Xbox Games Showcase: An Underwhelming Halo Infinite and Overwhelming Number of Indie Titles

The day is finally here as the Xbox Games Showcase reveals some of its biggest upcoming titles. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently commented that “Xbox Series X will launch this fall with the largest launch lineup for any console ever”. No doubt there were tons of announcements made. But, the event that was so hyped up felt rather underwhelming. Honestly, it felt like Xbox was trying way too hard to get in some of its exclusives to challenge PlayStation. But it doesn’t seem like they got what they expected. The event was definitely indie-heavy with only a couple of first-party AAA-esque games. Let’s take a look at everything we saw that the event. Additionally, you can take a look at the entire event here.

Xbox Games Showcase Main Event

Halo Infinite

First up, the big one. And by big, we mean literally a big man in a suit of armor fighting his way through the Banished covenant forces. The Halo Infinite trailer started when Master Chief crash-landed on a new Halo planet overrun by the ‘Banished’ forces.

The gameplay was set 167 days after they ‘lost’ the war. Going out of the plane, the Chief fights his way through the alien horde picking up and using different kinds of weapons he finds. He also has a grappling hook to help him grab enemies or reach certain high places with ease.

Once he reaches the top of a certain alien tower, he sees a hologram message of the leader of the Banished (possibly Hyperious). He openly challenges the Master Chief in a fight to the death.

That’s it. That was the campaign preview. Much of it looked similar to the Halo 5: Guardians and a lot of people were criticizing the graphics of the game in the live-chat. It was the biggest announcement of the event but it was extremely underwhelming. Also, the details of the multiplayer mode were not revealed in the preview.

State Of Decay 3

This is one preview that will definitely intrigue you. The game showed a tundra setting where a young woman was on the hunt with a crossbow. Suddenly she comes face-to-face with a zombie deer? Well, it could be but the music and the intensity were definitely on point there.

Forza Motorsport

Turn 10 studios celebrate its 10 year anniversary with a very special Forza Motorsport announcement. The game was shown to be in 4K 60fps and will be a PC and Xbox exclusive. Also, the footage shown in the preview was all captured in the engine.  Full marks for this one but could’ve shown us a longer preview

Everwild

Everwild was quite possibly the star of the show. I may be an indie game but gave us the feeling of a AAA title. The world is shown in it, the mystical animals, the visuals clubbed with the stunning background score was absolutely mesmerizing. We are extremely excited to try this one out.

Tell Me Why

Tell me why is a mystery/drama which follows the story of two twins in a quest to unravel the mysteries of their past. Their past has something to do with an incident regarding their mother possibly named Maryann Ronan. The game will have 3 chapters with the first  chapter coming out on August 27th

Also read: Xbox Series X: Has Microsoft Accidentally Revealed Release Date?

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Will of the Wisps developed by Moon studios is yet another indie project. This game will be playable in 120fps on the Xbox Series X.

 The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon

The Outer Worlds is getting a new DLC wherein the game will get a new planet called Gorgon. The DLC will be available in September.

Grounded

Grounded is yet another game developed by Obsidian Entertainment. This is a survival game wherein the characters fight and defends themselves against garden insects. The game’s narration was quite humorous and the gameplay had a very Little Nightmares fell to it. This will be available on July 28 2020.

Avowed

Yet another big game announcement from Obsidian was Avowed. The preview trailed didn’t give away much about the story but it definitely felt like it was Skyrim reincarnated.

As Dusk Falls

As dusk falls was yet another indie game shown at the event. The game felt like a typical American crime movie and tells the story of a South-American family. Not sure what the story is about but that was all.

Hellblade 2 Senua’s saga

Everyone was ‘hell’-bent on getting a new preview for Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga but that did not happen. All we got to know was that Senua’s Sacrifice now has over 3.5 million copies sold and that the sequel will be based in Iceland.

Psychonauts 2

While we failed to understand what the game was about, it featured Jack Black singing its theme song. The trailer honestly looked extremely trippy and you’ll struggle to make sense of everything that’s happening in it.

Xbox Games Showcase announces Destiny 2: Beyond Light for Xbox

Bungie and Xbox have had a long-standing relationship and now, this game is coming to the Xbox Game Pass. This is a huge announcement considering Microsoft is focusing on the Game Pass a little too much. Also, later this year, Destiny 2 will get an optimized for the Xbox Series X version, too. The Beyond Light DLC will be launched on November 10, 2020. Another big announcement was that Destiny 2 is coming to the xCloud with the Game Pass Ultimate.

Stalker 2

The post-apocalyptic game set in a barren wasteland gets a sequel where you come face to face with new horrors of The Zone. The preview doesn’t reveal much but the setting looks much like the previous game.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

Warhammer was another announcement that came our way but it seemed different from its predecessors. This game is the sci-fi sequel to the Vermintide game from 2018. The game is set for a release in 2021 on PC and Xbox.

Tetris Effect: Connected

Tetris Effect: Connected is a multiplayer expansion for Xbox. The trailer looked like a psychedelic Tetris and the only question was had after the preview was why?

The Gunk

The Gunk as the name suggests is a game that literally takes place on a planet covered in gunk. Yet another indie game that we failed to make sense of and hardly any story details were unveiled in the preview.

The Medium

The Medium was a rather interesting game to see. This could be a game-changing game for the horror/drama genre as it features something called ‘Dual Reality Mode’. The preview was thoroughly eerie and intriguing.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

This game gives us the feeling of a Monster Hunter World Style combat clubbed with Horizon Zero Dawn. The story was hard to make sense of but this game possibly has a PVE co-op mode. Even though it looks similar to the previous game, it definitely has a different interface.

Crossfire X

Crossfire X is a campaign game that looks like a rip-off of Call Of Duty and Splinter Cell. The game features a certain type of suit which is referred to as ‘The ghost. It shows action/combat sequences similar to COD and is rather unappealing.

Fable

Fable was definitely expected to get a preview at the showcase and we weren’t disappointed. The previous game was released in 2017. The trailer doesn’t reveal anything about the gameplay or the story at all. But since it is kind of a fan-favorite, people were really excited about it.

An announcement was also made that these games will be available immediately to all the Game Pass owners. Overall, the Xbox Games Showcase was quite underwhelming. Sure we got tons of Xbox exclusives but they didn’t feel as appealing in terms of gameplay or even the story. Xbox has always lagged behind in terms of its exclusives where Sony does brilliantly. But even its big announcement Halo: Infinite felt like every other Halo game. Even if you’re an Xbox fanatic, you will feel that this event did not live up to its expectations.