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[OmegaSupreme]

No Rare?

 

[nani17]

Please please please don’t be unplayable on PC at launch!!

 

[Trilobit]

Starfield looks good, but the human models were very last gen. Are people ironic or serious when they rave about the graphics?

 

[DaGwaphics]

No Rare?

The SoT expansion was there.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Overall, I think I would give this Xbox Showcase an 8/10, but I am leaning towards an 8.5/10. 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.

Damn, I forgot about Perfect Dark, Everwild, Outerworlds 2, State of Decay 3, Contraband....and I mentioned earlier the absence of the ID game (Quake or Wolfenstein), and Machine Games (Indiana Jones). So, a lot STILL missing. I think a good Starfield release will temper some questions though.

 

[Stuart360]

Starfield looks good, but the human models were very last gen. Are people ironic or serious when they rave about the graphics?

For the scale of the game the graphics were great. It seemed to be a similar jump from Fallout 4 that fallout 4 was to Skyrim and Fallout 3.

 

[nemiroff]

Starfield gave me "that feeling".. There's no way I'm going to the office the first couple of days of the launch.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

The SoT expansion was there.

#notmyrare lol. Oh well.

 

[DavJay]

You need to lay off whatever you're smoking.

Listen, Startfield looks great.... but it's a Bethesda game. They typically come out with a shitload of bugs. People were hyped for Fallout 76 before it came out. We all know how that turned out.

I'm sure this game will do fine, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it comes out like a buggy mess that will take years to fix.

Skyrim barely worked and it was 95 meta

 

[Barlow]

 

[GHG]

The SoT expansion was there.

So... No Rare.

 

[L*][*N*K]

Immortals of Aveum. And that EA Originals game coming outin about a month looks better.

I feel like if it was exclusive, there would be more hype towards that game.

(Mind you, Immortals of Aveum looks generic enough already)

Comparing a liner Call of Duty inspired shooter with a large open world RPG

 

[Sybrix]

Starfield looks good, but the human models were very last gen. Are people ironic or serious when they rave about the graphics?

Who’s raving about the graphics?

It looks good but not the best.

The scale and limitless gameplay options is what is next gen about Starfield.

 

[Putonahappyface]

Just watching the trailer for Starfield makes me want to buy an XBSX.

 

[stranno]

 

[diffusionx]

You need to lay off whatever you're smoking.

Listen, Startfield looks great.... but it's a Bethesda game. They typically come out with a shitload of bugs. People were hyped for Fallout 76 before it came out. We all know how that turned out.

I'm sure this game will do fine, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it comes out like a buggy mess that will take years to fix.

I bought Skyrim day one on Xbox 360 and it played great. They kept delaying this game and I'm expecting a polished product.

Fallout 76 was a disaster, but it was a disaster in the beta.

 

[sachos]

Good show! 7/10 for me. Im pretty disappointed with Avowed looked way too old gen and janky (maybe it was first impression, haven't rewartched trailer yet), Fable looks pretty good so far and coming along well and looks like its going to be amazing, interested by Clockwork Revolution and that other swamp guitar monster game that i forgot the name about. Hellblade i don't know how they haven't shown gameplay yet after so long. Starfield looks both amazing and classic Bethesda jank at times, feels weird, will have to wait and see the final game to make judgment. I missed id Software and MachineGames.

 

[StueyDuck]

So I've literally just gotten home and flicked through the show.

How does MS have a pretty decent conference but still make it feel so unenthusiastic

They need a better brand manager. The "world premiere" shit is bad, it's just a meme now. Also I'm sorry. But adding "play on gamepass" makes an announcement hit less... rather save that for a press release afterwards or put a little logo in the corner at the end

 

[Thirty7ven]

Fanboys already too worried about metacritic.

What we saw from Starfield was promising, but there was nothing in the moment to moment gameplay that can tell you this will make a splash like Zelda.

