Join us tonight for Sony's latest PlayStation State of Play, this time focused on Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

It's been an astonishing eight years since Rocksteady released Batman: Arkham Knight. Now, we're finally just a couple of months away from seeing what it's been up to since. Tonight we'll get an extended look, lasting about 15 minutes.

Before that, Sony is treating us to a quick whizz through five VR games on the way to its newly-launched PlayStation VR2 headset. We'll be commentating on all of that live - so do join us later to watch along together!

State of Play | February 23, 2023 | [ENGLISH] PlayStation's February 2023 State of Play.Watch on YouTube

Our live coverage of this event has finished.

17:08 pm UTC

But who will be writing the updates for Eurogamer with Martin gone? What a sad question to contemplate. Who else is capable of such... observations? Well, I am no Martin but I will do my best in his honour!

I wonder if he's going to watch along?

Robert Purchese 17:10 pm UTC

I'm tentatively excited, in no small part because I watched The Suicide Squad the other day. It's really quite good isn't it? You can feel James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy-style influence over it. But it's even more unhinged. It's absolutely wild. Some of the things that happen in that film...

Robert Purchese 17:12 pm UTC

Big fan of the misdirection at the beginning - I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers. Big fan of King Shark - who is very like Drax the Destroyer, no? Also a big fan of Harley Quinn. That jail sequence is incredible.

Robert Purchese 17:17 pm UTC

So Rocksteady has got a lot to work with, if you ask me. I feel like DC's star is really in the ascendency with James Gunn now at the helm.

But Bertie we're talking about games, not films, you say. And in that regard, how exciting is it to have Rocksteady back in the ring? It's been ages since Arkham Knight, as Tom said above. Will what we see tonight explain the wait?

Robert Purchese 17:24 pm UTC

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been looking very tasty in the videos we've seen already. It'll be interesting to get a sense of what it's like in moment-to-moment play, rather than in the montages of action we've seen already, and how that comes together in co-op. Presumably, that might be the kind of thing we're going to see.

Remember, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League lets you play as Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot and King Shark on a mission to defeat the brainwashed Justice League, who are really boring anyway.

Robert Purchese 17:29 pm UTC

It should be a darn sight more exciting than Gotham Knights, a very similar game - but one not set in the Arkham universe as this is - that came out last year.

Kill the Justice League is coming out on 26th May, by the way, on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Robert Purchese 17:30 pm UTC

Anwyay, enough about me. What are you hoping to see?

Robert Purchese 17:42 pm UTC

themightyant says: @Bertie I'm assuming that is the second Suicide Squad movie. "THE Suicide Squad" (2021), which I haven't seen, as opposed to "Suicide Squad" (2016) which was pants. For the game I just want some reasurances this ISN'T Avengers 2.0

Oh yeah absolutely the second film! Robert Purchese 17:50 pm UTC

I should have pointed out, too, that there's quite a lot riding on tonight in terms of what Rocksteady and Warner Bros. is doing with microtransactions and live service stuff in the game.

There was a leak earlier in the year, remember, that showed a battle pass section in the game, and it was the first we'd heard about it. And not everyone is pleased about the possible connotations attached to it.

Does it mean the game will have a kind of stretched out co-op experience to justify a battle pass being there at all? How will the game try to keep us playing - character levelling? To what end? And how intrusive will it all feel? Rocksteady's previous games didn't have anything like this so how will this one feel because of it?

I can't imagine Rocksteady or Warner Bros. were happy it leaked out this way, when they weren't able to control the messaging, but this is an opportunity to set it right, so it'll be interesting to see what they do.

Robert Purchese 20:46 pm UTC

*Flies in like Superman*

Robert Purchese 20:47 pm UTC

15 minutes until the big 15 minutes.

Robert Purchese 20:48 pm UTC

mkreku says: Queue the constant whining no matter what Sony shows. "I'm so underwhelmed", "why am i even watching", "this sucks" endlessly and forever

I'm so underwhelmed, this sucks! No, no, not really.

Robert Purchese 20:48 pm UTC

Kami says: Ohai Rob!

Ohai!

