I’m a Dead Man: 13 Cool Things from the State of Play Summer Showcase (Plus New Stuff from Konami and Fumes gets an Early Access Date)

Sword of the Sea by Giant Squid

Of all the writing I’ve done for Tactical Reload, I struggle the most with introductions and conclusions (regular readers may have noticed). Of course, I could drop them completely. I accept (and am not offended) that you’re here for the trailers, not for me. But I also feel like I have to give some context so you don’t come untethered–lost in a strange land of robot children and spider lilies. 

Anyway, PlayStation. 

For my specific interests, which tend to lean towards the dark, the weird, and the classic, this was probably my favorite of all the events this “E3” season. 

Here are the best things that Sony brought to the party. I also folded in some relevant Konami news and even included an indie car combat title: 

Lumines Arise

At first I thought this was a new Tetris Effect, and in my defense, I wasn’t that far off. 

I’ve only ever played a demo of Lumines, and at the time, I didn’t “get” it–I’m glad I’ll have a second chance to experience this unique puzzler. Some of the coolest people I follow on social media are pumped (and that’s enough to make me excited). 

Pragmata

I’m more interested in some other projects Capcom has cooking, but they’ve been on one of the best runs I’ve ever seen for the last eight years. And you’re telling me they have a new IP arriving in 2026? Of course I’m interested. 

The suit the protagonist is equipped with coupled with the movement gives me dialed down Vanquish vibes . 

Romeo is a Dead Man

The outpouring of love for Suda51 on my social media feed is my favorite thing to come out of this trailer. When you’re carefully constructing your online echo chamber, I recommend including a healthy supply of people who actually like video games. It will do wonders for your mental health. 

Silent Hill f / Silent Hill Remake

During my initial viewing of this Silent Hill f trailer, I may have said something like “this is one of the best trailers I’ve ever seen.”

Now that some of the recency bias has worn off, I don’t know if that’s still true–but I am counting the days until I can get my hands on this. 

The blood red blossoms, the contorted scarecrows in the rice fields. Every shot had my imagination working overtime. 

At their own event, Konami teased that Bloober Team is remaking the first Silent Hill. They only gave us a title card, so I have nothing to say except for, yeah, I obviously want that. Give them the keys, they’ve earned it.  

Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement 

Watching this trailer was a roller coaster. 

At first, I thought it was the triumphant return of Castlevania. Then, still assuming it was Castlevania, I was disappointed with the style they chose (I think I would have preferred pixels or Hollow Knight-esque hand-drawn). Finally, when it was revealed as Bloodstained, everything I’d seen made much more sense.

So where did I land? Where I always do–I need to play everything. 

Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles 

As the beautiful, sketchbook vistas of Ivalice faded in, I noticed my shoulder was sore–because I’d been fist pumping for the entire showcase to this point. I joke a lot here, but that’s a thing that actually happened. 

I somehow beat Tactics when I was 12 and have been dying to experience it again (37-year-old me will hopefully have a better grasp of losing characters permanently). Now I don’t have to pull my Greatest Hits copy out of storage. 

It’s hard not to be at least a little emotional seeing the overwhelming reaction to this announcement.

It will be released on September 30th. 

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

I really enjoy fighting games–despite being terrible at them. Playing Mortal Kombat in pizza restaurants and gas stations is one of my earliest gaming memories. It’s also one of my sister’s favorite franchises–maybe I’ll be able to convince her to hang out with me for a couple days when this releases later in 2025. 

Digital Eclipse is the gold standard for this type of project and I don’t doubt they’ll deliver on what we would want out of a Klassic Kollection. Not just all of these games–but all the different versions of all these games (and the behind the scenes content).

We need to do everything in our power to make this sort of preservation the industry standard. 

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3 is one of my favorite games of all time. Originally, my biggest fear was that they’d remove all the tiny weird details. I’m happy to say that at least some of them are present and accounted for with the return of Snake vs. Monkey (and Snake vs. Bomberman). There seems to be something a little off about the animations, but they have time to adjust those. 

Also, do I spy Metal Gear Online? 

Konami has since confirmed this as a new mode titled Fox Hunt. I’ve never been in the position to throw myself into any of the various incarnations of MG:O (I didn’t even have a real, stable internet connection until 2013). 

