Some interesting things announced at the Game Awards

The good bits of an obnoxious show

I try not to get bogged down in snark and negative discourse, but especially around this time of year it’s an almost herculean challenge. Much has been said about The Game Awards, its host Geoff Keighley’s relationship with the games industry writ large and how what should be a celebration of artistic endeavour instead comes across as a placid hype cycle for the medium’s least interesting but most expensive offerings.

But there are also trailers for new games at this show. And some of them do actually look quite good. So, in the absence of any interest in who won what, I wanted to write about those things instead.

Control: Resonant

I liked, but didn’t love, the original Control. Mostly this was because I found the core gameplay loop got repetitive quite quickly, however, because I was so engrossed in the game’s expansive, wildly transforming story, I played the whole damn thing, DLC and all. Central to that compelling narrative was this unraveling mystery of the relationship between Jess Faden and her missing brother, Dylan. We’ve seen Jess’ side of the story, of course, so now its time for the prodigal son’s turn in the spotlight.

I’ll admit I’m more curious to see how the story evolves than the gameplay, although the switch to a DMC-style melee combat paradigm is a welcome change, but based on my interactions with other Remedy properties over the years, they aren’t content with making simply ‘more of the same’, and no doubt Resonant will have more than one new trick up its sleeve.

Coven of the Chicken Foot

I saw the old lady with the chicken feet and immediately locked in. A meandering, puzzly platformery Ghibli-esque adventure game, set in a world where all the adventures have been had, and only the rituals remain. Shades of the Last Guardian and Papo & Yo. It might be far from the most original title on this list, but sometimes a strong art style and an intrinsic understanding of what to expect is enough, and often its in those expectations that the nice surprises hidden within are elevated.

I’m excited to see if this does go down the Last Guardian route in having an AI-controlled partner that doesn’t always do what its told. Based on what we’ve seen from the trailer that may be so, and although in practice that can be a frustrating element to contend with, I’ve always appreciated the unique friction it brings to proceedings.

Ontos

Frictional Games made one of my favourite sci fi horror experiences of all time with Soma, a game of anxiety inducing existential quandaries and one whose ending still makes me feel ill to this day. Another one of those? Abso-fucking-lutely!

There is a bunch of Bioshock energy to be found in the trailer to this latest envisioned nightmare, all last days of Rome and folk getting injected with gnarly substances. Already I’ve seen some deeply disturbing imagery in this inital trailer, which has me quietly excited.

I get the sense that the Swedish studio have ramped up the production quality since the last few games as this looks far more lavish and intricate than their already quite lavish and intricate games. I only hope that their strong artistic principles continue.

Star Wars Galactic Racer

A little bit of Static Canvas lore for everyone: Star Wars Episode I Racer on the N64 was the first game I ever played, and in fact probably the reason I got into games in the first place. For this canonical starting point, I find myself enamored by this latest offering, another high octane science fantasy racer, although the little information I can find about the developer Fuse Games means that I genuinely have no idea how this will end up.

I’m in something of a personal era of really not giving a shit about Star Wars in general, thanks to there being so much of it now, and most of it being mediocre. With this in mind, to get excited about getting back in the seat of one of the prequel trilogy’s best ideas, that’s something I never thought would happen. But here we are. The Mandalorian and Grog-who?

The Free Shepherd

This looks a bit like a lost digital only PS3 game, and I mean this non-derogatorily. An expansive, lonely lanscape, a powerfully good boy and a disloyal flock to corral, all the while making sense of these mystical elements dotting the plains. It reads a little bit like one idea too many at first glance, the herding being a compelling mechanic on its own, but obviously we’ll have to see when the game comes out.

Again this is one of those projects where I don’t really know the studio. They’ve previously worked on two quite well regarded VR titles. Maybe that will have some impact on this new game?

Decrepit

Another soulslike at first glance, but this time a little reading sets the mood for why I should be paying attention to this. It’s a sort of dungeon crawler in reverse, as you seek to escape a castle, where failure has your sorry carcass dragged right back into the dungeon to try again. While a randomised placement of enemies still keeps you on your toes, the building itself remains the same, meaning that progress will build upon that familiarity.

A game that emphasises ‘spatial mastery over power creep’ (as per publisher Three Friends), this sounds like an excellent, atmospheric addition to the soulslike canon, albeit one that doesn’t stop at FROMsoft as the source of inspiration.

Orbitals

I’m not a big co-op guy, for reasons that ultimately stem to ‘I’m antisocial’, but I still found myself enticed by the prospects of this gorgeously animated sci fi caper. Two friends venturing across the galaxy in search of their home, newly lost to a cosmic storm. Space ships and rocket packs, jolly cooperation across hostile realms, I see the vision.

Whether this is enough to knock Split Fiction developer Hazelight from their throne, I don’t know, and that it being a Switch 2 exclusive might keep it from skyrocketing into mainstream success, but space adventures in a cool 80s anime inspired look certainly gives me a reason to keep an eye on this moving forward.