Robert Purchese 20:49 pm UTC

Kami says: I'm just hoping for something interesting. Pretty sure there isn't enough blood on this planet for the blood god to get us Bloodborne 2.

Oh my gosh! Imagine if we collectively wished hard enough and it could come true.

*wishes*

Robert Purchese 20:51 pm UTC

I think Ian now lives in VR. He has been telling us how he accidentally punched a table while playing earlier.

He has injured himself in the name of coverage. I can respect that.

Robert Purchese 20:51 pm UTC

SensualFrenchman says: Unless they announce Alyx for PSVR2 then shows a dud.

That would be the best thing. Let's hold out hope!

Robert Purchese 20:54 pm UTC

There have been a few controller issues with PSVR2. Has anyone here picked one up?

Robert Purchese 20:54 pm UTC

yupyup says: @MrZappa - I too found my first hour frustrating/disappointing with PSVR2. The room setup tool doesn't seem to like my area (it's just under 2mx2m), I found the thing quite blurry. I have been playing around with the headset and eventually found a sweet spot. I saw on reddit, you can see if the headset is lopsided, too low etc, but have yet to find this. Eventually, I've settled into it and most of the issues I had are resolved. What issues have you found with it out of curiousity? Hoping for Astrobot and/or Alyx from the state of play :)

Ah, here!

Robert Purchese 20:55 pm UTC

MrZappa says: Controllers work fine, but my headset seems to be a dud, Bertie!

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope Sony gets it fixed for you soon.

Robert Purchese 20:56 pm UTC

Imagine being the person who writes this hold music for the live stream videos. I bet there's a lucrative market in it. I wonder if that's all they do.

Robert Purchese 20:57 pm UTC

HipstersTears says: I got a PSVR2 yesterday and think it's amazing - no issues, slick to set up and plenty sharp enough once you get the height and IPD set up right

Nice! What have you been playing?

Robert Purchese 20:58 pm UTC

themightyant says: Is it one play or hundreds of plays on loop?

Oh true, true. It's one of those intistinguishable tracks that might be many, or might be one - no one knows!

Robert Purchese 20:59 pm UTC

themightyant says: @Bertie Are you drinking? It’s tradition 😂 Got myself a G&T

I've got a little drop of vin rouge, yes indeed. I keep almost knocking it over. Perhaps I shouldn't be drinking.

Robert Purchese 21:00 pm UTC

Kami says: ... 10/10 would recommend tho

:D

Robert Purchese 21:01 pm UTC

MrZappa says: Maybe take the PS VR2 headset off , Bertie? Easier to avoid spilling the wine that way…

Ha! One day it will be possible to do it all from there. We'll all be in one giant, virtual auditorium with Mark Zuckerberg and... No, I've ruined it.

Robert Purchese 21:01 pm UTC

This is it!

Shit! I nearly knocked my wine over again.

Robert Purchese 21:02 pm UTC

Don't look, Zappa.

Robert Purchese 21:03 pm UTC

OK, VR first.

Nice boots. Nice eyes. Nice cards.

Not nice teeth - probably English.

His fingers look like chips.

It's quite stylish. Is it on-rails? It looks like it.

So this is Foglands.

Robert Purchese 21:04 pm UTC

Ah! VR Scouts!

Robert Purchese 21:04 pm UTC

I was a Woodcrafter, personally. Hippy scouts. We were much cooler.

That was Green Hell. I got some Firewatch vibes from it?

Robert Purchese 21:06 pm UTC

So this is a mind-tricky VR... shooter from nDreams. I thought it was prepping for something a bit on the stranger side there, but it's a shooter.

Okay, there are powers - it's a bit Control-y.

Synapse.

I think all of these games have been 2023 so far.

Robert Purchese 21:07 pm UTC

This one's inspired by Isaac Asimov, as of course all robots are.

Has anyone been watching Foundation? I can't quite bring myself to finish it.

These games are all shooters?

Oh it is a Foundation game - Journey to Foundations.

Robert Purchese 21:08 pm UTC

It's not a shooter!

Robert Purchese 21:08 pm UTC

themightyant says: Unpacking VR

Ha! That would be great!

