Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Not-E3 2026 Part 2: Summer Game Fest

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Jun 052026
 

State of Play
Summer Game Fest 2026
Wholesome Direct 2026
Xbox Games Showcase 2026
Nintendo Direct

Summer Game Fest 2026

All right, tonight was the official Summer Game Fest live stream! Like with the State of Play, I’ll just be covering the highlights (it was a 2 hour stream), so I’ll link to the full stream once it’s available.

Anyway, they started out with some heavy hitters!

First up was Resident Evil Veronica, the long-rumored remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica. I’m not sure why they dropped “Code” from the title for the remake, but I’ll be keeping my eye on it for sure.

Speaking of horror games I’m keeping an eye on, they followed with the first full trailer for Alien Isolation 2! Now, I loved Alien Isolation, and I’ve always been a little skeptical about whether or not a sequel would have the same excellent feel… but I’m cautiously hopeful.

The new game from the creator of Ico/Shadow of the Colossus/etc. also got a new trailer, now with the official title gen ATLAS, and it also looks potentially very interesting.

An action-adventure game called Blood Message was shown, and that looks interesting as well, and then the next highlight for me was also one of the moments that left me with the most mixed feelings.

Because it was a new trailer for Stranger Than Heaven. And it looks really promising! And it got a release date of January 15!

…and for some reason, Tupac Shakur is in the cast list. Now, they already had announced one dead actor’s likeness for the game, Bunta Sugawara, but that felt like they had done it because it was the sort of story he would have acted in. Now it’s starting to feel strange. Not a deal-breaker for me, as long as there’s no AI involvement, but it does feel very weird.

(Edit: the official press release confirms they are not using AI.)

A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game was announced from PlatinumGames, and we got a new trailer for Control Resonant. I also found myself a little curious about Gundam Rogue Orbit, although I know next to nothing about Gundam.

Similarly, I found myself more curious than I expected by Virtual Fighter Crossroads, since the trailer had more of a focus on story.

1666: Amsterdam looks potentially interesting, and so does Lords of the Fallen II.

I’m also really curious about Star Wars: Zero Company, the Star War tactics game that we talked about previously, except I forgot all about it, so I was surprised all over again to see the tactical gameplay.

Meanwhile, The Blood of Dawnwalker and the DLC of 007 First Light both fall into that category where I’m mildly interested but don’t have any firm plans to play.

But how about a game I’ve been waiting for for a long time? Yes, after being cancelled and then un-cancelled, The Wolf Among Us 2 finally got a new trailer and a 2027 release window. I really hope it’s good. On top of that, the original is also getting remastered.

The next game that has me cautiously optimistic is Stellar Blade Blood Rain. I still haven’t played the original, but I intend to, and the new game looks interesting… but the developer has made a lot of pro-AI statements, so I’m withholding my excitement until I know if they used AI while making it or not.

Finally, Summer Game Fest closed out with a look at a game that was easily the best announcement of the showcase for me: the first part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, officially titled Final Fantasy VII Revelation.

It looks really good! It also painfully reminds me that I haven’t played Rebirth yet, but it won’t be out until Spring 2027, so that gives me plenty of time to catch up.

In addition to the trailer, they also provided a five-minute deeper dive into the gameplay. It’s so funny to me that we jump out of the Highwind instead of, you know, landing it, but if that means we can fly the airship around the world, I’ll take it. The combat for Vincent also looks especially cool.

There’s a job system, too!

So while there was no Kingdom Hearts IV at Summer Game Fest, I can’t say it didn’t have some nice surprises for me. What are your thoughts on this year’s Summer Game Fest announcements?

Not-E3 2026 Part 1: Schedule and State of Play

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 032026
 

This year’s “Not-E3” snuck up on us without warning (that is, I forgot it was so close), so I’ll be covering the schedule and State of Play recap in the same post!

Not-E3 2026 Schedule

State of Play – June 2 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
Summer Game Fest 2026 – June 5 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
Wholesome Direct 2026 – June 6 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET
Xbox Games Showcase 2026 – June 7 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET
Nintendo Direct* – (*rumored for June 9)

Now, there’s also a ton of smaller showcases in there two, like the Latin American Games Showcase, the Story-Rich Showcase, and others. I’ll cover any miscellaneous highlights from those separately at the end.

