Not-E3 2024 Part 2: Summer Game Fest and Devolver Direct

Table of Contents

Guerilla Collective
Summer Game Fest
Devolver Direct
Wholesome Direct
Future Games Show
Xbox Games Showcase
PC Gaming Show
Ubisoft Forward

Summer Game Fest 2024

Okay, I was really looking forward to the Summer Game Fest showcase. Capcom had promised announcements, and the time felt ripe for a new Ace Attorney announcement. On top of that, this is typically a big showcase, where we could expect some big announcements.

But… there wasn’t a lot here for me. So instead of a game-by-game account, I’ll just go through my personal highlights, and you can check the full stream if you’re interested in seeing the rest.

So, the first game that stood out to me is Neva, an indie game from the team behind Gris. Like Gris, it looks beautiful.

Black Myth Wukong looks nice, and I was happy to see another trailer for Metaphor: ReFantazio, too.

Then, Blumhouse Games had a montage of a whole bunch of indie horror games – Crisol: Theater of Idols, Grave Seasons, Sleep Awake, Fear the Spotlight, The Simulation, and Project C. They all look like they have potential, so that was a nice little segment.

There was a cute-looking game about a deer and a boy, with the extremely straightforward title Deer & Boy, and we eventually got to see a new trailer for Slitterhead.

Now, I’d somewhat lost interest in Slitterhead when I learned it was going to be an action game instead of a horror game, but I have to admit it looks pretty cool.

Wanderstop, Unknown 9: Awakening, and Enotria: The Last Song all look like they have potential, but there wasn’t anything that really caught my attention until Sam Lake took the stage to announce the upcoming Alan Wake 2 expansion and a physical edition! Yes, Alan Wake 2 is finally getting a physical Deluxe and Collector’s Edition, so I’ll definitely be looking into that.

Capcom showed some new trailer for Kunitsu-Gami, which I’m interested in, and Monster Hunter Wilds, which I’m not.

The final game of the show was Phantom Blade Zero, and although I was suffering from crushing disappointment over the lack of Ace Attorney, I have to admit this game looks pretty cool.

And that was that. Oh, there were a lot more announcements; it was a 2-hour showcase, after all. But as far as games that interested me, it was fairly light.

Summer Game Fest proper was followed by the Day of the Devs indie game showcase, which I didn’t include separately on the schedule. They showed some interesting games, although nothing that stood out to me too much.

Devolver Direct

Soon it was time for the Devolver Direct, and if nothing else, you can always count on Devolver’s shows to be bizarre.

When the starting time came, the first 10 minutes or so were spent on music, during which time I kept checking to make sure I had the right link. A countdown to the show started after that, so I’m still not sure if that was intentional or not.

Instead of a satirical showcase, this year’s show was set in the context of Volvy’s birthday party. I don’t have the words to explain it, so I’ll just include it here for you to watch.

Anyway, through the context of that bizarre storyline, they showed off co-op for Cult of the Lamb, a weird-looking game called The Crush House, a new roguelike called Tenjutsu, DLC for the Talos Principle II, the utterly bizarre Anger Foot, and an intriguing title called Possessors.

It was a short show, but it was weird and entertaining. Overall, I had a lot more fun watching it than Summer Game Fest.

We’ve got more showcases to look forward to over the weekend, so stay tuned!