The best games we played at Summer Game Fest 2024 - Beritaja

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A warrior faces down a dragon in Phantom Blade Zero.

It’s been a agelong 7 days present astatine . While gaming fans whitethorn person had a engaged fewer days acknowledgment to unrecorded broadcasts for illustration Xbox Games Showcase and Ubisoft Forward, we were connected The crushed in Los Angeles for a afloat week afloat of hands-on demos and previews. Over that time, we played much games than we Can count, from large autumn releases for illustration Metaphor: ReFantazio to smaller titles for illustration Bounty Star. The large takeaway? Even if The crippled manufacture is presently facing a rocky moment, plentifulness of developers are still pouring their hearts and souls into making awesome games.

There’s truthful overmuch that we’ve already written astir already (and truthful overmuch much coming), but we want to item immoderate of The champion games we played complete The past week. Our picks correspond a wide action of games, from tentpole console exclusives to indies made by 1 aliases 2 developers. Each 1 is wholly different from The others, showing that passion and productivity are still thriving moreover in The industry’s toughest moment.

Game of The Show: Astro Bot

If we had to prime a crippled of The show this year, it would person to beryllium Astro Bot. PlayStation’s upcoming exclusive impressed astatine The show pinch a heavy demo showing disconnected its precise platforming, intricate bosses, and tricky situation stages. What’s astir awesome present is really different each level we played was. One had america boosting done walls pinch a Bulldog Backpack, while different revolved astir froggy boxing gloves that could move Astro into a slingshot. The much we played, The much we were amazed and delighted. Team Asobi has thing typical connected its hands present pinch a family-friendly platformer that feels conscionable arsenic tight — if not amended — than Nintendo’s best. Don’t slumber connected it this September. ~ Giovanni Colantonio

Fatal Fury: City of The Wolves

Though I’ve played fighting games my full life, I’ve only gotten superior astir learning their nuances in caller years. I’m gladsome I did, because that knowledge helped maine admit The cerebral brawling of Fatal Fury: City of The Wolves. SNK’s stylish revival whitethorn look like Street Fighter 6 astatine a glance, but it has its ain chopped sound acknowledgment to its unsocial rev system. Certain actions, for illustration typical moves, build up rev, which is tracked by a rising gauge. When that hits 100%, players overheat and suffer entree to immoderate cardinal moves. That intends that combatants can’t conscionable spam moves; they person to deliberation cautiously astir erstwhile to unleash The large guns. It’s a awesome attack that opens The doorway for tons of strategical reasoning and melodramatic moments. ~ Giovanni Colantonio

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of The Goddess

My speedy elevator transportation for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of The Goddess? Bloons Tower Defense 6 meets Onimusha, but moreover that wouldn’t rather do it justice. Capcom’s latest is an action strategy crippled wherever The main extremity is to guideline a princess from 1 broadside of a level to The different truthful she Can creation and free The area of “defilement.” During The daytime, players Can prevention villagers and gain rate that Can beryllium utilized to bargain combat units aliases make The princess locomotion a definite distance. At night, players past must position and bid The villagers they turned into warriors and conflict disconnected hordes of enemies trying to onslaught The princess. It’s a unsocial gameplay loop, and Path of The Goddess looks awesome while doing it. ~ Tomas Franzese.

Fragpunk

When I sat down to play Fragpunk astatine Summer Game Fest The time earlier its reveal astatine The Xbox Games Showcase, I knew thing astir it. About 20 minutes later, I was all-in. Fragpunk takes The thought of Valorant, pinch its attack-defend multiplayer shooting setup, and sprinkles in a furniture of goofiness acknowledgment to a paper system. At The commencement of each round, each squad activates up to 3 cards that drastically alteration The rules. Those cards Can get very silly, turning The crushed into crystal aliases activating large caput mode. It’s a wacky rotation connected a competitory shooter that feels overmuch amended tuned for casual players who conscionable want to goof disconnected pinch friends. ~ Giovanni Colantonio

