ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demos [2020 July 21-27]

[AlNom]

I think they should have spread out the demos over the course of the entire summer. There's just so many.

 

[BRiT]

Indeed. At least have them up for 2 weeks not just 6 days.

 

[Jay]

Virtual E3.
You take a chance, queue for a game, and only get to try a few.

 

[BRiT]

Virtual E3.
You take a chance, queue for a game, and only get to try a few.

I'm sorry. That was the queue for the restroom. Try that one. It's for alien probing.

 

[AzBat]

If you don't want to watch my playlist of 51 game trailers, then Xbox On has a video highlighting 8 games they think you should check out...

Tommy McClain

 

[dobwal]

I agree. Tunic looks good, but I've heard nothing since 2018.

I'll probably be doing a massive rewatch of all Sony and Microsoft E3 shows from the past generation (2013 onward) all because I can't recall what small indie game piqued my interest but then lost track of. I can't remember the name at all. It was all of maybe an 8 second clip. It might even be from a different show entirely, like maybe a Summer Game Fest style. I wish there was a universal remember this / wish list functionality.

Your post stirred my memory of The Last Night. Game was shown during e3 2017 and still has a TBA. SMH

 

[AlNom]

So I downloaded a couple dozen. I'll just talk about the ones that seemed of interest after playing:

• 9 Monkeys of Shaolin - up to 2p co-op action sidescroller. The combat feels satisfying with a bit of a rock-paper-scissors combat mechanics. A bit blurry on Xbox though it seems to be coming to Steam too.
• Alchemist Adventure - isometric action RPG, not terrible, but... not AAA by any means.
  
• Clea - simple anime art used for stealth gameplay and creepy jumpscares. I don't think I can handle it.
• Darkestville Castle - Seems to be a 2017 steam game, but it reaaaally feels like Curse of Monkey Island in tone. Probably would have picked it up on Steam sale a couple weeks ago if I had known about it.
• Deleveled - puzzle game involving getting two squares to simultaneously reach a goal via simple physics. I didn't get very far.
  
• Fractal Space - puzzle first person platformer
• Freshly Frosted - straightforward "lines" puzzles to get your donuts topped and distributed to the end points.
• Haven - another game without invert-Y, but I liked the characters. Seemed like you just explore small areas for resources, though I don't know where the story is going. Combat was confusing at first, and I still hadn't figured out how to heal, so I stopped playing.
• Hellpoint: The Thespian Feast - The combat was janky and there was no invert-Y, but the art & atmosphere had me interested.
• Mars Power Industries - straightforward puzzle game where you try to place buildings in the worklist on the small map to power other buildings.
• Projection: First Light - create shadows with a movable light ball to platform across spots. Reminded me of Contrast gameplay (Compulsion Games), though there didn't seem to be a whole lot to the story.
• Sail Forth - you sail a ship and shoot other pirate ships or destroy their bases to get loot. You can upgrade your ship at merchants (have to equip them into your given ship slots). The gameplay area is loaded as relatively small maps, so nothing expansive as Sea of Thieves, of course. The framerate was a little janky.
  
• Tesla Force - You play as Tesla in a twin stick shooter. lol Seemed promising for silly fun.

• Cake Bash - party game (of course), has bots too. Different stages have different objectives.
  
• Tribble Troubles - you're a tribble from Star Trek that can platform, hug walls, and double jump. *ahem*

• The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav & The Dark Eye: Memoria - oldish point n'click adventure games. I have them on Steam, but they were decent.

 

[AlNom]

Phogs - you're a double headed snek dog. Left stick controls blue collar head, Right stick controls red collar head. Solve puzzles by grabbing/biting (bumpers). Extend the snek with triggers.

 

[AzBat]

Phogs - you're a double headed snek dog. Left stick controls blue collar head, Right stick controls red collar head. Solve puzzles by grabbing/biting (bumpers). Extend the snek with triggers.

Yeah, that's really weird. Which is why I downloaded it just for my kids! I also downloaded Destroy All Humans, Cake Bash, Lost Wing, Raji, Sail Forth, Tesla Force, Mars Power Industries & Klang. I know I'm missing a couple of others, but those are the ones off top the of my head. Hope to try them out tonight. Kids already loaded up Cake Bash & loved it.

Tommy McClain

 

[AlNom]

Yeah, that's really weird. Which is why I downloaded it just for my kids! I also downloaded Destroy All Humans, Cake Bash, Lost Wing, Raji, Sail Forth, Tesla Force, Mars Power Industries & Klang. I know I'm missing a couple of others, but those are the ones off top the of my head. Hope to try them out tonight. Kids already loaded up Cake Bash & loved it.

Tommy McClain

Yeah, I kinda like these simpler novel games that aren't all about murder-death-kill and 3-seashells. I quite like the art direction for Cake Bash.

I don't recall if Tesla Force had co-op enabled, but it's fairly straightforward for a twin-stick. The maps are small and there seems to be a fair bit of weaponry to discover. You unlock stats as you progress.

 

[iroboto]

Yeah, I kinda like these simpler novel games that aren't all about murder-death-kill and 3-seashells. I quite like the art direction for Cake Bash.

I don't recall if Tesla Force had co-op enabled, but it's fairly straightforward for a twin-stick. The maps are small and there seems to be a fair bit of weaponry to discover. You unlock stats as you progress.

In the golden era of gaming there was so many different types of games. Things have really become homogenous more than ever with a great deal of genres merging.

 

[AzBat]

In the golden era of gaming there was so many different types of games. Things have really become homogenous more than ever with a great deal of genres merging.

"You got your chocolate on my peanut butter" I think this every time I play a FPS & I see all the RPG elements that I don't care a bit about.

