As I wrote about here, this PlayStation 5 release is the first time I've been excited for a system launch since 2005, when both the PSP and the Xbox 360 hit. But where I talked in the aforelinked blog post about the hardware and system software, lately I've been thinking about the "launch window" games, as Sony and the developers have been releasing more and more information about them:

• Astro's Playroom: John Linneman published an excellent summary video about this game yesterday, comparing it to "Wii Sports"-- that's high praise, and I won't be surprised if it lives up to that standard once I get a chance to play it myself.


• Bugsnax: Transplant this game onto a system like the Dreamcast or Gamecube, and I could see it being one of those sleeper "cult classics". They're giving it away to PlayStation 5 owners, and both of my kids have expressed an interest in playing through it with me.


• Demon's Souls: I have extremely fond memories of the original, I preferred it to "Dark Souls". I would love to get this, but I have a tough time controlling my temper with this series-- either way, it's going to be a phenomenally meaty experience for those who do dive into it.


• Dirt 5: One of my first PSX games-- recall, I didn't get one until 1997, after the 3DO was dead-- was "Rally Cross". Me and my best friend at the time used to sit for hours in two-player, driving right at each other keeping score for how many times we could flip each other over. "Dirt 5" looks like a modern-day spiritual successor to that game, and my son-- who loves racing games-- really wants me to get it so we can make our own levels.


• Gran Turismo 7: Most impressive graphics in a racing game since "The Need for Speed" on 3DO. I've probably watched the trailer fifty times: the synth music, the corny menu music, the dorky people's faces ("Rupert", lol), the menu aesthetics, and-- by far most of all-- that in-game racing footage makes this look like not only a return to form, but a thorough "next gen" kind of experience that really gets my blood pumping. I can't wait.


• Hogwarts Legacy: My sister-in-law and little brothers used to play the old "Harry Potter" games on the original Xbox, and if this new one doesn't invoke those memories for me, my name isn't Sniper. My daughter is going to get this on Windows 10-- so her and I will be playing it in parallel, just on different platforms.


• Horizon Forbidden West: I don't generally like icon-filled open world games, but for the first time in my entire history with that genre, the original "Horizon" kept me glued to my TV for almost triple-digit hours. After "Gran Turismo 7", this is my next most anticipated game.


• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Having been busy with other platforms, I missed the PlayStation 4 original-- and I'm glad I did, because this "two games in one" pseudo-collection will be an awesome title to show off the system's ray-tracing capabilities and fast loading times. I really liked the old "Arkham" games, so if this plays anything like those, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.


• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart: The only game in this series I played was the mediocre PSP entry-- but the trailer really has my interest piqued, with "top three" best graphics I've ever seen in a video game, and what looks like fun character and level designs. I'll definitely be getting this when it comes out.


• Sackboy: This is "Super Mario 3D World", but with modern-day graphics, and a refreshing "I'm fatigued with the Mario universe" aesthetic. My kids and I are really looking forward to co-op: I wouldn't be surprised if this winds up being something of a classic in the genre.


• Temtem: It looked a little too "woke" for me when it initially came out on PC-- but the more gameplay I watch, the more it grows on me. As someone who didn't grow up with "Pokemon"-- I was practically an adult already when "Red and Blue" hit-- but who enjoyed "Sword and Shield" enough to wish it had been better, I'm interested in jumping into this on the PlayStation 5. It has some kind of co-op support too, and my daughter and I had a lot of fun with that concept in "Let's Go".

That's eleven games potentially all within the first several months of the platform being out. While there isn't much there which is revolutionary like "Flight Simulator", it's still the largest list of interesting games I can remember a video game system having, this early on.

The scary part is that this is just Sony's ecosystem: I have Microsoft equally covered thanks to my PC (expect a massive "Forza Motorsport 8 vs. Gran Turismo 7" post in 2021), and Nintendo as well via the Switch ("Monster Hunter Rise").