The beautiful thing if you truly love video games it that there are almost no bad showcases ever. There are just some that are better than others.
There have been several showcases in the past few years that have absolutely blown me away. This past Game Awards had one incredible trailer after another for example. This year’s Summer Game Fest didn’t quite deliver on that level. While I enjoyed watching all of the showcases that I had time to see (SGF, State of Play, Day of the Devs, Xbox, and Wholesome Direct), none of them completely had my attention for their entire shows. Each one had some pretty slow stretches where I found myself tuning out or a bit uninterested.
Despite that, I really love video games, and I’m willing to play almost any genre out there besides a select few. So even in showcases that I consider a bit weaker than some past years, I still had a fantastic time learning about tons of new games. I came away from these showcases with 29 games in particular that made me more interested than I was before, or that really wowed me in some way. They are ranked in terms of how much they won me over. And there were plenty more that I considered good or fine that I won’t be listing here.
As usual, this list is off what personally struck me. I also highly prioritize gameplay for these showcases unless the cinematics really do something interesting for me. This is a great post to save yourself some time and learn about some awesome looking games that are on the way!
29. Hotel Galactic
Hotel Galactic is freaking gorgeous. It’s a hotel management game with Studio Ghibli inspired graphics, and the cutscenes in particular absolutely live up to that. The management stuff looked pretty deep, but I don’t know if that did an amazing job selling me on that portion of the game yet. But if this plays even close to as good as it looks, this should be a very nice time.
28. Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
I loved the concept of the first Moonlighter, but something about it just didn’t fully click with me. I think the formula got a little stale, and neither the combat or the shopkeeping felt at a high enough level, even though they coalesce together in really cool and logical ways. I was ready to dismiss Moonlighter 2, but I am struck by how large of an upgrade this seems to be. Graphically, the game has been overhauled to be 3D now, and it looks great. It seems like there are also some enhancements to the shopkeeping. The combat still isn’t wowing me, but it doesn’t look bad, and the boss fights actually look kind of cool. Considering how much I love a good roguelite, this trailer was more than enough for me to decide that I’m down to jump back into this world.
27. Into The Unwell
This looks like a very twisted 3D action platformer with really striking cartoony visuals. The initial cutscene pulls you in right away because of those visuals, but once the trailer shifts to gameplay, it has some interesting looking combat and platforming, too. Whenever a trailer has interesting visuals and gameplay, it’s going to come across well. Into The Unwell had a very solid first impression.
26. End of Abyss
This looked like a top-down survival horror game with some perspective shifts and potentially an interesting story attached. I’m not sure if this type of game would usually be up my alley, but they really nailed the atmosphere and the mystery here. And I actually thought the core shooting looked pretty fun, too, with great effects when bullets hit enemies. The enemies are also extremely creepy. This was a nice little one minute trailer.
25. Keeper
Keeper is the newest from Double Fine, which is always a big deal. You seem to play as a walking lighthouse, which is weird as hell, but it looked pretty dang cool. The game is gorgeous, with magnificent art direction, and I thought the platforming and puzzle solving looked like it might be pretty interesting. I’m not opposed to playing a weird, chill, pretty platformer, and this seemed to kind of fit the bill. I’m definitely interested in seeing more.
24. Infinitesimals
This looks like Grounded or Pikmin but with bugs and guns. The concept is decent enough, but the little glimpses of gameplay actually looked quite good. It looks like there is a “burst” move of sorts with a jetpack that allows for some nice mobility when dodging big bugs and other dangers in the grass. The actual shooting also looked pretty impactful as well. I need to see a lot more, but this managed to catch my eye.
23. Mortal Shell 2
I didn’t play the first Mortal Shell, but this trailer was enough to catch my attention. The executions shown here were so brutal, but the bits of gameplay felt like they had some promise, too. I like that there is a gun, as that isn’t the most common thing in the souls space, and it looks fun to use. The game also seemed like it’s another level of dark, twisted, and weird, even for a soulslike. I thought the choice of metal music fit the trailer really well, too. At this point, there’s enough soulslikes out there where I feel like you have to do something special for me to jump on board. Mortal Shell 2 at least showed enough promise where I’m considering it, and that isn’t always easy.