Tommy McClain

 

[BRiT]

Phogs - you're a double headed snek dog. Left stick controls blue collar head, Right stick controls red collar head. Solve puzzles by grabbing/biting (bumpers). Extend the snek with triggers.

Yeah, that's really weird. Which is why I downloaded it just for my kids! I also downloaded Destroy All Humans, Cake Bash, Lost Wing, Raji, Sail Forth, Tesla Force, Mars Power Industries & Klang. I know I'm missing a couple of others, but those are the ones off top the of my head. Hope to try them out tonight. Kids already loaded up Cake Bash & loved it.

I know this is going against the current discussion but, I'm getting around to trying out some of these demos tonight.

I'm having more fun than I should be running through Phogs. It took a while to get used to the controls, even longer if you don't realize your dog swapped ends and the right stick is controlling the left side.

 

[BRiT]

Not sure this was linked in here before, but here's the official Xbox post on these games -- https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/07/21/id-xbox-summer-game-fest-demo-event/


As a reminder, the demos only run through the 27th, so queue up any you want to try now before you forget.

 

[AzBat]

Here’s the full list below of the games that will definitely catch your eye!

• 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio / Annapurna, 2020): A romantic evening with your wife turns into a violent invasion, as a man breaks into your home, accuses your wife of murder and beats you to death. Only for you to wake up and find yourself stuck in a twelve-minute time loop, doomed to relive the same terror again and again.
• Dead Static Drive (Team Fanclub, 2021): Dead Static Drive is about a nightmare roadtrip but it’s also about the extremes of personal circumstance the characters are put in and their emotional reaction to that circumstance. You have to choose who you can trust as you fight the horrors barely concealed underneath everyday domestic life.
• Exo One (Future Friends Games, 2020): A strange signal… an alien craft… Exo One is a gravity-defying, interplanetary journey through space and time. Master a truly alien traversal system and move through enigmatic and desolate alien landscapes in ways you’ve never experienced. Use gravity and momentum to reach colossal speeds and exhilarating heights.
• Lake (Whitethorn, 2021): It’s 1986 – Meredith Weiss takes a break from her career in the big city to deliver mail in her hometown. How will she experience two weeks in beautiful Providence Oaks, with its iconic lake and quirky community? And what will she do next? It’s up to you.
• Last Stop (Annapurna, 2021): A game about secret lives, the ties that bind and how magic can be found in the mundane, Last Stop is a third-person adventure set in present day London, where you play as three separate characters whose worlds collide in the midst of a supernatural crisis.
• Mad Streets (Craftshop Arts, 2020): Mad Streets is a quirky, physics based, multiplayer game which focuses on brutal hand to hand combat mixed with comedy and a vibrant art style but more importantly brings something satisfying and brand new to the table, in terms of how character’s physically interact with each other, in ways players haven’t felt before.
• Sable (Shedwords / Raw Fury): Join Sable on her gliding, a rite of passage that will take her across vast deserts, through landscapes littered with fallen spaceships. Explore the desert at your own pace on your hoverbike, scale monumental ruins and encounter other nomads in the wilds whilst unearthing mysteries long forgotten.
• Shredders (FoamPunch BV / I-Illusions, 2021): Shredders puts you on top of the coolest slopes, freeride spots and snowparks. It aims to recreate the sheer joy of riding down a mountain. Shredders will bring you high-end graphics, next-gen physics and a perfect blend between fun and realism, all in a social context. See you on the slopes in 2021!
• Song of Iron (Escape, 2021): Song of Iron is a moody and provoking action adventure. A dive into a dark Nordic world full of mystery and danger. Your journey will take you far across the land of myths toward the home of the gods. Fight your way through man, monster and nature itself to reach the end.
• The Artful Escape (Beethoven and Dinosaur / Annapurna, 2020): On the eve of his first performance, Francis Vendetti battles with the legacy of a dead folk legend and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination. Francis, a teenage guitar prodigy, sets out on a psychedelic, multidimensional journey to inspire his stage persona.
• The Ascent (Curve Digital/Neon Giant, 2021): The Ascent is a solo and co-op action RPG set in a cyberpunk world. The mega corporation that owns you and everyone, The Ascent Group, has just collapsed. Can you survive without it? Stop gangs and hostile corporations from taking over and discover what really happened.
• The Big Con (Mighty Yell Studios, 2021): Flex your inner teenager in The Big Con, an adventure game where you hustle across the country as a teen trying to save your family video store. In classic 90s con movie style, you’ll get to persuade and pilfer your way to greatness using a whack of potential grifts.
• The Falconeer (Wired Productions/Tomas Sala, 2020): The Falconeer is an open-world air combat game, featuring frenetic aerial dogfights and deep exploration of the mysterious open-world of The Great Ursee. Generations of poisonous decisions and treason swirl in the deep, as factions clash in a fight to preserve the past or flee its terrible consequences.
• Tunic (Finji/Andrew Shouldice): Tunic is an action adventure game about a small fox in a big world, who must explore the countryside, fight monsters, and discover secrets. Crafted to evoke feelings of classic action adventure games, Tunic will challenge the player with unique items, skillful combat techniques, and arcane mysteries as our hero forges their way through an intriguing new world.
• Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy (Big Sugar, 2021): Unexplored 2 is an action-RPG that aims to capture the same sense of adventure and wonder as a tabletop RPG. Full of beautiful landscapes and hidden marvels, magical creatures and dangerous foes, mythical weapons, and historic items, Unexplored 2 uses advanced content generation to give every player their own world, story, and challenges to discover.

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/07/23/15-new-independent-games-coming-first-to-console-on-xbox/

Tommy McClain

 

[BRiT]

Last night to play the demos, so try what you want before it's gone.