In the face of constant reports and speculation that Sony is de-emphasizing the Japanese market – even with denials about the same from Sony (including one that came as recently as earlier this week) – news of departures from SIE Japan Studio hasn’t exactly been encouraging for PlayStation fans. Now, another high profile figure from the studio is following suit.

Masaaki Yamagiwa recently took to Twitter to confirm that he will be leaving SIE Japan Studio at the end of this month. He says that he will continue to create games, but as you’d expect, hasn’t yet stated where he will be doing that after leaving PlayStation. Yamagiwa has been involved with several SIE Japan projects in recent years, having serves as producer on the likes of Bloodborne, Deracine, and Tokyo Jungle.

As I mentioned earlier, he’s not the first to leave SIE Japan over the last few weeks. Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keichiiro Toyama, along with Junya Okura and Kazunobu Sato, left Sony to form their own studio (and are currently working on a multiplatform horror game). Not long afterward, Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Demon’s Souls remake producer Teruyuki Toriyama also announced his departure.

2月末でSIE JAPAN Studioを離れることになりました。これまでありがとうございました。次の場所でもゲーム制作を頑張ります。
I’m leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment at the end of this month. I’m going to continue working hard on creating games. Many thanks to everyone! pic.twitter.com/WPpiLpCtoY

— 山際眞晃 Masaaki Yamagiwa (@giwamasa) February 25, 2021

In this feature, we’ll be listing what we feel are fifteen of the most disappointing games on the PS4- but disappointing, we should remind you, does not mean bad. Many of these games are a lot of fun, some have improved vastly since launch and managed to turn things around from initial disappointment. Being mentioned in this list simply means that these games, when we played them first, failed to live up to the standard of quality we expected them to hit.

Also note that for the purposes of these list, we’ll only be looking at PS4 exclusives- barring a couple entries that were either only console exclusives at launch, or remain console exclusives to this day.

With all that out of the way, let’s get into it.

DRIVECLUB

When Driveclub first launched, it’s fair to say that it ended up disappointing a whole lot of people. Though it was stunning to look at and hit technical heights that console games rarely do even to this day, there were many who felt that the game was, all said and done, a bit too dull, a bit too uninspired. Developers Evolution Studios would go on to provide excellent support for the game following its release, and arguably pretty much managed to turn things around, turning a disappointing launch into what was a legitimately great driving sim. Their subsequent closure, even in light of said recovery, proved to be a shockingly premature and abrupt one.

It is a scientifically proven fact that Bloodborne is one of the greatest games ever created. You can disagree with it all you want, but it’d be like disagreeing with gravity. It’s no surprise, then, that millions (ourselves included) have been clamouring for a sequel for years now. Sony and FromSoftware have been unreceptive to all that clamouring so far, but recently, when the latter put Bloodborne easter eggs in their PS VR title Deracine, many felt that they were hinting at a possible Bloodborne 2.

Those hopes were promptly dashed when FromSoftware confirmed that the easter eggs were only easter eggs, and weren’t really hinting at anything. Recently, while speaking in an interview with Game Informer, Bloodborne director and FromSoftware chief Hidetaka Miyazaki said that the developer hadn’t anticipated that the easter eggs would blow up the way they did, and that the speculation that their inclusion in Deracine led to caused “great inconvenience to Sony”.

“With Déraciné, that was released recently for VR, we had an ode to Bloodborne in there,” said Miyazaki. “Both titles are published by Sony. Actually, that reference, that nod itself caused a much greater stir than we expected. Way more than we expected. When we were given that idea like, ‘Why don’t you just put a little nod in there? It’d be great.’ And we tried it and it blew up. So, we just want to tread a little bit more carefully around that front.”

“You know, it wasn’t so much that they read too much into it, it was just supposed to be a little homage, but people kind of expected Bloodborne 2 and it kind of got a little bit crazy,” Miyazaki continued. “So, we feel like we caused a great inconvenience to Sony, and that was really not our intention.”

For now, FromSoftware and Sony continue to be frustratingly silent on the topic of Bloodborne 2. Whether that’s because they don’t want to announce a project prematurely, or because there simply isn’t a Bloodborne 2 is anyone’s guess- but of course, we all hope it’s the former.

