Microsoft’s Xbox portfolio of games is under the spotlight this evening as it airs a new Developer Direct at 6pm UK time. We’ll be covering everything live as it happens, right here, as well as talking with you about the things that do. Why not join us? Crack some jokes! We like jokes.
But what is going to happen? We know a few things. We know the tasty-looking Doom: The Dark Ages will be a central focus and that we’re probably going to get a release date for it – reportedly 15th May – and we know we’re getting a better look at Southern American folklore action adventure South of Midnight, which I think looks great. A release date more specific than 2025 would be welcome.
The other named game on the slate for tonight is promising turn-based role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which Ed has been keeping a close – and interested – eye on, and which again, we could use a more specific release date for. Those are the named games. But we’re also promised a look at a fourth game that’s, as yet, a bit of a mystery. Could it be a game like Avowed or Fable, or are we going to see something completely new? Maybe it’s time to wheel out the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake that’s been speculated about.
That’s the general shape of things but there could be other surprises too. Join us just before 6pm UK time as we prepare to find out.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Carl Sheen says: The secret game is rumoured to be a new entry in a succesful Japanese franchise.
Ninja Gaiden?
And also been rumblings of more than 1 suprise in the presentation as well.
Could it be? Granny’s Gaiden.
johndoree says: Nintendogs
Xbogs?
FTJT says: Mystery fourth game’s not going to be anything huge – so an old, dormant-ish Japanese IP that’s not tethered to Sony or Ninty, and isn’t going to be a big multiplat announcement, but is still going to have a *bit* of sizzle to it.
Sure, it’s probably Ninja Gaiden. But if it’s Phantasy Star, I get bragging rights
FTJT is calling it! Mark it down on your bingo cards.
OneAyedPirate says: I’m calling FF7 Remake and Rebirth, both out now on Xbox. Either that or it’s a remaster of SHOGO
Whether or not its those games, you make a good point: the platform holders love a shadow drop. What may be suddenly releaased tonight, I wonder?
spookyxelectric says: Perhaps Xbox has come to understand the concept of love.
You heard it here first!
Top tip for watching the stream by the way: set your playback speed to faster than 1, so you’re always as current as possible.
And with that, we’re nearly there. Two minutes to go and counting. Good evening everybody. I hope we get a good show!
Kami says: … also Microsoft, Mr.Spencer, hi. Can we ever expect a remaster of Lost Odyssey? Asking for a friend. The friend is me. I need it.
I loved Lost Odyssey!
The show begins
As Vordus says, “it is time for video games” – it is indeed.
10, 9, 8… Here we go.
All games are available day one with Game Pass, a message reminds us.
A montage to start, showing clips from inside the four studios we’re seeing games from. Any clues about the mysterious fourth?
Nothing that I could pick up on.
We’re going into the mysterious game first!
A stormy sea and up into the clouds. Team Ninja. OK – it has to be Ninja Gaiden, right?
The mystery game is Ninja Gaiden 4
We’re straight into a trailer. A sole ninja thwarted some Dark Dragon plot.
Ooh – Platinum Games is the developer?! The studio’s name flashes up on the screen.
Platinum is collaborating on it
We’re seeing the hallmark acrobatic action and complex move-sets the series is known for. There’s a cyberpunk element to it. The name Ryu Hyabusa is mentioned – that’s him! It’s gory, it’s fast. It looks fairly far in development to me too.
Ninja Gaiden 4 it’s called, simplyi.
It’s a new entry in the mainline series, we’re told – that’s somewhat obvious. It’s a collaboration between Team Ninja and Platinum.
There’s a new protagonist called Yakumo. But Ryu will also be in the game and play a pivotal role in it, apparently.
The story takes place in Tokyo that’s torn by war and won’t be at peace until you… kill everyone I guess. You’ve got to defeat the Dark Dragon.
The dark, hardcore tone of the series is important, they said. There’s a lot of momentum in the game, in traversal as well as combat. It does look more than a little reminiscent of Ghostrunner, I have to say.
