Just last month, PlayStation delivered an epic showcase that got fans raving about the future first-party line-up. Some first looks at God of War: Ragnarök and Spider-Man 2 as well as the reveal of Gran Turismo 7’s March 4^th release date and Insomniac’s next Marvel project being Wolverine were matched by the announcement of a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake and a glimpse into a PS5 exclusive from Square Enix, Forspoken, to create top-tier hype. Most people, including myself, thought that there wouldn’t be any more major updates from PlayStation till next year, but then they announced a State of Play for October.

While the 20-minute stream would only be showcasing updates for upcoming third-party games, a few indie titles, and some surprises, there was plenty of speculation as to what would show up. We got a few hints in knowing that some Square Enix stuff would be there as well as in-depth look at Little Devil Inside, but it was still a mystery if we were in store for something unexpected and we got very little of that. While there was a Little Devil Inside deep dive that showed some more of the art style and gameplay, the rest of the announcements were underwhelmingly small and there were very few exciting announcements.

Maybe this State of Play was just a victim of hype and other big-name titles being mostly absent this year, but it really gave off the vibes of “this could’ve been in an email” or rather a PlayStation Blog post. It’s certainly one of the most underwhelming State of Plays we’ve gotten but there were still some announcements that were interesting and worth talking about. So, let’s recap what was there.

Deathverse: Let it Die is Announced

The announcement of Deathverse: Let it Die, an online survival action game set within the world of Grasshopper’s 2016 action RPG Let it Die, kicked things off on a bit of an odd note. While Let it Die was developed by Grasshopper and published by GungHo, Grasshopper is not involved in Deathverse and it’s actually made by GungHo. It’s a little disappointing that the indie studio led by the prolific Suda51 doesn’t seem involved as this game didn’t exactly make the strongest first impression. The game has players create their own character and take them into PvPvE battle arena fights to the death to come out the victor. There was a strong variety of playstyles shown that allow players to use laser-swords, massive gauntlets, and some stylish gun skills to take down rivals, but the style and atmosphere felt a little all over the place.

Deathverse’s concept of being ran by a rich, fat-cat producer wanting to see combatants fight to the death is interesting, but its wild comedic antics feel like remnants of Grasshopper’s influence rather than something fresh and exciting. Without Grasshopper fully behind this game, the wild style of Deathverse feels half-hearted. Maybe there’s more to the game than meets the eye, but we’ll have to wait for more before Deathverse: Let it Die releases in Spring 2022.

Episodic Musical We Are OFK is Announced

Although its meta-styled humor was a little too in your face for my liking, there’s a lot of admirable ambition and potential for We Are OFK to be something special. The game is a narrative-driven, episodic adventure following the lives of the animated band OFK as they try to make it in the music business. The band actually debuted a song, Follow/Unfollow, at last year’s Game Awards and even though the very meta-humor didn’t work for me here, the concept around the game already has me hooked. There will be dialogue branches that alter your relationships within the band, new songs that debut in each episode, and the ability to play through interactive music videos. Also, that art style looked awesome, so there’s definitely potential for We Are OFK to be a big, ambitious hit and hopefully it will be when the first episode drops next year.

Free Update for Bugsnax Coming Soon

Probably the biggest and best announcement of this State of Play was that one of the best games that launched alongside the PS5, Young Horses’ Bugsnax, is getting a very meaty free update early next year. This update will include more Bugsnax for you to catch, interesting little outfits you can have them wear, and a new island where giant Bugsnax roam. It’s basically like Young Horses watch that episode of Pokémon where they ended up on an island with giant Pokémon and made a DLC inspired by that – which is amazing. There will also be new boss battles, and, for all you Animal Crossing fans, it looks like you can now build a hut of your own in Snaxburg to get your interior decorating side on.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets a Release Date

The Five Nights at Freddy’s spin-off, Security Breach, actually got a pretty meaty trailer as well giving fans a glimpse into some of the gameplay. As per usual with this franchise, you are trying to escape the creepy animal animatronic trying to kill you, but Security Breach offers a lot of new ways to do so. It looks like there’s more stealth options to take the killer animatronics off your scent, security feeds you can tap into to keep tabs on nearby enemies, and you can even jump into Freddy Fazbear, himself, to keep you safe. It seems like Freddy is being positioned as more heroic in Security Breach and we get introduced to the 80’s rock star inspired animatronics trying to kill you. Best of all, we got a much closer release date than expected so fans will only have to wait a little while longer to jump into Security Breach when it launches on December 16^th.

