PS5 Guides

Demon's Souls

Tough as old boots. Take it slow, it's a long road.

Hardcore Tips

1. Die in body form and you wake up in soul form at half max HP. Get back to body form with a Stone of Ephemeral Eyes or by beating a boss.
2. Grab the Cling Ring early in Boletarian Palace (1-1). It raises your soul-form max HP to about three-quarters of normal.
3. The Thief's Ring is also in 1-1. Enemies have a harder time spotting you, which helps with sneaking and backstabs.
4. World Tendency: dying over and over in body form in one world pushes it toward black, so enemies get tougher and soul-form HP drops. Killing a boss pushes it back toward white. Don't sweat it early on.
5. Royalty is a solid class for new players. You start with MP regen and Soul Arrow, so you can fight from a distance.

Boss Guide

Phalanx (1-1)

Kill the Hoplites around it first, then hit the core. It's weak to fire, so Firebombs and Turpentine make quick work of it.

Tower Knight (1-2)

Take out the crossbowmen on the walls, then chop at his ankles until he falls. While he's down, go for his head.

Flamelurker (2-2)

Weak to magic, so Soul Arrow or Soul Ray from range is the easy way. If you fight melee, roll straight back rather than to the side, and a Flame Resistance Ring or Water Veil helps.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Two heroes, one city, plenty of road.

Hardcore Tips

1. Learn the parry early. Tap L1 when the Spider-Sense warning turns red.
2. Put points into the shared skill tree first. Those upgrades go to both heroes.
3. Web Wings ride the wind tunnels and updrafts. Hold Triangle in midair to glide.
4. Use your gadgets a lot. Web Grabber pulls enemies into a bunch, and then your area attacks hit them all.
5. Tech Parts come from missions, crimes, and collectibles. Spend Rare Tech Parts and Hero Tokens with some thought.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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God of War (2018)

Dad, son, an axe, and a long walk.

Hardcore Tips

1. Yellow ring means you can parry it: block (L1) at the last moment. Red ring means it can't be blocked, so dodge.
2. Your shield only blocks from the front, so watch your back in big fights.
3. Bare fists fill the stun meter faster than the axe. When the prompt shows up, hit R3 for a big finisher, and you can't be hurt during it.
4. Keep the boy shooting. Atreus's arrows add stun as you go.

Boss Guide

Valkyries

When a Valkyrie rises into the air with a red ring, have Atreus shoot her to cancel it. An axe throw also interrupts most of her flying attacks. Block her flurries of ring projectiles, sidestep the unblockable ones, and dodge every red-ring heavy attack.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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The Last of Us Part II

Heavy road. Stay low, stay quiet.

Hardcore Tips

1. Go prone in tall grass. Enemies have a hard time spotting you there, but one who walks right up can still find you.
2. Hold R1 for Listen Mode. It shows enemies through walls and your own scent trail.
3. Dogs follow your scent. Throw a bottle or brick away from your path to pull them off it, or keep moving until the trail is gone.
4. Keep your three resources straight. Ingredients craft items, parts upgrade guns at workbenches, and supplements buy skills.
5. Workbenches are the only place to upgrade weapons, and there aren't many, so always look for them.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Cyberpunk 2077

Neon city, loud car, bad decisions.

Hardcore Tips

1. Since Update 2.0, Cyberware Capacity limits how much chrome you can install. It goes up as you level, and capacity shards add more.
2. Most armor comes from cyberware now, not clothes, so wear whatever you want.
3. Only ripperdocs can install or swap cyberware, and you can upgrade it right on their screen.
4. The Edgerunner perk in Technical Ability adds 50 capacity past your limit, but you lose some max health for each point you go over.
5. Netrunners can queue several quickhacks on one target. Every quickhack costs RAM, so a better cyberdeck matters.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Mortal Kombat 1

Old-school brawl, new tricks.

Hardcore Tips

1. Run the tutorial under Learn first. It covers Kameos, defense, frame data, and neutral.
2. Turn on Frame Data in Practice settings, or use Advanced View in the move list, to see which moves are safe.
3. Pick a Kameo that covers your fighter's weak spots. Every Kameo works differently.
4. Don't just sit on block. Chip damage adds up, and Flawless Block (a perfectly timed block) takes little to no damage.
5. Invasions mode gives out unlockables and cosmetics. It's a good chill-night grind.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Split Fiction

Two-player road trip. Bring a buddy.