There’s a lot of acrobatic traversal – you can somersalt from wall to wall. You’ve got a grappling hook of some kind to swing around environments with.
Ninja Gaiden 4 will release this autumn
There’s a mix of trash battles with lots of weaker enemies, and the more focused and intense battles with bosses. It sounds like a lot of work and thinking has gone into bringing the series back.
New protagonist Yakumo has two fighting styles tailored for different situations. It’s very fast looking, gameplay.
They’re talking about it being a fair and engaging experience – Gaiden games are known for being challenging. But they’re also talking about welcoming newcomers, of course.
A release date? Autumn 2025!
Intriguing! I really liked Ninja Gaiden 2 on Xbox 360. Hang on – are we getting a remastered version?
Shadow drop! The remastered Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is out now
Shadow drop! You can play the remastered Ninja Gaiden 2 Black right now!
A closer look at South of Midnight
Game hop! We’re over to Compulsion games now to see South of Midnight, the third-person action game based on folklore of the Deep South. There’s a fantastical twist to all of this – twisted monsters in the bayous.
Adriyan Rae is the voice actor for main character Hazel, who’s a dreamweaver that discovers creatures from old folk tales exist. A giant catfish is your companion through the game.
There’s a slower frame-per-second animation style to this, like the Spider-Verse films. I’m not sure how I feel about it. But it’s undeniably a stylish presentation.
Hazel is very acrobatic – she can wall-run and air-dash and conjure objects to help her get to where she’s going. And of course there’s combat too.
So combat seems to be based around the idea of pushing and pulling – getting them in, starting a combo, then pushing them back, with a combination of magical abilities. If you can keep a combo chain uniterrupted, you’ll be able to chain more attacks.
There’s an upgrade tree to customise and enhance all this, that’ll give you some choice to pursue the kind of play style you like.
I love the idea of exploring folktales I don’t know, and it looks like a memorable cast of characters. It reminds me powerfully of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, which is an underrated banger, I’ll have you know.
South of Midnight launches 8th April
I’m impressed with the setting – it’s not one I’ve played in before.
And there’s the release date we’ve been after: 8th April.
A closer look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Over to Sandfall Interactive now in Montepelier France to hear about the studio’s first game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
This game started as a solo passion project, apparently. They were inspired by turn-based JRPGs and wanted to make a big budget one for today’s audience. Given how impressive the game looks visually now, it’s amazing to think this began with one person.
Do they work in some kind of refitted manor house? That’s a pretty swanky looking office.
It’s set in France, by the way, the game – in an alternate reality version of France.
spookyxelectric says: I played Lost Odyssey with the French voice over, so I’m getting flashbacks when I see the combat system of Obscur 33
Yeah – this is looking pretty good!
We’re hearing a bit about the story. It’s not about good and evil. They want a dark and mature story with characters that feel like real people with real experiences. The story is about overcoming an existential threat while overcoming personal grief. Those are a lot of buzzwords, but it’s nice to know that there are some deeper themes in there.
The voice cast include Charlie Cox, Jennifer English, Ben Starr and Andy bloomin’ Serkis. That’s a strong line-up!
This looks great, and it’s fascinating to me that a one-person idea found the budget and support to realise this. Someone really took a chance on this.
There are strong Persona vibes to the way the game plays out, and Final Fantasy 7 remake. You can dodge and parry in real-time, while selecting attacks in a turn-based order. Apparently, you can take more risks in real-time if you like that kind of thing.
Wow that’s a lot of passive effects! There are more than 20 unique skills for each character and hundreds of passives. I like the sound of that.
I like that I haven’t played an RPG like this before, in terms of setting. It stands out.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 releases 24th April
One thing they wanted to bring back from old JRPGs was a 3D, fully navigable world map. Does that mean there will be random battles, I wonder?
Oh I see: the bosses stand out on the world map and you can find them and fight them.
I really like the look of this: it’s got a lot of heart behind it.
Another April game! Clair Obscur comes out 24th April.
Doom time! Now, I probably can’t say this but Katharine has a bunch of Doom things ready to publish once this finishes, so keep an eye on the homepage.
