Latest news with #SwordoftheSea
Engadget
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Sword of the Sea is what happens when Matt Nava strides back into Journey's shadow
Sword of the Sea is a game about letting go. Its main mechanic involves surfing across vast desert dunes on a thin blade, slicing through glittering sands and scaling ancient towers on a quest to unearth the secrets of civilizations past. It plays best when you forget about the controls entirely, and just surrender to the slick physics and let your little character flow. With enough exploration, you'll naturally discover glowing orbs and shining gold gems, and the sands will transform into deep, crystal clear seas with fish swimming through the air, carving wet paths through the dirt. Your character, dressed in flowing robes and a gold mask, rides the orange hills and the blue waves with the same easy athleticism, reacting instantly to every input on the controller. Charge up a jump and then complete sick tricks with a few quick inputs, or unleash a bubble of sonic energy to smash nearby vases, uncovering bits of currency in the shattered pieces. The protagonist moves in whatever direction you push, stopping immediately when you let go of the analog stick. There are giant chains to grind, a hover ability in some areas, and half pipes generously positioned around the environments. Control prompts pop up when you're first introduced to an ability, but the text fades quickly and you're left alone in the desert. There are no waypoints in Sword of the Sea , but the environment tells a clear story, inviting you to solve puzzles in the mysterious temples dotting the landscape. Find glowing orbs on the rooftops and hidden down secret passageways to unlock the buildings' secrets, opening up new areas. Your Yahoo privacy setting is blocking social media and third-party content You can Allow your personal information to be shared and sold. Something went wrong. Try again. You can update your choice anytime by going to your privacy controls, which are linked to throughout our sites and apps. This page will now refresh. I played about 20 minutes of Sword of the Sea at Summer Game Fest, but I wanted to surf its dunes for a lot longer. It's the kind of game that makes the real world fade away, no matter how chaotic or intrusive your immediate surroundings are. It's built on rhythm and vibes, and it encourages a meditative flow state from its first frames. Learn the controls and then forget them; play with pure intuition and it'll most likely be the right move. 'The game is about surfing, and it's really about the process of learning to surf and getting comfortable with surfing, and then trying things that are a little bit beyond your abilities, failing, and then figuring it out and actually accomplishing them,' Sword of the Sea creator Matt Nava told Engadget on the SGF show floor. 'And in the process, you kind of realize that surfing is all about harnessing the power of something greater than yourself. You're not paddling — the waves carry you. The zoomed out camera, the little character; in a lot of games, they're right on the character, because the character is the focus. But in this game, it's about how the character is a part of the environment, that is the focus. And I think that's a constant in a lot of the games that we've made.' Nava is the creative director and co-founder of Giant Squid, the studio behind Abzû and The Pathless . Even with these two successful games under his belt, Nava is still best known as the art director of Journey , thatgamecompany's pivotal multiplayer experience that hit PlayStation 3 in 2012. Nava has spent the past decade attempting to build explicitly non- Journey -like games with Giant Squid, and while Abzû and The Pathless both have his distinctive visual stamp, they're the opposite of Journey in many ways. Where Journey was set in a dry, desert landscape, Nava's follow-up, Abzû , took place in an underwater world. After that, The Pathless was mostly green, rather than dusty orange. With Sword of the Sea , Nava let go. He dropped all preconceptions of what he should be making and mentally said fuck it . He finally allowed himself to manifest the game that came naturally to him. 'In this game, it's very much taking on, accepting and proclaiming that this is me,' Nava said. 'I did Journey . I'm doing orange again. And I'm going back to the desert because I have way more ideas that we couldn't do in that game … It's like I've been living in my own shadow for a long time in a weird way. It's like, why am I doing that? I should just be who I am and continue to explore the art that is my art.' Sword of the Sea is a specific and special game, and even though it's set in an orange desert, it doesn't feel like Journey . The game also includes music by Austin Wintory, the Grammy-nominated composer behind Journey , Abzû and The Pathless . Together, Nava and Wintory form a formidable foundation. 'A lot of video game scores, they just make a music track for the area,' Nava said. 'If you're in the town, you hear town music, and then it just repeats. But that's not how it works here. The music advances as your story advances, it reflects where you are on your surfing adventure, what you're learning how, how far your character has gone on this character arc. And so that's where the music of a video game like ours should be.' As Nava and I chatted, someone sat down to play Sword of the Sea on a nearby screen, and when I glanced up, I saw that they were gliding through an area I didn't find in my runthrough. A giant animal skeleton was half-buried in the sand, bright white vertebrae dotted with gold gems for the player to collect. There are a lot of secrets to find in Sword of the Sea , Nava assured me. The best way to find them is to just let go and play. Sword of the Sea is due to hit PlayStation 5 , Steam and the Epic Games Store on August 19.
