Operation Backlog Completion 2025
Jun 122022
 

Table of Contents

Not-E3 2022 Schedule
Limited Run Games
Summer Game Fest
Devolver Digital Marketing Countdown to Marketing 2022
Netflix Geeked Week 2022 Games Showcase
Tribeca Games Spotlight
Freedom Games Summer Showcase
Guerrilla Collective
Wholesome Direct
Future Games Show
Xbox & Bethesda
PC Gaming Show
Capcom
Xbox Games Showcase 2022 Extended

Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022

Microsoft held its showcase today, one of the few major shows being held. They started with Redfall, that co-op vampire shooter that was announced a while back, although I’m not particularly interested in it. The next game was a big surprise, though: a trailer for the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong.

No release date, but it looks great. There’s also a good chance it’ll be out within the next 12 months, since they said later on that every game in the showcase would be. Maybe I’ll play the first Hollow Knight by then.

They showed a strange game called High On Life, and then Riot Games had a short segment about bringing their games to Game Pass. Then we got to see A Plague Tale: Requiem.

As someone who isn’t a racing game fan, I thought they devoted a bit too much time for Forza Motorsport, but I’m sure Forza fans were happy. They also showed new content for Microsoft Flight Simulator, including a new update bringing the Pelican from Halo to the game.

Overwatch 2 got a new trailer, they announced a strategy game called Ara: History Untold, and then expansions were revealed for Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76.

Back to racing, Forza Horizon 5 is getting Hot Wheels content.

The next game was Ark 2, and then they showed a new trailer for Scorn, a creepy-looking horror game.

Flintlock: Siege of Dawn is an open world RPG, Minecraft Legends is a spin-off described as a strategy action game, Lightyear Frontier is an open world farming game in space (combining this Not-E3’s trends of farming games and space games), and Gunfire Reborn is a shooter with cute animals (and apparently is already out on other platforms), but it was the game after that which caught my attention.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a spooky Metroidvania, and I was hooked by the atmosphere even before I saw the gameplay. I will definitely have my eye on this one.

As Dusk Falls was shown again, as well as Naraka: Bladepoint (already out but now coming to consoles), and then a narrative game called Pantiment.

Then they showed Grounded, which I thought was already out, but I guess that must have been Early Access. The full game is coming out now.

The next announcement was Ereban: Shadow Legacy, a stealth action game.

Diablo IV got a new trailer to announce its Necromancer class, which I admit was a pretty cool trailer even though I’m not interested in Diablo.

New content was also announced for Sea of Thieves.

Another new announcement was up next, a game called Ravenlok that might be the one I’m most interested in from this show. It looks like some sort of fairytale action game, and it’s beautiful.

The developers of Limbo and Inside announced their next game, Cocoon, a top-down puzzle game.

Next was a new game from Team Ninja, which at first I thought might related to Nioh, but actually it’s an action fantasy game called Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. I want more details about this one. The setting looks very cool, so I want to learn more about the gameplay.

Then came a shocking announcement… well, actually one I saw rumored but dismissed because it seemed too unlikely… Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal are coming to Xbox and PC. The first will be Persona 5 Royal on October 21.

This probably means my hopes of a Persona 3 remake combining the best of both versions won’t come true, but it’s still a nice surprise. Although it’s rather strange that P3 and P4 are coming to Xbox platforms ahead of modern PlayStation platforms. Sometimes it feels like Atlus picks platforms by drawing them from a hat.

Anyway, Kojima appeared to announce that he’s working with Microsoft on a game, but he didn’t say what it is except that it’s a “never-before-seen concept” and something he’s always wanted to make. So that should be interesting.

Finally, after mentioning it earlier in the show, they closed with an extended look at Starfield. I may be one of the few people not interested in Starfield, but at least there were some other cool announcements at this show! What game are you most interested in from the Xbox and Bethesda showcase?

Jun 112022
 

Table of Contents

Not-E3 2022 Schedule
Limited Run Games
Summer Game Fest
Devolver Digital Marketing Countdown to Marketing 2022
Netflix Geeked Week 2022 Games Showcase
Tribeca Games Spotlight
Freedom Games Summer Showcase
Guerrilla Collective
Wholesome Direct
Future Games Show
Xbox & Bethesda
PC Gaming Show
Capcom
Xbox Games Showcase 2022 Extended

Future Games Show

After the previous two showcases today, one more remained: the Future Games Show.

They began with a game called Outpost, a horror game called Luto, and another look at Nightingale, which was shown the other day, and then a racing game called Tray Racers.

The publisher Kwalee then showed off four games, Wildmender, Die by the Blade, Scathe, and Robobeat.