22. Mina The Hollower
I’ve seen Mina The Hollower drafted in several fantasy critic leagues this year, but I actually had no idea what it was. I was pleasantly surprised during this trailer to find out that it is the next game from Yacht Club, makers of Shovel Knight. I liked Shovel Knight, but I wasn’t really down to play more than one of them, so I was very happy to see them going in a new direction with a more Zelda-y approach. The trailer managed to fit in a lot of quick gameplay blips, and it seemed quite varied and deep. This looks like a guaranteed very solid video game, and it showed itself off very well in a limited amount of time.
21. All Will Rise
All Will Rise is a roguelike deckbuilder, where the “battles” involve winning court cases. It looks like you use your cards to have conversations with people and obtain info, and then use that in the courtroom. The game also hinted at things like managing your team of lawyers/investigator’s stamina in various ways. It’s a really interesting concept, and it looked quite deep and not like anything else I’ve ever played. I really hope this one is able to live up to its lofty ambitions, as I love this genre, but I would also really like to experience something outside of the norm within it. This was easily my favorite showing from the Wholesome Direct showcase.
20. Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf
I played the original Planet of Lana but dropped it pretty quickly. I think I just wasn’t in the right headspace for it.
This trailer is so good that it makes me not only want to play Planet of Lana 2, but it also makes me want to try the original again. This trailer is so beautiful and well set up. The visuals are stunning, the music is great, and the gameplay looks fun and cinematic. This did everything right, and it is now firmly on my radar for next year, and the original will likely be played a little before that. That’s a big win from this trailer.
19. Cronos: The New Dawn
After Silent Hill 2, Bloober has gone from a developer who felt like an auto skip to one that I am playing real attention to. Cronos: The New Dawn feels like their big swing at making a blockbuster new IP. And while this trailer didn’t show tons, it did show enough for me to still feel invested. Namely, the atmosphere looks incredible and eerie as you’d expect. It captures Dead Space type of vibes in a way I really like. The gunplay also looked solid. I definitely need to see more, but this trailer kept the game firmly on my radar.
18. Escape Academy 2: Back to School
I liked the original Escape Academy, but I dropped it before finishing it. While there were some cool puzzles, I think the way everything in the game felt so disconnected just made me lose interest. Especially since there were a few puzzle elements that I thought were annoying. So, when I originally saw that this was Escape Academy 2, I was ready to write it off immediately.
Then, the trailer talked about how the game is more “open world” now, and you can actually explore the school and do side quests and such. The campus is also its own escape room in a variety of ways. This sounds like a total blast. The best part about Hogwarts Legacy was the way so many secrets were hidden around the school, and this looks like it could be even cooler than that. This was a very strong addition to the Day of the Devs show.
17. MUDANG: Two Hearts
This trailer had me going “what the fuck is going on” most of the trailer, but in the good “this is intriguing” kind of way. This gave me serious Splinter Cell vibes, but a lot less western (including a somewhat stereotypical looking anime type model straight out of Lollipop Chainsaw). It looks like there could be an intriguing story, and everything I saw in the gameplay looked pretty damn good too. I’m guessing that the segments with the girl are more stealth oriented, and the ones with the decked out spy dude are more action-y. This looked like it could be something not quite like anything else out there, and I really want to see more.
16. Resident Evil: Requiem
This was arguably the biggest moment of the entire weekend. Many fans have been on edge waiting for a reveal of this game, and after a bit of trolling from Capcom, they made it happen.
The lack of gameplay held this back from being any higher than this, but this was still a really cool trailer. I’m a fan of the Resident Evil games thanks to the gameplay, but the story has never been anything I cared about all the much outside of a few rare examples. This trailer sets up some pretty cool plot hooks, and maybe some higher stakes than some of the past games. Maybe this is the one where both plot and gameplay will combine to create something special. Luckily, I don’t have all that long to wait to find out if it can pull it off.
15. Stranger Than Heaven
It’s not easy to get on one of these lists for me without gameplay. But I can make some exceptions, especially when the developer has a strong track record. I’ve been very curious to see more about the next RGG product, and this ended up showing off a lot of potential.
Taking the Yakuza/Judgement formula and going with a more noir seeming direction looks really cool. It appears like there might be some elements of player choice as well. I would have loved to see actual combat shown off a bit here, but the general vibe was enough for me to really enjoy this one.
14. Splitgate 2
I really enjoyed the original Splitgate, and everything I’ve seen from the sequel has impressed me, but I’ve been unsure if I was actually going to jump into it, since it’s hard for me to carve out any time for multiplayer games. But this trailer finally did it for me. I’m not sure if it was known that Splitgate 2 would have a battle royale mode, but that drew my interest big time. The gameplay shown also looks a lot like Halo to me except with portals. That is exactly what I want. This trailer got me to install a multiplayer game, and anyone who knows me knows that this is not an easy feat.
