Offering up a veritable cornucopia of gaming offerings for players of all stripes and tastes, this year’s Summer Game Fest really did have something for everyone. With such a spread of splendid-looking titles announced and promising existing offerings shown off during this year’s various showcases, we felt we had to compile a list of our favourites. So without further delay, here are some of the best games from Summer Game Fest 2024, Xbox Showcase, Ubisoft Forward and more.
Alan Wake 2 – Night Springs DLC
A continuation to one of 2023’s best games and certainly one of the atmospheric survival horror efforts of the past decade, the Night Springs DLC for Alan Wake 2 has the titular cursed writer scribbling television scripts as a means of escape, only to be drawn yet further still into the living nightmare that has defined his existence. Offering up three episodes that each boast a very different set of themes, not to mention a faster, more action-packed adventure and guest appearances from the protagonists of Quantum Break and Control, Night Springs is shaping up to be a tremendous expansion, to say the least.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
With just over thirteen minutes of stellar gameplay footage, Assassin’s Creed Shadows deep dive at Ubisoft Forward 2024 reassured me that the series’ long overdue trip to Feudal Japan will be greatly successful. Predictably split into two parts, the Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay walkthrough gave us an extended look at the twin protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, going about their business. As Yasuke, confrontation and brute force are the order of the day, with combat which ranks as the most violent the franchise has ever seen with Yasuke bludgeoning folk to death with a massive spiked club before beheading his target, alongside new armour break systems and varying stance postures to boot. When we switch to Naoe, however, more of the series’ traditional mechanics are on display, emphasising acrobatic traversal, stealth and assassination from the shadows, and the ability to destroy light sources (ala Splinter Cell). Coupled with an overhauled engine that offers some truly striking visuals, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is shaping up to be the best Assassin’s Creed in years.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
With Treyarch back at the steering wheel and the relative mediocrity of last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 becoming an increasingly distant memory, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 reminded us all that the world’s longest-running FPS franchise can still put on a show and give genre fiends much to be excited for. Not only has the emaciated afterthought of a campaign that plagued last year’s effort been replaced by a much more ambitious, full sugar and full fat Call of Duty campaign set in the Gulf War, but improvements have been wrought across the board in traditional multiplayer and round-based Zombies modes too. Elsewhere, the new ‘omnidirectional’ movement system now not only provides players with the ability to turn onto their back from a prone position for greater freedom of aiming but so too can they now leap through the air and turn mid-move, allowing players everywhere to live out their myriad John Woo fantasies unimpeded.
Civilisation VII
Though precious few details were revealed regarding the reveal of Civilisation’s much anticipated seventh entry, just the fact that Civilisation VII merely exists was enough cause for fans and the series faithful to lose their collective minds. Set to launch on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms, a full gameplay reveal is expected this August. Until then, stay the course, my friends. Stay the course.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Coming completely out of the blue, the flamboyantly named Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 already looks like one of the best and most polished turn-based RPGs to come along in a hot minute. Coming from French developer Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 honestly looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in the Final Fantasy universe, with a motley team of companions coming together to thwart a malicious entity known as the Paintress, who can erase time and life with a stroke of her brush, Thanos style. Gorgeous to look at and with a wonderfully sophisticated combat system, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be released on PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms sometime in 2025. If only time would go a bit faster, eh?
DOOM: The Dark Ages
A face-thumping, gore-smashing and metal-thrumming origin story for DOOM’s central protagonist, DOOM: The Dark Ages takes the Doomslayer into a dark fantasy era as he carves his way through the forces of Hell in a story that establishes the roots of his legendary rage. Being a modern DOOM title, DOOM: The Dark Ages revels in the rapid hyperkinetic and visceral combat that the series has long been known for. New additions to the formula include a throwing shield that can rev up like a chainsaw, a gun that chews up skulls and spits out bone into your enemies and what looks like a massive DOOM mech(!) that can be used to smash your enemies to bits. DOOM: The Dark Ages blasts its way onto PC, Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2025.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Though we must confess that we greatly prefer its previous title (‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ doesn’t quite hop off the tongue as readily as ‘Dragon Age Dreadwolf does, but we digress), Dragon Age: The Veilguard nonetheless is shaping up rather wonderfully all the same. With a more vibrant art style, coupled with a cutting-edge technical presentation, Dragon Age: The Veilguard not only brings back heroes from previous games such as Varric and others, but it also introduces players to a whole new cast of companions from which players can choose from as they wage war against the apostate Elven mage, Solas. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will find its way to PC, PlayStation and Xbox platforms almost exactly a decade after its predecessor, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Oh and in case you’re wondering, there are still plenty of romance opportunities to be had. Oh yes.
