Yesterday, we got a closer look into a few big upcoming Xbox titles during their Developer_Direct 2024. It’s been about a year since the inaugural Developer_Direct digital showcase — and the shadow drop release of Hi-Fi Rush. Xbox has now established their own start of the year showcase to get gamers hyped for what is to come.
Yesterday’s showcase was only slated to have four deep dives from four different studios. Midway through the showcase “A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARED,” when Square Enix showed up with a game they’ve been working on, Visions of Mana. The four originally planned studios were Obsidian Entertainment (Avowed), Ninja Theory (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2), Oxide Games (ARA: History Untold), and Machine Games (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle).
Even though I am not completely interested in all five of these games, I appreciate the spread across different genres. I respect that Xbox is casting a wide net of types of games to appeal to many
different gamers.
1 – AVOWED by Obsidian Entertainment
Avowed is a new action RPG that looks like something in between The Elder Scrolls and Baldur’s Gate 3. Obsidian’s previous RPGs include The Outer Worlds and Pillars of Eternity, both games that I enjoyed
quite a bit.
I’m fascinated with the colors and creatures in the world of Avowed. I would give it a shot for that, plus the combat. The mix of melee and ranged combat with magic and blocking/parrying seems like a good time.
The last big RPG I played was The Outer Worlds, which took place in a sci-fi, future space-civilization. I’m curious to see how the gameplay of Avowed will evolve from The Outer Worlds. After spending some time in space, the wildly colorful fantasy world has also piqued my interest.
Avowed is set to release this fall.
2 – Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga by Ninja Theory
What’s surprising about this game is that the original Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice started off as a PlayStation exclusive title before Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory. The sequel Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga is set to release as an Xbox exclusive. This feels sort of like when your favorite TV show jumps networks, or is rebooted by a streaming service.
I enjoyed most of the first game on my PC with a set of headphones, and the sound design was so well thought out. I cannot imagine how much further they can go in the sequel with sound, using the latest technology. In the deep dive the sound engineer mentioned how this time every aspect of sound will use binaural audio making the world more immersive.
I wasn’t expecting much from the original Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Since the game was advertised as a shorter experience, I did not expect that level of production value. Not only was the sound design out of this world, but the game itself played closer to some of the recent AAA titles I had just finished.
Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga will be released on May 21, 2024.
3 – Visions of Mana by Square Enix
This was the surprise guest of the showcase. I haven’t really played much of any of the Mana series, but I now know that this series is sort of the inspiration for the Final Fantasy series of games. From the gameplay, it looks like a less intense, more accessible version of the Final Fantasy games I’ve played.
Hearing the design stories for some of these characters was a big reason why I may want to play Visions of Mana. I’m hoping this game will also come to Nintendo Switch, so I can play it there.
Visions of Mana is planned for release in the Summer of 2024.
4 – Ara: History Untold by Oxide Games
Of all the games shown during the showcase, this may be the one I’m least likely to play. However, I have become quite curious into learning more about the Civilization series of games and other 4X type games. I’m currently obsessed with Steamworld Build, which involves the world building aspect of these games, but I was also already obsessed with the Steamworld universe. I also own DUNE: Spice Wars which has the same building mechanics, with added big battles.
I do like the idea of building a world with civilizations based in different time periods. At least that’s what it looks like when you have a jungle nation next to some high-tech, skyscraper city. Still, the amount of brain power and time these games require is the reason why I rarely get into them.
5 – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle by Machine Games
The most exciting part of the entire showcase was knowing that we were getting our first look into the new Indiana Jones game from Machine Games — makers of the latest Wolfenstein games. Even without knowing much, I would have guessed that this game would be set in mostly first-person.
Other than that I did not know what to expect, but after seeing some gameplay I am excited. It wasn’t until I was in college, taking an Arthurian Literature class that I decided to watch all three Indiana Jones movies — there were only three at the time. Ever since then I’ve been a fan of the archeologist. Even after seeing Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, I still loved the guy.
The Uncharted franchise of games are some of my favorites, and Nathan Drake is very heavily inspired by Indy. He’s a modern day Indy, with more of a Chaotic Neutral take on life. It’s because of these games I always thought that Naughty Dog should work on an Indiana Jones game, but I think I was wrong. I don’t want an Uncharted game where you’re playing as Indy. I want someone else to make an Indiana Jones game, and I’m happy it’s Machine Games.
It wasn’t confirmed to me until later in the day, but I had a feeling that Indy’s voice in the game was that of the great Troy Baker.
If you missed the digital showcase, you can catch it in its entirety below:
Once again, I was very pleased with this year’s Xbox Developer_Direct, and I will continue to be excited each year when they are announced if they keep them coming. In the past, Xbox held those multi-hour long in-person showcases that were full of announcements and great, but many of the games were forgotten right after. I’m sure they will continue to give us those big, long showcases in the summer time.
I will say that focusing on a few games, and hearing from the developers is a more memorable approach. Whether I want to play the game or not, after hearing people talk about it for 7-10 minutes I won’t forget that game.
What were you most excited about during the Xbox Developer_Direct 2024?
Tell us in the comments below.
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