13. Hirogami
This looks like a really cool gimmick! Hirogami looks like a sort of 3D platformer where you are a piece of paper that can also become different origami designs. You use all of these different characters to navigate around various obstacles. Some of the action segments looked a touch off to me, but there is a lot of potential with this concept, and the clips shown made it feel like the developer might be up to getting a lot out of this gimmick. It’s only about three months away, so we will find out soon!
12. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
This trailer was short, but it was relentless. It just had non-stop action segments and platforming, and they all looked so fast-paced and crisp. This didn’t show anything all that new from the trailer that originally won me over on this game, but that trailer was very short as well, so even seeing another 45 seconds of gameplay was very exciting. Between every clip I’ve seen and the track records of these developers (they made Blasphemous), this looks like a surefire 2D hit. I can’t wait. And it’s coming quite soon!
11. Ninja Gaiden 4
Much like the trailer for Ragebound, the Ninja Gaiden 4 trailer doesn’t break much new ground, but it shows off a lot of fast-paced gameplay, and all of that gameplay looks badass as hell. Literally, every clip shown here was really damn cool, and there were some interesting weapons shown off that I wouldn’t necessarily expect to see in a ninja game as well. Getting a release date was also great. Consider me sold and ready for this one to launch in October.
10. Silent Hill f
It’s crazy how quickly things can change. I didn’t care about the Silent Hill series at all, but after playing Silent Hill 2 Remake, I now feel like I have to at least consider any game in the series in the future. This has happened a lot faster than expected, with Silent Hill f now coming out later this year.
This looked eerie as hell, and the melee combat looked a lot like Silent Hill 2, which is a good thing. I also liked how Japanese the entire game is, including the lack of dub in the trailer. I’m usually a dub guy, but watching this for three minutes made Japanese feel like the ideal way to play the game because it also goes with the authentic feeling setting so well.
My only concern with the trailer is that the only combat shown was melee. I liked the melee in Silent Hill 2 a lot when it was used as a last resort kind of thing. In the bit of that game where you don’t have a gun, I thought the melee got a little repetitive. Perhaps the game will be more horror than survival horror, and it will work, but either way, I absolutely have my eyes on this one.
9. Out of Words
I think the success of It Takes Two and Split Fiction finally has some people’s attention. It feels like we are starting to get more games crafted to be pure co-op games than ever before. Out of Words is another title like this, but it stands out big time in a lot of ways. First off, the handcrafted stopmotion graphic style looks incredibly striking. Stopmotion games are becoming more and more common as well, and this still managed to stun me with how good it looks. The game also showed off some creative looking puzzles and potentially a touching story as well. This has a lot of promise, and I’m excited to keep seeing games that go the co-op route.
8. Outer Worlds 2
I’m already very sold on Outer Worlds 2, so there wasn’t tons this trailer could do to win me over, but it still managed to do so. I already am excited for the same personality and charm from the first game. I’m excited for the RPG elements that Obsidian always brings to the table. But now, seeing how much better the combat looks in this game is really striking to me.
It felt like Obsidian really turned a corner on their combat with Avowed, and I think that is going to continue with Outer Worlds 2. The size, scope, and better combat all look set to make for a game that is a serious step up from the first game. I didn’t watch the extra Outer Worlds 2 showcase, but this three minute trailer was more than enough to excite me.
7. Mixtape
Mixtape had a showcase at both Summer Game Fest and Day of the Devs. I’m focusing more on the Day of the Devs showcase here, which is a bit longer and has tons of extra personality.
First off, this is from the same developers as The Artful Escape, which I absolutely adored. This looks like another game with very fun vibes and excellent music. The stopmotion art style is also very well done, and it looks like the gameplay is going to be made up of a nice variety of tasks to keep things fresh. This trailer was really fun and had me very sold on playing this one day one.
6. Neverway
This writeup is based on the showing at Day of the Devs, which I had a hard time finding a trailer for on its own. That trailer had the devs themselves talking about the game.
Neverway was one of my biggest winners of the “triple i showcase” earlier this year. Its debut was fascinating, but it also left me with a lot of questions about what the game actually was. We got a few more answers during Day of the Devs.
