Just yesterday, Microsoft showed off a bunch of new games and information about the Xbox One X. Continue reading to see everything that the future of Xbox has to offer.
Xbox Games Showcase Games!
Halo Infinite
Developer: 343 Games
Release Date: Holiday 2020
Kicking off the show we have the game that everyone turned out for. The latest and greatest entry in the Halo franchise picks up months after Halo 5. The new campaign sees the Master Chief going up against the banished, a group previously featured in Halo Wars 2. Having bested Humanity, this new threat has ventured to one of the few remaining Halo rings, with a sinister purpose in mind and their leader Atriox standing between the Master Chief and the salvation of humanity.
Gameplay-wise this is the most ambitious Halo game yet, with a host of new mechanics on show in today’s demo. First, off we have the Grappling Hook, which will allow you to grapple enemies and objects to pull yourself to them or you respectively, you can also use it to traverse the terrain like never before, which will come in handy as Infinite has a much more open play space for you to explore. This is a welcome change from past Halo games, where you’ve only ever had set paths to go down.
Next up, we have throwable objects, such as energy cells, which explode on contact with enemies, while there have been weapons such as turrets that were interactable before, this is the first time that you’ve been able to grab and toss objects like this in the series history.
We also got a look at a collection of new and returning weapons, including old favorites such as the pistol and assault rifle that have been with us since the days of Halo: Combat Evolved.Â
From the brief demo we got to see today, it looks like the Halo series is coming back into its own, and after the poor reception of Halo 5, this new direction for the games should satisfy long term fans.
State Of Decay 3
Developer: Undead Labs
Release Date: TBD
The third game in the State of Decay series looks like it’ll be venturing into the northern reaches of the USA, where the zombie plague that’s ravaged the nation has turned even the deer in bloodthirsty monsters. So far not much else is known about the game, aside from what we’re able to infer from the cinematic trailer, but we’ll likely see more in the coming months as we ramp up to the Xbox Series X release.
Forza Motorsport
Developer: Xbox Games Studios
Release Date: TBD
Advertised as the first of the new Xbox line-up to be pushing the boundaries of its next-gen tech, the latest Forza game promises to be a visual feast, and the trailer does an excellent job of showcasing just that. As you can see from the screenshot above, the textures and reflective surfaces have a wealth of detail and depth to them. If you’re a fan of racing games and want to see the power of the new Xbox in action, then that’ll be a game you’ll want to pick up when it releases on the system.
Everwild
Developer: Rare
Release Date: TBD
While not the Banjo-Kazooie news some fans were hoping for, Everwild is the latest game from Rare, and in keeping with their theme, it’s a story about the intimate connection between human beings and the natural world. Players will be able to explore an untamed and natural world, filled with curious beasts and ancient magic. While we’ve not seen any gameplay, if the cinematic trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to a wholly different experience to anything we’ve seen in gaming in quite a while.
Tell Me Why
Developer: DontNod
Release Date: Chapter One August 27, 2020
One of the more realistic titles on our list, Tell Me Why sees players follow the story of the Ronan Siblings, as they investigate the tragic events of their past to uncover the truth. Along the way, they’ll be guided by emotional visions that connect to their traumas and enable them to move forward. The game is also notable for featuring a trans protagonist: Tyler a trans-man who transitioned during childhood, getting to see some more transgender representation is always great, in my opinion. However, it looks as if you’ll have to wait if you want to play the game in full as it’ll be released in episodic chapters throughout 2020 and 2021.
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps: Enhanced Edition
Developer: Moon Studios
Release Date: Holiday 2020
Despite having only been released earlier this year, the second game in the Ori series, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, will be coming to Xbox Series X and receiving a bunch of upgrades in the process. Running at 120-hertz refresh rate and 4K HDR, the enhanced version of the platformer will also have ultra-low-latency which will enable you to perform more precise jumps and maneuvers, so you’ll no longer be able to blame the game engine when you get squished or miss a ledge by a hair.
The Outer Worlds: Peril On Gorgon
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment & Private Division
Release Date: September 9, 2020
If you’d forgotten about Obsidian and Private Division’s retro-space RPG, you certainly wouldn’t be the only one. having released in October of last year to some initial popularly, the game quickly fell by the wayside without any DLC or additional content to satisfy players. Now, however, the ultra-capitalist space simulator is back with the first of two story packs; Peril on Gorgon.