We have to wait to see more and play. The scale was impressive but it did look barren the vast majority of the time and it’s a shame that the transitions from planet to space are cutscenes. It would be cool to simply fly in and out.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Starfield looks good, but the human models were very last gen. Are people ironic or serious when they rave about the graphics?

It's about the gameplay man...

 

[jcorb]

With the Sea of Thieves Monkey Island collab announcement, I WANT to be excited, but I wish they'd just let us customize our actual appearance for yourselves. The idea that you have to full commit to a single, completely-random appearance is super shitty, imo. I'd honestly prefer just being randomized EVERY time I log into the game, if they're not going to let me choose my appearance. But seriously, why not just let players pick what they want?

 

[killatopak]

Fanboys already too worried about metacritic.

What we saw from Starfield was promising, but there was nothing in the moment to moment gameplay that can tell you this will make a splash like Zelda.

We have to wait to see more and play. The scale was impressive but it did look barren the vast majority of the time and it’s a shame that the transitions from planet to space are cutscenes. It would be cool to simply fly in and out.

Bare minimum, it would be like FO76 gameplay if you are familiar with it. Even the UI for picking stuff and healthbars and enemy levels are straight from FO76.

The great stuff about it is everything else and how many those everything else is. Yes, I am also concerned how they'll fill out those huge planets. That's one thing I'm skeptical about and have been saying it the whole direct. All Bethesda games bar Morrowind has radiant quests.

 

[DavJay]

Overall good show but I had to stop watching during the hellblade segment. That voice thing is like my kryptonite. Gives me a headache

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Yo...what is wrong with Keanu's voice? He sounds bad...hopefully he is not sick.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Bare minimum, it would be like FO76 gameplay if you are familiar with it. Even the UI for picking stuff and healthbars and enemy levels are straight from FO76.

The great stuff about it is everything else and how many those everything else is. Yes, I am also concerned how they'll fill out those huge planets. That's one thing I'm skeptical about and have been saying it the whole direct. All Bethesda games bar Morrowind has radiant quests.

The game looks great. If they nail the quests it will be fantastic, but that’s the piece that hasn’t translated in these videos which is normal.

 

[Trilobit]

Who’s raving about the graphics?

It looks good but not the best.

The scale and limitless gameplay options is what is next gen about Starfield.

Oh, I think I skimmed comments too fast, I read these:

Starfield looks legendary unbelievable

Starfield looks like a genuine video game leap.

And damn Starfield looks amazing. Hype!

as meaning literally that it looks good, meaning the graphics and not the gameplay. Maybe I'm autistic. Lol

Yes, in that respect it looks interesting. Just hoping that the story itself brings something new and interesting to the scifi table.

 

[sachos]

That Capcom game kinda looked like Onimusha at the beginning. Interested in it.

 

[Fredrik]

Phew!

I missed something Gears related, I hoped to see State of Decay 3 too and I almost believed that Namco Killer Instinct rumor, so disappointed to not see that.

But otherwise it was a great show! I went back and rewatched some parts of it, there was so much in there. Fable as a starter was fantastic! And Avowed, while looking slightly AA, was nice to see and a 2024 release as well.

Really liked the Capcom action slasher, so unique. Want to see more of that!

And Starfield was crazy. Just crazy. Can’t believe all the things they’ve put in there, there is so much info to unpack from that video.

Beard shaders made me laugh though, like holy crap, made SF6 beard looking good lol, so incredibly bad! Especially noticeable since there was bearded guys talking about that. Can’t believe they even showed that. Embarrassing.

As a long time No Man’s Sky player it also gets me concerned that procedural generation is done when you reach a planet. That’s how NMS does it too and there is no way Bethesda manage that without the same strange bugs and weird clipping. Not sure that’s a good idea but I understand it would take ages to handcraft 1000 planets.

All in all:
Xbox show, 8/10
Starfield, 9/10, would be 10/10 with better beard.