Meanwhile, FromSoftware’s current game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which they are working on with publishers Activision, launches on March 22 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Bloodborne is one of the greatest games to have come out this generation, so it’s no surprise that we’ve all been clamouring for a sequel for years now. There’s been no indication from either Sony or FromSoftware that that’ll happen anytime soon. Recently, easter eggs were spotted in the developer’s PS VR title Deracine that had heavy links to Bloodborne, prompting many to speculate that FromSoftware was hinting at a sequel.

If you’re in the camp that believes that (as I was too), FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki has dashed those hopes. Recently, while speaking with Spanish website Xataka, Miyazaki and FromSoftware’s Yasuhiro Kitao were asked about the easter eggs in question in the recently released Deracine. In response, they said that though they had included the easter eggs in the game due to their love of Bloodborne, the same is not indicative of the fact that they’re going to be making a sequel anytime soon.

“Actually, this is exactly the conversation that my team and I had,” they said about the easter eggs. “It’s the kind of conversation we keep during development, because there are Easter eggs. However, the easter egg in itself is not indicative that we are going to launch Bloodborne 2.

“I’m not in a position to talk about a possible release of Bloodborne 2. However, we love Bloodborne; that’s why this easter egg has aroused so much curiosity. But, I repeat, it’s not a Bloodborne 2 notice. It’s just something that we explored among ourselves, because we love Bloodborne.”

So there you go- their words don’t necessarily mean that there isn’t going to be a Bloodborne 2, but they do mean that the easter eggs in Deracine don’t really hint at anything. For now, all we can do is continue to wait.

Deracine, the latest game to come out of FromSoftware in conjunction with SIE Japan Studio is now out, and even though it’s not exactly up to expectations, collaborations between the two studios have had an excellent track record regardless. In 2009, they worked wonders with the PS3 exclusive Demon’s Souls, and in 2015, they knocked the ball out of the park once again with Bloodborne, which is rightly considered to be one of the greatest games of the current console generation.

Demand for Bloodborne 2 has obviously been very high, but barring some rumours that ultimately haven’t amounted to much, there’s been no indication that it’ll happen any time soon. However, an easter egg found in From’s latest VR adventure (via Fextralife) might be hinting at the possibility of a sequel.

Players can find a doll in Deracine, named Fiona Doll, that can make the “Make Contact” gesture that fans of Bloodborne might be familiar with. What’s even more interesting is the description for the doll within the game, which mentions that it is “a doll of the stone girl Fiona, who appears in the unfinished tale“.

I know, it’s somewhat thin, but given FromSoftware’s history with passive storytelling, it’s entirely possible that this is how they’re choosing to communicate with fans that their time in Yharnam is not yet over, hence the part about “the unfinished tale”. Take a look at the image below.

If this were indeed true, it’s pretty likely that Bloodborne 2 might be a PS5 game, though there is an outside chance that it might get announced as a late-life game for the PS4 as well. Then again, as it stands right now, this might amount to nothing at all- one can always hope though.

FromSoftware and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s next partnership takes a step away from the Soulsborne titles that they pioneered with Demon’s Souls and then Bloodborne, and instead tackles something new entirely—a new adventure game coming exclusively to Sony’s PlayStation VR hardware, named Déraciné.

Déraciné, out tomorrow, was overseen by none other than Hidetaka Miyazaki, the mastermind behind Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls 3–so it’s pretty different from the kinds of games that players have come to know him for. Nonetheless, it seems to be a game that he is very personally attached to.

Speaking in an interview posted on the PlayStation Blog, Miyazaki said that it is his hope that players who engage with this game find it, and its characters and worlds, to linger on in their memories.

“I would like to start off by saying this game is unlike any I have made before in a myriad of ways,” he said. “The gameplay, the approach to game design and even the volume of the title are dramatically different. It is also quite strange, and probably difficult to understand. All that being said, if your curiosity is piqued, don’t worry about it and just give it a try…

“There is a kind of emotion I’d like players to take away from this title, connected to the theme I mentioned earlier. It would be difficult to explain without giving away spoilers. I guess the one thing I can say is that I hope this little title, and the characters that live inside it, will linger on in the memories of those who play through it.”

