In an exclusive interview with WIRED, Sony’s Mark Cerny confirms that the console will NOT be released in 2019, but also said it’s more than just an “upgrade,” saying it  “ allows for fundamental changes in what a game can be.”

A number of development studios have been working with the console, which currently does not have a publicly-released name. Cerny smiled when someone referred to it as a PlayStation 5 and simply referred to it as “the next-gen console.”

The report says the new console’s CPU is based on the third generation of AMD’s Ryzen line and contains eight cores, while the GPU is a custom variant of Radeon’s Navi family, “will support ray tracing, a technique that models the travel of light to simulate complex interactions in 3D environments,” a feat that gaming consoles have so far been unable to accomplish.

Cerny added that the current PSVR headset will be compatible with the new console, but wouldn’t go into further detail. It’ll also feature an SSD for storage that is 15x faster than the PS4′s traditional hard drive. 

And the last big piece of news: Cerny confirms the console will be backward-compatible with the PS4. 

Nintendo has announced that a new cardboard construction set is coming for the software, and includes schematics for a make-it-yourself pair of Virtual Reality (VR) goggles. 

Starlink employs a unique build-on system. You have a special device that attaches to your controller, upon which you stack first your choice of several pilots, then any ship, then any combination of wings, then any pair of weapons. It leads to some creative combinations, as each component has its own abilities, and gives the game a layer of strategy you wouldn’t expect from something clearly marketed to both kids and adult collectors.

You can also complete the entire game without ever buying anything more than what you get with your initial purchase. In fact, unless you really want the model ships (I just had to have the StarFox one), you’d be better served buying the digital version, which has more ships and pilots and costs less. 

Gameplay-wise, many have compared Starlink to an easier version of No Man’s Sky. I’d agree with that, in theory, but the game itself can still be somewhat challenging if you’re not careful. Open-world exploration lends itself to seamless transitions from flying in space to planetside exploration, enemies can at times be overwhelming and challenging, and there always seems to be a new mission or task to undertake. Visually, the cartoony style Ubisoft went with means you won’t see much of a difference between the Switch and PS4/XB1 versions, and the game’s just gorgeous anyway. 

As for the Switch version, what makes it a must-buy over the PS4/XB1 versions is the addition of StarFox content. Fox McCloud is a playable pilot, complete with one of the franchise’s iconic Arwings, and he has an entire storyline in itself that seamlessly integrates with the rest of the game. In fact, Fox and his cohorts show up and interact with the Starlink crew in enough cutscenes where I’d have been convinced this was actually an official StarFox spinoff/sequel, had Ubisoft and Nintendo not already announced the crossover at E3 earlier this year. It’s a superb use of Nintendo’s property and characters. 

While there are some minor flaws - there are only a handful of planets to explore and the prevalence of booby-traps in space make it hard to actually enjoy the hyperdrive feature - Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a surprisingly strong game. If it weren’t coming out literally right before Red Dead Redemption 2, I think it’d have a huge following. As it stands, it’s worth playing, but I fear it might be overwhelmed and drowned out by the big cowboy sequel/prequel due in stores this Friday.