It may look like E3, it may sound like E3, and it might be following the exact same path as E3, but the Summer Game Fest is definitely not E3 — yet. Regardless of how I feel about the industry and how it treats its employees and consumers alike, I am still very excited for the products it produces.
Without further preamble, here’s a big unordered list of the things I saw that looked cool. Keep in mind that I didn’t manage to watch all of the shows and see all of the announcements, so there are certainly things that could be on this list but just aren’t.
UFO 50
“The story of UFO 50 is that the games were all created in the 80’s by a fictional company that was obscure but ahead of its time.” That’s the official pitch for UFO 50 and it sounds absolutely amazing. While it may have barely missed its initial launch window of 2018, I’m absolutely thrilled to see a sign of life from this game, let alone a release date for September 18th of this year.
Star Wars Outlaws
There are a lot of valid criticisms you could levy at Ubisoft, particularly in how formulaic their open-world games seem to be. But even so, I’m genuinely excited to get my hands on Star Wars Outlaws and engage with its inevitable open-world bloat, dressed up in a Star Wars costume. The vibe of Star Wars is strong in this gameplay demo, but whether the story and gameplay manage to land the metaphorical ship is something I’ll have to find out when it releases on August 30th, this year.
Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind
Releasing later this year, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind looks absolutely phenomenal. Admittedly, I haven’t been a Power Rangers fan since I was a wee-lad, but everything about this trailer is igniting nostalgic synapses that had been laying dormant for over 30 years. I’m a sucker for a good beat-em-up and Rita’s Rewind seems to be going above and beyond genre expectations with some cool mode-7 inspired gameplay twists.
Cairn
Cairn might be the first game to ever have a mountain kick your ass, but it certainly looks like one of the toughest. Knowing nothing about mountain climbing aside from it’s done by people with an allergic reaction to safety, I can confidently say that Cairn looks to be a realistic depiction of both the act of climbing and the emotional toll it can take. The resource management aspect of the game is giving me some pause, but I’m still very interested in playing Cairn, regardless.
Wanderstop
Wanderstop looks very cool for what it is, but I’m left wondering how you make a game out it. Sure, you’ve got the tea house management angle that’s obviously there to lull you into a false sense of routine, but once the self-doubt starts kicking in, what does the game actually look like? I’m suspecting there might be a massive genre twist in this one, but I could be wrong. Either way, I’m excited to check it out whenever it releases.
Unknown 9: Awakening
It’s been a while since a game reminded me of Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, a ridiculously fun game with a hilariously stupid name, but here’ comes’s a new stupidly named game that might scratch that itch — it’s Unknown 9: Awakening! Dumb names aside, this game looks pretty cool. The main mechanic seems to be about possessing enemies and having them take each other out, which is always my preferred “stealth” option when playing games, so a whole game about that has to be good, right? It comes out this year, so I’ll find out more then.
Eternal Strands
Someone described Eternal Strands to me as Shadow of the Colossus and Breath of the Wild smashed into one game. While that’s a super lofty claim to make, should Eternal Strands even be marginally as good as either of those games, it’ll be an overwhelming success to me. I’m skeptical, but I really do want this to be good.
In Sink
I don’t know why I put games like In Sink on any sort of list, whether it be article or wish, because I never have anyone to play the dang things with. But I’m imagining a world where I do have a good co-op partner, and we are both loving this game and its asymmetrical puzzle solving. Also in this imagined world I have huge muscles and like, a million dollars. There’s a demo out now, but a full release is expected later this year.
Skate
I just want to play a new Skate game already. Imitators like Session and Skater XL tried to fill the void in its absence, but fumbled the execution so hard with their overly complicated control schemes. While I’m genuinely terrified of the EA-controlled free-to-play model this entry is adopting, I know it was probably the only way a new Skate game would get green-lit. Regardless, I want to play this very badly, and I can’t believe there still isn’t a release window.
South of Midnight
If nothing else, South of Midnight looks very cool. Aside from aesthetic appeal, I truly have no idea how this one is going to shake out, but I’m more than willing to give it a spin when it launches on Game Pass.
Perfect Dark
I really hope this trailer isn’t all smoke and mirrors because the new Perfect Dark looks absolutely incredible. An immersive-sim with all the Perfect Dark gadgets and future tech seems like a perfect pair, but I’ll reserve my boundless praise for whenever I actually do get to play it.
Mixtape
I have no idea how Mixtape will play or what it’ll be about, but it’s trailer is giving off all the right vibes. I think I might be a few years removed from the prime demographic for this game, but I’m still going to play it anyway because it looks cool and has a pretty dope soundtrack.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
From Uncharted to Tomb Raider, games have been chomping Indiana Jones’s flavor for years to mostly positive results. So maybe it’s finally time for the progenitor of archaeologic adventures to come out with a game that’ll live up to and make good on the mystique of Indiana Jones. I really hope that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is good, because this trailer looks like a lot of fun. And if nothing else, at least I’ll get to punch a Nazi in the face.
Fable
Please be good.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Okay, so this particular trailer isn’t particularly good, but the gameplay demo that came out a day later was much better. I don’t have any love for the Dragon Age series, but I’m willing to take the plunge with The Veilguard after pouring a full week’s worth of time in Baldur’s Gate 3. Maybe I’m an RPG guy now. Or maybe I’m excited because this game looks like it’ll cater more to my action-oriented gameplay sensibilities way more than its predecessors did. Either way, I want to try this video game.
The Bonus World 