Déraciné will be launching tomorrow, November 6, exclusively on the PlayStation VR. At that point, it will be clear whether the pioneer of the Soulsborne genre has also managed to make a similarly indelible mark on VR gaming. If you want an early look at whether or not the game has managed to achieve that, make sure to check out our review for it.

Déraciné can be summarized as a walking simulator meets a point-and-click adventure. But because it doesn’t do justice to either genre, it becomes nothing more than an agonizing exercise in frustration unlike almost any other game I’ve played recently. Whereas a walking simulator offers you minor amounts of movement control to lead you through a story, Déraciné prefers to encumber you with tacked-on interactivity with its environments. Utterly tedious exploration and trial-and-error “find and apply to the correct person or item” gameplay is neither fun nor rewarding in this case. Unlike the best of its peers, the game simply isn’t interested in entertaining you with its mechanics, choosing instead to simply keep you invested through sheer confusion.

"Its later chapters are so long, so tedious, and so repetitive that I nearly assumed I had overlooked some type of item or interaction that had led me into an unwinnable loop."

Almost worse than its nebulous adventure elements is Déraciné’s unwieldy, disorienting movement. It’s achieved through use of the two required PlayStation Move controllers, but the lack of full locomotion does nothing but greatly hinder the game. Getting from place to place around the game’s environments requires a constant clicking of the Move controller’s center button to warp from spot to spot. When you add in the awkward turning actions mapped to face buttons, the game simply becomes a disorienting, clunky mess. More often than not, attempting to interact with items or characters requires adjusting angles multiple times and fighting with the controllers to ensure you can actually do what’s needed to proceed. I often clipped into characters while trying to engage with them, and after fumbling about and realizing I just couldn’t acclimate myself to my surroundings, I sometimes had to warp away and then warp back to try the angles again.

In typical FromSoftware fashion, Déraciné wants to tell you an ambiguous story that assumes you’ll care enough to dig deeper and unravel its mundane secrets. Sadly, though the pieces exist within the game to tell a great tale of a faerie watching over a group of young children in a boarding school, there’s nothing executed here with even a modicum of intrigue. As it desperately begged me to think it was epic and emotional, it only showcased how it’s really just an undeservedly pretentious bore. I was initially curious to see how things would play out, but the game’s pacing rapidly ruined any interest I might’ve had. Its first few chapters task you with busywork as the children slowly seek you out in an attempt to confirm your presence and ask for your assistance and protection. It begins to feel like it might at least culminate in a relatively stirring finale, but when the time comes for the game to ramp up to what should’ve been its climax it decides you need more hours of completely unnecessary and monotonous plot expansion. Its later chapters are so long, so tedious, and so repetitive that I nearly assumed I had overlooked some type of item or interaction that had led me into an unwinnable loop.

"I ultimately didn’t really care what happened in the long run thanks to otherwise lousy storytelling, but it was nice to have a fleeting connection to something among the rubble of the game’s failures."

But the most depressing part about Déraciné is how it wastes its potential. As you click around its environments and explore its various rooms, it’s obvious there was time and effort invested in the game’s overall sense of place and dedication to its believability. The boarding school wherein most of the game takes place feels lived-in and realistic within its world. The children leave you notes to find, speak to you when they sense you’re around, and show genuine interest in learning about their world and what’s happening to them within it. And because of this, the game does at least excel at making you feel needed and desired by its inhabitants, even if it unfortunately manages to drag you through the motions rather than present you with any engaging interactions to accompany that feeling of value.

Its visuals, the setting, mood, music, and cast are all serviceable but can also be slightly charming at times. Its somber orchestral melodies and melancholy ambiance create the same sense of loneliness and despair that a game like Dark Souls achieves so brilliantly. Its characters aren’t voice-acted with any level of enthusiasm but check off all the necessary qualities for being likable enough. I admittedly even found myself slightly attached to one of them as he fell under the weight of self-inflicted guilt and selfless sacrifice as the game unraveled its seemingly never-ending tale. I ultimately didn’t really care what happened in the long run thanks to otherwise lousy storytelling, but it was nice to have a fleeting connection to something among the rubble of the game’s failures. Had any of these positive aspects of the game been followed up with significantly better pacing and less perplexing interactivity, Déraciné could have been decent rather than disappointing.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Development

Deracine was an idea that FromSoftware and SIE Japan Studio came up with as they tried to think of ways to make a game that would leverage VR technology properly. FromSoftware wanted to return to the adventure genre of games, similar to some of their earlier adventure games, such as Echo Night. They did not, however, want to revisit the same franchise, and instead decided to make a new IP, and decided to make it as a VR game as a combination of their two main aims.

