistake: one day, while playing with my unfinished Remothered prototype in RPG Maker, I created a dreamy, cell-shaded protagonist. Instantly, the image reminded me of those early popular animated films featuring pastel-coloured princesses against dark backdrops.
Connecting this visual concept to video games was the first hurdle: titles like Resident Evil on the first PlayStation, Clock Tower, and Gris were all foundational sources of gameplay inspiration. Their slow, measured approach to storytelling and unique atmospheres informed our initial development, refined with modern messaging designed to evoke the same child-like awe in a now fully-grown video game player today.
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Moving pictures to interactive pictures
As game designers, we are already directors, and the “cinematography” of video games is equally important. The presentation of a world makes an impact on the audience, and in both cinema and games, technology brings the storytelling to life. You’ll always meet technological limitations, so remaining fluid is absolutely critical in the development stage.
You start with the concept, then jump to the storyboard, then the rough animation, clean-up, and then the colors. Exporting animation happens differently if it’s a cutscene, a video, or eventually a game scene, so you have to find people just to export each animation. As with filmmaking, collaboration is key.
The art & artists behind Bye Sweet Carole
The animation of Bye Sweet Carole was hand-drawn, frame by frame. Sacrificing even just one frame means the magic of the old-fashioned animation style is lost. Computers made the production much smoother, but we made certain that the tangible expression of the animation style is always felt when playing the game. PlayStation players will be able to see the true labour of love in full 4K display.
We’ve also ensured that the visual and audio components work in harmony. The soundtrack was composed by Luca Balboni, a frequent collaborator. The large cast of characters will be fully voiced by Rossa Caputo in the Italian dub, Lani Minella (voice of the iconic Infected of The Last of Us), and Elsie Lovelock as our protagonist Lana.
Conclusion
Doing something that by today’s standards is considered “old school” wasn’t easy, and required a huge learning curve. On behalf of the entire team, we hope all players will enjoy meeting The French and experiencing Bye Sweet Carole later this year by purchasing the game from PlayStation Store or at their favourite retailer. We aspire for the game to be a modern fairytale, one that feels like a deep-seated memory: sad, yet peaceful, and long-lasting. It’s the best, most ambitious game I’ve ever worked on, and for those that missed it, our most recent trailer is a fantastic place to start.
There is one more mystery I can shed light on today, and that is confirming that Bye Sweet Carole is available from major retailers on discs. Today, players who want to experience the nostalgia of physical pieces of media inspired by nostalgia can pre-order a copy now in many regions and storefronts. Of course, the PlayStation Store is always open for those that appreciate modern accessibility of digital copies.
We still have several surprises to reveal about Bye Sweet Carole, so stay tuned—we’re incredibly excited to bring this love letter to life.
Share of the Week – Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – Traversal https://ift.tt/nS6I1dR
Last week, we asked you traverse the world of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and share different ways that Sam gets around using using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
ChristianNOTJayshares Sam ziplining in front of a massive moon cresting over mountains
call_me_xaviishares Sam pausing his tri cruiser in the desert to let a kangaroo pass by
Chesconeshares Sam riding a coffin board across the water
Milz_VPshares Sam hitching a ride with a launchable cargo catapult
F1Str4ndshares Sam getting some air after driving the truck off a ramp
MohdNazifshares Sam riding along with the monorail
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Ghost of Tsushima – 5th Anniversary
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on July 16, 2025
Next week, Ghost of Tsushima is turning 5! To celebrate Jin’s journey for honor and justice, share your best captures using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Experience All-Star excitement with MLB The Show 25 https://ift.tt/JTkDgqc
Get ready to enjoy new Diamond 99 All-Star player items, Programs, Moments, Missions, and more highlighting some of the most impactful players and plays from the 2025 MLB All-Star Week. Today, Friday, July 11, marks the start of the 2025 MLB All-Star Week at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. For those that can’t make it to the big game, don’t worry, as MLB The Show has you covered with all-new All-Star content covering the 2025 MLB Draft, Home Run Derby, and the 95th annual MLB All-Star Game.
MLB The Show 25: A guide to all things All-Star
Get ready to experience the excitement of 2025 All-Star Week events in MLB The Show 25!
Start your All-Star adventure with a FREE 2025 All-Star Team Affinity Voucher Pack, available in The Show Shop, allowing you to select 1 of 31 items including any of the 30 All-Star Vouchers to turn in for a 2025 All-Star player card to anchor your Diamond Dynasty squad. If you have earned all of them, then you can choose the 2025 All-Star Game Deluxe Pack featuring additional players from the Midsummer Classic.
You’re on the clock! Take control in the 2025 Draft Program on Sunday, July 13, featuring players added to the 2025 Draft Series as their names are called on Draft Day. Experience the new content THAT NIGHT and play as all-new stars.
Then the following night, take a swing with fan-favorite 2025 Home Run Derby Series players in the Home Run Derby Program. Look for new cards dropping after the champion is crowned!
On Tuesday, stay up late after the game with us to relive the excitement of the Midsummer Classic in a Program featuring more 2025 All-Star Series rewards.
With dozens of MLB Draft picks, all eight Home Run Derby participants, and 40+ ASG player items headed your way, this is shaping up to be one of the most exciting content drops of MLB The Show 25!
For those fans who have been finishing their Team Affinity My Journey programs, this is when you can redeem each respective team’s 2025 All-Star Game series player.
Look for All-Star rewards in these themed Diamond Dynasty* modes:
All-Star Game Diamond Quest – A rouge-like, single player mode consisting of a risk-and-reward boardgame style experience where both luck and skill play a part in your success.
All-Star Game Showdown – A single player experience where you’ll build your own Showdown Squad to compete in a series of challenges where you’ll test your skills against prolific pitchers from the past and present.
Moonshot: Home Run Derby Event – A time-limited experience where you’ll bring your best hitters to face off against common-rated pitchers in Truist Park, the site of this year’s MLB All-Star Game. Earn win streak rewards and Multiplayer Program progress.
Midsummer Classic Mini Seasons Challenge – a single player styled foray through the fictitious World Baseball League consisting of 28, 3-Inning regular season games culminating in a chance to make the playoffs and, potentially, the championship.
…and much more in MLB The Show 25.
MLB The Show at the 2025 All-Star Village
If you’re attending in-person the 2025 All-Star Week festivities at Truist Park in Atlanta, then be sure to stop by the MLB The Show booth to get hands on with MLB The Show 25. Snap a photo and take home a printed keepsake, and pick up a limited-edition postcard featuring a special code to redeem in-game items — exclusively for fans at All-Star Village! Test your luck with Coach’s Locker Loot, a one-of-a-kind interactive touchscreen game available only inside the booth. Tap your way for a chance to win awesome rewards like Stubs, Packs, a special-edition MLB The Show x HOMAGE T-Shirt, and even signed, authenticated MLB memorabilia. You can choose to reserve a time through the official MLB All-Star Experience Pass app to play Coach’s Loot Locker and receive your MLB The Show photo op, or feel free to walk in and enjoy the booth.
While you’re at the booth, don’t miss the chance to check out our Legends Wall, celebrating some of the all-time greats from the Atlanta Braves. Then take a walk down memory lane at our 20th Anniversary Showcase, featuring a full franchise timeline and an interactive wall where you can mark the year you started your journey with The Show. And last but not least, don’t forget to pick up and play MLB The Show on one of 20+ playable consoles right at the booth!
