Shack Chat: What was your favorite PlayStation Showcase May 2023 announcement?

PlayStation kicked off the game reveal season a bit early this year with its own showcase in May. With over an hour’s worth of reveals, there was a lot to feast your eyes on including previously unannounced titles, surprising unveilings, and more. We each have our own favorite but we also want to know what you thought was cool. Join in the chat below!

Question: What was your favorite PlayStation Showcase May 2023 announcement?

Marvel's Spider-Man 2, let's GO! - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Spider Hunter

I wasn't asking for a lot from Insomniac's Spider-Man sequel. All I needed was a good story and new ways to enjoy playing as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. It looks like I'm going to get so much more than I could have wanted. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 looks like it will be a comprehensive story that integrates Kraven the Hunter, Lizard, and eventually Venom as adversaries and it will tie them all together nicely.

I fully expected to swing through Manhattan again and, while that does look to be the case, seeing a fully explorable Queens was a pleasant surprise. I'm still hopeful for more from Miles' side of the story, because right now, this looks like it's still Peter Parker's world with Miles acting as an ersatz sidekick. For now, though, this looks outstanding.

Helldivers 2 - TJ Denzer, will proudly fight for Super Earth

Man, I don’t think anything could have surprised me more than the PlayStation Showcase starting off with Helldivers 2. I have long loved the chaotic nonsense and co-op fun of the original Helldivers, but that game came out in 2015. It’s been such a long time and I never would have guessed that another was coming anytime soon. Lo and behold, Arrowhead Game Studios came out of the woodwork with an awesome and hilarious trailer.

It’s wild to me that they’re leaving the top-down isometric view behind in favor of behind-the-shoulder third-person shooter style, but I also kind of dig it. For the larger insects we’ll come up against, it seems to give them a much more menacing sense of scale. Most incredible was the shot we saw of a fight in the dark and an absolutely massive spider-like monster getting ready to squash the player fireteam into paste.

Also, the sense of comedy about Helldivers seems to be intact in the sequel. I had myself a great laugh when the host was telling us about the idyllic paradise of Super Earth only for his family to get absolutely obliterated by a bug before his very eyes, leading us to suit up for battle. And to go from this reveal to telling us we’re getting Helldivers 2 in 2023? I can’t wait. The bugs (and possibly also my teammates) will be sorry they ever let me get my hands on requisitioned military ordnance ever again.

Marathon - Sam Chandler, Security Officer

I love the universe of Marathon, so finally getting to see this new take on the franchise is pure joy to me. Bungie never misses with its games. Each one stands as a titan of its genre, batting away all others that try to fight the king of the hill. All signs point to Marathon being another jewel in Bungie’s crown. Additionally, PVP extraction shooters are a favorite of mine, so I can’t wait to see Bungie’s take on this relatively new genre. Color me excited.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Asif Khan, Shacknews’ CEO/EIC/EIEIO

I was pretty unimpressed with the PlayStation Showcase until I got a 10 minute dose of Miles Morales and Peter Parker injected directly into my eyeballs. The gameplay demonstration has me very excited to control both of my favorite web-slinging characters. I am interested to see how the Venom story develops too. I finally got more pictures of Spider-Man.

Cayde-6 - Bill Lavoy, Hunter 4 Life

It’s not a game, or even an expansion for a game, it’s simply the news that Cayde-6 is coming back to Destiny 2. We don’t know how exactly, but we do know that Nathan Fillion will be returning to the role, and that’s enough for us to live happily for the next few months. Oh, and Marathon and Alan Wake 2 also look amazing.

Alan Wake 2 - Dennis White Jr., FBI School Drop-out

I know it would be easy to give Spider-Man 2 more praise after that presentation but I really want to show some love to the horror surprise from the showcase. Alan Wake 2 looks very interesting and I am curious to find out about the new playable protagonist Saga Anderson. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Black female FBI agent who’s ready to shoot down some monsters bursting through doors in the trailer we got here. With big horror titles like Resident Evil 4 (which also got a PSVR2 mode announced) and Silent Hill 2 Remake on the slate for this year, horror fans like myself are eating pretty good in 2023.

Xbox was quick to point out that this game will also be available on their console as well so it’s not a PS5 exclusive. But I do appreciate the horror genre getting some love during the show. And I appreciate it even more when there’s actually some gameplay shown! It’s one thing to share a cinematic but we got quite a bit more from Alan Wake 2 in the showcase. Spooky Season is going to be quite interesting.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Donovan Erskine, Daily Bugle News Editor

The obvious answer is the right one here. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 looks absolutely insane. The new combat and traversal abilities from Peter and Miles look like they’re really going to open gameplay up, and I’m excited to explore new areas of the map. The Symbiote suit on Peter looks excellent, and I can’t wait to see how the relationship between him and Miles evolves over the course of the game. I already know that Spider-Man 2 and Tears of the Kingdom are going to tear me apart when Game of the Year time gets here.

The Plucky Squire - Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo Show host

What was my favorite PlayStation Showcase announcement? I think I have to give it to the Plucky Squire. I like the idea of having 2D and 3D exploration. It isn’t new but the thought of being able to explore the colorful world of a book with flat pages and 2D action and then jump off the pages of the book into the third dimension. I get a lot of Paper Mario vibes with the colorful locations as well as Super Paper Mario with the ability to jump between 2D and 3D. If the Plucky Squire can be anywhere close to Paper Mario, then it’s going to be a fun time.

It looks like quite a few of us were most excited about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 than anything else Sony had to show during the presentation. But there was so much to enjoy and we want to know what you found the most exciting. Join us in the Chatty thread below!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.