State of Play 6/4/25 review: Better then one can hope for

It’s about that time again. Sony has released a brand new State of Play in arguably gaming’s biggest month of the year: June. While missing the hype of E3 thanks to its abolition, the showcases what game companies offer still live on through live streams early this month. Sony has claimed the first showcase of the games, and they have a lot to showcase.

 

The first game that was shown off was Lumines Arise, a rhythm game that lets you stack blocks up Tetris style, but it's in the beat of the music. It looks interesting, but I won't pay the full price for it when it comes out in Fall 2025. Next up is Pragmanta, a Capcom third-party game that was revealed years ago, back with another trailer. It looks incredible and I can't wait to get it in 2026. Following that is Romeo is a Dead Man, a hack and slash made by Suda51, who is most famously known for creating the No More Heroes games. It captures the feel of old hack-and-slash games perfectly and I cannot wait to try it next year.

 

Turning to more of a horror game is Silent Hill F, a new addition to Konami’s famous Silent Hill franchise. Taking place in Japan, we see new protagonists and new horrors, a fusion of Silent Hill classics and Japanese yokai. Honestly looks pretty fun, and I don’t even like horror games all that much. I especially can't wait to get it on September 25th of this year. Next up is Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, a Metroidvania from 505 games that encompasses the feel of the genre through multiple rooms, bosses to fight, and new characters to boot. 

 

After that, were given a look at Digimon Story: Time Stranger, a jpg that features Digimon characters with an all-new original story that deals with time travel, paradoxes, and the digital world. It looks pretty cool to check out when it launches on October 3rd of this year. After that, we have Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, a remake of a PS1 classic game with new voice acting, enhanced textures, and more. It comes out on September 30th of this year, and I would like to at least try it out.

 

After that, we have a very weird game called Baby Steps, where you play as some guy in pajamas as you try to make him walk through an open world, filled with funny physics that makes him fall over constantly. This is one of the few games I don’t think I’ll be playing it. The next game does look pretty interesting, which is Hirogami, an action-adventure game where the world is made out of paper and various origami foldings. Featuring transformations into different origami foldings, it feels like a new version of the Paper Mario games, which is always a plus. It comes out on September 3rd, and it’s worth looking into. After that, we have new information about Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Carin, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, and the reveal of the first Playstation Fight stick. All of these games and the fight stick look incredible in their own unique ways, and the best part is that they all come out within the span of 6 months, perfect for new adventures and problems to go through.

 

After that, we have a new trailer for the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. An espionage masterpiece that follows Big Boss’s expertise while infiltrating an enemy base, complete with soldiers to fight or sneak around, and iconic bosses to handle, like Revolver Ossalot. As a bonus, the Ape vs Snake mode from the original PS2 release has you running around and trying to capture a bunch of apes that have escaped. It’s all going to be a faithful remake and it launches on PS5 on August 28th of this year. 

 

With that, we then see a new look at Nioh 3, an action game made by Koei Tecmo. It follows a warrior with two different styles Samurai and Ninja style, and a free demo on PS5 is out now, but the full game is coming soon. 

 

In the VR Department, we see a stealth game called Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, which is an immersive experience as you try to steal what you can to survive in a foggy city. With climbing, sneaking, pickpocketing, and even lock picking, it has you feeling like a master thief, ready to steal whatever you can. I would try to get it myself, but sadly do not have a VR headset that's used to play this. Next up, is a unique multiplayer game called Tides of Tomorrow. It’s an action-adventure title that has you Following your missions, but you could experience glimpses of your rivals doing the exact same thing, each with different results and ways to escape danger. This can be played on February 24th, 2026. 

 

Astro Bot, last year’s GOTY, is still receiving more content in the form of new challenge levels, similar to the ones we got last year and a few months ago. 5 planets, 5 bots to rescue, including the protagonist of Ghost of Yotei, and 5 new reasons to pick the game back up. Love this game, and I love team Asobi’s free updates, and you can bet that I will give them a shot. 

 

We’re also getting a new pirate game called Sea of Remaints, and a new game by the Journey people called Sword of the Sea. Both of which are interesting titles that I could be interested in playing.

 

They even announced a new 007 game, called 007 First Light. This is going to be a prequel story about how James Bond became 007 and how he got to work for MI6, featuring a new villain, new and familiar faces to see, cars to drive, and more in this third-person espionage thriller. This game launches in 2026.

 

The final game revealed here is Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a 4v4 fighting game made by Arc System Works (the minds behind Guilty Gear and Blazeblue) which features redesigns of iconic characters such as Iron Man, Captain America, Storm, Ghost Rider, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, Spider-Man, and even Doctor Doom, battling one another in this new expansive fighting game that’s sure to impress long time-fighting game fans, especially the Marvel vs Capcom fans that have been asking for a long time for a new game. This game is currently coming out in 2026 for PS5 and PC. 

 

In conclusion, with the number of games that are being shown off in the showcase, it has alot of games that people were wondering what happened to them, and brand new reveals that have shaken up the community for the better. This was way better than the last showcase, showcasing that Sony has looked back at their previous State of Play and made changes that made this State of Play alot better. Hope Sony can keep this up for future showcases.

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9.5/10