If you watched Sonyās February 12, 2025 State of Play showcase, you might have noticed that there are an awful lot of third-person, melee-based combat games on the horizon for PS5 (as well as Xbox and PC). Some are expected this year, while others are more likely to land in 2026.
Read More: Everything We Saw At 2025ās First Big PlayStation State Of Play
Thatās great news if youāre a fan of games in which you can twirl the camera around your character while also slashing up baddies. As a lover of such games myself, I thought it fitting to take a closer look at some of these games, when theyāre coming out, and what was notable about their trailers from last night.
While all of these games are likely to have their own unique spins on the broader genres of third-person hack ān slash games, each with their own RPG systems, levels of difficulty, worlds of varying scope and size, and so forth, most of them seem to tap into a similar wavelength of speedy, slashy, hopefully stylishly energetic gameplay. Letās dig in (preferably with your sharp implement of choice).
Stellar Blade and Lies of P DLC
I thought Stellar Blade wasā¦well, it was okay. I mean, sure, give me a sword while letting me look pretty and Iām happy to cut into some freaks who have a habit of wandering about post-apocalyptic spaces. But I couldnāt tell you what the story was about (boilerplate sci-fi stuff) and oh. my. goddess did that soundtrack drive me out of my wits (I muted it and just listened to Gojira instead). As former Kotaku writer Levi Winslow discussed in their review of last yearās slashy dress-āem-up, protagonist Eve also feels a little wonky to play at timesāoh, and youāll have to drag around some stupid boxesābut the combat is a lot of fun and I rather enjoyed learning the combos to punish pathetic little things while dressed all hot like.
Stellar Blade is getting a PC release (so you can totally behave yourselves with mods, you devils) as well as a DLC crossover with Goddess of Victory: Nikke, a free-to-play title developed by Stellar Bladeās crew, Shift Up. Thereās not a whole lot of info about the Nikke DLC, but Nikke is a shooter and so Iām hoping this at least gives Stellar Blade an opportunity to improve its lackluster shooting mechanics.
Stellar Blade isnāt the only game we learned would soon be getting DLC. As we saw during last nightās event, 2023ās Pinnochio-themed soulslike Lies of P is also getting an expansion that serves as a prequel to the main game
Final Fantasy inspirations and gorgeous vistas
I happened to really enjoy the presentation and vibes on display in Lost Soul Asideās trailer from Sonyās event. Yes, watch that trailer again, but also just check out these environments!
Gorgeous, right? Far too many games we saw were drowned in post-apocalypse gray. Lost Soul Aside seems to have some of that for sure, but itās nice to get a look at some sweeping fantasy landscapes that arenāt afraid to show off some natural beauty and weirdo fantasy/sci-fi architecture. And itās no surprise, given the gameās inspirations.
Lost Soul Aside started its development in 2014 (a simpler era), when the initial one-man dev team of Yang Bing was inspired by Final Fantasy XV. Since Bing began work on the game, however, more people have joined, with at least 14 on staff as of 2019. Though the game was originally slated to arrive on the PS4, it would seem thatās no longer the case. PS4 is not mentioned on the official store page for Lost Soul Aside, and it would seem Bing is really in favor of high framerates, as we perhaps all should be for such a game.
And if you donāt own a PS5, no worries. Lost Soul Aside is also coming to PC.
The return of a PS2 legend
Sony gave us a double dose of Capcomās Onimusha series during the showcase, with a nice throwback to 2002ās Onimusha 2 via a remaster expected on May 23 (also coming to Xbox, Switch, and PC) and a fresh look at the franchiseās new entry, Onimusha: Way of the Sword. As I pointed out in our rundown of the event, Way of the Sword seems to prioritize interacting with physical objects in a way that I think will really help set it apart from other modern samurai games, as well as from the other games Iām talking about here.
During the trailer, protagonist Miyamato Musashi (whose likeness is based on that of legendary actor Toshiro Mifune) is seen grabbing objects for cover and even tossing enemies into hanging clothes which then entangle them. Iām excited to see how this plays in real time, because I sure do love being encouraged to not only take in my surroundings, but also to use them against my enemies.
Time will tell just how well this mechanic works in the actual game. Iām hoping for enough objects to use, and enough different ways to use them, that what emerges is a host of surprising situations both awesome and hilarious.
Aw hell, Hell Is Us looks real neat
Hell Is Us was probably the most memorable trailer from the event for me. Whatās funny is that the brief glimpse of yet another world gone to heck and another character voiced by Elias Toufexis (of Adam Jensen fame) for me to get all hot and bothered over really didnāt show that much gameplay.
The mood and tone of the game is what really stands out. It may be yet another game about a damned world, but Hell Is Us seems more eager than most to mess around with its setting, playing with slightly unrealistic, borderline surreal-looking characters and enemies. Hopefully that will add enough layers of weirdness to its post-apocalyptic mire to distinguish it from all the other games that imagine bleak futures for us.
Tides of Annihilation
Tides of Annihilation was yet another game set in a doomed world. (Really, folks, can we start imagining better futures? Iām begging for something more hopeful.) The gameās website is rather sparse on details, but the trailer mostly tells us what we need to know: The world sucks, but your combat skills sure donāt. It looks rather speedy too, with spectral allies seemingly fighting alongside protagonist Gwendolyn (the game seems to be riffing on Arthurian legend), and some massive-looking creatures weāll likely need to put down if weāre to have any hope of saving this world.
Iām getting a bit of a āMet Galaā feel from this, which helps distinguish it from the grungier, more masculine vibes of the other games we saw last night, and there are glimpses of some environmental traversal that remind me a touch of NieR: Automata
Of course thatās not all of the third-person action we saw during last nightās event. Monster Hunter Wilds and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii are also arriving this year, though their styles of third-person gameplay are a touch different from those of the more Devil May Cry-esque and soulslike games that dominated the proceedings.
