| curl-6 said: I feel like if I had to pick a game that exemplifies their modern approach to game design, it's probably Horizon Forbidden West or Ghost of Yotei; open world, focus on cinematic storytelling, graphically intensive, adhering to the notion that games are a serious artistic medium for adults, etc. Historically, you can see this shift over the course of their time as a console maker; PS1 was perhaps most defined by FF7, PS2 by GTA, PS3 by the likes of Uncharted and The Last of Us, PS4 by Horizon Zero Dawn/Spiderman/God of War 2018. |
I should note that "cinematic" doesn't necessarily mean overtly story driven or has tons of cutscenes and dialogue. It's more in regards to how the game action is framed and presented to the player. Ico is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. It may not be as flashy as modern PS games like Horizon, but the way the game and it's story are presented when playing is still uniquely PlayStation. There's almost no on screen UI during gameplay, the camera is always positioned in moments to emphasize character action and what exactly the game wants the player to see, and the gameplay is entirely built off of the narrative and themes the game is trying to tell. Ico very encompasses many of the design elements typical of a PlayStation game, whether it be a first party game or a PS-centric third party game.
And as you said, the PS design philosophy was built up over each generation. The PS1 era was where the basic skeleton was formed with games like FFVII, MGS, Gran Turismo, Crash and Spyro, Parappa The Rapper, MediEvil, etc. the PS2 further developed the style with GTA III, the Jak, Ratchet and Sly trilogies, God of War 1+2, Ico and SotC, and games like Primal, Mark of Kri, and Rise to Honor. The PS3 era refined it with the likes of Uncharted, Resistance, Killzone, Little Big Planet, Last of Us, and InFamous. And the PS4 perfected it with Horizon, Spider Man, Ghost of Tsushima, Neir Automata, Until Dawn, and Death Stranding.