The story for the DLC sees the player travel to the remote asteroid of Gorgon, where strange and sinister things are no doubt afoot, new enemies, quests, and weapons are yours for the taking, as well as a host of new NPCs to interact with and possibly recruit to your crew. But, with a release date of September 9th, they’ll have to ramp up the marketing because it’s unlikely anyone will remember to load up the game again months after the DLC was announced.
Grounded
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Release Date: July 28, 2020
The second game announced by Obsidian during the showcase is Grounded a strange mix of Honey I Shrunk The Kids and Fortnite’s PvE mode. Featuring four-player co-op, you have to scavenge supplies from your backyard to build structures and combat the hordes of insects that want to make you their next meal. The game has an art style that is eerily similar to Fortnite’s and even if that’s just a coincidence, It’s an attempt by Obsidian to attract a younger audience to their game, although they did include a cheeky nod to CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 at the start of their trailer, so maybe there’s hope for them yet.
Avowed
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Release Date: TBD
The last announcement from Obsidian during the Xbox Games Showcase is their new RPG project Avowed, a game that – according to Xbox Game Studios Head Matt Booty – is something that the developer has been wanting to make ever since they partnered with Microsoft. Taking place in the Pillars of Eternity universe, all we know about the game at this point is that you’ll play as a knight charged with defeating an invading army of the undead, but at least from the cinematics, we can see that Obsidian are putting a lot of time and resources into the game, which is usually a good sign that we’ll get a quality game somewhere down the line.
As Dusk Falls
Developer: Interior/Night
Release Date: TBD
Taking the title as the most down-to-Earth game announced at today’s showcase, As Dusk Falls is an interactive drama that follows two families in a modern mid-western town. One family is new to town and takes over a small motel, while the other is a group of thieves out for their next big score. Characters from both sides will meet and come into conflict with one another as the story progresses, but maybe just maybe there’s a spark of love in the air as well.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Developer: Ninja Theory
Release Date: 2021
Built-in Unreal Engine 5 and set in Iceland, the sequel to the hit game Senua’s Sacrifice was revealed today in a stunning and impactful trailer, given the intense themes of the first game, the next entry in the series will be interesting and no doubt emotional to play through. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until we get closer to 2021 for more details.
Psychonauts 2
Developer: DoubleFine Studios
Release Date: 2021
The long-awaited follow-up to the cult classic, Psychonauts 2 is just as trippy as the original, and in the extended trailer, we got to see during the showcase we were treated to a bizarre musical landscape, filled with the beautiful singing voice of famous actor; Jack Black. What we know of the story is we see Raz return, now a fully-fledged Psychonaut agent, no doubt tasked with entering the minds of troubled individuals to help repair their fractured psyches.
Traversal around the game seems like it will be a mixture of open-world exploration and vehicles, with a van aptly named “The Feelmobile” being seen in the trailer. Abilities seem like they’ll be able to be found throughout the various mindscapes you’ll explore, and you’ll keep them on your person in the form of badges that you can use to access them. One such ability gives you the power to slow time to help you parkour over obstacles.
Unfortunately, we’ve still not got a release date for the game, but with it being tagged as available for Xbox Series X and Xbox One alongside other platforms like PC and – seemingly – PS4, we can be hopeful that it’ll release in the next year or two before the original Xbox One hardware becomes too outdated.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light
Developer: Bungie
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Coming to Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Series X in the fall, Destiny 2 is gearing up for their next big DLC, but before we get into that, Xbox has also stated that starting in September all current Destiny expansions will be available on Gamepass, which means if like me you’ve not played since the game released, you now have the opportunity to catch up before the Beyond Light DLC drops. Gamepass Ultimate members will also have the ability to play Destiny 2 on mobile using the cloud.
Now that’s out of the way, lets dive into the Beyond Light Expansion.