Death’s Door coming to PS4/PS5 on November 23rd

Acid Nerve and Devolver Digital’s breakout action-adventure game Death’s Door has already become a big hit in the Xbox space and PlayStation fans will now be able to get in on the action when it comes to PlayStation 4/5 on November 23^rd. The visually bleak animated art-style and excellent combat already had me sold when it was shown on Xbox, so I’m glad it won’t be long till I get to experience Death’s Door myself.

Free to play KartRider: Drift is Shown

A free to play kart racer is never a bad thing and KartRider: Drift actually looks very solid. The kart customization looks pretty deep, and the graphics have a charming quality that comes through in giving each racer a visual personality. All in all, it looked like a fun time, and we’ll know more about it after the game’s closed beta on December 8^th before it releases some time next year.

The King of Fighters XV Announces Beta and a New Character

For fighting game fans, KOF is a game that needs no introduction as it’s one of the most popular fighting games in the world. The newest entry, KOF XV, is set to release Valentines Day next year, but it stopped by at State of Play to make some quick announcements. New character Dolores joins the battle with some earth-shattering moves that players will be able to test out in an open beta running on PS4/PS5 from November 19^th and 20^th.

First Class Trouble Officially Revealed as November PlayStation Plus Game

This announcement wasn’t too much of a shock because of some rumors swirling the last couple of days, but a new online deduction game titled First Class Trouble will debut on PlayStation Plus next month for PS4/PS5. If you’re looking for something Among Us related, then First Class Trouble should tickle your fancy as it’s a deduction game where players will attempt to figure out which one of them is a deceptive Personoid trying to kill the other players. To be honest, the trailer shown felt a little lifeless, but the cruise ship setting is full of potential fun and it being on PlayStation Plus makes it worth checking it out next month.

Square Enix Pops Up…to Show a New Star Ocean Game

Man, when that Square Enix logo popped up, I was begging and pleading for it to be a Final Fantasy XVI update, but alas, they came to announce the newest mainline title in the Star Ocean series, The Divine Force. Personally, I know nothing about the series, but the trailer did look interesting boasting a visually stunning sci-fi world and showcasing some of the action RPG gameplay. At the very least, it’s cool to see a new Star Ocean game get announced for its 25^th Anniversary and hopefully The Divine Force will get fans excited when it releases next year on PS4/PS5.

Little Devil Inside Get a Deep Dive

Finally, the one game that was expected to be there, Neostream Interactive’s highly anticipated action-adventure game Little Devil Inside, came to close out the show and did so on an unfortunately middling note. The game has players explore the personal and professional lives of an explorer on the hunt for monsters and supernatural events throughout the game’s 19^th Century-inspired world. Now, I have no doubt that the incredibly charming, toylike art style of the world, slight mischievousness of the characters, and the idea of it being open world will make Little Devil Inside a fun experience. Even the ability to have co-op will be cool, but this trailer still didn’t hook me.

The constant big zoom outs of the overworld made the game have a clunkier look and conflicting art styles. There wasn’t enough of the combat or gameplay to give an overall impression of what the gameplay experience will be like. Also, the story isn’t really coming through and it’s tough to say what this game is all about. Little Devil Inside definitely has potential to be a big hit, but it likely needs a State of Play of its own just to get across all its ideas.

This State of Play definitely leaves you wanting more as its offering just aren’t super enticing or exciting. We Are OFK is definitely worth watching out for and it was great to get some release dates for Security Breach and Death’s Door. Also, more Bugsnax is always a good thing, but it was definitely missing something big to tie it all together. Looks like we’ll just have to wait until The Game Awards to see if PlayStation has more up its sleeve this year.