You’ll also notice I didn’t list the Future Games Show and PC Gaming Show on the schedule this year. That’s because I realized that I treated them like the smaller showcases, only pulling out a few highlights here and there. By covering them as part of the miscellaneous highlights, I think it’ll make these blog posts a better experience this year.

(The one exception I made is for the Wholesome Direct.)

Now, let’s get started with yesterday’s event, the State of Play.

State of Play

Yesterday evening was the hour-long State of Play, and like most States of Play, it was a little low-key for me. I’ll just be covering my personal highlights here, so be sure to check out the full showcase to see everything.

The first game to sort of catch my eye was Kemuri, the yokai action game from Ikumi Nakamura’s new studio. It doesn’t really look like my sort of game, but it did catch my attention.

I also felt a mild interest in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis when it was shown again… until I learned AI was used early in its development. That dampened what little interest I had.

The Lost Wild, a dinosaur survival horror game looks like it has a lot of potential, and I’m moderately interested in Phantom Blade 0. No Rest for the Wicked is also leaving Early Access and coming out in October.

Now onto a game that I’m much more interested in. Onimusha: Way of the Sword got a September 25 release date, as well as a demo that’s out now! I haven’t tried the demo yet, but I might check it out later. I’m a newcomer to the Onimusha series, but I enjoyed the remasters of the first two games, so I’m hopeful for the new one.

Silent Hill: Townfall also got a new trailer and a release date of September 24.

Meanwhile, Control Resonant’s new trailer revealed that it will be out on… September 24.

The PS Classics catalogue is getting new titles, including Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. I’m not sure why they skipped to that. Maybe it’s a sign that they intend to remaster Onimusha 3, but not Dawn of Dreams?

One big surprise was Until Dawn 2, announced for 2027, although it’s not from the same developer as the original.

And finally, the showcase closed with the announcement of God of War: Laufey, the next game in the series. A game starring Faye was rumored for a while, but everyone assumed it would be a prequel. I wasn’t expected to play her after her death, but it seems to be expanding on some of the lingering questions from Ragnarok, with the setting being an afterlife for gods. We’ve already seen gods from multiple pantheons, and the action looks like it could be a lot of fun!

The only thing I’m not sold on is the cube. I’m really not sold on the cube. The rest looks interesting, but… the cube…

No release date was announced at all, so at least it’s not coming out on September 24-25. Seriously, why are the three games I’m most interested in from this State of Play all coming out within those two days?

Anyway, those were the highlights for me. What stood out to you the most from the State of Play?

Nine Sols is a (Very) Challenging, Rewarding Platformer

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Jun 012026
 

It’s been over 4 years since we talked about the demo for Nine Sols, the most recent game from Red Candle Games.

It came out in 2024, and since I backed the crowd-funding campaign, I got a copy at launch.

But since my backlog is large and terrifying, I put it off and put it off (aside from briefly starting it)… until this year I finally started it properly and played it through to completion.

And you know what? It’s a hard game.

Nine Sols is a 2D action platformer. I’m not sure if it strictly meets the definitely of being a Metroidvania, but it’s definitely got some of those elements as well. There’s a lot of exploration, with upgrades to find and items to return for later.

Combat, meanwhile, has a strong emphasis on parrying. You will learn how to parry. Especially for bosses, learning the timing to parry each attack and then countering with a talisman attack often became the core of the fight. And it’s quite a challenge; I quickly got used to dying over and over.

(Nine Sols uses the Souls-like system where you lose your exp and money upon death and need to retrieve it from the spot where you died or the enemy that killed you, but fortunately, once you’ve gained enough exp to earn a skill point, the point stays even if you haven’t spent it yet.)

The gameplay is fun and challenging, and just like I noticed from the demo, there’s a good amount of story here, too. Early in the game, you reach a hub area, and a few different characters join the hub as you progress. Different conversations with these characters unlock as you give them gifts, and I loved returning whenever I had a new item to give someone (especially Shuanshuan, whose interactions with the main character are adorable).

There are a lot of bittersweet moments in the story, but also many heartfelt ones. The ending even made me tear up. I’ll probably be thinking about these characters for quite a while.

My one criticism is that I wish it was just a little shorter, since right about the point where I felt it had been a good length for this sort of game, I realized I still had a few more areas left to go. Still, that’s a minor complaint.

Overall, I’m happy I backed Nine Sols, and I’m happy I finally played it. I’ll be looking forward to whatever Red Candle Games makes next!

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