~ News ~
Everything shown in Microsoft's October 25th presentation of upcoming third-party releases.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
When? 26 January 2024 What? The Yakuza series has shifted to its Japanese "Like a Dragon" title, but this will effectively be the eighth mainline Yakuza title. It will connect Yakuza 6, Yakuza: Like a Dragon and the upcoming (Nov 9) Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Infinite Wealth will continue the RPG combat system of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, starring that game's protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, as well as series regular Kazuma Kirya. What's New? This preview focused on "Happy Island Resort" Dondoku Island, which is basically Animal Crossing inside a Yakuza game. Design your island home, construct furniture, befriend other islanders, build infrastructure, attract tourists and defend your paradise from uninvited guests. Expect a host of eccentric mini-games in an all-new context that will surely add tens more hours onto Infinite Wealth's playtime.
Ikaro Will Not Die
When? TBC What? This was the first announcement of Ikaro and details are scarce, but developer Futurlab (of PowerWash Simulator fame) have this to say on game's Steam page: "Master the game’s gravity-defying systems to surf through sci-fi environments, engage in spectacular combat encounters by chaining abilities together, and employ a host of cool abilities". Billed as a third-person action rouguelike, this is the "spiritual successor" to 2014's Velocity 2X, a game that combined spaceship shoot-em-up with 2D action platforming. What's New? The trailer opened with the action seen through a monitor with typed comments from spectators, suggesting a Rollerdrome-style bloodsport. The distinct visuals, with thick outlines and comic book letters punctuating the violence, are also reminiscent of that game, but perhaps more so HiFi Rush. Here, though, everything is streaked with sci-fi neon.
Still Wakes the Deep
When? Early 2024 What? The Chinese Room, veterans of walking simulation (Dear Esther, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture), are turning their atmospheric exploration gameplay to the horror genre. Set in 1975 on an oil rig of the coast of Scotland, the developers have talked about prioritising place and character to ground the player in what looks to be a legitimately terrifying experience. What's New? The trailer showed off the incredible first-person visuals, as the player navigates treacherous external walkways and cramped corridors, chased by awful echoing sounds of something inhuman. As a game which will probably be something of a slow-burner, gathering tension as it unfurls the story, it looks set to trade in dread rather than shock. This has the rather unfortunate side-effect of giving a slightly anti-climatic trailer as The Chinese Room keep their cards close to their chest.
Robocop: Rogue City
When? 2 November 2023 What? It's Robocop as a first-person shooter from the developers of the middling Terminator: Resistance. There's honestly not a whole lot more to say. It does what it says on the tin. What's New? This was mostly a story trailer, sticking close to the preposterous, cringeworthy dystopia of 80's sci-fi - it's a city overrun with colourful gangs who must be wiped out by the cyborg hero. The gameplay looked very pretty but also looked like just about any other FPS set in metal corridors. Update! Reviews of this have started to come in and, as expected, it seems to be a perfectly serviceable yet unimaginative shooter, capturing nostalgia but perhaps not creating new fans of the robot cop.
Dungeons of Hinterberg
When? 2024 What? A dungeon-crawling, puzzle-platforming, social-simulating debut from Microbird games, Hinterberg charmed a few journalists lucky enough to get a hands-on demo at Not-E3 earlier in the year. Something of a current trend, it's beautiful cartoon look has opted for that winning aesthetic reminiscent of Rollerdrome, HiFi Rush and now Ikaro Will Not Die. Hinterberg distinguishes itself with cutesy characters and cosy town vibes. What's New? This new trailer saw protagonist going around town chatting to the various inhabitants, levelling up relationships, which provided combat perks for the monster-slaying side of the game.
Spirit of the North 2
When? TBC What? Sequel to the sweet, delicate, exploratory fox-em-up from Infuse Studio. The first game was admired for its beauty but received mixed reviews for its fiddly controls andunimpactful gameplay, which makes this announcement something of a surprise. What's New? The preview revealed a crow companion for the fox, and showed the pair exploring winter wonderlands as in the first game, as well as few temple-like environments. Not a whole lot a this to distinguish the sequel from the original apart from the crow and the upgraded visuals, which do admittedly look a damn treat.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
When? TBC What? A remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, announced earlier this year. It remains to be seen exactly how much this is a fresh coat of paint and how much it might re-imagine the original, potentially making some quality of life improvements along the way. What's New? Well, these first in-engine scenes look bloody beautiful. It's certainly striking to see the new model for Solid Snake moving through water, stirring up muddy banks, and dripping wet back on land. Konami know they don't have to show much - there's little action in this trailer, but the anticipation for a re-do of such a beloved game is already at fever pitch.
Manor Lords
When? 26 April 2024 What? A deep medieval simulation game involving city-building, management and real-time battles, amazingly all the work of a solo developer. It's construction, diplomacy, town-planning and tactics as you take on the role of a Lord renting out his land - the ultimate feudal tenure fantasy. What's New? The new trailer looked sumptuous, featured brief glimpses of the various systems that have already piqued so much interest, and gave us a release date as well the news that it'll be coming to PC game pass before coming later to consoles.
The Finals
When? TBC (Open beta now!) What? A new battle royale coming hot on the heels of the cancellation of Hyenas, SEGA's attempt to crack the crowded genre, it must be an anxious time over at Embark Studios, who need to prove that The Finals can stand out and (to borrow their parlance) "reach the finals". This is a team-based FPS with destructible environments, each playing out in a massive colosseum filled with braying crowds. The game-show/sporting event element hews close to The Hunger Games, but its still a common contemporary trope - it looks as if Apex Legends could be The Finals' closed stablemate. However, there are no heroes here - you can customise your character after choosing a class from light, medium and heavy. The closed beta earlier this year had a mixed reception, but mainly due to bugs and annoying AI announcers. The gameplay seems to be shaping up nicely. (Technically, multiple respawns make this not a battle royale, but... come on.) What's New? The trailer was colourful and incredibly fast-paced, but had the UI-free, pre-rendered sheen that makes it hard to determine how much it will resemble the final game. An open beta began on October 26th for consoles and PC.
Ark: Survival Ascended
When? Out Now for PC, November for consoles
What? A ground-up remake of Ark: Survival Evolved, the dinosaur-toting survival game originally released in 2015. This has already had a year of controversy, as developer Wildcard plans to take the old game's servers offline after release and after promises of inclusion in an Ark 2 bundle were broken.
What's New? A surprise drop for the PC release, doubly surprising since this was also the first gameplay footage yet revealed. The trailer was a visual gawp-fest, showing off as many dinosaurs as possible.
Alan Wake 2
When? Now! Out 27 October 2023 What? The sequel to Remedy's gloomy cult hit, in which writer Alan Wake grappled with reality in a third-person action adventure recognised for its powerful plot but unsatisfying combat. The new game has upped the production values (always a key part of Remedy's output), upped the mixed-media storytelling, upped the horror and doubled the protagonists. What's New? There was a flashy, cinematic trailer followed by an extended gameplay look focused on Saga, new protagonist joining the returning Mr Wake. Update! Remedy sent out review code a little close to the wire, so it's taken a bit of time for outlets to publish their thoughts. There was a lot of love ahead of this release, especially from people hungry for AAA single player experiences - a dying breed of videogame - and those high hopes seem to have borne out in largely positive reviews. Alan Wake 2 has been knocked for being overwritten, slow or indulgent but most agree it is (also) stylish, scary, atmospheric and gorgeous.
