Sony's March 9 State of Play was an announcement that had been rumored, but the official statement seemingly came out of nowhere. This 25 minute presentation will showcase some upcoming games heading to the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 family of consoles in the near future.

Exoprimal (Coming 2023)

With Exoprimal, it looks like Capcom took Dino Crisis, Lost Planet, and Anthem, and threw them into a blender. This new IP appears to be a solo/multiplayer action game aimed that's possibly in the vein of Monster Hunter...a Capcom franchise where you already hunt...dinosaurs. The trailer shows some co-op features, but no real details given. Time will tell on this one. Dino Crisis fans continue to pour one out for their dormant comrade.

Ghostwire: Tokyo (March 25, 2022)

The often delayed and enigmatic Tokyo Ghostwire makes an annual resurfacing for the third year, and promises a release date. From the creative mind of Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, The Evil Within series), this fast-paced action/thriller game puts you in the role of KK and his team of supernatural investigators who find something far more sinister and dangerous.

Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (March 18, 2022)

 A short trailer for this action RPG from Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo Games, this retelling of the original NES Final Fantasy follows the tale of warriors who set out to bring an end to the threat of the malevolent Chaos. Demo is available today.

Forespoken (October 11, 2022)

Also published by Square Enix and produced by Luminous Productions, Forespoken blends magic and parkour abilities to battle ferocious monsters. It puts me in mind of Electronic Arts' Mirror's Edge series, from a third person perspective. Forspoken uses the same engine Final Fantasy XV was built with, hopefully the bugs and kinks have been worked out since.

Gundam Evolution (2022)

From BANDAI Namco, this will be the first free-to-play Mobile Suit Gundam game developed. Select from a wide range of Mobile Suits from across the Gundam multiverse, each with their own unique attack and support skills. Employ your best strategies and lead your team to victory in high intensity objective based combat. Steve Aoki produces the music. A network test will be coming this spring for U.S. and Japan. I wouldn't be surprised if this one gets delayed.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The COWABUNGA! Collection (2022)

This is a pleasant suprise. From Konami comes a hearty collection on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action in this collection. The titles included are

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
• TMNT Tournament Fighters (NES)
• TMNT Tournament Fighters (SNES)
• TMNT Tournament Fighters (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (SNES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (Gameboy)

There's also some quality of life changes added, like online play, button mapping, extra media content, sketches and art concepts, and Save Anytime/Rewind options. 

Gigabash (Early 2022)

Gigabash looks like some classic kaiju action. GigaBash is a 4 player Arena Brawler featuring Giant Monsters, Kaijus & Heroes developed by Passion Republic Games. Unleash mayhem in fully destructible maps and battle among your friends as you rise as the true Apex among Titans. Coming later this March.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (Early Fall 2022)

Originally released on the PS3 in 2013, All Star Battle R will see a resurgence on all modern platforms and Steam. A fighting game featuring 50 characters from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, each from different arcs, is scheduled for release in 2022! Enjoy the epic expressions in battle, as if the very characters created by Hirohiko Araki have come to life. 

Trek To Yomi (Spring 2022)

As a vow to his dying Master, the young swordsman Hiroki is sworn to protect his town and the people he loves against all threats. Faced with tragedy and bound to duty, the lone samurai must voyage beyond life and death to confront himself and decide his path forward. A fascinating looking side-scrolling action game that borrows the spirit of Ghosts of Tsushima.

Returnal: Acension (March 22, 2022)

Join Selene, still trapped in an endless cycle – but this time, no longer alone. Returnal: Ascension adds Co-op Mode, allowing you to share your entire journey* through the shifting labyrinth of Atropos with another player.

This update also adds The Tower of Sisyphus – accessible as long as you’ve unlocked the Icarian Grapnel. It’s an ascending gauntlet of increasingly dangerous phases, with each containing twenty floors. Upon entry, eliminate all the enemies on each floor and secure your passage to the next one up. Just be ready for what you might encounter within…

The DioField Chronicle (2022)

A new take on tactical role-playing from Square Enix. Amusing that they remembered they could make really good RPGs by revisiting and putting a unique twist on what once worked in the past.

Valkyrie Elysium (2022)

It's been a very long time since Square Enix revisited the Valkyrie Profile series. Developed by tri-Ace (Star Ocean series) Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume on the Nintendo DS was the last entry (mobile game notwithstanding). As a fan of the franchise, I might be interested in learning more details about this one.  

And that wraps up Sony's State Of Play. Many of these releases appear to pad out the remainder of 2022 with some multi-platform games and cross-platform titles, with 2023 being lined up for a bigger year. What are your thoughts on it? Feel free to share your opinions.

This has been Game Fix.