Hardcore Tips

1. Only one of you needs to own it. Your buddy downloads the free Friend's Pass and plays the whole thing online with you.
2. Cross-play works across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Switch 2. You'll need EA accounts for that.
3. There are 12 optional Side Stories, three each in chapters 2 to 5. Watch for glowing portals.
4. Missed one? Chapter Select lets you go back for it.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Astro Bot

Cruise control. Happy little robot, big platforming.

Hardcore Tips

1. The Gatcha Lab opens once you have enough puzzle pieces, and each pull costs 100 coins. Keep collecting coins.
2. Ten levels have a hidden secret exit. Find it and you unlock a planet in the Lost Galaxy.
3. Finish all ten Lost Galaxy planets to unlock the Final Encore.
4. When you replay a level, a bird guide (paid for with coins) points you to the Bots and puzzle pieces you missed.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Returnal

Same planet, new run. Keep the engine running.

Hardcore Tips

1. Keep moving and keep dashing. A dash carries you through most enemy shots without taking damage.
2. Adrenaline goes up one level for every 3 kills without getting hit, up to level 5. Any damage resets it.
3. The adrenaline perks unlock in order: easier Overload reloads, seeing enemies through walls, faster melee, faster weapon proficiency, then more obolites.
4. Use Focus Aim to show weak spots, and use melee to stagger big enemies.

Boss Guide

Before any boss

Stock up on Silphium Resin to raise your max health, and bring a gun you're comfortable with. Once you open a boss chamber it stays open, so later runs can head straight there.

Phrike

Shoot for the head. Strafe through the projectile patterns, jump the red floor rings, and dodge to the side when it charges with its swipe.

Nemesis

Bring a strong long-range gun and avoid ones that shoot in an arc.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Stellar Blade

Let them swing first. Counterpunch rock.

Hardcore Tips

1. Fight defensively. Let the enemy attack first, then parry or dodge. Even a parry that isn't perfect still blocks the hit.
2. Block is L1. Time it right and you parry, which takes no damage and wears down their Balance.
3. Read the colors: red attacks get parried, yellow get dodged (a last-second dodge is a Perfect Dodge), blue get a Blink (stick toward the enemy plus Circle), and purple get a Repulse (stick away plus Circle).
4. Unlock Perfect Dodge, Blink, and Repulse early in the Survival tree.

Boss Guide

Boss rhythm

Bosses throw long combos. Parry as many hits as you can and save your Burst skills for them.

Abaddon and Gigas

Unlock Blink before these fights. Both are much easier once you can Blink their attacks.

Stalker

Parry when it glows red, and after a Repulse, shoot its weak point with your gun.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Rise of the Ronin

Long road, sharp blade, steady hands.

Hardcore Tips

1. Counterspark (Triangle) is your parry. It works when the hit is about to land, and it can even stop red attacks.
2. Mix Counterspark with blocking and dodging. Different enemies call for different moves.
3. Never run out of Ki. If you do, you're stunned and wide open.
4. Hit R1 right after a combo for a Blade Flash, which wipes the blade and gets Ki back.
5. There are three difficulty settings: Dawn, Dusk, and Twilight. You can change it any time, no shame.

Boss Guide

Boss combos

Bosses like long combos. Counterspark each hit in the string, and parrying the last hit still counts as a full Counterspark Chain.

Watch the bait

Some bosses fake an opening while panicked, then hit you with an unstoppable Martial Skill. After you panic one, stay ready to Counterspark again.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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Hell is Us

No map, no markers. Just you and the fog.

Hardcore Tips

1. Medkits are rare. The Healing Pulse is how you stay alive.
2. Land hits and white particles gather around you. When they form a tight white ring, press R1 to heal.
3. Press it too early in a combo and the charge is wasted. Get hit during it and the heal is canceled.
4. Blocking (L1) cuts damage and drains the enemy's balance. Block right as a red glow lands to parry: no damage, and they're stunned.
5. Use the drone to pull an enemy's attention while you deal with the rest.

Boss Guide

Boss approach

Save medkits for phase changes, when you get fewer chances to pulse. Heal only after a boss's combo ends.

Where to find it: PlayStation Store

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