Rate the Xbox Developer Direct (Jan 2024)

What would you rate the Xbox Showcase?


  • Total voters
    436

Mr Hyde

Member
A solid B for me. Avowed looks really good. I like the art direction and fantasy elements, as well as the combat with dual wielding pistols, but NPC interaction felt kinda meh. I hope the story delivers. World building looks stellar though.

Hellblade 2 looks cool but I'm more apprehensive this time than TGA. Ninja Theory doesn't show a lot of gameplay, and what they show is just walking and rather poor combat. The studio head also mentioned "shorter" narrative so I reckon this will be a 5-6 hour game. I'll just sign up for GP for two weeks at one buck and blast through it. Graphics looks amazing though.

Visions of Mana looks great and can't wait. Day 1. But on PS5.

RTS game was not for me so skipped it.

Indiana Jones was the real highlight of the show. It looked so much fun and seems to capture the look and feel from the first three movies. I would like some more Temple of Doom-vibes than Raiders and Last Crusade, but I'll take what I can get. Hoping for a great adventure with lots of treasure hunting and whip action. Cool that Harrison Ford provided the likeness and his voice. Brings a real dose of authenticity to the character. Machine games better stick the landing.
 
You're correct. I do want your ass for dinner. Bend over cunt.
Come Here If Its Lovin That You Want GIF by Rihanna
 
I'm looking forward to 4 of those games. Not a big strategy fan but I like the conceptual ideas behind Ara. Players who like that genre will probably enjoy it.

An E? Seriously guys. At least be subtle when showing your bias.
 

Laptop1991

Member
B, i really like Indiana Jones and Aria, i wasn't interested in 2 of them and Avowed hasn't wowed me or sold me just yet, so a B.
 
I would give it a C-

Avowed combat looked poor.

Now I know why Hellblade keeps showing motion capture instead of gameplay. It looks like gameplay is about walking through pretty environments followed by stints of scripted combat.

Mana game looked cool

Indiana Jones looked good

Strategy game is PC only so not for me

I was surprised at how crappy Avowed looked 😞
 

Jesb

Member
It’s not great. Avoed and Indiana Jones looked like they could be good games at best. Nothing great shown here. I was hoping to be blown away by these games to sell me on buying an Xbox but it didn’t do it. All that money Microsoft is spending and you’re not seeing great results.
 
I think it is a good slate of games. But not 10/10. I think for me it is will be A-. The diversity of content was impressive + Visions of Mana was a hilarious surprise.
 
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I'm looking forward to 4 of those games. Not a big strategy fan but I like the conceptual ideas behind Ara. Players who like that genre will probably enjoy it.

An E? Seriously guys. At least be subtle when showing your bias.

If I was bias, it would be towards Xbox . The people who are bias are a problem not just in a negative sense. Some folk praise them for the most average shite, that’s a problem, that’s telling them they can do no wrong, that’s a problem.
 

ungalo

Member
I didn't read the complaints about Indiana Jones, is this really because it's not a third person Uncharted game ? I'm losing faith in gamers
 

Markio128

Gold Member
Let me put it this way - I don’t regret selling the Xbox. The only one I had mild interest in was Indy, but now that’s inexplicably a 1st person game. Yeesh.
 
It’s not great. Avoed and Indiana Jones looked like they could be good games at best. Nothing great shown here. I was hoping to be blown away by these games to sell me on buying an Xbox but it didn’t do it. All that money Microsoft is spending and you’re not seeing great results.

I said earlier they should never market any future product as being the most powerful ever again, it’s a con.
 

Mortisfacio

Member
Uncharted had a winning formula, a story similar to the indie movies. Each game with a myth, alright shooting gameplay, puzzles and actually fleshed out characters. That's why people love uncharted

I like Uncharted for most of those reasons, but I just think the franchise is overrated (this goes for the last of us, as well). ND, in my opinion, has forgettable gameplay masked by great story, characters and presentation.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
The fact that there is 30 votes for D gives this forum overall very little credibility as a group.

You can debate a or b easily enough, maybe get to a c if you aren't into these types of games.

A rating of D or below after watching that means you Either:

Don't own an xbox or pc
Or
Don't play video games anymore and put down almost everything
Or
Just having a bad day
Or
Dont really have time for games anymore
Or
Didn't actually watch it at all or just bits
 
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GametimeUK

Member
Ask me at Series X launch and I'd say I was more of an Xbox leaning gamer at the time. Gears Hivebusters, Halo 5 and Forza Horizon 5 were all my jam.

To go to these games we have in this direct along with the disappointing Redfall and Starfield etc I've lost that Xbox love.

It all started ao promising...

Rate this a D.

(Edit) don't get me wrong Avowed may end up being good and hopefully Hellblade will be as good as the first game, but I am dying for Xbox to reveal a game that has me instantly saying "THIS IS IT".
 
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I wasted 50 minutes of my life to see 11 minutes of gameplay.
And this is why I never watch any of these digital events and tune in afterwards. That way I can either just open up the trailers themselves in YouTube or skip through the event because these fucking developers spend so much God damn time fellating themselves.

