Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Not-E3 2025 Part 1: State of Play

 Video games  8 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 042025
 

Table of Contents

State of Play
Summer Game Fest
Ball x Pit: The Kenny Sun Story
IO Interactive Showcase
Wholesome Direct
Future Games Show
Xbox Games Showcase
PC Gaming Show

State of Play

Shortly after I blogged about the “Not-E3” schedule, we got one new addition to the list – a State of Play announced for today! States of Play can be pretty hit or miss, but I crossed my fingers and settled down to watch.

They started with a new Lumines game, Lumines Arise. Next up was one that feels like it was announced ages ago, Capcom’s upcoming science fiction game Pragmata. It looks like an interesting game, with two characters you control at once, and it’s set for 2026.

The third game shown was a new game from Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, an action game called Romeo is a Dead Man. It looks very bloody and very strange. I don’t quite know what to expect from it.

Speaking of blood, we also got a new trailer for Silent Hill f! I’m cautiously optimistic for the upcoming new Silent Hill game, and although I’m not entirely sold on the gameplay, it looks like it could be fantastic. Not only that, but it’s coming out on September 25!

And also speaking of blood (again), the game shown after Silent Hill f intrigued me from the start, and even more so when it turned out to be a Bloodstained prequel, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement. I haven’t played the first game yet, but I will one of these days.

There was a new trailer for Digimon Story: Time Stranger, which continues to look interesting to me even though I don’t have much experience with the franchise. It will be out on October 3.

Hot on its heels was an announcement that’s been rumored for years now, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. This Final Fantasy Tactics remaster includes both an enhanced and classic version of the game and will be out on September 30.

There was a new trailer for Baby Steps, which doesn’t especially interest me, and for Hirogami, an origami-styled action platformer that looks like it might be fun. After that came trailers for Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, and Cairn, and then the announcement of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater got a new trailer, and then a surprise was revealed – Nioh 3. I haven’t played any of the Nioh games, and they might be a bit too difficult for me, but I have to admit they have a lot of style.

It won’t be out until 2026, but there’s a PS5 demo available for a limited time.

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow was announced for VR fans (not me), and a first-person adventure game called Tides of Tomorrow. Then it was time for Astro Bot to take the stage once more, with 5 new levels announced. Maybe it’s a good thing I haven’t played yet after all; by the time I get around to it, they might be done adding new content.

The next game, a pirate game called Sea of Remnants, didn’t look too interesting to me at first… and then I saw turn-based combat and got interested… and then I learned it’s a f2p game and lost interest again. That’s how it goes sometimes.

Sword of the Sea, the other hand (was this the “sea” section of the showcase?), looks beautiful.

They spent a little time talking about FBC: Firebreak and new PS+ Classics, and then it was time for IO Interactive to show 007 First Light for the first time.

Despite not being a fan of the Hitman series or a huge James Bond fan, I’ve been curious about this game for a while, so it was nice to finally see it. Bond himself looks a little bland to me, but I’m actually pretty interested. It’s due out in 2026.

They technically showed Ghost of Yotei next, but it was mainly just to say they’ll be giving a better look at the gameplay in July.

Finally, they concluded with Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, which is probably very exciting for fighting game fans (not me).

All in all, it was a pretty good showcase, even if there was nothing that has me jumping up and down in joy. Our Not-E3 2025 is off to a fine start, so let’s cross our fingers for exciting announcements as we head into Summer Game Fest!

Not-E3 2025 Schedule, Hopes, and Dreams

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 022025
 

May is over, the winners of this year’s contest have been contacted, and suddenly we’re right on the doorstep of Not-E3 2025.

I was actually surprised to realize just how close it is. It starts at the end of this week!

So let’s take a look at the upcoming showcases.