Robert Purchese 21:09 pm UTC

This looks interesting. I think I just want to talk to a Wolf. This is Before Your Eyes, coming 10th March.

I don't feel that pumped about what we saw. What about you?

Robert Purchese 21:09 pm UTC

I'm a big fan of sci-fi characters with their own voice modulators. I'd have one if I was a sci-fi character, for sure.

Robert Purchese 21:10 pm UTC

TinyKaiju says: Stealth Destiny showcase.

:D

Robert Purchese 21:10 pm UTC

Super-stylish trailer. Destiny is a super-stylish game. I wonder if Lightfall can re-energise it.

Robert Purchese 21:11 pm UTC

Hello, what's this! Is it holiday simulator?

Robert Purchese 21:11 pm UTC

Strong Moana vibes from this! I think I'm just always thinking about Moana.

Robert Purchese 21:12 pm UTC

Hang on a bloody second, did she just turn into a dolphin?

This is Tchia.

21st March 2023. Lovely vibes!

Robert Purchese 21:13 pm UTC

Donlan has written about Tchia already - I knew it rang a bell. He was super into it.

Robert Purchese 21:14 pm UTC

Oh my gosh! This is from Rez and Tetris Effect def Enhance. And it's called Humanity?

You lead a bunch of people around, a bit like Lemmings, but presumably there's music involved. It's like an officey Lemmings. But wild!

This looks great!

Robert Purchese 21:15 pm UTC

What the hell! Lightsabers? Strong TABS vibes there.

Oh and there's a level-building component. Optional VR support there. Seems like a big kind of arty simulation idea. Intrigued.

Robert Purchese 21:17 pm UTC

This is from ko_op and it's a rhythm action game about some animal people who are in a band. Or are they dinosaurs? Who knows.

Goodbye Volcano High, 15th June.

I thought that looked rather charming.

Robert Purchese 21:18 pm UTC

I won't pretend to know anything about Naruto. I'd really like to be Naruto though. I love that energy.

"Why are you so obsessed with me?" Classic.

I love their trash-talking lines. It's why I used to like Power Rangers. I'd also quite like to be a Power Ranger.

Where's that wine gone?

Robert Purchese 21:19 pm UTC

Oh HELLO! It's Baldur's Gate 3!

Robert Purchese 21:19 pm UTC

MrGriffin says: Naruto trailer is like someone scrolling through random sound clips

:D

Robert Purchese 21:20 pm UTC

It's going to be a huge moment for Larian when this game arrives. There's a small army working on it. I think it's going to be brilliant, but you never know.

Robert Purchese 21:22 pm UTC

Oh this is Joe Madureira's new game. It's quite pretty.

Robert Purchese 21:23 pm UTC

Ah, there's my spirit animal Zangief. That's who I look like when I look in the mirror you know.

Robert Purchese 21:24 pm UTC

Just rewinding on Baldur's Gate 3 quickly: I don't think Larian has ever confirmed it as a PlayStation 5 (or console game), and not as one that's coming day and date with the PC version.

So that's exciting.

Robert Purchese 21:25 pm UTC

Actually, I think that entire Baldur's Gate 3 date was new! We only knew August before.

Blimey.

Robert Purchese 21:27 pm UTC

This is the Resident Evil 4 remake. It's looking good. Aoife seems very excited by Ashley's "polyester wig".

Robert Purchese 21:28 pm UTC

themightyant says: Do you think they will even RE5 and 6 remake?

No, I don't think so. They're the filler ones aren't they?

Robert Purchese 21:29 pm UTC

There's a "special" demo coming for the Resident Evil 4 remake soon.

Robert Purchese 21:31 pm UTC

OK, so here we go. It's Suicide Squad.

I mean, it looks really pretty. Why is King Shark wearing a vest? Why would a shark wear a vest?

OK, gameplay! With a HUD and everytyhing. So that is maybe a character level in the top left? So she's level 20?

Robert Purchese 21:33 pm UTC

We're jumping between the players here, which is meant to emphasise the co-op aspect. Obviously everything has glowing weak points.