Like, bro, show me your game first. If it looks interesting, maybe I'll check out the making of and listen to your inspirations, challenges, experiences, etc. while making the game.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
C.

Would've been a D if it wasn't for Hellblade, the SE game (looked pretty fun) and that Aria (although it's not my genre).

Avowed and Indiana Jones looked mediocre, although for some reason I loved the lighting in Avowed (despite the shitty quality of the stream).

The way they presented the games though, terrible. Just terrible.
 

Snake29

Banned


While IJ looks fun to play, i would rather have Wolfenstein 3 then a IJ game from them. If i look at Xbox for now and what they bring to the table. It's just nothing impressive overall.
 
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ChoosableOne

ChoosableAll
Avowed and Indiana Jones are not looking good tbh, graphically and gameplay wise. That headbutt from Indiana could be a meme someday. Visions Of Mana looks cool though(will be available to PS 4 and 5 too).
 
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Rockman33

Member
We got a huge variety of gameplay between the 4 main games. They all looked good-fantastic. Not sure how in hell anyone could rate this below at least a C. For me it was a solid B+.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
I like Uncharted for most of those reasons, but I just think the franchise is overrated (this goes for the last of us, as well). ND, in my opinion, has forgettable gameplay masked by great story, characters and presentation.
Uncharted is a mediocre franchise with amazing graphics/animations/production-value.
 

Blindy

Member
Indiana Jones was a bump up of a grade alone so it saves this show from being a pure bomb. Hellblade 2 being a digital only and $50 dollars/short experience was a debbie downer which is why this was a low grade. Avowed and the rest didn't do anything for me so D is about right. Not good.
 

CherryFalls

Banned
The fact that there is 30 votes for D gives this forum overall very little credibility as a group.

You can debate a or b easily enough, maybe get to a c if you aren't into these types of games.

A rating of D or below after watching that means you Either:

Don't own an xbox or pc
Or
Don't play video games anymore and put down almost everything
Or
Just having a bad day
Or
Dont really have time for games anymore
Or
Didn't actually watch it at all or just bits
4p4uovs.gif
 

DryvBy

Member
The one game I wanted to see looked bad. Indiana Jones should be an Uncharted clone since Uncharted is an Indy clone.

Hellblade 2 is going to be boring and Avowed looked bad. No clue why anyone would say this was an A+ showing unless you're starving.
 

Nydius

Member
Sorry, after last year I simply cannot be hyped about curated gameplay footage and their claims.

One year ago people watched the Developer Direct and were getting hyped about Redfall, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport.
 

j0hnnix

Member
I missed it live. Work got me. Going to watch this but saw the poll results and worried. At least I can see the 4k compressed version.
 
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THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Sorry, after last year I simply cannot be hyped about curated gameplay footage and their claims.

One year ago people watched the Developer Direct and were getting hyped about Redfall, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport.

This post just proves what I am saying, doesn't matter how good it actually looks. Guess the rubber has to hot the road from here on out, will see by the end of the year.
 

Flabagast

Member
D as dissapointing.

Avowed could be nice but the dialog system seems garbage. After CP77, TW3 and BG3, you can't afford anymore to have these stilted lifeless conversations in a massive AAA RPG and expect a pass
Hellblade 2 revealed to be a low scope enhanced walking simulator with 6 hour runtime is directly countering any expectations that were made in the last 4 years and you are a liar if you claim otherwise
Indy has potential but it seems to have a lot of jank and nearly looks like a budget game.

If Starfield did not manage to move the needle one inch, this sure as hell won't
 

StueyDuck

Member
this is tough... we knew what to expect going in so it's hard to grade based on excitement.

so based purely on what they showed of games i'd day a B... however the Hellblade nothing segment and waaay to much devs chatting shit it brings it down to a C- for me

just do the Direct/SoP thing, have an announcer, flash through games, get in get out, bing bang boom. all we needed
 

Stamps1646

Member
  • Flow: B-
  • Studios Game Showcase: B
  • Game Content Shown: C
Review: C+
---------
Concerns: Avowed, still looks very rough for a 2024 game.
Favorites from the Direct: Visions of Mana (Square Enix) & Indiana Jones: Great Circle (MachineGames)
 

Sojiro

Member
I rated it a C. I think Indy has some real potential, I am not super sold om the first person perspective, and the whipping looks really odd to me but be damned I love the Indiana Jones IP so I am hoping it turns out great. Personally the one I thought looked really great was Ara, but I dig those kind of games and know it's a niche genre many don't usually care about. I felt like the presentation as a whole was way to much talk, and not enough gameplay though.
 
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LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
D+ for me. It was less than inspired and more or less spoiled with the lack of relevant surprises. I'm sure they'll have a better showing around May so much like Sonya, I didn't expect to be blown away by a January showing.
 

Elbereth

Member
Definitely a C in my view. The show did not have a "Wow" moment for me. Indy looks decent, Avowed looked disappointing, Hellblade looks like graphical monster (reserve judgement on gameplay for now).

At least they had an average showing, which may be enough to satisfy the Xbox only gamer. However, I don't think it is enough to change the sales trajectory or the current reputation of Xbox in any meaningful way.
 
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