Xbox Games Showcase 7/2020
It feels like it has been an eternity since Microsoft revealed the 20/20 initiative and unfortunately the only presentation that we have seen so far was the May event that featured third party games that did fall a little flat for a few reasons. This was magnified when held up against the microscope that was the shortly followed PS5 games showcase. The PS5 event showed some stunning looking games, next gen features and even gave us our first look at the next gen hardware simultaneously unveiling a disc version and a digital version. As it has been standard for generations things between Microsoft and Sony feel like a game of tennis when it comes to unveils. Personally, I was a little disappointed that Xbox didn’t have much of an event in June, considering how they just announced their 20/20 plan and didn’t do anything for their second month.
My hope for this July Xbox Games Showcase was that they were going to take a look at exactly what made the PS5 event a success and try to build a bigger skyscraper. About the only thing that we knew ahead of time for the highly anticipated Xbox event is that we would be getting our first look at the Halo Infinite campaign. When you consider that Halo 5 Guardians was released in 2015 and was the only franchise instalment for the Xbox One generation, anticipation was high.
It’s not that 343 hasn’t done a good job with Master Chief but there have been bumps along the way. Halo 4 was generally well accepted from fans and critics alike with the notion the 343 had a bright future as the commaders’s of the series. Unfortunately, we all know what happened with the MCC, with a large footnote that they have spent every minute since 2014 trying to improve it. Halo 5 Guardians also took away what fans of the series love with a story that sees you take control of John Locke in addition to Master Chief, which didn’t sit well with fans. 343 industries has done a lot right with the series since taking over from Bungie but they have failed to take Halo to the next level and keep it at the killer app echelon.
The showcase opened with Halo Infinite, which was a question heading into the event whether this flagship title would open or close the event. I think choosing to open the event with Halo, which was a confirmed game for the showcase left the door open at the end for a “one more thing” moment and we will touch on that a little later. As for Halo Infinite, considering this is likely an early build and that the showcase wasn’t livestreaming at 4K, I thought the game looked visually stunning. It’s not so much the next gen visuals, its just how much more alive the world felt. Halo Infinite looked like how I imagined Halo Combat Evolved looked in 2001. Instead of Cortana this time around, it looks like Master Chief might be forming a relationship with the pilot who saved his life when he was floating in space during the trailer we saw at E3 2019. The pilot seems immediately likeable which might lead to the story using him as a emotional anchor by trying to save his home planet or his family in the process.
It looks like 343 industries is trying to bring Master Chief back to some of its core elements that made the game a worldwide phenomenon in the first place. Engaging story, exotic worlds, imaginative weapons and of course vehicles. The gameplay trailer made sure to check all of those boxes and then some as it certainly looks like Master Chief is heading out in the great, wide open world. At this moment it’s unsure just how open the world is and whether it is something more along the lines of the recent Uncharted games or if it is something closer to Breath of The Wild.
One of the things that stood out to me was how good the game sounded. All of the weapons felt like they had been refined to give them some more identity and weight. The Warthog had a deep throaty sound that roared with power and speed. The trailer made a point of showing master chief shooting an enemy in the foot which caused him to stumble, which makes me wonder how much physics will play a role in the combat. Considering this is a pillar for the Xbox Series X, I would like to see more next gen advancements that aren’t just graphical.
Finally, Master Chief has a grapple hook. Not much was shown about it, including how long it can go, does it have a cool down period and things like but I did show of a few interesting features. As much as you want to keep Halo rooted in the essentials, it does need to make some advancements and stay modern. Chief grappled up a large cliff side, grappled into an enemy to for a melee attack and also grappled items in the environment to use.
At the end of the trailer, the head of 343 industries came on to talk a little more about Halo Infinite. It was mentioned that the frame rate will be a solid 60 frames which is something that worked well in Halo 5 and that the map size is significantly larger than the Halo 4 and Halo 5 combined which is an interesting fact. It was also mentioned that Halo Infinite multiplayer will be shown at a later date which is a good idea because I think you don’t want to rush your golden goose as you are able to get a lot of eggs from it. How many different modes will there be? Will there be some type of Battle Royale? Plenty of questions that can be answered between now and the speculated November release date.
There was more than Halo at the showcase as Xbox followed up with a teaser for State of Decay 3, which surprised me considering that State of Decay 2 was released in 2018 and has been followed up with substantial updates since. Based on the trailer, State of Decay 3 is likely very far away as we didn’t see any gameplay and the time between the first two games was around five years. Based on that timeframe we are likely to see State of Decay 3 in 2023, but I would imagine that it’s a 2022 title as next year just feels too early for the series.I enjoyed the first two games, rough edges included, and was happy to see the growth from the first game to the second. The simulation and management aspects of the game make it much more interesting than the average zombie game.
