Summary
With each new console generation, Sony’s games are becoming increasingly more graphically and visually impressive. Starting with the PlayStation 4,remastering older gamesto take advantage of new console capabilities became a common practice. Now, it seems almost expected that thePlayStation 5’sgames are going to be pushing new boundaries and attempting to impress players from the very beginning.
One of the best ways to make a good impression on players is through astrong opening. Having a beautiful cinematic or a well-written monologue at the start of the game leaves a good early impression, ensuring excitement and interest for what’s to come.
IntypicalFinal Fantasyfashion,Final Fantasy 16opens with a dramatic cutscene. With its long, flashy opening battle and subsequent exposition, it effectively signals to players that they’re in for an exciting journey. Being thrown into a new situation and piecing together information through exposition and context clues follows the direction otherFinal Fantasygames have taken, enticing players into a mystery that must be untangled.
Though it may not be themost well-received gamein the franchise, its opening is still impressive, showing off the capabilities of the PS5 and the talents of the game’s developers and voice actors.
Though this game may not have the most ambitious opening in comparison to its counterparts, it’s both a charming and clever guide for anyone looking to come to grips with the PS5, working as an extended tutorial that comes with the console. It neatly introduces the DualSense controller and shows off some of its new functions, then drops the player directly into the action.
For such a short game, the length of the opening works well, knowing not to overstay its welcome but lasting just long enough to make a good impression. It’s a great game for introducingyounger playersto gaming as well.
It may be a stretch to includeThe Last of Us Part 2: Remasteredin the PS5’s library - it is originally, after all, a PlayStation 4 game. However, with how much focus the game puts on its visual experience, seeing it running on the PS5 is sure to add a new dimension for longtime fans.
The Last of Us Part 2: Remasteredtakes the original game’s brilliant calm-before-the-storm opening and enhances the graphics to such a degree that it almost seems real; and it makes the coming emotional roller coaster seem that much more foreboding. This may not be to everyone’s tastes, and some may argue that the PS4 game was already realistic enough, but it’s still undeniably impressive.
Following the success of the hugely popularMarvel’sSpider-ManandSpider-Man: Miles Morales,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2had plenty to prove. Its opening cutscene is designed both to excite and catch players up to where they are in the story, beginning with a quick flashback before snapping back to the present day.
The game was overall extremely well-received, particularly in the category ofopen-world superhero games.While the overall quality of the game is consistently good, those first few minutes were what grabbed players and enticed them to play more.
As the second game in a trilogy of remakes,Final Fantasy 7: Rebirthbegins with a quick montage of all that happened in the previous game. It has the difficult job of reminding players of where they were in the story while not boring anyone who is playing the games consecutively.
Despite how difficult this is,Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth’sopening manages to convey the large scale of the story, using impressive graphics and clever dialogue to pull this off. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and managed to deliver the necessary recap before jumping into new content.
While FromSoftware games areprimarily known for their difficulty, they’re also often extremely stylish, with a strong focus on character design and art direction. TheDemon’s Soulsremake perfectly displays this, staying true to the original game while updating it and adding in new ways to showcase the PlayStation 5’s capabilities.
Along with its impressive graphics, the opening cutscene of this game features evocative imagery and mysterious exposition, featuring a grand battle that demonstrates just how far gaming console technology has come in the past decade.
