With E3 fully dead and buried, Geoff Keighley took up the mantel to create a new platform for all publishers and developers to rally around and showcasenew games and announcementsduring the summer. Summer Game Fest isn’t just a single event but an umbrella under which all showcases happening in the early June period fall under. Of course, to kick it all off, Geoff personally hosts the Summer Game Fest where gamesfrom all platformsand teams are welcomed to show off to the most captive audience of the summer. This year’s event took place on Friday, June 7 and was a two-hour long show packed with reveals, updates, and surprises.
As much fun as a conference full of video game news and trailers can be, two hours is a long time to watch if only a couple things are going to appeal to you. Even someone as hardcore into games as I am will probably find themselves getting a bit bored during certain stretches of the show. Since I already watched the entire thing front to back, why don’t I save you a couple of hours and give you the highlights? These are my personal picks for the best reveals, annoucements, and updates to come out the Summer Game Fest 2024.
The best games of 2024 … so far
2024 is far from over but we’ve already had some banger releases. These are the best I’ve played so far.
1Lego Horizon Adventures
Also coming to Switch
If you were following the leaks prior to the show then the reveal ofLego Horizon Adeventureswasn’t a surprise, but to everyone else, the idea of Horizon getting the Lego treatment must’ve been a huge shock. Gameplay looks to be exactly what you would expect from a Lego game - lots of collecting, building, and platforming - but with set in the Horizon world. The robot dinosaurs being converted into Lego feels like a natural move, and Ashly Burch even returns to voice Aloy to keep the game consistent. Even if the existance of this game wasn’t a surprise, the platforms certainly was. Lego Horizon Adventures is coming to PS5 and PC as expected, but also the Nintendo Switch on release. This is a huge shock considering the game is being developed by both Guerilla Games (a PlayStation first-party) and Studio Gobo.
PlayStation is going about its PC strategy all wrong
The PSN requirement on single-player PlayStation games for PC will bite Sony in the butt.
2Alan Wake 2 DLC
Available now
Alan Wake 2
It is always a treat when Sam Lake takes the stage. His passion for games and the industry just oozes from his very aura. This time he had two big announcements to make regarding last year’s Alan Wake 2. First was that the game would finally be getting a phsyical release after being a digital-only title up to this point, and second that the Night Springs DLC would be available the next day (which is now if you’re reading this). The DLC will be split into three chapters each focusing on a different character: the Number One Fan based on waitress Rose Merigold, the Actor based on real-life actor Shawn Ashmore, and the Sibling who is Jesse Fayden from the other Remedy title Control.
Alan Wake 2 review: Spiralling into madness
Alan Wake is back, and it’s looking unbelievably good.
Prepare to cry this year
I’m not sure why this is called the World Premiere Trailer considering we sawNevaonce before, but that’s beside the point. What you need to know is that Neva is the next title from Nomada Studio which previously made the beautiful and somber title Gris and looks like it is gearing up to rip our hearts out all over again. You will play as a woman named Alba who is somehow tied to a wolf cub on a 2D adventure. The gameplay shows the pair running through stunning environments filled with familiar yet mystical creatures. It isn’t all just taking in the beauty and frolocking with your white wolf pup, however, as we get a small look at some combat. I’m just taking a guess here, but I see this game being a tearjerker for any animal lovers out there.
4 two-player mobile games even non-gamers will love
It doesn’t matter if your friends never touched a controller before, everyone will have a blast with these two player mobile games
4Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
Powering up this October
I’m a little biased includingDragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroon this list because of how much I love Dragon Ball, but I know I’m not alone in that. I won’t pretend we’ve been starving for Dragon Ball games lately, but it has been a very long time since the last fighting game, and over a decade since the last Budokai Tenkaichi game (which was called Sparking! in Japan). The Release Date trailer looks to be exactly what I want from this series - over-the-top action, tons of characters, and a new way to relive the classic DBZ story. If the action in the trailer wasn’t enough to get you hyped, the release date being so close at October 11 is sure to turn you Super Saiyan.
4 terrible entries in otherwise great video game series that we all pretend don’t exist
Even the greatest video game franchises can have a dud or two that we all try and forget even happened.
5Civilization 7
Just a tease
The World Premiere Trailer forSid Meier’s Civilization 7might as well have been text on a screen saying “we’re working on the game now.” There’s no gameplay, no details on new features, or anything but some cool CGI and voice over was show. The thing is, for fans of 4X games and Sid Meier, that’s more than enough. The only concrete details we do know is that it is slated for next year, will be coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox ONe, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, and thatt Firaxis and Sid Meier himself will be developing it. A gameplay showcase is slated for something this August to see how this legendary series has evolved.
4 LGBTQ+ inclusive games to play during Pride Month
Celebrate Pride Month by playing some great games that push the boundaries of representation.