Morbid Metal was next, then Turbo Golf Racing, yet another look at American Arcadia, Alaskan Truck Simulator, and then an interesting puzzle game called The Entropy Centre, which looks very Portal-inspired.

Then they went through a brief montage of games from Ukrainian developers: Puzzles for Clef (which was also in the Wholesome Direct), Zero Losses, and intriguing noir mystery game called This Rain Will Never End, Farlanders, and Through the Nightmares.

The next games were Lost in Play, Brewmaster, Bramble: The Mountain King (which I remember from a previous year), and a mob-themed game called Enemy of the State.

Then they visited the “virtual show floor” to look at Tarnishing of Juxtia, ORX, A Twisted Tale, Power Chord, Reptilian Rising, Potion Permit, Melatonin (the last two of which we saw earlier today as well), Once Upon a Jester, and Bail or Jail.

Back to the regular presentation style, they announced Sunday Gold, Do Not Open, and Bright Memory Infinite, and then an extremely cool-looking horror Metroidvania called The Last Faith, which is probably the most interesting game I’ve seen all day.

Definitely have my eyes on that one.

Team17 featured next, with Thymesia (also quite cool), Autopsy Simulator (I’m not saying I’m obsessed with The Great Ace Attorney, but my first thought was, “Here’s a game for Maria”), The Unliving, Sunday Gold even though it was just shown earlier in this same showcase, Sweet Transit, Bator (which we saw at another showcase), The Knight Witch, and Killer Frequency.

After those, they showed a game called Tinykin, Serial Cleaners, and AirportSIM.

They love montages, so we got another montage: Fueled Up, Dinkum, Multiversus, Mythbusters: The Game, Shadows of Doubt, Last Time I Saw You, Instinction, and Beyond Sunset.

Phonopolis, Being and Becoming, and Arctic Awakening were the next games shown. I actually played a demo of Arctic Awakening recently, although I ran into some trouble with bugs.

Next came F1 Manager 22, a brawler called Divine Knockout, and a platformer called Planet of Lana.

Then they announced that Deadly Premonition 2 is coming to Steam, which would have been a big surprise if it hadn’t already been teased a couple days ago. I have yet to play Deadly Premonition 2 to compare it to the first game.

We got another look at Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, and then Palworld, which you might remember as a bright and colorful Pokémon-esque game where your monsters have guns. Very weird.

Finally, they concluded with a trailer for a horror game called Ill.

That’s the last of the showcases for today, but two more will take place tomorrow! Which games did you enjoy the most from this year’s Future Games Show?

Jun 112022
 

Table of Contents

Not-E3 2022 Schedule
Limited Run Games
Summer Game Fest
Devolver Digital Marketing Countdown to Marketing 2022
Netflix Geeked Week 2022 Games Showcase
Tribeca Games Spotlight
Freedom Games Summer Showcase
Guerrilla Collective
Wholesome Direct
Future Games Show
Xbox & Bethesda
PC Gaming Show
Capcom
Xbox Games Showcase 2022 Extended

Guerrilla Collective 3

Today’s Not-E3 events kicked off with two showcases, the first of which was the Guerrilla Collective showcase. They started out with From Space, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, a dark-looking puzzle-platformer called Ugly, Boundary, and an RPG called Alaloth: Champions of the Four Kingdoms.

Then we reached the horror segment of the show (there have been a lot of horror games this Not-E3), with Daymare 1994: Sandcastle (the prequel to the previous Daymare, which I haven’t played yet), Signalis, Gravewood High, Madison, and the Fridge is Red. Of these, Signalis and The Fridge is Red look especially interesting to me.

The next games shown were Industria, South of the Circle, a remaster of This War of Mine, This Last Worker, Slope Crashers, and Cassette Beasts, which looks interesting to me, although it’s open world.

Contract Killer came next, followed by one I had a hard time reading the logo for, which turned out to be Rytmos. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge showed up again, then an intriguing RPG called Skald: Against the Black Priory.

BATS was also shown a second time, then a trailer for Arkanoid: Eternal Battle, and then another look at Nine Years of Shadows.

They then showed Wrestle Quests, Zoeti (which didn’t interest me, but did get my attention by being described as a “poker-based roguelike”), and then a quick montage trailer for Grid Force: Mask of the Goddess, Live by the Sword: Tactics, and NecroBoy: Path to Evilship.

The next game, though, was Alterium Shift, a turn-based RPG I really like the looks of.

Greedventory, Keylocker, and another look at Symphony of War were shown next, followed by Batora: Lost Haven and Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, which also looks like it could be cool.

