After some lackluster digital presentations throughout the year, PlayStation really held nothing back during its showcase on Thursday. Here are my five favorite reveals from the entire event.

If you aren’t on the PS5 hype train by now, it’s time to come aboard. 2022 and onward and is looking incredibly promising, especially with Horizon: Forbidden West confirmed for Feb. 18, 2022. However, there is so much more to look forward too and I, for one, am immensely excited to experience it all. Sony has gotten some flack recently because of the lack of reveals and game announcements, though. Of course, I do think some of the criticism is warranted, but I also do feel some fans are incredibly spoiled and love to hate simply because they’re on the other side of the console war. I mean, why can’t we be fans of every video game console (including PC) and hope all companies succeed? Is it too much to ask for? The toxicity is very potent at times and it’s unfortunate. But back to the PlayStation Showcase 2021, which I feel was a massive success.

It started out pretty strong and although it dwindled towards the middle, it ended with an absolute bang. Here are my five favorite games from the entire presentation.

5. Forspoken (2022)

Coming from a team of developers who helped in creating Final Fantasy XV (which I thoroughly enjoyed), Forspoken is one of the new IP’s being developed by Luminous Productions that definitely piqued my interest. Seeing the gameplay, I can definitely see how it’s inspired by Final Fantasy XV in terms the aesthetic, the character design, and the gameplay. The combat seems incredibly dynamic, fluid, and varied. Then again, being an action RPG adventure game from Square Enix, I would expect nothing less. I’m also looking forward to yet another emotional, character-driven story, and a beautifully massive world to explore. I’ll be keeping my eye on this one next year.

4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake (TBD)

Considered by many as one of the greatest Star Wars games ever made, almost 20 years later, a remake has finally been announced. I’m actually excited this is a remake rather than a port of the original game. Although I never played the original and I don’t have much of an opinion on it, I’m a huge Star Wars fan and I’m eager to experience it in an entirely new way. Being developed by Aspyr Media and collaborating with Lucasfilm Games, this remake is being built from the ground up, so it’ll be interesting to see what it takes from the original adventure, especially when it comes to gameplay and the story. Of course, I think it would be smart to take as much inspiration from the classic game as possible. It is important to make it your own as well and hopefully, with such an unforgiving fanbase, both old and new fans will be pleased with the final product. Regardless, this is one game I can’t wait to get my hands on.

3. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023)

Words can’t express how excited I am for this game. Marvel’s Spider-Man is the best superhero video game of all time and I’ll stand by that statement. The follow-up expansion, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, is arguably a close second. At this point, Insomniac Games can do no wrong when it comes to creating this universe and my expectations are through the roof for this sequel. I was pretty sure we’d see something about this game during the showcase and sure enough, I wasn’t disappointed. It’d probably be higher on my list if I saw a bit more of it, but playing the last two installments, I’m pretty sure I know what to expect when it comes to gameplay and traveling through the streets of New York. What’s interesting to me is how Miles Morales is also in the game and he seems to be integral part of it. Will we be playing as both Peter and Miles? I have a strong feeling we will be, which is awesome since both have similar, but different styles to combat and abilities. Plus, I can’t forget the Venom appearance, who will more than likely be the main antagonist. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we play as him either. What I’m trying to figure out is who the mysterious voice is in the background? The best time to be a Spider-Man fan, and a Marvel fan in general, is definitely now.

2. Marvel’s Wolverine (TBD)

This was, by far, the most surprising announcement of the entire showcase. I can confidently say absolutely no one was expecting this. When I saw the Insomniac Games logo show up on the screen, surely, I thought we were getting some brand-new footage of Spider-Man 2. Little did I know it would only show up after the Wolverine reveal. The teaser trailer is very short, but it’s so amazing. Once I saw the trashed bar and all the beat up people scattered around in it, I had a gut feeling this wasn’t Spider-Man related. Then, once it starts cutting to a mysterious man sitting at the bar, I already knew it was Wolverine. When you see the man approaching with a knife and he takes out his claws in typical “SNIKT!” fashion, I absolutely lost it. Sadly, there isn’t much to go on from the trailer. But, knowing it’s in the works and and seeing what Insomniac has done with the Spider-Man property, Wolverine is in more than capable hands. What I do wonder is how far along the game may be? Spider-Man 2 isn’t coming out until 2023. Does this mean we’ll be getting this sometime next year? Chances are it probably won’t release till 2024, but I’ll keep my hopes up for it to make it in 2022, which is already shaping up to be a stacked year for the PS5. Plus, how will the game be played? Will it be another open-world experience? There’s so many exciting possibilities and I can’t wait to see it all come to fruition.

1. God of War: Ragnarok (2022)

This is one of my most anticipated games of next year. God of War is one of, if not, the best PS4 games and it was an absolute joy to experience the masterpiece it is from beginning to end. Originally, I thought this would release this year, but I don’t mind a delay if it means the developer is going to polish it up in order for it to be the best sequel possible. It’ll be hard to top the last installment, but Santa Monica Studio is yet another developer that is constantly producing quality video games. In God of War: Ragnarok, we’ll still be following Kratos and Atreus on their journey. Atreus is noticeably older and taller. His voice has also changed a bit, so it’ll be interesting to see how far along this takes place after the first game. Events of the first game will come back to haunt them with Freya attacking them seemingly at every turn because of the death of her son, Baldur. They’ll also have to answer to Thor after killing his sons Magni and a weakened Modi, who was practically beaten to death by the God of thunder himself. We get a glimpse at Mjolnir in the trailer, but it wasn’t till after where director Cory Barlog released an image of the character. The heavy-set Thor will be voiced by Ryan Hurst, which is great. The crazy thing is these confrontations are probably not even the main plot points we’ll need to worry about. At the end of the day, both Kratos and Atreus are trying to prevent Ragnarok, which is a war that’ll, allegedly, bring death to the Norse Gods. This will be the end of the Norse saga, so I wonder where the series will go next. Lastly, the Norse God of War, Tyr, will be making an appearance as well. Let’s see what role he’ll be playing in the game. This is shaping up to be one of the best game’s in the PS5’s life cycle and I’m anxious to learn more and eventually play it myself.