4 Games | 4 Studios | Straight from the Devs to You

I’ve been quite impressed with the recent Xbox Developer_Direct showcases — mainly the style. These have felt more like a collection of short video game documentaries than a traditional showcase. Xbox has definitely created their own style to start the year off with these Developer_Directs.

Yesterday’s Xbox Developer_Direct promised updates on four upcoming games — all coming in the first half of 2025. Each segment ran about fifteen minutes long and featured a couple of devs from each studio. It’s great to see more than just the Studio Head or Creative Director talk about their work.

This also happened to be a global affair featuring studios from all over the world. We traveled from the Team Ninja offices in Japan to Compulsion Games (Canada) to Sandfall Interactive (France) and finally id Software in Dallas, Texas.

During most first-party showcases from the big three gaming console makers (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) they announce each title along with their specific platforms. A PlayStation showcase will announce if a game is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PS VR, or PS VR2. Nintendo showcases mainly announce “Coming to the Nintendo Switch” and will soon announce “Switch and Switch 2.” In the past, Xbox showcases have announced coming to “Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, and PC.”

Even when a specific game is coming to other platforms, you won’t find out until later that day when the other companies release the trailer on their own YouTube channel. Yesterday was the first time I could remember where a PlayStation release was mentioned on an Xbox showcase — in fact, three of the four games are coming to PlayStation 5. Nintendo may have mentioned Xbox or PlayStation in a trailer before. Will PlayStation continue this trend in their next showcase?

Let’s take a look at the four games from yesterday’s Xbox Developer_Direct:

1 | Ninja Gaiden 4

The showcase began with Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo Games, and Platinum Games’ brand new entry into the Ninja Gaiden series. I grew up playing some of these games on older consoles. I have also played many spiritual successors and games inspired by this series. One recent one that comes to mind is The Messenger from Sabotage Studio.

During this year’s The Game Awards a new Ninja Gaiden from the makers of Blasphemous was announced. That looks closer to the classic, retro style. Ninja Gaiden 4 follows a new protagonist Yakumo and takes inspiration from games like Ghostrunner, Bayonetta, and some newer third person action games.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is set to release on Xbox, PC, PS5 during the Fall of 2025. There was an extra announcement of a remastered/definitive edition of Ninja Gaiden II Black releasing yesterday.

2 | South of Midnight

From Japan we traveled to Compulsion Games in Canada to get a closer look into a game which was previously revealed, which I’m very excited for. South of Midnight features stop motion-inspired visuals. The game takes place in the American South, but also in a magical, gothic universe.

You play as Hazel, who is taken out of the modern world and thrown into this southern gothic fantasy land featuring both modern and mystical elements, creatures, and characters. There’s something neat about Hazel learning how to perform magic spells and battle in this world, all while dressed in her modern day outfit with her sweater wrapped loosely around her waist.

The combat and gameplay remind me of Kena: Bridge of Spirits while the story feels more like Tiana’s dark and twisted adventure (The Princess and the Frog).

South of Midnight is coming to Xbox and PC on April 8, 2025. It’s the one game that wasn’t announced for PS5 during the presentation. I hope it comes to PlayStation at some point, or I might have to upgrade my PC game for this one.

3 | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Next, we traveled to France to find out more on the first game from Sandfall Interactive. This is another game we have seen before, during the recent PlayStation showcase. The team at Sandfall Interactive describes themselves as lovers of classic JRPGs and you can feel it in this game trailer.

One thing that really stands out about this game, other than the original cast of characters and unique story, is the combat. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features turn-based combat, but it is also interactive where you can do more damage by hitting the right buttons and even block incoming attacks. This is a mechanic I love in a recent game I’ve been playing — Sea of Stars, which is more of a retro-inspired turn-based RPG.

The more I see and learn about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 the more I want to play it now. We only have to wait until April 24, 2025. This game is also coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC.

4 | DOOM: The Dark Ages

The Xbox Developer_Direct concluded at the offices of id Software in Dallas, Texas. The last two DOOM games — DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal — were great modern takes on the classic DOOM formula. I’m excited to see the team go in a new direction with a prequel to this new series with DOOM: The Dark Ages.

It seems they have reimagined the weapons, look, character design, and whole world while also keeping that classic DOOM DNA. At the end of the presentation they even showed off some brand new elements just for DOOM: The Dark Ages — a giant DOOM Mech and a Cybernetic Dragon. Both are customizable and controlled by the player.

I played a lot of classic DOOM on PC and DOOM 64 on the Nintendo 64 and there were different styles or ways to play the game. With this new trilogy, each game has had its own recommended style. DOOM (2016) was a fast-paced, run-and-gun shooter, while DOOM: Eternal was more of a jump-and-shoot, still fast-paced entry. With DOOM: The Dark Ages, the team has introduced the shield which has many uses — block, parry, attack. The Doom Slayer is now an Iron Tank in this medieval Hell, and the new style is to stand and fight.

DOOM: The Dark Ages is coming to Xbox, PC, PS5 on May 15, 2025.

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Any time we reach the end of the Developer_Direct I expect that “One More Thing” we usually get from Nintendo and other showcases. There was no extra surprise announcement at the very end of the direct, but it all began with the extra shadow drop of Ninja Gaiden II Black.

When it comes to video game showcases and presentations is it better to get more quick game trailers and world premieres or some gameplay deep dives? Do you want a mix of both? I will say that when there are too many games shown at once, I tend to forget about many of them — even some of the good ones. With this Developer_Direct style we get four to six games and some good looks at each of them.

Trailers can easily trick you into thinking a game is for you, especially when it comes to cinematic trailers. A deep dive shows you what a game is going to look like as you play it. Which do you prefer? What are your favorite types of games showcases? Let us know in the comments below.

If you missed yesterday’s Xbox Developer_Direct, you can watch the whole thing right here: