Earlier this week, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Insomniac Games, the developer best known for Marvel’s Spider-Man. Going forward, Insomniac Games will join Guerrilla Games, Naughty Dog, and the many other Sony-owned studios in churning out exclusive PlayStation games. Following the acquisition, you’d assume the studio’s main focus will be Marvel’s Spider-Man, however, Insomniac Games is a pretty big studio that has historically always juggled multiple projects at once. This could change under the ownership of Sony, but for the sake of this article I’m assuming, at the very least, Insomniac Games will be a two-project team. One of these projects is a Marvel’s Spider-Man follow-up, but what else could the series do? Well, here are three series I think Insomniac Games and Sony would be smart to revive for the PlayStation 5 era.
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Resistance
Resistance is a post-invasion shooter series developed by Insomniac Games during the PS3 era. The series takes place in the 1950s, but an alternate history 1950s where an alien civilization known as the Chimera invaded and conquered earth. In it, players play as one of the remaining human armed forces as they desperately try and survive and fight against the Chimera. As you will know, we haven’t seen the series since 2012, when it made its last hoorah on PlayStation Vita via Resistance: Burning Skies. Before this, it debuted in 2006 and saw six releases from 2006 to 2012, which included three mainline games and two spin-offs.
Sadly, the Resistance series never really took off, which perhaps explains why it was buried with the PS3. However, it did have something special to it. Further, it’s quite unlike anything Sony is currently offering with its line-up. I’d like to see it return in some capacity now that Insomniac Games is under the Sony umbrella, and I’m sure it’s cult-like following would line-up to buy a new entry or a reboot in a heartbeat.
Jax and Daxter
Yes, I know Jax and Daxter isn’t an Insomniac Games’ series, it’s from Naughty Dog, but obviously Naughty Dog isn’t going to make a new Jax and Daxter ever. It’s moved on from that style of game, that time in its history, and now has bigger fish to fry with The Last of Us anyway. But you know who can still make these type of games? Insomniac. There’s not many developers I would entrust to resurrect this IP, but if it’s not going to be Naughty Dog, then there’s probably not a better studio for the series than Insomniac Games.
For those that don’t know: Jax and Daxter is a narrative-driven 3D platformer that at one point or two was outsourced, but was primarily developed by Naughty Dog. It debuted back in 2001 as one of the earliest titles on the PS2, and is widely considered a generational defining franchise for the console. In it, you follow the adventures of the game’s two main characters: Jax and Daxter.
As you will know, the series has seen numerous entries since its creation, but none since 2009. In other words, it’s been awhile, and unlike many PS2 era franchises, players haven’t forgotten about this one.
Ratchet & Clank
Okay, so Ratchet & Clank isn’t really in need of a revival like the other two series, after all, it just got rebooted a couple years ago. It’s inclusion is more or less just so I can say that Insomniac Games should continue with its reboot. Or make a new entry. Whatever, just more Ratchet & Clank please. While the series was rebooted in 2016, it’s not obvious if Sony plans on doing anything more with it. It certainly hasn’t hinted or teased that we’ll see more of it. That said, with Insomniac Games now in the Sony family, you’d expect more from the series. Not only is it still quite popular, but it’s one of the only kid-friendly series Sony currently has in its line-up. As you may know, Sony has suggested in the past it wants to have a diverse line-up that appeals to all different types of gamers. Further, it wants to continue to have games and series that cater to younger audience as well. So, unless Sony is going to create a new IP to fit this criteria, I can’t think of anything better than bringing back Ratchet and Clank in a big way for PS5.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or two with your thoughts or let me know over on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_. What series would you like to see Sony bring back via Insomniac Games?