Personally, this feels like a series that is on the edge of breaking huge into the mainstream as opposed to the cult success that it currently enjoys. I am very curious where they plan to take the series with the extra power of the Xbox Series X that should allow for bigger worlds and faster loads, which are two main problems the series has had. Based on the trailer, it looks like only solo survivor so I am curios how much the series will lean into this aspect or if they will stick with the home base and recruiting aspects the series has been known for.
We also got a glimpse of the next Forza Motorsport as well from Turn 10, with absolutely stunning visuals and audio as you would expect. It’s not a well kept secret that if you want to display the power of next gen hardware then you feature a racing game and this dates all the way back to Gran Turismo on the original PlayStation. It wasn’t surprising how good the game looked but instead that it wouldn’t be a launch title or likely even a 2020 title, which would be a first for Microsoft to launch without a major, exclusive racing title as we have seen Project Gotham Racing for the Xbox, then PGR3 for the Xbox 360 and Forza Motorsport 5 for the Xbox One.
Having the latest Forza launch on the Xbox Series X seemed like a sure thing considering that the series last entry was in 2017 with Forza Motorsport 7. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I think taking more time to develop a game for next gen is a wise idea but also we are seeing Microsoft already learning from the Xbox One generation that having a steady cadence of first party releases is more important that having a front loaded launch lineup of good not great games that needed to be rushed out the door.
Some of the other major highlights of the show included Rares new game, EverWild, which is still very far away as we still have no idea what that game is. Visually, the world looks alive and immersive but as for what the game will be is anyone’s guess as the game is currently talking about the connection between magic, nature and the living. After the last entry, Sea of Thieves, it’s not impossible to think that this could be another online multiplayer experience.
One of the biggest surprises of the showcase came about midway through the presentation when recently acquired studio, Obsidian Entertainment, showed off their next expansion to The Outer Worlds and their survival game grounded. Both of these games that were in development before they were acquired into Microsoft Game Studios. However, games like these are coming out on multiple platforms and aren’t the major reason that Microsoft purchased the studio. The reason would be their surprise reveal of the exclusive title that they have been working on called Avowed, which looks to be classic Obsidian. Avowed is an epic magical, medieval, fantasy RPG set in a first person experience.
Finally, the showcase closed out with a big but expected confirmation and likely a surprise for the more causal gamer with the announcement of Fable. Currently in development from Playground Studios who have made their name with the Forza Horizon series, we got a brief cinematic teaser. The trailer didn’t show any gameplay but did establish the tone the series has been known for over the past 16 years when Fable was released on the original Xbox in 2004. Playground Games is based in the UK which will help keep the dry English humour that Lionhead Studios instilled in the series before the studio closed down in 2016. Sadly we were only treated to a cinematic trailer which likely means that this game is likely 2022 at the earliest if I had to guess. Once again with the right planning Microsoft has enough first party titles to eliminate horrible dry spells between exclusives that plagued the Xbox One.
What Microsoft did emphasize was just how integral GamePass will be with every title shown during the conference available on GamePass, which provides an incredible value, especially with the recent announcement that Project Xcloud will be available at no additional cost to members of GamePass Ultimate. Microsoft has been hard at work over the past four years establishing GamePass as the future or the Netflix of gaming and it seems that their vision is incredibly close to be fully realized.
One of the biggest omissions from the show was the absence of Microsoft’s recently formed quadruple a studio, The Initiative. There has been speculation that the studio is working on something in the Perfect Dark universe but that should all be taken with a grain of sand at the moment. The only thing that we know about The Initiative is from there LinkedIn posting about the games “weapons, gadgets and camera surveillance system”. Back in late 2019, which feels like decades away at this point, members of the team posted that they were play testing their game. This emphasizes just how much Microsoft wants to spread out the cadence of releases from Xbox Game Studios but it would have been nice to see a teaser of something, even not revealing a name or title, just something to get the internet buzzing. Based on their absence from this event, it’s highly unlikely that we will see anything from them until Summer of 2021, which then means that we are likely not going to be playing that game until late 2022.
After reflecting on the showcase, I felt like it was a great showcase that didn’t waste much time with filler and gave some great teases but I was left with a big question. Why do gamers need to buy this system in 2020, when it releases later this holiday season. The biggest game from the show, Halo Infinite, is going to be playable on the current generation of Xbox. It wasn’t really explained to gamers why we need to have the Xbox Series X in our lives immediately and I feel like that was a missed opportunity, especially when compared to the PlayStation showcase which displayed games, and hardware that will only be possible on the PS5. It wasn't just Halo Infinite, as other games that were revealed were current gen crossovers or new editions like Ori and the Will of the Wisps or Tetris Effect Connected.
I think Xbox delivered a very solid showcase that highlighted the future of Xbox will look like for this generation and beyond. Although it didn’t explain why I need to purchase one this holiday, I am excited for the future of Xbox as things look very bright.