Welcome back to The PlayStation Report! We’re looking back through Sony’s list of IP to determine how healthy they are. This time, we’ve got another double letter entry, covering both H and I. How has Sony been treating these brands? Let’s find out in The PlayStation Report! 

Heavenly Sword

In the leadup to Heavenly Sword’s release, it was looking like the PlayStation 3’s very own God of War. It was a visually striking 3rd person action game, and a real flashy showpiece for the PS3 hardware before Kratos graced its circuits. It was developed by Ninja Theory, whose only previous work at that point was Kung Fu Chaos for Xbox. So, you know, not the greatest track record, but not terrible! Regardless, Heavenly Sword’s protagonist Nariko looked super cool with her long red hair, and 3rd person action games with hgh production values always make a good first impression! 

Health rating: Basically dead

Sadly, first impressions aren’t always the most lasting ones. Heavenly Sword performed okay, but it never really took off. Apparently there were plans for a whole trilogy planned before the first game was even released, but with the sales falling short of expectations, it was ultimately cancelled. Sony does own the brand, so I guess if they wanted to they could revive the game, but Microsoft owns Ninja Theory now, making a revival with the original team something that would likely require far more hoops to jump through than any parties involved would deem worth it. I don’t think Heavenly Sword is coming back. 

Horizon

When looking back on the PlayStation 4’s contributions to the Sony pantheon of properties, 2017’s Horizon: Zero Dawn is doubtlessly one of the highest of highs. As one of Sony’s newest blockbuster brands, Horizon stands out as a cool sci-fi game series about a girl named Aloy who lives in a world overrun by weird-looking technorganic monsters. It’s been lauded for its refined gameplay, excellent storytelling, and astounding visuals, and has become one of the company’s biggest brands. 

Health rating: Great

Horizon: Zero Dawn was a massive success. And as usually happens with massive successes, more games followed. There was a direct sequel in Horizon: Forbidden West, a VR game called Horizon: Call of the Mountain, and even a genuine multiplatform LEGO game. It’s still weird that a Horizon Game came out on Nintendo Switch, but here we are. The games have won a ton of awards, the first one got remastered for PS5, and there’s even a major motion picture in the works. There is a sect of the internet that has an irrational hatred for the game's protagonist, but it’s hardly worth mentioning. Horizon is doing great. 

Infamous

Unlike orizon, inFamous is having a bit more rough of a go. This is another 3rd person action game that seemed like it had everything going for it. It’s about a guy named Cole who gets electricity powers, and it’s up to the player to decide whether he’s going to be a good guy or a bad guy, which was the style at the time. The first game was a pretty decent success, and inFamous was on its way to becoming one of Sony’s premiere franchises. 

Health rating: Not so good

Except, then it fizzled out. inFamous saw a number of sequels and spinoffs over the years, the last of which being inFamous: First Light. The series introduced new playable characters, expanded the game world’s lore, but my guess is, there was just too much of it too quickly. inFamous saw seven releases and expansions over the course of 6 years. That’s a lot of iFamous! Developer Sucker Punch is busy with the Ghost of Tsushima series right now anyway, but it’s possible inFamous will see a resurgence in the future. Electricity powers never go out of style.  

Invizimals

If you’ve never heard of Invizimals, you’re not alone. I had, at best, a vague memory of this property existing before writing this article. But apparently, it was kind of a thing for a while especially in Europe where it had a much larger footprint. It’s an augmented reality game for PSP which I’m guessing isn’t too far removed from Pokemon? I’m told you collect monsters. It required the PSP camera, which is another thing I completely forgot even existed. 

Health rating: Basically dead

Anyway, Invizimals had numerous followups, a toy line, an animated series, and several TV movies, which is crazy considering it’s a brand that I imagine the vast majority of people have zero awareness of. I can’t seem to get a grasp on just how popular any of it actually was. Nearest I can tell, some suits thought this was very marketable, so they backed it with a bunch of projects, it burned brightly for a year or so, then just fizzled out. The last game in the series, Invizimals: Battle of the Hunters, was released back in 2016, nearly a decade ago. Normally that wouldn’t necessarily earn it a “basically dead” rating, but this property seems to have hit a brick wall in terms of market penetration. I think this one’s done. 

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And that’s about it for H and I. Not too shabby, really. Which is great to finally see for Sony! But what about next time? Can they keep the streak alive? We’re going to be talking about J and K, and if you’re a PlayStation fan, you know at least one J game series that’s been inexplicably quiet for way too long now. 

Regardless, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time in The PlayStation Report!