 

[veterangamerUK]

No Halo at all. Screw you Microsoft

Snooze fest/10. A lot of delusional folks thinking this was decent at best. Spidey gameplay alone better than anything shown today

Show me on the doll where Jim Ryan touched you

 

[Riky]

Avowed actually looks really nice

 

[Krathoon]

PC requirements are out it seems, won't give us a real answer though

Yeah. A 3060 RTX should handle it fine. I suspect an external SSD would work fine too. I think I can add some internal ones to my PC.

 

[adamsapple]

 

[Ogbert]

Oh, I think I skimmed comments too fast, I read these:







as meaning literally that it looks good, meaning the graphics and not the gameplay. Maybe I'm autistic. Lol

Yes, in that respect it looks interesting. Just hoping that the story itself brings something new and interesting to the scifi table.

The game looks like it could deliver on the promise that video games first gave me when I played Elite on the spectrum. A genuine galaxy to explore.

Visually, the backgrounds and lighting looked wonderful but, yes, the character models had that Bethesda jank.

So it doesn’t look as good as a Naughty Dog game, but then it doesn’t have quick time events, so I’ll take that trade.

 

[Rac3r]

Starfield looks good, but the human models were very last gen. Are people ironic or serious when they rave about the graphics?

People have low standards

 

[SlimySnake]

Fanboys already too worried about metacritic.

What we saw from Starfield was promising, but there was nothing in the moment to moment gameplay that can tell you this will make a splash like Zelda.

We have to wait to see more and play. The scale was impressive but it did look barren the vast majority of the time and it’s a shame that the transitions from planet to space are cutscenes. It would be cool to simply fly in and out.

No one does moment to moment better than Bethesda. they are always rewarded for it with high scores and GOTYs. Fallout 3 in 2008 beat gears 2, mgs4, gta4, skyrim in 2011 beat zelda and uncharted 3. fallout 4 was not as good and still finished runner up to witcher 3 ahead of bloodborne and mgsv.

For some reason, people think bethesda games are not goty contenders or review well based off a fucking online spinoff like fallout 76. they have been sweeping awards for far longer than even naughty dog.

 

[SpearFist]

Where is Indiana jones man.

 

[Evil Calvin]

I think the issue is....we knew Starfield would be there.....and a Direct after the Showcase....Once again everything else is 'next year'. Other than Forza and Starfield, there hasn't been any other AAA Xbox game release since 2020. So from 2020 until 2024 we got a half-assed Halo, Forza 5, Forza MS (this fall) and Starfield (this fall). Thanks for Starfield......but there should be more.

 

[killatopak]

Where is Indiana jones man.

Chilling with Perfect Dark.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Not that bad on GAF imo,
I think more people are happy that MS is actually showing something

Absolutely.
But there's always one....

 

[Thirty7ven]

No one does moment to moment better than Bethesda. they are always rewarded for it with high scores and GOTYs. Fallout 3 in 2008 beat gears 2, mgs4, gta4, skyrim in 2011 beat zelda and uncharted 3. fallout 4 was not as good and still finished runner up to witcher 3 ahead of bloodborne and mgsv.

For some reason, people think bethesda games are not goty contenders or review well based off a fucking online spinoff like fallout 76. they have been sweeping awards for far longer than even naughty dog.

Come on man you gotta be kidding me. You’re telling the gunplay here looked great and the A.I didn’t look braindead? Was there anything happening that was innovative and inventive?

Bethesda games when they hit, they hit because the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. You’re going to have to miss me with this bs about their games having outstanding moment to moment gameplay.

Anyway I see we’ve already entered the “no negatives allowed” so I’ll just let you cook.

 

[Gudji]

No one does moment to moment better than Bethesda. they are always rewarded for it with high scores and GOTYs. Fallout 3 in 2008 beat gears 2, mgs4, gta4, skyrim in 2011 beat zelda and uncharted 3. fallout 4 was not as good and still finished runner up to witcher 3 ahead of bloodborne and mgsv.