June 4
State of Play – 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET

June 6

Summer Game Fest 2025 – 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
Ball x Pit: The Kenny Sun Story (Devolver) – 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET
IO Interactive Showcase – 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET

June 7

Wholesome Direct 2025 – 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET
Future Games Show: Summer Showcase 2025 – 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET

June 8

Xbox Games Showcase & The Outer Worlds 2 Direct – 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET
PC Gaming Show – 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET

In addition to these, there are also a bunch of smaller and indie showcases throughout as well, which I’ll probably cover highlights from if anything especially stands out to me. There are also rumors of a Nintendo Direct soon, so I’ll consider that part of “Not-E3” if it occurs in the same time frame.

Not-E3 2025 Hopes and Dreams

It’s actually incredible how many of my one-time “pipe dreams” have been removed from the list due to actually coming true. Last year I added a Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster to the list, and that’s already happened! And the wish that once seemed to be one of the least likely to come true, an Ace Attorney Investigations 2 localization, finally can leave the list as well.

What does that leave me with for pipe dreams?

  • Tales of Symphonia prequel
  • Xenosaga HD
  • A classic-style Paper Mario
  • World of Final Fantasy 2
  • Mother 3 localization
  • Untranslated Tales games
  • Like a Dragon Kenzan and Kurohyo

I’ll also add one more: a remaster of Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure. What I really want is a sequel, but a remaster would be a great first step in that direction.

As for a hope I consider realistic enough not to put it on the list of pipe dreams… yes, I think this is finally the year. I’m hoping for a brand-new Ace Attorney announcement. Capcom doesn’t appear to have its own showcase, but they’re listed as a partner for Summer Game Fest, and Ace Attorney could believably show up in a Nintendo Direct, too. With all the games except for the crossover now available on modern platforms, I really think our chances are good of seeing a new Ace Attorney game announced.

My other realistic hope is for a new Tales game. It’s been four years since Arise, and while that wasn’t exactly one of my favorites, I have my fingers crossed for a new one.

And, while I already have RGG Studio on my list with a couple pipe dreams, I’d not only love to see a new Project Century trailer, but I also have my fingers crossed for a third Judgment game.

What games are you hoping will be announced during this year’s string of game showcases?

Celebrating All Things Mysterious: Little Locked Rooms

 Celebrating All Things Mysterious, Reviews, Video games  6 Responses »  Tagged with:
May 302025
 

I first heard about Little Locked Rooms when I saw the developer mention it as a game inspired by Ace Attorney and similar mystery games.

It came out last year, so I decided to check it out as part of this year’s mystery celebration.

Unlike the other games we’ve discussed this month, Little Locked Rooms is almost wholly focused on mystery-solving, with very little story content.

The premise is that a father builds little dioramas based on crime scenes and challenges his two children to solve the mystery. There’s a little bit of family drama as the characters interact, especially before and after each case, but that’s about it.

For each case, you’re given the basic facts and then get to inspect the dioramas. I was a little disappointed at first that clicking things in the diorama doesn’t lead to dialogue or new clues being added, but that really sets up the type of mystery game Little Locked Rooms is – it’s entirely on you to observe the necessary details and draw conclusions. Whenever you’re ready, you can give your answer.

Of course, you could just make guesses, but you lose points for incorrect answers. At the end of each case, you’re graded based on how many points you got. One nice feature is that if you give an answer that is correct but doesn’t solve anything, it’s considered a partial answer that doesn’t affect your point total.

The cases in Little Locked Rooms are fairly small in scale since they need to be conveyed through a few diorama scenes and a list of clues, but some of them are actually pretty tricky. There were several parts that had me puzzling over just how it could be done.

Two of the cases also have harder variations, where you’re given the same setup as in the original case but with some key details changed.

Little Locked Rooms is a pretty short game, and I wish it had more story beyond occasional sibling arguments. Nevertheless it’s a cute game with some neat mysteries that really make you observe everything carefully if you want to figure out the answers. If the developer makes more mystery games after this, I’ll be interested to see where they go with them.

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