Inside Xbox Archives – Thumbsticks

We got our first look at Xbox Series X gameplay, (but maybe not the kind of gameplay you’d expect). Yesterday’s Xbox 2020 May Update Inside Xbox stream offered plenty of first (and second) looks. The presentation marked the first time Xbox has showed off gameplay for their next-gen console. Some reveals were definitely underwhelming, but there was still plenty to get excited about. Here’s how it breaks down. Xbox 20/20 May update: Everything Announced Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — Xbox saved the gameplay reveal for Ubisoft’s next big open-world game for the end of the show. But, the Valhalla footage underwhelmed. Touted as gameplay footage, the Valhalla reveal was certainly captured in-engine. But, it didn’t give any sense of what playing the game will actually be like, and was shorter than Ubisoft’s initial reveal. You can see for yourself here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vWgUtoX7ue7Q Dirt 5 — Codemasters’ off-road racing series is returning with a next-gen outing. Dirt 5 will feature four-player splitscreen, and will launch in October on Xbox Series X, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and PC. Scorn — The H.R. Giger-influenced first-person horror game reappeared with a deeply uncomfortable trailer. First announced back in 2014, Scorn has had a tumultuous road to release, but if the spooky, gross trailer is to be believed, it may well be worth the wait for horror fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vmuXiufO9dXg Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 — We still don’t know when this long-awaited RPG sequel will arrive. But, the new trailer for Hardsuit Labs’ vampire game, showed off combat, traversal, sexy vampires and mutilated corpses. All set to Wayne Newton’s “Danke Schoen.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?vv8K7VfPzTlw Bright Memory Infinite — An impressive-looking first-person shooter, Bright Memory Infinite seems to combine gritty sci-fi shooting and sword-based melee combat. Apparently — and, almost unbelievably — it’s being created by one person at FYQD-Studio. Here’s the trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vxtwPMBdgPGE Madden NFL 21 — EA’s next Madden game will be available on Xbox Series X. It will make use of Smart Delivery, though the details — involving timed exclusivity — are unusually messy. The Medium — I’m here for whatever Bloober Team does next. Last year’s Blair Witch wasn’t great, but the team went 50/50 thanks to the atmospheric Layers of Fear 2. Hopefully, The Medium, which features a soundtrack composed by Silent Hill’s Akira Yamaoka, channels the best of Bloober. We’ll see for sure this holiday season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vYw2DGm280Pg Chorus: Rise as One — Cool-looking sci-fi game looks cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vQdIu9vDjwE8 Call of the Sea — Call of the Sea is a first-person exploration game with a supernatural twist set on a tropical island in the 1930s and in the sea below. My first thought upon seeing the trailer was, “Hey that looks kind of like In the Valley of Gods.” And it doesn’t really. But, it looks like it similarly trades out the darker tone of other walking sims like Gone Home, Dear Esther, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and What Remains of Edith Finch for something more vibrant and colorful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v8_6-PDDA2o0 The Ascent — Until this trailer’s title card came up, I was convinced that this isometric cyberpunk shooter was Ruiner 2. It’s not, but it’s certainly playing in a similar space as Devolver Digital's bullet hell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v32gaWV-5hXg Scarlet Nexus — Hard to say a ton about this Bandai Namco futuristic anime action game. But, the enemy designs, which incorporate flower and plant growth in place of certain body parts, are interesting. Check them out here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vIH9lpm-v0bM Second Extinction — This is not, in fact, a Turok reboot. But, Second Extinction will let you and three pals shoot next-gen dinosaurs into gristly little bits. Yakuza: Like A Dragon — Yakuza: Like A Dragon will be a launch title for Series X, and is also coming to Xbox One and Windows. That’s big news, given that the long-running open-world action series has typically had timed exclusivity with Sony. Like A Dragon (known as Yakuza 7 in Japan) will bring other changes to the series as well, like a new protagonist and turn-based combat. More from Thumbsticks For more video game news follow Thumbsticks on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard..

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