Bringing the game up to 4K Resolution and 60FPS, Beyond light will have your Guardian exploring the icy moon of Europa, in the process, you’ll unlock new ice-based “Supers” to thrash the Vex, Fallen and any other enemies that get in your way. Depending on your class you’ll also be able to create footholds out of ice to create shortcuts across difficult terrain, and you can guarantee it’ll be a raid mechanic at some point as well knowing Bungie.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
Developer: GSC Game World
Release Date: 2021
Another follow-up to a cult classic, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 (which is a pain to type, for the record) returns us to an alternate universe where Chernobyl suffered a second nuclear disaster, mutating everything in the exclusion zone and causing the land to be isolated from the rest of the civilized world. You’ll once again take up the mantle of an agent sent into the zone to investigate the anomalies that occur there and report back… if you can survive that is.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide
Developer: Fatshark
Release Date: 2021
The next in the long line of Warhammer titles, Darktide seems like it’ll follow a similar play-style as Vermintide where you’ll face off against waves of enemies in co-op whilst progressing through the game’s story. This time however you’ll play a group of military soldiers, which might mean you’ll have less diversity when it comes to choosing what skills and weapons to use.
Tetris Effect: Connected
Developer: Enhance
Release Date: Holiday 2020
An expansion to the pre-existing Tetris Effect game, Tetris Effect: Connected brings local and multiplayer co-op exclusively Xbox. There is an optimized single-player experience. This is curiously one of the weaker showings from the showcase and feels like it was included mainly to pad out the runtime, but if you’re one of the people that stans Tetris then this is great news!
The Gunk
Developer: Image & Form Games/Thunderful
Release Date: TBD
It feels like all the games that we’ve seen announced this year have had some pretty dark themes and The Gunk is no exception. Playing as a space explorer, you come across an uncharted world and while initially hopeful that it contains verdant life, you instead find mysterious black gunk has infested it and the creatures that call it home. Alongside your partner and your trusty tech, you’ll work to purify the world and slowly breathe life back into the planet.
The Medium
Developer: Bloober Team
Release Date: TBD
A psychological horror game, The Medium has you guiding the actions of a young psychic with the ability to perceive a second hidden world filled with dark emotions. Throughout your journey, you’ll uncover a horrifying mystery that blends the lines between the two worlds and forces you to confront a horrifying killer. This game looks to be one to watch out for if unlike me you’re a horror buff. Sidenote: If anyone needs me I’ll be under the covers with the light turned on.
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis
Developer: SEGA
Release Date: 2021
Similar in principal to the overhaul of Final Fantasy XIV, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis looks to be either a redesign or rework of the original game that came out in 2012. SEGA most likely wants to break the game out of the Japanese market and into the wider world, and by giving it a fresh coat of paint, they might just succeed. The combat and world traversal does look enticing, but as is often the problem with MMORPGs it’s finding the time to play them in a market that’s oversaturated with AAA titles that demand our attention.
CrossfireX
Developer: Remedy
Release Date: Holiday 2020
Originally developed in China, Crossfire was a tactical multiplayer shooter similar to Call Of Duty, but seeking to gain more stake in the western market, Publisher Tencent has given developer Remedy Entertainment the go-ahead to create a single-player campaign.
In the trailer, we see a soldier equipping an exosuit that gives him enhanced abilities and durability. The story seems to center around a hostile American terrorist group bent on causing worldwide destruction. The single-player campaign is scheduled to be released episodically but we don’t yet know whether you’ll have to pay for these episodes or whether they’ll be free like the existing multiplayer game.
Fable
Developer: Playground Games
Release Date: ???
The Xbox team wasn’t going to end the show without giving us something to talk about and with the announcement of a new Fable game, they’ve given us just that. While we know absolutely nothing at this point about what to expect from this new entry in the franchise, I think we can all rest easy knowing that it won’t be a Kinect game.
That’s it for the Xbox Games Showcase, we’ve seen a decent amount of games, but we’ve still not got a price for the Xbox Series X console. It’s a safe bet at this point that Sony and Microsoft are playing a game of chicken and seeing who blinks first when it comes to price. But with the holiday season just over four months away, someone is going to have to announce a price soon.
What are your thoughts on today’s showcase, who won out of Sony and Microsoft? Let us know on Twitter @ReplayWire and @Wolfencreek!