I am all in on both of these things starting August 28th. 

Nioh 3

I’ve somehow neglected every entry in the Nioh franchise. I have no excuse, they look fantastic. There are just so many games, man. 

For the uninitiated, Nioh is an action-based Souslike set against a backdrop of Japanese mythology. I feel like Team Ninja, along with Obsidian and RGG Studio, are the most prolific developers of this generation, so far. 

Sword of the Sea

I was once in an Uber with a man trying to convince me to take a trip to Egypt. He told me I could ski down the sand dunes, and if I crashed, it would feel like falling into warm pillows. 

I enjoyed Abzu and I imagine I’ll enjoy this. It also might have some most impressive sand and water effects in a game to date (Sea of Thieves holds the championship belt for the latter). If I’m forgetting any obvious candidates, let me know. I’m open to nominations. 

FBC Firebreak

FBC Firebreak shows up at quite a few Future Game Shows and Keighley events, so I won’t go too deep into it here (it’s a cooperative shooter set in the Control universe). This was a nice reminder that it’s arriving on both PlayStation Plus and Game Pass, at launch, on June 17th. 

Additions to the Classic Catalog

I’m such a sucker for new ways to play old games. Over the summer, Twisted Metal 3 and 4, Resident Evil 2 and 3, and the PS2 port of Deus Ex are coming to PlayStation Plus. 

There aren’t very many games better than the original Resident Evil 2 and 3. If they have added trophy support, my backlog is in deep trouble. 

007 First Light

I was originally going to hold off on talking about 007 First Light until after IO Interactive’s showcase based on the assumption that we’d get some snippets of gameplay. Instead, we learned that Coca-Cola will be featured in the game and not much else. 

The majority of chatter online seems to be about how he “doesn’t look like James Bond,” which isn’t an interesting or productive conversation (or new for that matter–it took time for people to accept Daniel Craig and his blonde hair). I’m optimistic and hoping it includes some hints of Hitman. If it turns out to just be a linear blockbuster, it will feel like a missed opportunity. 

I can’t believe it’s been 13 years since we’ve had a Bond game. 

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls

As I said above, I’m not much of a fighting game person. However, this is a stunning and interesting take on a familiar subject matter. I have some concerns about how long the matches will be if it’s 4 v. 4–but Arc System Works is the best in the business. If you’re going to trust anyone with this sort of project, it would probably be them.  

This is most likely a tired joke at this point, but will we get Capcom DLC?

Fumes

Tacking some bonus titles into these write-ups is quickly becoming a habit. Regardless of the extra work, I don’t mind. I love introducing people to their next favorite thing, and if you aren’t following it already, you should know about Fumes.

Fumes is a car combat game set in an endless desert wasteland. It has a charming aesthetic pulled straight from the original PlayStation, vehicle customization, and massive bosses. You can practically taste the gunpowder and grit in this trailer. 

Its early access period begins on July 28th. So pop the hood, fight through the Steam, and add it to your Wishlist.

Survival Kids

Cook food to get stronger. 

Survival Kids has been reimagined as a cooperative puzzle game for the Switch 2 (the original Game Boy Color title recently launched on Nintendo Switch Online). While I’m a little disappointed this isn’t a Zelda-like, I love when publishers suddenly remember their long dormant franchises. 

Can Konami remember Castlevania, next?

Darwin’s Paradox

We got our first glimpse at this 2D puzzle platformer at an event a couple months back. Think Inside–but you play as a silly octopus. The team absolutely nailed the squishy, floppy animation of the lead cephalopod. I’m glad that more people are recognizing octopi as the superheroes they are.  

Suikoden STAR LEAP

A new Suikoden title?...that’s a free to play mobile gacha!?

I don’t have any attachments to Suikoden, so I’m the wrong person to dismiss this outright. At least it’s available on Steam, as well. That means there’s now a small chance I’ll get around to it, eventually. The pixels are cute.  

Hope for the best–expect the worst. 

I still have a long way to go on this lonely Summer Game Fest road but I’m happy to report it’s all coming together. That’s the thing about writing five pages a day–eventually you’ll run out of things to talk about. 

I’ll probably see you again tomorrow. If not, have a wonderful weekend.