Xbox 360 outing and the seemingly troubled development of its reboot gave me little reason to expect much of it. But boy howdy, this looks like an immersive sim. This looks like Deus Ex. Everything from the corporate sterility of its near-future Cairo to the social stealth and exploration on display in the demo set off my classic PC sicko senses. Maybe the most unexpected pleasant surprise of the whole weekend.
Among the Wild
Chris Livingston, Senior Editor: There are lots of creature collectors and farming sims out there, but none of them look quite like this. The critters in Among the Wild are somewhere between cute and disturbing, and the game’s first-person perspective lets you look right into their goofy faces when you pick them up. That alone shot it straight to the top of my wishlist. Plus, the devs at Nuggets Entertainment told me that unlike a lot of creature collecting games, these critters aren’t necessarily helpful on your farm. “They’re more of a pain in the ass,” they said. That means if one is carrying a piece of lumber or a fish around, they’re more likely to abscond with it rather than deliver it to you. I can’t wait to meet them and see just what a nuisance they can be.
Other reveals we really loved this year
In no particular order, here are more game trailers, announcements, and reveals we were excited to see at this year’s summer showcases.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Morgan Park, Staff Writer: Getting unreasonably excited about the latest Assassin’s Creed before my expectations are brought back down to earth is a time-honored tradition at this point—but I really do believe Shadows could be the best the series has been since it became loot RPGs. Ubi’s gameplay showcase focused on the right things to get classic AC fans excited: reactive combat that doesn’t look as spammy as Valhalla or Odyssey, and honest-to-god stealth mechanics inspired by Splinter Cell (you can even crawl through grass!). I have doubts about the whole two protagonists thing, but it’s hard to sweat the details when Ubi is finally making the Assassin’s Creed game I’ve politely asked for since 2009.
UFO 50
Wes Fenlon, Senior Editor: The indie squad behind UFO 50, which has been in development for years, really meant it when they said this was not a collection of mere minigames. I got to bounce around between almost 10 of UFO 50’s games at Summer Game Fest over the weekend, which wasn’t enough time to be good at any of them—many are tough, arcadey games that would feel at home on the NES—but it was enough time to be stunned by the scope of this project. Y’all, there’s an entire Japanese-style RPG in here reminiscent of Dragon Quest (only with a Wild West theme). There’s a full point-and-click adventure game, much like the classic Shadowgate. There’s a golf game with a twist, a reverse-Downwell (I forget the name, so let’s go with Upwell), and a game starring a flying walrus (he’s actually just having a nice dream). I guarantee you there are at least a couple games in here with that divine arcade touch that you could play for 50 hours all by themselves. Once you throw in those longer narrative-driven games like the RPG… I don’t think any of us are ready for 50 indie games this polished to drop on us all at once when it’s out in September.
Rich Stanton, Senior Editor: I know I’m setting myself up for a fall here, but Konami’s remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater really has reignited my hype for the Metal Gear series. The approach the developers are taking is faithful, pe