With the PS5 on the horizon, Sony still has a lot to offer with the PS4

Earlier this week, Sony began teasing the arrival of the PlayStation 5, its next-generation console, promising a solid-state drive for lightning-fast load times and even (possibly) 8K compatibility. Still, with no formal release date on the calendar, Sony still has a lot of tricks up the PlayStation 4's sleeve in the meantime.

At a media event in downtown Austin, Texas, earlier today, Sony unveiled a slate of playable demos for a few upcoming titles that will continue to challenge gamers while pushing the limits of what the PS4 is capable of.

First up was Iron Man VR, which was first announced at Sony's State of Play live stream last month. Given that there haven't been that many video games spun off from the MCU, Iron Man VR seems to be making up for lost time. After the success of Spider-Man for the PS4, Camouflaj studios collaborated with both Marvel and Sony to ensure the game hit all the right notes with fans and gamers alike.

While most VR titles are more akin to a carnival ride, where you're on a set path while gazing about at the digital world surrounding you, Iron Man VR is a full-on immersive experience, putting you right inside Tony Stark's armor.

There's still no official release date, other than that it'll be arriving sometime on PlayStation VR before the end of 2019.

Next up was Days Gone, the biker-centric zombie survival game from Bend Studio.

While the story itself is "very authored," per Game Director Jeff Ross, there's an open-world aspect that finds the main character, Deacon St. John, scavenging to survive in a world overrun by the dead. Scattered across the game's map are several dozen zombie hordes, which can house up to 500 flesh-eating corpses. They can be cleared out in any number of ways, but it'll require quick reflexes along with strategy, improvisation, and sometimes a little dumb luck. In short, it really does seem to be what the zombie apocalypse would be like.

However, it's the sheer level of detail that sets Days Gone apart from its horror/survival peers. Resources are limited, so some parts you scavenge could be used to craft a weapon, but that might mean you won't be able to fix your motorcycle. Also, it goes by 28 Days Later rules, so expect a lot of zombies coming at you very quickly.

You can check out Days Gone for yourself when it launches April 26.

Finally, the PS4 is giving users a chance to embellish their creative side with Dreams, a game-maker/animation studio/music production experience from Media Molecule that seems practically limitless with possibilities.

Similar to the world-creating platform Minecraft, Media Molecule's Abbie Heppe likened Dreams' tools to a kind of "digital clay," which lets players create custom-built worlds in several mediums in just a few hours. From full-on 3D platform games to animated short films to music to simple works of art, Dreams somehow makes the process intuitive, engaging, and, most importantly, fun.

Media Molecule/Sony

Earlier this week, Sony released a Dreams Early Access version that's allowed users to come together and share their work. This included an interactive short where a robot strolled across an alien world to their beach vacation and a retro-style platformer where a bird/real estate agent has to clear ghosts from vacant houses while making a note of all necessary repairs.

You can read more about Dreams Early Access on the PlayStation blog here. As of now, there isn't a release date planned yet. But given the caliber of games being offered for the PS4 this year, it doesn't seem this console will be seeing its expiration date anytime soon.