Rise of the Ronin Is Another PS5 Exclusive with a Huge Download Size | Push Square

By trying to do so much, Rise of the Ronin feels like an inferior version of everything it's inspired by. With an open world populated by map markers and side activities, it’s a worse Assassin's Creed. With a historical Japanese setting, it's a worse Ghost of Tsushima. With a combat system that prioritises parrying, it's a worse Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. At no point is it a bad experience, but the game's so run of the mill, so formulaic that attempting something new and ultimately failing would have been a more tantalising sell. You've already played better versions of Rise of the Ronin — what it's attempting is just fine, which is probably the most boring outcome possible.

Revolutionary RPG Baldur's Gate 3 was a monstrous surpise last year, seemingly coming out of nowhere to contend with the industry's heavy hitters. If you're anything like us, you might still be playing, testing the boundaries of this intricate game. For those super fans who don't need any more convincing, developer Larian Studios has revealed that the game's gorgeous PS5 Deluxe Edition will begin shipping in late April, provided there are no last-minute hiccups.

One of the big stories this year so far has been Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s relative underperformance in its home territory of Japan. Historically one of the region’s most popular franchises, the Square Enix sequel couldn’t even outsell fellow PS5 console exclusive Final Fantasy 16 in its first week on the market – a surprise considering its strong critical reception.

Today's the day for a big PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium update, with the March 2024 refresh bringing 13 PS5, PS4, and Classic titles to active subscribers. UK and European members can get downloading and playing all the new games now, and those in the USA will gain access later in the day. If you need a reminder of what's on offer this month, here's a complete list:

Those itching for a new Jak & Daxter probably won’t have their enthusiasm sated by Sony’s emulated PS5 and PS4 re-release of Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier – but it can’t hurt, huh? The game, originally released in 2009 by High Impact Games, was first conceived by Naughty Dog, but due to its focus on Uncharted: Drake’s Fortunate at the time, it handed the project off.

Following just over a month of beta testing, Sony has now rolled out the latest PS5 firmware update to all. It's available for download now for everyone that wasn't included in the beta phase. As per the PlayStation Blog, here are all the new features included:

The latest Team Ninja game is showing a lot of potential, and its late 19th century open-world Japan setting and hard-hitting action gameplay is turning a lot of heads.

Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have a new trailer for Rise of the Ronin, showcasing the various characters and factions players will encounter on their journey. There are the Pro-Shogunate forces (Sabaku) dedicated to maintaining the current order; the Anti-Shogunate forces (Tobaku), who want to oust the foreigners; and the Western faction (Obei), led by US Navy commodore Matthew Perry, seeking trade.

Update: As promised, MultiVersus has been re-revealed following its unprecedented year offline. The title will launch on 28th May, and will ship with a raft of improvements, including an upgrade to Unreal Engine 5, all-new rollback netcode, and fresh stages and characters. We spotted Townsville from the Powerpuff Girls.

We're not actually sure when the next Digimon Story game was first announced, but we do know that it was years ago. Back in early 2022, Bandai Namco reassured fans that the title was still in development, and now, two whole years later, we're getting that same comment again.

Priority orders have come down from Super Earth high command (developer Arrowhead Game Studios), calling all available Helldivers to arms in response to the surprise, cowardly, and entirely predictable assault on the foundry world of Tien Kwan, located in the Theseus Sector. Until Liberty and Democracy are restored, production of the EXO-45 Patriot exosuit has been halted, effective immediately, in a masterful piece of marketing and propaganda from Arrowhead.

A series constant, Final Fantasy's Moogle is a familiar sight to many, and along with the Chocobo, serves as a mascot of sorts for the franchise. But the busted-looking Moogle we got in the recently released Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been rejected by a particular segment of the community, who are convinced the gritty redesign looks more like Matthew McConaughey playing a drug mule named Miguel than a fantastical portmanteau of mole and bat.