Neverway is a cozy horror game, and it looks like there are more action elements than I originally expected as well. Every aspect of this looks either good or very interesting to me. The action actually looks pretty solid. The story had some interesting hooks, and there seemed to be a lot of cool elements to the cozy stuff, too. The social elements look like they have had a lot of work put into them. I also love that the game’s “life sim” elements aren’t based on a timer. You specifically decide when the game moves over to a new phase of the day, which I think more cozy/life-sim games should consider as a way to do things.
All of the elements are here for this to be a very special and unique indie. Based on everything I’ve seen, I really believe it will stick the landing.
5. Sword of the Sea
Journey but with a hoverboard thing? Hell yeah! Sword of the Sea’s trailer is not much longer than a minute, but it does a splendid job of showing itself off in that short time. The art, the music, and the vibes seem perfect here. This just looks like a very chill and beautiful experience. But the hoverboard also looks quite fun, as the game shows off the ability to do tricks and seemingly play it like its Tony Hawk. The game only being a few months away is another nice bonus. This left a very solid impression for me.
4. Super Meat Boy 3D
Hell yes. I loved the original Super Meat Boy, but I kind of lost interest in any sequels afterward. Super Meat Boy Forever launching with pretty mixed reviews definitely didn’t leave me any more interested in jumping back in.
So I was stunned and pumped immediately when I realized Super Meat Boy was going 3D. The inclusion of the big green Mario pipe at the start of the trailer made me feel like they are signaling that they are going big with this one, and want it to be the same level of leap that the Mario games took when they went 3D.
The gameplay looked about how you might expect a 3D Super Meat Boy game to look, and that isn’t a bad thing. It looks very fast paced, very hard, and it looks like a lot of interesting and varied challenges will be thrown at you. I imagine it will be very responsive as well. This got me all the way in.
3. There Are No Ghosts At The Grand
Wow, this trailer was fucking awesome. There Are No Ghosts At The Grand comes off as a sort of cozy sim where you renovate a hotel and a town. That is pretty standard stuff, but the visuals and music already make that stand out right off the bat.
But then things get even cooler and weirder. The game gives you a weird version of a gun from Powerwash Simulator that seems to help renovate things. There also seems to be a creepy mystery attached to everything as well. I love it when a cozy game innovates and tells a story, and this looks like it will be doing that and then some. In my view, this was the strongest trailer of the show for any game that I knew absolutely nothing about beforehand.
2. 007 First Light
I have been excited for Io interactive’s take on 007, as the Hitman games are very well done, and they feel like a logical fit for the franchise. I’ve had a few nagging skepticisms, though. The Hitman games are incredible sandboxes, but I also wouldn’t necessarily call them the most cinematic games. I also like the idea of doing big sandbox levels for Bond, but I also didn’t think that would fully fit the formula. Yes, there is stealth that comes with Bond, and open-ended levels are nice, but the games also need big set piece moments, and I also haven’t felt like that was really a strength for the Hitman games.
This trailer put almost all my fears to rest and actually made me way more excited than I ever thought I would be for this game. This was a masterclass.
First off, the fact that this is actually a James Bond origin story seems nuts to me. There have been so many James Bond films, and apparently, none of them have done this. I think a James Bond origin film would have been a huge hit at the box office, so a video game getting the story instead is just mind boggling, and also shows us how far video games have come.
The story build-up was perfect here as well. It looks like a lot of fun, and the mix of stealth and action gameplay looked really strong. I don’t know if this trailer could have done a better job. This was shown at the State of Play on Wednesday and really couldn’t have been a better way to keep me hyped for the rest of Summer Game Fest weekend.
1. Clockwork Revolution
I enjoyed the past trailer I’ve seen of Clockwork Revolution, but I had done next to no digging on it. So, my basic impression of the game is that it would be a Bioshock type of experience, which was cool. This trailer still shows off a visual style and some gameplay that seems reminiscent of Bioshock Infinite. The gunplay seems quite strong here as well.
I did not realize, however, that this was from RPG developers InXile entertainment. So this one looks like it’s also going very heavy on the RPG elements, too. The character creator looked really clever. It seems like there is also a lot of customization and plenty of decisions to make in conversations and such.
The story, style, and voice acting were all top-notch as well. This went from “this looks pretty interesting” to something that might be near the top of my most anticipated games. That was a big surprise and a huge win. I can’t wait to see more of this one.
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