Deracine was developed to complement the disconnect players feel from the virtual world around them while playing virtual reality games, in that they feel both disconnected and a part of the game world at the same time. These were game director and FromSoftware head Hidetaka Miyazaki’s impressions when he first played a VR title, and wanted to make a game that would utilize that feeling as part of its core gameplay experience. Hence, the developers came up with the idea that players would play as an unseen faerie, and added mechanics that would play to that sensation.

FromSoftware also decided that Deracine would employ the same fragmented and passive style of storytelling as some of their other games, such as Dark Souls and Bloodborne, do. A lot of the storytelling is done through the environment, while players also have to find clues and hints in their surroundings that come together to hint at a larger story. The game’s visuals are presented through a consistent sepia filter.

Story

Deracine takes place in a secluded Victorian boarding school, where six students – three boys and three girls – spend their days with the school’s headmaster. Players take on the role of a faerie who exists in a separate world that is frozen in time. The world of the faerie is unseen by humans, and the faerie can only interact with humans indirectly. The story of Deracine is told in a fragmented manner, as the faerie interacts with the world and the environment to indirectly interact with the students and learn more about them, and picks up hints and clues from the environment to learn more about the boarding school. The game deals with some heavy themes, such as time, life, and death.

Gameplay

Deracine is played through two move controllers rather than with a DualShock. Instead of moving around organically, players point to particular nodes in the environment and teleport to them, and can only move from node to node. Players can interact with objects in the environment, which is how the faerie indirectly communicates with the students of the boarding school. In the world where the faerie exists and time stands still, the faerie can witness memories of the children, which appear as floating golden orbs that players must interact with, to learn more about them, and find out new ways to interact with them. The students slowly come to learn about the faerie’s existence, making more direct interaction possible.

The faerie also has the ability to transfer the life force from one object to another. Using a magic ring, the faerie can, for instance, players can use the faerie’s ring to suck the life force out of a living flower and transfer it into a dead and wilted one. The ring can be used on certain occasions to interact with or help the students of the school. There are also a few light puzzle elements in the game. For instance, at one point players might be tasked with finding vials of herbs, which can be scattered across various locations. One herb might be inside a treasure chest, for which players need to find a key to unlock it and gain the vial.

The faerie can also explore the world to find items, memos, notes, instruments, and keys, which are fragments that can be pieced together to form visions and memories. These help the faerie learn more about the boarding school and its inhabitants, and together form the game’s story. Deracine is split across eight different chapters, each of which is up to an hour long, and the game’s total length is approximately between six to eight hours.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Déraciné

FromSoftware has been working like crazy to diversify its portfolio and Déraciné is perhaps its most off-beat title. As a faerie of sorts, the player moves around a boarding school, influencing the lives of its students. Freezing time and building personal bonds with the students are the core tenets of the game. However, it’s perhaps most intriguing because it’s a PlayStation VR title. What does the story hold and will it contain the same deep world-building that’s defined so many FromSoftware games? Déraciné arrives on November 6^th so it won’t be long before we find out.

Overkill’s The Walking Dead (PC Version)

Though the Xbox One and PS4 versions were delayed into 2019, Overkill’s The Walking Dead is still coming to PC next month. Focusing on four survivors, each with their own unique skills and backstories, the first person shooter lets you play either super-stealthy or guns blazing in scenarios teeming with zombies. Players will need to loot supplies and defend their home camp, ensuring it survives against the onslaught of the undead. Overkill’s The Walking Dead arrives for PC on November 6^th.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

After a sudden delay, Spyro Reignited Trilogy is set to release on November 13^th for Xbox One and PS4 (no Switch or PC confirmation yet). Featuring remasters for Insomniac’s original games, namely Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the trilogy promises gorgeous graphics paired with the same awesome platforming. If that weren’t enough, a remastered version of the soundtrack also accompanies the original with the ability to choose between the two.

