Overall, I think I would give this Xbox Showcase an 8/10, but I am leaning towards an 8.25/10. For reference, I gave the PlayStation Showcase last month a 6.5/10.
For me, Microsoft mostly delivered on updates for the 2019/2020 reveals. Though I have to say, the Hellblade II showing was less substantial gameplay than I think it should've been, and Avowed doesn't have the dark fantasy look that the 2020 CGI trailer suggested, which is unfortunate. OTOH, Fable looks great, and I think there was gameplay for it in the footage but without a HUD it's hard to say. Also not sure if what was shown was running on a Series X, but I think it was and I probably just missed the mention.
Other standouts for me were that Dontnod game, that suspiciously-Persona 6/SMT 5-looking Atlus game (that impressed me more than the Persona 3 Remake announcement TBH), Capcom's game, Compulsion's game (I hope it has a similar aesthetic for the in-game graphics with that Coraline-like claymated/stop motion-style animation), inXile's game (seems like it's heavily Bioshock Infinite-inspired, hopefully not too derivative), the Yakuza game (seems like he's stranded in America now xD), and surprisingly, Starfield. I say "surprisingly" because even tho there are things which still give me some concern (no 60 FPS confirmation, character models could still look better in the faces and certain details, there were a couple points where there was brief choppiness), and I'm still worried having so many planets where most are just for resource-gathering will create bloat...
...there are other aspects of what was mentioned and shown that seem genuinely intriguing. I like the features WRT the ship customization, the gunplay looked better than last time (guess this is where the help of teams like iD Software came into the picture), the spaceship dogfights look quite fun and I like the usage of power load balance affecting different aspects of the ship for different strategies. Exploring the planets, at least the main planets, looks like it should be a lot of fun too, even without needing to engage in combat, if you want to play the game that way. Still not sure how deep the plot will go (it seems a bit barebones on the narrative front still, though some of that is by design), and no planetary atmospheric re-entry (as in, something not tied to cutscenes) sucks, but they showed enough to where I can say it's going to be at least a very solid game. Game-changing? Probably not. But it looks like there's a strong core experience there and depth where there needs to be, so that's nice.
Not as nice IMO, were some games that are still MIA. No updates for Everwild or State of Decay 3 whatsoever. At this point I'd say both of those games are pretty much 2025 if lucky, probably even later than that. Although Outer Worlds 2 wasn't shown, since Avowed is coming next year, it's possible Obsidian have been working on OW2 for a good bit and I could see it coming 2026. Wasn't expecting Perfect Dark or even Contraband here so their absences are okay. I'm sure the Sea of Thieves content will be fun for fans of that game, but that's like the fourth time in a row the game's been at these showcases. As for Forza Motorsport, I understand why there wasn't a gameplay segment for it here, but I'm guessing they'll show more actual gameplay in some events (maybe at Gamescon?) before its release.
Like I said, overall I think Microsoft delivered. I am still somewhat disappointed with Avowed visually, as I expected something more dark fantasy like the 2020 CGI trailer indicated, but the gameplay they showed looks good and I guess the lighter tone can work. There still is nothing shown for Hellblade 2 in terms of expanded game mechanics or features that show it's a sequel beyond the story itself taking place after the first one, so hopefully Ninja Theory have more to show in terms of substantive gameplay later in the year.
Three things I am going to give Microsoft kudos on are 1: showing more of their roadmap for 2024 and beyond in terms of 1P titles, 2: having some 1P AA games, and 3: not going ham with live-service/GaaS MP-centric titles making up most of their showing. All three of these are things Sony failed to do with their own Showcase and point (2) in particular might be a longer-term issue given their focus 1P AAA 'traditional' game-wise is on blockbuster experiences. Which, no doubt, Sony are arguably among one of the best at delivering, and consistently so, but they have a treasure trove of legacy IP that could do very well in 1P or 3P AA efforts and Sony just isn't capitalizing on those. Maybe they should scale back some of the live-service/GaaS budget and put that towards some more AA-scale efforts (maybe even a couple of those as having MP components, but don't skimp on the single-player experience), even if that means partnering with 3P devs. I'd love to see what Arc System Works or Vanillaware could do with one of Sony's legacy IP for example.
But anyway, this is about MS/Xbox and overall, yeah, I'd say they delivered on a pretty solid showcase. This should help them see a bump up in console sales and subscriptions, though with current (known) trajectories and momentum among the Big 3, I don't think what was at this showcase alone helps "reverse" things for Xbox to "eat away" at PlayStation or Nintendo. That said, MS just needs to focus on improving things for Xbox and their 1P, and I think this showcase has delivered on that front. They might in fact be on a good path to start rebuilding things in terms of their 1P reputation, as long as they can maintain high quality and keep it consistent.
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