ThePlayStationis a long-standing series of consoles that focuses on pushing graphics to their limits and telling deeply engaging stories. While Nintendo is often seen as the family console and Xbox as the FPS machine, PlayStation always strived to be the console for adults by pushing games into different mediums.
What would it be like if you were playing through a movie? What if a game tackled topics that other consoles wouldn’t touch? How do you take genres that other consoles do, but do them differently? The PlayStation’s legacy, whether it rises to the top or takes a nosedive, is interesting to observe through the games it releases.
The PlayStation is no stranger tocartoon mascot characters. Though it often feels like the console’s history takes it further away from cartoon characters and into the realm of realism as time goes on. Crash Bandicoot is known for being PlayStation’s mascot in the 90s.
Cool collectibles? Check. Silly character to follow? Check. Those 3D obstacles that might actually give you a hard time even years after its release? Check. Crash Bandicoot comes off as PlayStation succeeding in the same field as everyone else. Though it would get more ambitious later on.
The Jack and Daxter series may be dormant, but it plays a major role in the PlayStation’s direction as a console. In particular, Jak 2 is a cartoonish platformer that shows signs of trying to be darker than the original Jak and Daxter game. A trend that would continue to Jak 3.
You’re already seeing PlayStation aim for technical feats such as fewer loading times and creating a seamless world to explore. It’s not as friendly as Super Mario or as crude as Conker; it lands somewhere in between. It trades in the colorful island from the original for a steampunk underworld.
Out of all thestealth gamesin PlayStation’s history, Metal Gear Solid is one of the most influential for the console’s legacy. It defines the kind of games you could expect from the original console. It’s gritty, extensive, and uses the console’s graphic style to create a memorable atmosphere.
To knock on some nostalgia, Psycho Mantis reading your mind is one of the most iconic moments in the series. It did so by utilizing the stored data in your memory card to determine what kind of games you play.
PlayStation games always attempt to tell a deep story in interesting ways. Shadow of the Colossus does this without having its characters say too much. Instead, it relies on visual storytelling to let the player put the pieces together.
It breaks convention by making you fill what seems like a traditional hero role. As you defeat the various Colossi, you slowly start to realize that you’re the villain of this story. This game made the PlayStation feel like the platform for experimental and artistic visions in gaming.
Kratos from God of War embodies what many gamers wanted to be like at the time. A plumber stomping on shells and saving the princess? Nah, gamers wanted to feel powerful, unstoppable, and hardcore, making God of War the game to draw in those who wanted to rebel as gamers.
You’re also fighting enemies bigger than yourself, but still coming out on top. With great action, blood, and gore, God of War redefines what you can and can’t get away with in gaming.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves aimed bigger than its predecessor in terms ofcinematic scope. You’re still dealing with a mostly linear game, but the action blends in with scripted events to make you feel like you’re part of an adventure movie.
This isn’t your average cycle of cutscene, gameplay, cutscene. There are moments that feel like they would be a cutscene, but you’re playing through them yourself. This is something that would carry over to future Naughty Dog games on PlayStation and bleed over to other titles for the console.
Bloodborne has definitely made an impact on PlayStation as the game that simply won’t budge from the PlayStation 4. It takes all the elements you know from a Souls game but with more of a lean towards aggression in a Lovecraftian world.
It’s not the gameplay of Bloodborne that has an impact on the PlayStation’s legacy, but rather its status in a time when unnecessary remasters exist. It’s the kind of game that makes players question why The Last of Us gets three remasters while Bloodborne gets nothing.
Marvel’s Spider-Man feels like a fresh door opened up for the PlayStation. This isn’t the first game to let you take the role of a comic book hero in an open world, but Spider-Man’s powers allow for some truly dynamic exploration of the city.
Web swinging feels amazing to the point where you don’t really feel like using the fast travel options too often. This is the type of open world that enhances your ability to roleplay as the character you’re playing as.
The Last of Us Part 2 is a culmination of everything the PlayStation aimed to see itself as but cranked beyond the limits. It went overboard with the realism, sacrificed fun for walking simulator grittiness, and treated itself as a piece of misunderstood art.
Even if the game made players mad, it is still an important part of the PlayStation’s legacy. It’s the kind of title that makes you rethink everything the PlayStation values and the identity that it carved out for itself over the years. If going bigger and edgier is not enough, then what other direction can you even go?
Astro Bot is the antithesis to The Last of Us Part 2. It doesn’t have realistic graphics or a story that tries too hard to be deep. It’s simply a fun game about a little robot having adventures in a 3D platforming world. That’s all you really need to succeed.
The game is easy to enjoy from a variety of different angles. You can love it for its quirky character, cartoony artistic direction, or for how catchy the gameplay loop is. It shows that PlayStation’s legacy is always changing, and it can deviate from the standard grittiness if it wants to.