Engadget
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Sword of the Sea launches August 19
Giant Squid has announced that it's latest game, Sword of the Sea , will come to PlayStation 5 and PC on August 19. It'll also appear on PlayStation Plus from day one for Extra and Premium Subscribers. The fantasy adventure game marries surfing mechanics with the atmospherics of the developer's previous games like Abzû and Journey . Giant Squid showed off more gameplay in a new trailer as part of PlayStation's June 4 State of Play. "At its core, Sword of the Sea is all about surfing," the developer wrote. "You'll be carving your way across mysterious moving waves of sand on the ancient and powerful hoversword." Other scenarios include dreamy ice-scapes and oceans full of flying dolphins. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Giant Squid again teamed with creative director Matt Nava and composer Austin Wintory, who also worked on Abzû and Pathless . "As a surfer and snowboarder myself, I have felt the rush of movement and seen the beauty of nature in a way that only these extreme sports can deliver," Nava wrote about Sword of the Sea.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
PS Plus Summer 2025 Lineup, Resident Evil, Twisted Metal, and More
Image via: Sony Summer 2025 will be a wonderful time for PlayStation Plus subscribers, something they've been eagerly waiting for. Sony's release lineup is a carefully curated mix of retro favorites, modern masterpieces, and promising day-one launches. With classics like Resident Evil 2 & 3 and the Twisted Metal series, plus ambitious new titles like Sword of the Sea and FBC: Firebreak, this summer is very much an active production for Sony to take a strategic shift in how they frame PlayStation Plus. The Return of Legends: Classics That Defined Generations In 2025, PS Plus Premium Classics is slated to see the return of several favorites once again. Headlining this retro revival are Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - two, arguably, of the most iconic survival horror titles of all time. The renewed interest in the franchise following the success of the recent remakes has essentially ushered in an opportunity for newer players to experience the original PS1 versions that set the tone for the genre. PS Plus Extra June 2025 Games | GamingByte In conjunction with the classic Resident Evil titles, Twisted Metal 3 and Twisted Metal 4 will be set loose on the service on July 15. The timing's just perfect, aligning with the release of season two of the live-action Twisted Metal series, so there's hardly any denying the synergy between Sony's gaming and entertainment arms. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Live Update: The Strategy Uses By Successful Intraday Trader TradeWise Learn More Undo Other classics to look out for are Myst and Riven, the atmospheric puzzle adventures that land during the Days of Play in June, and Deus Ex (PS2) on June 17, which to this day is considered one of the most defining immersive sims ever made. New Frontiers: Day-One Titles and Fresh Experiences The classics, no doubt, are geared toward tugging at the heartstrings of the longtime PlayStation user. Still, Sony does understand that the majority of the market desires novelty in their games. Wellspring to this charge of change is Sword of the Sea, an ethereal adventure by Giant Squid, the makers of Abzû and The Pathless. Set to launch for Extra and Premium subscribers on August 19, a dreamlike journey combining skating mechanics with the vast desert landscape and magic ruins awaits. Sword of the Sea - Launch Date Announcement | PS5 Games Equally worthy to be witnessed by the gamers is FBC: Firebreak, another instalment to Remedy Entertainment's Control world. Arriving on June 17, Firebreak seeks to further enrich the mythology of the Federal Bureau of Control with a standalone narrative, set to whet the appetite of those yearning to return to its supernatural world. A Glimpse at the Future of PS Plus The summer 2025 lineup is telling of the somewhat larger strategic intent. The company is gradually going to proceed to phase out the PS4 titles from its monthly PlayStation Plus offerings come January 2026, indicating a shift wherein it hopes to fully embrace the PS5 ecosystem. Players are encouraged to upgrade due to the gutsiness of the move, while also attempting a redefinition of what the service is all about; less on backward compatibility, more for premium next-gen experiences. Further, Essentials for June comprise NBA 2K25, Alone in the Dark, and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, whereas recent arrivals to the Game Catalog such as Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Skull and Bones, and GTA III: Definitive Edition (June 10) help to ensure that there is something for everyone.