A closer look at Doom: The Dark Ages
I met Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin once, when they were announcing Doom Eternal. They announce our closer look at the game.
So, it’s a medieval war against hell and we’re going to feel like the superweapon there. It’s medieval but it’s sci-fi. It’s also a prequel to Doom 2016. Apparently that also means it’s a great place for newcomers to come in.
The acrobatics of previous Doom games have been changed for a feeling of power here. The catchy quote was you were a fighter jet in the previous Doom games and here you’re a tank.
The Shieldsaw is obviously at the center of this. You can block, throw, parry and reflect. It’s all contextual apparently, which is intriguing. In Doom 2016 they asked you to run and gun, in Eternal they asked you to jump and shoot, and in The Dark Ages they want you to stand and fight.
Kami says: Doom gets The Pizza Cutter!
Haha!
Doom Dark Ages will have a tower-sized mech to pilot!
There’s a new glory kill system, there are new melee weapons. And it’s all contextual it sounds like.
The Dark Ages has some of the most ridiculously powerful guns they’ve ever made. There’s a metal stake launcher by the looks of things. There’s a new shotgun – there’s always a shotgun in an id Software game and I am totally here for that.
That shield really is at the heart of all your encounters.
There’s a new difficulty system in the game – a collection of sliders where you can slow things down, for example, and tailor each aspect of the experience for you. You’re going to be able to pilot a tower-sized mech!
Doom Dark Ages will let you fly a dragon!
We’re going to be able to fly on a dragon!
We’re going to uncover the past of Doom and the Doom Slayer here, and it sounds like, in terms of ridiculousness, they’ve gone full ridiculous.
There’s a flail melee weapon!
Dark Ages has the largest play space ever in a Doom game, apparently.
It’s a Doom sandbox full of war and riches, we’re told.
The soundtrack is being composed by Finishing Move. I’m not sure who that is but it sounds very metal to me. Did I tell you I went to see Slipknot recently? That was an experience.
They just called it a summer blockbuster event. Does that mean it’s coming out in the summer?
Doom: The Dark Ages releases 15th May
The narrative has come out of the codex and into the cutscenes, apparently – the story has come forward – and it leads directly into Doom 2016, I think they said.
Doom: The Dark Ages releases in May! 15th May.
That’s it for the scheduled or planned announcements, but I wonder if there’s time for something more.
spookyxelectric says: do slipknot still drum on garbage bins, Bertie?
They do!
Show closes
Oh, so that really was it. But a pretty strong slate of games, I think? Doom is the blockbuster there, Ninja Gaiden is the relative surprise, but South of Midnight and Clair Obscur looked good. That’s a convincing sell for a couple of months of GamePass.
Malek86 says: This looks better than Doom Eternal to me, more grounded, but I hope the sandbox world doesn’t make it feel generic over time.
Yeah. I hope that the width of it all doesn’t sacrifice some of the shape and pace.
It’s nice to see a bit more of the teams making these games in these Directs, to get to know them a bit and see what they’re about.
Durrel Brown says: I’m shocked there was nothing about Avowed
I assume because it’s out so soon there’s no point. I’m looking forward to playing it!
Ghibli says: I’m going to say it. They’ve improved immensely since Major Nelson went to the badlands
Good old Larry!
Durrel Brown says: @Bertie yeah but there’s been next to no marketing on Avowed
True. I’m equal parts worried and excited, I should say. Curious project, that.
Vordus says: I wonder who handles the cinematography for these things. And just how silly everyone feels recording the B-Roll of walking down corridors or between desks.
I’d love to do a walking down the corridor shot! They are inherently ridiculous but you’ve just got to embrace it.
mattevansc3 says: So, who’s looking forward to Final French 33?
Nice! And yes, me!
I have to call it a night there. Thank you all for joining us. Short and sweet, that. Not bad, Microsoft, not bad.
Columbo: Just one more thing. Don’t forget our Doom coverage that’s just gone up on the site, which includes a news story about how there won’t be any multiplayer in The Dark Ages.
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