For some reason, people think bethesda games are not goty contenders or review well based off a fucking online spinoff like fallout 76. they have been sweeping awards for far longer than even naughty dog.

Bethesda games are known for the immersion they offer not because of the moment to moment gameplay and starfield will be no different.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

That Capcom game kinda looked like Onimusha at the beginning. Interested in it.

I got Okami vibes too.
Okamusha!

 

[SlimySnake]

Come on man you gotta be kidding me. You’re telling the gunplay here looked great and the A.I didn’t look braindead? Was there anything happening that was innovative and inventive?

Bethesda games when they hit, they hit because the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. You’re going to have to miss me with this bs about their games having outstanding moment to moment gameplay.

Anyway I see we’ve already entered the “no negatives allowed” so I’ll just let you cook.

Who said anything about gunplay and AI? Does zelda have good combat and great AI? No. games are more than just the combat. If all we cared about was gunplay and combat, destiny wouldve won goty every year since 2014. We are talking about moment to moment gameplay and no one immerses you in their worlds quite like bethesda not because they have some fancy cutscenes playing every five minutes, but because once you are in that world, it is just you and the world. All I was saying was that the awards speak for themselves and bethesda games cant rely on story and storytelling telling other cinematic games do. They have to rely on gameplay.

Bethesda games are known for the immersion they offer not because of the moment to moment gameplay and starfield will be no different.

whats the difference? why are we attributing moment to moment gameplay to combat?

To me, gameplay is everything from combat to level design to the quest design, that feeling of 'one more thing' that zelda totk captures so well. It's what made skyrim such a big success and what nintendo emulates in totk.

 

[ShakenG]

Really want to see more of Forza.

 

[Naked Lunch]

Solid showing by Xbox - but not entirely to my tastes.

The climbing game looked very ICO.
Definitely the sleeper of the show.

I was hoping for a nugget on CA's Halo offering - but I guess theyre going to put the franchise in the oven for awhile with 343's rebuild underway.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Fanboys already too worried about metacritic.

What we saw from Starfield was promising, but there was nothing in the moment to moment gameplay that can tell you this will make a splash like Zelda.

We have to wait to see more and play. The scale was impressive but it did look barren the vast majority of the time and it’s a shame that the transitions from planet to space are cutscenes. It would be cool to simply fly in and out.

Moment to moment gameplay is character progression.

Bold of them to go "complete challenge" route for upgrading your skills.

Let's see how good it is and if it's fun.

 

[Nydius]

I think the issue is....we knew Starfield would be there.....and a Direct after the Showcase....Once again everything else is 'next year'. Other than Forza and Starfield, there hasn't been any other AAA Xbox game release since 2020. So from 2020 until 2024 we got a half-assed Halo, Forza 5, Forza MS (this fall) and Starfield (this fall). Thanks for Starfield......but there should be more.

Precisely. Everyone’s getting sucked into the hype but it’s just the same story as every other Xbox summer showcase. We already knew these two were coming this year, the rest is “just wait, next year is our year!”. As always. I’m betting right now that some of those 2024 games get punted into 2025, and Fable didn’t even have a date so that’s 2025 almost certainly.

Edit: The biggest surprise of the show to me was that Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty got a hard release date. Unfortunately it’s right up against Starfield.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Avowed actually looks really nice

Okay these shots do show the game better, it's just aesthetic-wise it seems more lighthearted fantasy instead of the darker fantasy the 2020 footage had.

It's like a somewhat more Disneyfied version of Star Wars compared to the non-Disney Lucasfilm installments.

 

[Draugoth]

 

[samoilaaa]

The poster indicates the “baddie” as Lady Ironwood. Seemed like it was the black woman as the protagonist’s hands looked white in the gameplay shots.

lady ironwood is also white , u can see in the poster , the black woman is just a rebel , maybe a companion