Fallout 76

When Bethesda first announced Fallout 76, we were expecting any number of things. An online FPS/RPG with social elements and games-as-a-service content was not one of them. Impressions from the beta have ranged from enthusiastic to somewhat worried but we honestly won’t know how good Fallout 76 is until it releases. Will it bomb? Or should we learn to stop worrying and just love the always-online gameplay? We’ll find out on November 14^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Hitman 2

Those craving a solid stealth experience needn’t worry as Agent 47 is back in town. Hitman 2 promises a full game with six locations, different story missions, Contracts and different targets to hunt post-launch. Of course, the same challenges and variety of gameplay remain but IO Interactive is adding some intriguing new content. Ghost Mode lets you compete against another player, fighting to assassinate targets faster than them while the original Hitman’s locations and missions will be available and updated in the sequel. Releasing on November 14^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC, Hitman 2 should be yet another excellent outing with our favourite assassin.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!

It’s Pokemon! Well, it’s sort of Pokemon. The original 151 creatures are here, battles with trainers and Gym Leaders still apply and Pokemon can be captured and trained. However, Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! take several cues from the mobile Pokemon GO series, incorporating Joy-Con controls for capturing Pokemon. You can forego motion controls altogether and sure it’s weird, but this is still a proper Pokemon game. We’ll find out how fun it is when it launches on November 16^th for Nintendo Switch.

Battlefield 5

The next iteration of Battlefield saw its own delay by roughly a month for additional polish. We’ve gotten a better look at the various War Stories contained within, the schedule for Tides of War and even how the game’s economy will work. While Firestorm won’t be available till March 2019, Battlefield 5 should still have a host of interesting mechanics to exploit like fortifications and Companies on top of the new maps and modes. It’s out on November 20^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Darksiders 3

The much-awaited sequel in the cult classic franchise is nearly upon us. Gunfire Games’ Darksiders 3 takes place in a seamlessly linked open world while returning to the hack and slash action that defined the first game. Playing as Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, there will be whips, acrobatics, magic and different forms to take advantage of. How the quest to defeat the Seven Deadly Sins plays out remains to be seen but it should be a marked improvement over Darksiders 2. Darksiders 3 releases on November 27^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Tetris Effect

You’ve played Tetris, sure, but have you played Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s version of Tetris? Tetris Effect arrives for PS4 and PlayStation VR on November 9^th, bringing a more musical-based rhythm to the puzzle experience. While we doubt players will still be seeing Tetris blocks falling after the game is over, Tetris Effect should provide a surreal yet visually resplendent experience for fans of the series.

Spider-Man DLC 2: Turf Wars

Turf Wars is the second chapter for The City That Never Sleeps, the DLC saga for Insomniac’s Spider-Man. While there isn’t a whole lot known at this point, it will bring new story missions, new suits (hopefully with suit powers this time) and some new enemies. Will famed villain Hammerhead make an appearance? Time will tell but for now, stay tuned for the DLC’s launch in November if you want even more Spider-Man.

Honourable mentions

Here are a few honourable mentions outside of our top ten that may be of interest.

• Underworld Ascendant
• Kursk
• Ride 3
• Artifact
• Farming Simulator 19
• The Quiet Man
• Football Manager 2019

FromSoftware fans, rejoice- the Japanese studio has announced the FromSoftware Game Event Fall 2018, taking place in Osaka, Japan on October 14, just a week from now. They’ll be holding stage presentations for their most high profile upcoming titles, all of which will also be playable.

The most notable of these, as you may have expected, is the upcoming Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. A stage presentation for the game will be held on the day at 1310 (local time). It will be preceded by a presentation for FromSoftware’s upcoming PlayStation VR title Deraciné, which will kick off at 1230, 40 minutes before the Sekiro stuff.

Beyond their new games, FromSoftware will also devote some time to two of their upcoming remastered releases. A stage presentation for the Nintendo Switch version of Dark Souls Remastered will begin at 1400, which will be followed by the studio showing off Metal Wolf Chaos XD.

Whether or not there will be any new announcements is as of yet unknown (though it remains unlikely). Either way, we can definitely expect some new details on the likes of Sekiro and Deraciné, so stay tuned to GamingBolt for all the updates.

In related news, Activision may have recently accidentally confirmed that Sekiro will be receiving a beta prior to its launch. Read more on that through here.