An action-adventure game called XEL was next, then a magical school action game called Spells & Secrets, and a co-op platformer called River Tails: Stronger Together.

They also showed Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure, which I want to be excited for since I loved Earthlock, but it just makes me wish they’d made another turn-based RPG. (I know this is a spin-off, but Earthlock 2 is an open world action RPG.)

Time on Frog Island was followed by another look at Frogun, so I guess this was the frog section of the show. (Even though they pronounced Frogun like fro-gun.)

After that, they showed a game called I Am Future, Flateye, Garden In, Witch Strandings, Monster Outbreak, another look at The Cub, and then an action platformer called Mira: The Legend of the Djinns.

The expansion for Rain World was next, followed by Exo One, and an unusual game called Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography.

That was the last game in that showcase, but the Wholesome Direct started right afterwards!

Wholesome Direct

If I expected one thing from the Wholesome Direct, it was cute games, whether their genre interests me or not. Indeed, they had plenty of cute games, and they seemed determined to fit as many games into their showcase as possible.

Terra Nil from the other day returned, followed by Little Bear Chef, a musical game called Melodyssey, and Lumbearjack (I guess this was the bear segment?). The Garden Path, Mika and the Witch’s Mountain (one of many games in which you play as a witch), and 30 Birds followed. 30 Birds especially stands out because of its art style.

The next game was Mail Time, and then Usagi Shima, described as a “cozy, relaxing, bunny-collecting game.”

They moved on to A Walk With Yiayia, Chicken Journey, Island Skies, Freeride, How to Say Goodbye, and then an update coming to the game Calico.

Now, the next game is both interesting and frustrating for me. It’s called Paper Animal RPG, and it definitely took some inspiration from Paper Mario (even the logo), but apparently it’s a roguelike.

They showed a game called Fall of Porcupine, a VR game called the Last Clockwinder, a game about birds searching for love called Lovebirb, a match-3 puzzle game called Spirit Swap, the sequel to Coffee Talk, a musical game called Oddada.

Then Frogun got featured again (pronounced frog-un this time). Well, it is adorable and wholesome.

Garden Witch Life brought us yet another witch game, and then an update/expansion was announced for Princess Farmer, followed by the announcement of Ooblets leaving Early Access.

Bubblegum Galaxy, free DLC for Here Comes Niko, and Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley were featured after that, then Feed All Monsters, an update coming to Skatebird, an intriguing puzzle game called Paper Trail, and Passpartout 2.

A surprising number of frog games were shown in today’s showcases, and another cute one is the musical turn-based RPG A Frog’s Tale.

These showcases tend to have some unusual ones, so a donut factory puzzle game called Freshly Frosted came just ahead of a kaiju dating sim called Kaichu.

After that we got to learn about Wholesome – Out & About (a must for a Wholesome Direct, I suppose), Paradise Marsh, Gaucho and the Grassland, Lil Gator Game, We Are OFK, Potion Permit (potion games seem popular), Pixelshire, SCHiM (which does not stand for anything, despite the way it’s written), Pekoe, Bilkins’ Folly, and Kitori Academy, which is probably my favorite of the magical school games shown recently.

Several games remained in the showcase: Togges, Tracks of Thought, and one called DokiToki where you use the power of love to slow down time.

Critter Crops, Toroa, and The Spirit and the Mouse followed quickly, and then we got another look at the ever-adorable Snacko.

They then showed a game called A Little to the Left, and then a new trailer for Kokopa’s Atlas, which I remembered looking really cute… but this time they mentioned that it’s procedurally generated, which I either didn’t know or didn’t remember.

Two “village” games followed next, The Wandering Village and Lonesome Village.

And remember when I said they tried to fit in as many games as possible? That was never clearer than when they ran through a montage of quick game trailers that featured: Hamster on Rails, Garden of the Sea, Olliefrog Toad Skater, With You, Miska, Bread & Fred, Kity Builder, Garden In, Petit Island, Flore, Pine Hearts, Hello Goodboy, Harmony’s Odyssey, Seal World, Love Ghostie, Potion Prodigy, Moonstone Island, Super Mini Mart, Ova Magica, PaperKlay, Puzzles for Clef, Lemon Cake, Star Stuff, San Zoolin, Townseek, Skye Tales, Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, Tiny Witch, The Courier, The Hundred Year Kingdom, Lost Twins 2, and Bloom.

Finally, they ended with a game called Melotonin.

That was in for the Wholesome Direct, but don’t go away – we’ve still got one more showcase to cover today. Which were your favorites from the Guerrilla Collective 3 showcase and Wholesome Direct?