Live play with seriously hardcore gaming. That was always going to be the big test for Remote Play on the Xperia Z3 smartphone from Sony. The potential and promise were always there, of course. The ability to take PlayStation gaming with you anywhere, from kitchen, to bathroom, to garden, free from the logistical shackles and diplomatic hazards of TV scheduling. A thrilling prospect that sounded like it had been sent back in time by benevolent machine overlords intent on saving us from ourselves. But how well would it really work? We set out to find out, by way of a high-rise London venue, over a hundred eager gamers, and a demanding tournament challenge on the most hardcore game around. Bloodborne.
How well did it go? Very. Over the course of the evening, vast swathes of Yarnham’s elite tested their mettle – and that of the Xperia Z3 – in gruelling timed battles against the Cleric Demon boss, before a triumphant four squared off in a frenzied three-minute Blood Echo collecting final challenge. No slip-ups could be tolerated, from either players or hardware, and throughout the night both sides of the equation performed marvellously.
But you don’t just want to read about all of this. You want to see it. You want to see daring feats of combat dexterity played out over Sony’s Remote Play feature. You want to see the tragic fates of noble Hunter lives cut short. You want to hear from the actual players how they found this brave new world of Remote Play gaming from Sony. So hit the video above and check it all out for yourself.
