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We’re now deep in the midst of showcase season, and despite PlayStation’s not-as-hot-as we expected conference just over a week ago, there’s still a great deal of pressure for Xbox to take the proverbial ball and run with it after what’s been a disappointing year.
The past twelve months of Microsoft have been defined by a lacklustre slate of upcoming releases with almost no exclusives, and a poor reception to the ones we did get. Paired with the ongoing struggles to get their big Activision Blizzard takeover over the finish line, it’s going to take some strong announcements to get the momentum back in the favour of the big green giant. That’s not to say they can’t do it, of course. While the days of the company dominating thanks to titles like Gears, Fable, and Halo might be behind us, they lasted a good ten years, and ironically MS will likely be leaning on one of those pillars at this year’s show.
But along with that, we’ve got our wishlist of games that we hope to see at this Sunday’s show that have every opportunity to put the company in our good graces once more. While we’re not saying these will be a magic fix, they would go a long way to restoring faith in Xbox as a platform.
Fable
Are we starting with the most obvious choice? Of course – it’s been three years since the Fable reboot was first announced. Almost everyone is convinced we’ll be seeing it, after multiple teases that give small hints at prior Fable features. One had Fable music, another used glitter in the same way it was used in-game… the hype train is accelerating at full speed ahead.
With Lionhead no longer with us, it’s down to Playground Games to give us a brand new whimsical RPG adventure. That unique Lionhead character was woven into the fabric of Fable, so it’ll be interesting to see how the new developers, of the absolutely gorgeous Forza Horizon fame, will bring it up to date for an entirely new generation while retaining what made the magic so special.
Avowed
We don’t want to repeat too much what we already stated last week about Microsoft’s need to lock down the RPG genre. However, Avowed must be shown off at this year’s showcase as another important weapon in Xbox’s arsenal, so it’s not leaning entirely on Starfield.
It certainly has the potential to, with Obsidian at the wheel. Fallout New Vegas, Pentiment, Pillars of Eternity, The Outer Worlds… their repertoire is impressive. That being said, a smaller scale than Starfield could work in Avowed’s favour for those who are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the daunting promises of Bethesda’s claimed scope, if it’s filled with more meaningful and varied content. (Something that New Vegas did exceptionally well.)
Everwild
One frustrating habit Xbox has picked up of late is announcing games at their shows and then not showing anything more for years. Fable is one, Everwild is another – and there are two more later in this very list. But Everwild is exciting for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s being made by Rare, who are another British studio with an impressive pedigree. Lately their sole focus has been on the online pirate adventure Sea of Thieves, however.
There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but Rare is definitely overdue to show us how they can flex those creative muscles on something new. As little as we know about Everwild, the concept of an action-adventure with god-game elements does intrigue us, as does its previous claim it’ll feature no combat whatsoever. It’s been fairly quiet since 2020, so we’re well overdue an update by now.
Perfect Dark
When The Initiative, a brand new Microsoft first-party studio was announced, everyone was impressed. A veritable who’s who of developers seemed to be lining up to join the new outfit, and the speculation of what exactly this dream team would be working on generated enough buzz to power a small town. Fans were equal parts ecstatic and intrigued when it was revealed they’d be working on a brand new Perfect Dark, the formerly Rare FPS that’s considered by many to be the successor to genre granddaddy GoldenEye 007.
Then things started going a bit weird. Many staff members started leaving The Initiative in droves, and Tomb Raider developers Crystal Dynamics were brought onto the project. We’ve heard nothing since, and we’d really like to know what’s going on there. A further twist in the tale has come with Crystal being sold off to Embracer, but apparently are still working on the game. Microsoft is surely sitting on a Perfect Dark update, and we’re very curious to know if it’s still keeping the intriguing eco-sci fi premise it had during the original announcement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Another to add to the list of games announced a while back, but we’re no closer to a release date. This one has, at least, had a lot more shown of it so far – more than just a flavour trailer, at any rate. In fact, we saw gameplay about two years ago, and Ninja Theory’s flair for incredible visuals shined through and made the trailer stand out as impressive stuff.Not to mention how Hellblade’s depiction of mental health struggles is unlike anything else.
While there’s no way we’d call for any game to be rushed, we do need an update soon, as it was first announced all the way back in 2019. If it’s launching this year, we will almost certainly get a date at this Sunday’s show. If it’s a bit further away, that’s fine, but an update would be much appreciated, as would one on the mysterious horror game Ninja Theory has been working on too.
MachineGames’ Indiana Jones game
Indiana Jones games haven’t had the most impressive showing in recent times. Yes, the point and click adventures in the ’90s were classics, but most projects since then haven’t been great or have been cancelled outright. Then, we found we’re getting a brand new Indiana Jones game from the people behind the excellent modern Wolfenstein series, and we became hopeful again.
The team has proven a deft hand at resurrecting an older franchise (the aforementioned Wolfenstein) and putting a new twist on it, and while we don’t even know the genre yet, the idea of a modern Indy action adventure is tantalising indeed whether it comes in first or third person flavours. Of course, there’s been a slight cooling on the series after the lacklustre reception to the latest movie, but MachineGames is a studio that can rise above that (again, remember the recent Wolfenstein game before New Order). They need to strike while the iron is still relatively warm though.
Scalebound
Okay, this one is admittedly wishful thinking, but there’s undeniably still a buzz around Scalebound, the Devil-May-Cry meets dragons adventure from Platinum Games. While there were mixed reactions when it was revealed, a lot relating to how the main character seemed to be a little grating, there was something about it that gripped potential players’ attention. Maybe it was the fact the masters of action Platinum Games were behind it, maybe it was just because it was so different from the browns and greys of most of the other things at that show.
Whatever the reason, the disappointment felt in the gamesphere since it was cancelled was palpable, and every time there’s word of a possible resurrection, ears perk up. While both Phil Spencer and director Hideki Kiyma have both stoked and poured cold waters of the fire for resurrection, if there’s a chance we could see the game make its return, there’d definitely be a not-insignificant contingent of us who’d want to see it.
For more games conference news, check out how we thought PlayStation just handed Xbox a lifeline – now they need to take it – and we also had a look at the new RoboCop Rogue City in our hands on preview.
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