Typically, the best Summer Game Fest trailers show up during the branded presentation itself. Microsoft’s Xbox gets the leftovers the next day. I was not expecting trailers to emerge from this morning’s presentation that were actually good, exciting and worth writing about, especially under the state of self-destruction the Xbox brand has been under. But…here we are, I guess, and here I am writing on a Sunday. They pulled quite a trick out of their hat.
SPYRO IS BACK, and everything we know about it is encouraging: Toys For Bob, the same developer that made the remake trilogy AND successfully crafted a Crash 4, is behind Spyro: A Realm Beyond. Tom Kenny is returning as Spyro’s voice. It’s thoroughly cross-platform with Switch 2 and PS5 versions planned in addition to XBox and PC. And they’ll all launch on the same day sometime in the spring of 2027. Hope we’re not too busy with FF7 Revelation at that moment. Eh, we’ll make time.
The remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved will feature three never-before-seen missions, XBox said today. No, the original storyline isn’t getting an unnecessary extra chapter: these are prequel missions set before the events of the main game. Halo will be released July 28 multiplatform, and it still feels wrong to see that logo below the PS5 banner.
I’m slightly irritated by yet another remake of a Persona game instead of something with a 6 in it. At least Atlus is not making the same mistake they did with the P3 remake by keeping the bonus content in the main game instead of breaking it off into DLC. But it’s been so ridiculously long; can we just defecate or get off the commode already?
Oh, no, wait…..what’s this?
It’s just a logo, but it’s undeniably PERSONA 6! HUZZAH! The vibe implies a possible return to its horror roots, which the series hasn’t had since the original PS1 game. But I take it it’ll be at least two years before we see any of it.
A Plague Tale is getting a third installment, but it’s not a continuation of the storyline as you know it. Instead it follows Sophia, the pirate introduced in the second game, as she discovers ancient ruins that allow her to shift back and forth into the past. It also appears to play differently than the first two, focusing on action and combat instead of stealth. Will the fanbase take all these changes? We’ll see when Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy releases August 27 for XBox, PS5 and PC.
There is now more than one game out there trying to recreate the vibe of a 1980s anime, but this is the one that doesn’t require a second player. Vivarium is a chill life sim about a little girl living in a bottle, and it appears to be an XBox / PC exclusive. We’ll learn more in 2027.
Sega’s making a new Crazy Taxi! Zowie! And they got the Offspring to create the music tracks! I hope they enjoy this brief moment of fan euphoria, because we’ve got about five seconds until the Internet figures out this game uses genAI, and public opinion turns a 180.
Finally, here’s a new limited-edition XBox model in honor of the console line’s 25th anniversary. It is see-through, just like the original (and a lot of electronics ’round 2001). No price listed yet, but it’ll probably cost $20,000.