Fear The Spotlight

While Blumhouse Games announced respective titles astatine Summer Game Fest, only 1 was playable during The arena — and it was a awesome choice. Fear The Spotlight is an expanded type of a mini indie that concisely launched connected Steam past September. The developers took it offline and decided to rework it erstwhile Blumhouse showed liking in supporting it. The caller type is already showing committedness acknowledgment to its retro ’90s aesthetic, tactile puzzle container gameplay, and much modern storytelling that almost brings maine backmost to Life is Strange. While The original type gained a very mini assemblage of dedicated scary fans, I ideate it’ll get a batch much eyes erstwhile it relaunches this year. ~ Giovanni Colantonio

Harmonium: The Musical

Harmonium: The Musical is simply a caller escapade crippled from The Odd Gentleman astir a young woman who’s transported to a magical world, Alice in Wonderland style, aft going deaf astatine a young age. Players lick puzzles, galore of which are based connected interpreting motion connection in bid to summation The discourse needed to lick a puzzle. Mix in immoderate coagulated penning and beautiful animation intelligibly inspired by studios for illustration Pixar, and Harmonium: The Musical is simply a charming escapade crippled that you’ll want to support an oculus connected — particularly since it will beryllium disposable for each Netflix subscribers erstwhile it launches. ~ Tomas Franzese

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

A man walks done a wasteland in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

After respective delays, The merchandise of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is astir upon us, and I was impressed by what I played astatine Summer Game Fest. This supernatural scary shooter group in a radiated Chornobyl instantly makes The subordinate consciousness unsafe in The removal area they’ve surgery into. From biology hazards to fierce enemies, almost everything is retired to termination players. You’ll bleed if you get changeable aliases suffer from radiation poisoning if you locomotion in thing toxic, truthful location are endurance crippled elements underpinning The full experience. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 doesn’t consciousness janky for illustration its predecessor either, truthful it seems for illustration it will beryllium good worthy playing erstwhile it hits Xbox Game Pass this September. ~ Tomas Franzese

UFO 50

UFO 50, The latest crippled from Spelunky workplace Mossmouth, is The benignant of crippled you request to play to genuinely understand really chaotic it is. The setup is that Mossmouth “discovered” 50 mislaid games from a fictional developer called UFOsoft. Players Can dive into 50 8-bit games by The imaginary studio, each of which is wholly different from 1 another. One infinitesimal you’re playing a multiplayer level combatant for illustration Super Smash Bros., The adjacent you’re playing a mini-golf crippled in The style of Zelda. It’s an eclectic postulation pinch immoderate deceptively heavy secrets that already person maine eager to excavation backmost in. ~ Giovanni Colantonio

Phantom Blade Zero

Both of The trailers for Phantom Blade Zero were truthful flashy that I had my doubts that The crippled would unrecorded up to The hype. Thankfully, I was pleased to spot that wasn’t The lawsuit erstwhile I went hands-on pinch it astatine Summer Game Fest this year. It’s decidedly a much familiar-feeling action crippled than its trailers suggest, but it’s still a joyousness to play. This is simply a crippled wherever players consciousness powerful erstwhile connected The offensive. There is tons of combat extent and combo potential, and each of The onslaught animations are gorgeous to look at. Still, smart parrying, dodging, and move canceling are what will springiness The champion players an separator in battle. ~ Tomas Franzese

Building Relationships

Building Relationships takes its title rather literally. Playing arsenic a location connected The prowl for a bachelor, you’ll tumble your measurement crossed an land looking astatine different buildings. You’ll meet a riverboat who loves to fish, a shelter who can’t get capable of bro culture, and moreover a windmill looking for love. Its crunchy, low-poly graphics mixed pinch reality-television-driven penning made it an oddball standout astatine Summer Game Fest this year. You’ll astir apt ne'er play different making love simulator rather for illustration it. ~ Jesse Vitelli

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