Thoughts on the Xbox Games Showcase

Yesterday the team at Xbox held the highly anticipated Xbox Games Showcase digital event. The gaming community had been anxiously waiting for this show to see if Microsoft would do a better job (especially from their previous event) of showcasing the games that you'll want to play, and that Xbox will be the place for you to play those games. So how was the event? Did it meet those expectations or just fall flat? Well, after watching the event, the game trailers, and the announcements, I've compiled my thoughts on the event. There were a lot of games shown, so here we go!

The event started right off with a heavy hitter and it was of course Halo Infinite. To me, I've always been a fan of the Halo franchise, but only for the campaigns. That's not to say I dislike the multiplayer, but it's never been the focus of the Halo games for me. I've been anxious to see footage of Halo Infinite since it was first announced, and from what was shown I'm still excited for the game. The eight minute game demo was exciting. The visuals were beautiful and seeing the grappling hook ability and combat brought to me a feeling of both new and familiarity. It definitely has some atmosphere of Halo Combat Evolved. It was a solid way to start the show.

Next the show jumped right into another familiar Xbox franchise with the cinematic trailer for State of Decay 3. Judging from the trailer it looks like we'll have to deal with and face off zombie animals now! I enjoyed the first State of Decay game, but for some reason couldn't get into the second game as much. I'm still interested in the third game and look forward to seeing how it shapes up. Of course what Xbox showing would be complete without Forza. The golden staple of Xbox racing. I'm personally not a big racing game fan, but I do enjoy the open world and more "arcade" feeling of the Forza Horizon series. Needless to say, as always the trailer for Forza Motorsport touts incredible graphics.

The next game is one I'm really interested in and that is Everwild from developer Rare. I really wish the trailer that was shown had more gameplay footage, but the beautiful world, character design, and art style still has me hooked and wanting to see more of the game. The episodic games of Life is Strange and various TellTale series seem to be popular, and the first chapter of the game Tell Me Why looks to be following suit in bringing an engaging and emotional story. While I don't know if I'll play the game at launch, I'm sure it'll be a game I play at some point. Speaking of a game I'll play at some point, I never got around to playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps and I'm glad I hadn't. It was revealed that a special Xbox Series X version of the game will be launching this holiday with higher framerate and fidelity. I think that'll make it the perfect time to experience the game.

Obsidian is a developer whom I feel does a great job with RPGs and creating characters and worlds you want to explore. I enjoyed their space adventure game The Outer Worlds quite a bit, and seeing the trailer for the upcoming Peril on Gorgon expansion makes me feel like visiting the game again. Also, Obsidian's upcoming first person RPG Avowed definitely has my attention. I love pretty much anything medieval fantasy setting, and the brief glimpses of gameplay from the trailer looks fun. The final "round" with Obsidian was the official launch trailer for their game Grounded. While the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" concept in gameplay form is fun, I don't know how much of the game I'll really spend time with.

Earlier I spoke about Tell Me Why looking to bring an emotional and engaging story. Well, the game As Dusk Falls looks to be doing exactly the same and in an interesting way. The hand painted art style was absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure if that's what the actual gameplay will look like, but if so, it'll be a gaming experience not to miss seeing. Now I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything (or a lot for that matter) about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. In fact, my experience with the video games consists of Space Marine, the short lived Warhammer Online MMORPG, and the two Vermintide games. That being said, the trailer for Warhammer 40,000 Darktide certainly drew me in and left me wanting to know more.

There was a moment in the show that I was a little disappointed with. Not with the game itself, but with what was presented. That is Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga. After the awesome trailer that was shown back in December, I was really hoping to see a new trailer and even some glimpses of gameplay. While seeing the developer's process and the incredible and beautiful landscape in Iceland was nice, it's not quite the update I wanted for the game. Some other games that were shown that while I wasn't disappointed with them in any way, I just didn't find myself being over the top excited for include: Tetris Effect Connected, The Gunk, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, CrossfireX, and Psychonauts 2 (although I do love Jack Black).

The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game was one I've never played but always heard good things about. And I have to say after seeing the trailer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 I want to play the first game and then immediately experience the second when it launches. Similar to the Metro series, the game really seems to entice a feeling of uncertainty, eeriness, and a dark atmosphere. I was glad to see a new trailer for the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion, Beyond Light, but it was pretty awesome to hear that Destiny 2 and all of the current standard expansions will be coming to Game Pass in September. Not only that, but the standard version of the new Beyond Light expansion will be on Game Pass when it launches in November.

Another highlight of the show was seeing a new gameplay trailer for the upcoming horror game The Medium. I love horror games and I think that the developers at Bloober Team do a fantastic job create intense, atmospheric, and terrifying experiences. Seeing how the game renders two separate realms at the same time is clear why the developers have said the game just wasn't possible on current gen consoles. I like the Silent Hill vibes the game evokes and I absolutely cannot wait to play it and get freaked out the entire time!

To me, there wasn't a better way to wrap up the Games Showcase by officially revealing that a new Fable game is in the works. While it's been rumored for some time, it's good to know it's a real thing now. I've really liked the entire Fable series, and I really hope that Playground Games does a great job creating a next gen fantasy experience. It'll just be a matter of how long until we get to play it!

I thought it was awesome that Phil Spencer announced that all of the games shown would be playable through Xbox Game Pass. It's clear that Xbox has been really pushing for, marketing, and building up Game Pass over the past year, and it's fantastic. The sheer amount of games and value, and not to mention they are adding the xCloud service at no additional cost, continues to make Game Pass hands down the best service in gaming. All in all I was please with the Xbox Games Showcase. With 10 world premiers and 22 console launch exclusives shown, I think that the team at Xbox did a very solid job showcasing the games coming to Xbox, and it left me even more excited to get my hands on a Xbox Series X and experience all these games with next gen capabilities and features.

So what did you think of the Xbox Games Showcase? Were your expectations met? Or were you let down? Also, encase you missed any of the trailer shown, take a look at them down below. Regardless of which platform you play games on, I think we can all agree this fall is going to be an incredible and exciting time for gaming!