E3 2018: What to Expect from Sony & PlayStation

E3 2018 is kicking off in just a few days, with the major console makers set to begin their press conferences on Sunday, June 10. Shacknews has already started looking into what fans can expect to see through the next week, starting with what can be expected from the folks at Microsoft and Xbox. Their biggest competitor, Sony and the PlayStation team, are set to take the stage on Monday night, June 11 in Los Angeles, CA.

What can PlayStation owners expect to see from this year's PlayStationo E3 2018 Showcase? Shacknews is here with the full breakdown, along with a few wild guesses.

The Last Push for The Last of Us II

One of the PlayStation's biggest games is still on its way and Naughty Dog has confirmed its presence at this year's show.

#TheLastofUsPartII #E32018 pic.twitter.com/Y627a3FKfH

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) June 4, 2018

The Last of Us II has appeared at various PlayStation events to this point, most recently showing up at Paris Games Week. There was a lot of brutality that bordered on uncomfortable, but all that aside, players also noticed that there wasn't much shown in terms of gameplay.

So what can players expect from E3? With TLOU2 conspicuously absent from last year's E3 and from December's PlayStation Experience, Naughty Dog should have something more substantial to show off at this year's show. Think something similar to the sizzle reel that God of War received last year. Expect a first look at TLOU2's gameplay, along with any potential new hooks or additions from the original game.

Also, there's are key questions surrounding just where Ellie (and Joel?) is and what her state of mind is when this story takes place. Expect some more details on just what the heck is happening, as Naughty Dog ideally answers some of the more key questions and also unveils a release date for The Last of Us Part II.

Whatever A Spider Can

Speaking of games getting final pushes, there's just a few more months before Spider-Man releases on PlayStation 4. So what more can Sony and Insomniac say that hasn't already been said?

After all, Insomniac has already gone into heavy detail on Spider-Man; the game's central narrative that features various elements of Dan Slott's recent comic book tenure; and the mechanics that center around webbing up bad guys, swinging around New York, and escaping danger via quick-time events. Plus, anything that hasn't been revealed at a PlayStation presentation has been explained in a lengthy Game Informer feature.

For those at the show, they should expect to finally be able to go hands-on with this new Spidey and get a sense of how it feels to swing around the Big Apple for themselves. As for those watching at home, remember that Insomniac already showed off nine minutes of gameplay at last year's E3. The public knows what Spider-Man can do.

But what about what Mary Jane can do? One of the more delicious teases over the past year has been the idea that Mary Jane Watson will be playable in some form. In fact, Creative Director Brain Intihar has hinted that Mary Jane sequences will take place while the webslinger is active. So maybe fans will get a chance to put some of her investigative skills to work, while also checking out Spidey beating up some bad guys in the background.

At the very least, expect one last big push prior to Spider-Man's PlayStation 4 debut in September.

A New Band of Brothers in Days Gone

One of the biggest question marks in regards to Sony's first-party lineup has been Days Gone. Two years after it was unveiled at E3 2016, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding what players can expect to see from this game. It's something that felt by-the-numbers when Shacknews first tried it out back in 2016. So what's changed in the past two years?

Expect to see more information about just how the Days Gone world came to be, but more than that, expect to see what makes the Days Gone apocalyse unique. It's fighting a bit of an uphill battle, as the premise just begs for comparisons with The Last of Us. But Bend Studio is looking to set itself apart with unique enemies that not only exhibit distinctly different behaviors, but also learn and adapt over the course of the game.

Now that there's a release date out there, expect to also see more of the gorgeous Pacific Northwest setting, along with the pieces of it that have been left scarred by the apocalypse. There are some big questions surrounding Days Gone. Look for some answers here, potentially to start off the presentation.

The PlayStation VR Train Keeps Rolling

While the virtual reality trend appeared to be slowing down, Sony appears to be more committed to its PlayStation VR headset than ever. On Wednesday, viewers took a first look at Tetris Effect, the new iteration of VR Tetris that promises to inflict more Tetris dreams on the masses. A second PS VR game is set to be unveiled this Saturday, while an "eagerly anticipated game" for the VR headset is currently slotted for a Sunday morning announcement.

While it's hard to imagine a sizzle reel the likes of what viewers were treated to back at E3 2016, but expect some big announcements on par with what was revealed at that year's show. Remember that 2016 saw VR experiences for Star Wars Battlefront, Final Fantasy, Batman Arkham, and Farpoint all show up in some capacity. Look for more along those lines, as well as the possibility of at least one first-party effort.

If Shacknews had to guess (and it is part of why we're here, after all), maybe expect something related to Spider-Man.

The Shacknews Outside the Box Pick

The PlayStation 4 is on top of the console world, with Sony establishing itself as the clear #1 of this generation. What could the publishing giant possibly do to surprise its audience?

All of Sony's first-party studios appear to be busy, with Sony Santa Monica having just wrapped up God of War. Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, and Insomniac also have high=profile first-party games in the works. The only studio that appears to be free is Guerrilla Games, enjoying a fresh rest after wrapping up 2017 Game of the Year contender Horizon Zero Dawn.

Or are they resting?

Given how many years of lead-in time that Sony first-party games usually get before release, it's not unreasonable to think that there will be at least an announcement for a Horizon Zero Dawn sequel. It's not going to be close to finished. Oh, lord no. But it shouldn't take long to put together a two-minute teaser that indicates that Aloy's next adventure is indeed in the works and should lead the next batch of first-party games once Spider-Man, The Last of Us II, Days Gone, and Ghost of Tsushima are all out the door.

What are you expecting to see from Sony and PlayStation this year at E3 2018? Join the conversation and let us know in the comments.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?