Gears of War: E-Day
Eschewing a direct sequel to 2019’s Gears 5 (though Microsoft did confirm that the series would eventually continue along the same narrative trajectory), developer The Coalition instead presented onlookers with a glimpse at Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel which explores the first day of the Locust invasion and the first meeting of future alpha bros, Marcus Fenix and Dominic ‘Dom’ Santiago. Perhaps the most technically accomplished game of the whole show, Gears of War: E-Day leverages Epic’s powerful Unreal Engine 5 to stunning effect, creating an in-engine trailer showcasing a brutal one-on-one fight between a Locust Drone and a young Marcus Fenix that really looks like a CG movie. Most interestingly, Gears of War: E-Day would seem to re-establish the relatively humble Locust Drone as a terrifying threat, as the trailer shows our hero routinely getting overpowered and beaten until the very end. With its jaw-dropping visuals, a tear-jerking reunion of Marcus and Dom, coupled with carefully chosen instrumentals from the Mad World song that accompanied the launch of the very first Gears of War, Gears of War: E-Day looked simply incredible. No release window for Gears of War: E-Day has yet been set.
Lego Horizon Adventures
Though perhaps the writing was on the wall for a Lego and Horizon collab before Sony’s June State of Play briefing, few could have guessed it would look quite as splendid as this. A playful isometric, third-person action-adventure overflowing with charm, Lego Horizon Adventures has Aloy tearing through machines, building Lego structures and exuding the sort of freewheeling humour that the Lego games have long prided themselves on. Set to release on PC, Nintendo Switch and PS5 platforms this Holiday season, Lego Horizon Adventures already looks like a marquee Lego title and a great Horizon game in its own right.
Perfect Dark
With rumours of its demise seemingly greatly exaggerated, not only was it a pleasant surprise to see the new Perfect Dark at the Xbox briefing, but so too was it something of a relief to see it in such fine fettle. A compelling mish-mash of traditional FPS shenanigans, Deus Ex-flavoured immersive sim elements and Mirror’s Edge-style acrobatic traversal through a futuristic city, Microsoft’s Perfect Dark reboot is already looking like a handsomely made effort that is on track to bring this oft-forgotten franchise back into the limelight.
Star Wars Outlaws
Looking to one-up its stellar work on last year’s warmly received Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Massive Entertainment graced audiences with an extended look at Star Wars Outlaws, its open-world action RPG Star Wars adaptation which takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. A sprawling Star Wars offering, Star Wars Outlaws combines cover shooting, planetside exploration and space combat with a huge overarching non-linear narrative to great effect. Looking better and better every time we see it, Star Wars Outlaws stands a very good chance of being the best Star Wars game in ages. August 30 really can’t come soon enough.
UFO 50
Finally, a personal highlight. Though UFO 50 from Spelunky developer Mossmouth lacks much of the AAA bombast and high-end gloss that can be found in other games mentioned in this list, it more than makes up for it with an overabundance of charm, innovation and good old-fashioned classic gameplay. Essentially a fictitious take on playable documentary collections like the superb Atari 50, UFO 50 presents players with no less than 50 full (not mini) games which were released for fictitious UFO console systems during the 1980s. Encompassing everything from fighting games to classic shoot em’ ups through to dusty RPGs, platformers and more, with many of these titles also boasting multiplayer support, UFO 50 is that rare kaleidoscopic treat that everyone will be able to enjoy when it releases on PC this September.
