Sony will welcome several new games to the PlayStation 4 this summer, including Drifter, Escape Goat 2, Nidhogg, Spelunky and Skulls of the Shogun, according to several posts on the PlayStation Blog.
Games will include updated visuals and social aspects via the system's capabilities, while some titles feature new content and cross-buy perks. The full list is as follows:
- Apotheon: "The combat in Apotheon draws mainly from our collective background as multiplayer FPS gamers. We were never much for button-mashy or combo based fighters, which I think have a bit of a stranglehold on 2D action games (especially melee focused ones). Instead of giving players a shopping list of moves and combos to memorize, we just give a set of basic actions."
- Axiom Verge: "Axiom Verge is a retro-styled 2D 'Metroidvania' action-adventure, inspired by such classics as Rygar, Contra, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, and, of course, Metroid. But it also gives you power over glitches like those found in classic games, allowing you to scramble enemies, corrupt environments, and enter hidden areas."
- Chasm: "In Chasm, players take up the role of Daltyn, a young soldier sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a mining crew in the remote mountain town of Karthas. Upon arrival you learn the town has been cut off from the outside world by supernatural forces. Now trapped, you are left with no option but to explore the mines below the town and uncover the source of the disturbances."
- Drifter: "Drifter is an open-world, sandbox, space trading game with a procedurally-generated galaxy 100,000 light years across, made up of tens of thousands of star systems to explore ... you take on the role of a spaceship captain attempting to eke out a living among the stars by trading goods between star systems, hunting pirates for bounties, mining asteroids for valuable ore, or even becoming a pirate yourself."
- Escape Goat 2: "The theme of Escape Goat 2 is transformation. As you manipulate hidden machinery, walls move around and blocks settle into new places. Things look different when you're done with the room."
- Ironclad Tactics: "Ironclad Tactics is a fast-paced, card-based tactics game set in the American Civil War... with robots."
- Jamestown Plus: "Jamestown Plus will contain the entire original experience, but we're also hard at work on a lot of cool new content to celebrate the console release ... We want Jamestown Plus to be the definitive, be-all, end-all, director's cut, remastered, extended edition of the game."
- Nidhogg: "We have the most fun playing Nidhogg in front of our TV with friends. Sharing a TV and controllers is way more comfortable than crowding around someone's desk and sharing a keyboard. Exclusive to the PS4 version, the built-in tournament mode now indicates your fencer's color on DualShock 4′s light bar."
- Skulls of the Shogun: "Skulls of the Shogun is a mash-up of turn-based strategy and fighting-game flare, scientifically engineered for lightning-quick rounds, thoughtful strategic play, and a frequently inappropriate sense of humor with its tongue planted firmly in cheek."
- Source: "We feel the root of the adventure game is the story, and we want the story in Source to be truly memorable. The story is told around your character as the game progresses, not with long-winded cut scenes. It comes down to creating great moments throughout the game to achieve the highs and lows properly placed to achieve cinematic drama."
- Spelunky: "We're once again teaming up with BlitWorks, who did a great job on bringing the game to PS3 and PS Vita. For PS4, we want to do even more — like bump up the graphics to 1080p, let players upload replays to the leaderboards, add more social features to the Daily Challenge, and otherwise take advantage of the PS4′s unique hardware."
- Starwhal: Just the Tip: "Starwhal is a vehicle for that sort of experience we all cherished with our friends where the mood oscillates between giddy laughter and serious competition. Starwhal is superficially silly and narratively vacant, but somehow something so much deeper when you get a group of people wrangling space mammals in mortal combat."
Spelunky will be a crossbuy title, meaning anyone who has already purchased the game on PlayStation 3 or Vita will get the PS4 version for free.
Jamestown Plus will include new shops, levels and a new chapter, while Skulls of the Shogun will include new multiplayer maps and a single-player episode in which players visit the Shores of the Dead to take down General Akamoto.
Axiom Verge and Drifter will be available for PS Vita as well.