Lots of shooting, lots of huge leaps - everyone seems to be able to do them?

The action seems quite zoomed out, in a sense, to just keep track of all the action.

Lots more shooting. I'm not sure about the shooting.

Robert Purchese 21:33 pm UTC

corroonb says: Is this just a shooter?

I know right.

Robert Purchese 21:34 pm UTC

The thing about four-player games is that one player never feels quite powerful enough? In that Batman kind of way.

Robert Purchese 21:35 pm UTC

Not entirely sold by this. Oh there's more.

Robert Purchese 21:37 pm UTC

Studio founder Sefton Hill spotted there, who's leaving the studio.

Robert Purchese 21:38 pm UTC

We're hearing that Harley Quinn is acrobatibc, but they all looked super-acrobatic to me - they all seem capable of leaping high into the air.

Robert Purchese 21:38 pm UTC

Kami says: Well that explains the vest Rob. It's what's left of Shark's straight-jacket!

Ah of course!

Robert Purchese 21:39 pm UTC

Like, a shark's powers are not huge guns, right? Anyway.

Robert Purchese 21:39 pm UTC

Captain Boomerang has a kind of blink ability. But again, they all sort of look the same, in terms of movement and move-sets.

Robert Purchese 21:40 pm UTC

Malek86 says: I guess it's like Destiny - the various classes have differences, but the basic movement and gamepay is the same for everyone. In the case of Suicide Squad though, I'm not so sure the basic gameplay looks fun just yet.

This is a good observation.

Robert Purchese 21:40 pm UTC

I'm sure there's a lot of nuance there that we're not seeing at a glance, of course, but I was hoping to be a bit more wowed.

Robert Purchese 21:41 pm UTC

Gear sets. That sounds like a live service game to me.

Robert Purchese 21:41 pm UTC

Gear score. No!

Robert Purchese 21:42 pm UTC

The Destiny comparison was more appropriate than you thought!

Robert Purchese 21:43 pm UTC

So single-player is you plus bots. There's no true single-player per se.

Robert Purchese 21:43 pm UTC

Rocksteady is going to release new playable characters, weapons and missions post-release. Battle pass with only cosmetic weapons.

Robert Purchese 21:44 pm UTC

I don't know what to say about that. I don't get the superhero fantasy from it?

Robert Purchese 21:46 pm UTC

Khaostheory1980 says: Also, where is our shadow drop? The others are doing it!

Yeah! We want a shadow drop, we want a shadow drop!

Robert Purchese 21:47 pm UTC

I guess the problem with a lot of these games is they make the call years ago, so to speak, when maybe the live service things seemed, I don't know, exciting? It's been eight years since Rocksteady's last game. Maybe Destiny was still really exciting then. I just get serious fatigue even watching this now.

Robert Purchese 21:48 pm UTC

corroonb says: Tchia looks good and I'm pleased Baldur's Gate 3 is coming to console. I hope not as a PS5 exclusive.

That's a good point actually. I'll try and clarify when I can. They may even have some clarification on Twitter.

Robert Purchese 21:49 pm UTC

It just says BG3 day and date with PC on PS5 at the moment. No mention of Xbox.

Baldur's Gate 3 is coming to PS5 day and date with PC: August 31, 2023.

Watch the brand-new trailer featuring J.K. Simmons and check out our blog for more: https://t.co/BXc2WhJKFN

Pre-order the Deluxe Edition or PS5 Collector's Edition: https://t.co/aeKmPjlmss pic.twitter.com/nlt77CoIyw

— Larian Studios (@larianstudios) February 23, 2023

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Robert Purchese 21:51 pm UTC

Well thank you for joining us this evening! I'm sorry it didn't end on the high-note we'd hoped.

Happy gin and tonics all.

Robert Purchese 21:53 pm UTC

MrZappa says: Some interesting looking games there, if not the headliners. Humanity is one I’ll check out. And did I read that Tchia is day one on PS+ or did I imagine that?

Yes, I think this is the case!

Robert Purchese 21:53 pm UTC

Well, good night all. Sweet dreams (of Suicide Squad)!

Robert Purchese Load more comments Loading