Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct: What Did You Expect?

Xbox and Bethesda’s 2023 Developer Direct rode into Detroit on the icy winds of what might be the only real snowstorm we are getting this year. As I sat down in my office to watch it, I found myself as hopeful for it as I was that work might be canceled tomorrow.

Minecraft Legends – April 18th

After a brief introduction, the stream dove right into their first of five releases for the 2023 season, Mojang Studios’ Minecraft Legends. Legends is a spin-off from the popular Minecraft core game that features a PvP mode that pits you, as well as three of your friends, against four enemy players in an effort to destroy each others’ base. Legends boasts procedurally generated worlds which is sure to garner a level of replayability, but what “Mojang” seemed most proud of is that they believe this game offers something for every type of gamer. If your natural inclinations lean towards scouting, resource gathering, base-building (Hi!), or strategy – you’ll be able to contribute meaningfully to your team’s campaign and strategy.

Mojang also threw a shoutout to their partners in this game Blackbird Interactive which has worked on PvP games in the past as well as the Minecraft Earth project from 2021. This game will certainly be worth a try, especially for the crowd that grew up on Minecraft, to scratch the PvP itch while enjoying the nostalgia of a tried and true staple in gaming.

Forza Motorsport 8  – “Sometime in 2023”

Turn 10 took center stage next to showcase their 8th installment in the Forza series which is sure to get you excited if the previous installments also got you excited. The release for this title was just a generic “2023” and most of the announcement consisted of various studio execs trying to wow the viewers with niche industry terminology. Listening to the minutiae of sound design, shader, and paint design, and the gritty details of physics models are fine if you understand those terms, but for the most part, a player like myself just wants to hear a little bit more about the content of the game. 

There were some teasers of new track locations and the new vehicle customizations available to make the cars your own, but other than those segments, this felt like a lot of fluff. While Turn 10 said a lot, I can’t say I learned much about it other than I get to play it “later”. This was easily the weakest part of the stream, but doubtless, the “Forza Faithful” will rejoice.

Hi-Fi Rush – Now! Go Now!

This game was… well, I don’t know. It was certainly surprising to see it coming from Tango Gameworks which is better known for its creepier/suspenseful games such as the Evil Within franchise as well as Ghostwire: Tokyo. This game, in contrast, had a lighthearted animation style and humor that struck me as a PG version of Borderlands (No Moxxie here). The story follows a protagonist that dreams of rockstar fame, but an experiment at the hands of a devious mega-corporation leaves him with a bionic guitar arm/weapon. The objective of the game is to effectively create long rock n’ roll fight scenes with attacks and environmental elements landing on the beat of the music. While the developers were sure to point out that there are bonuses for being on-beat, players won’t be penalized for missing it. They even provide you with a trusty sidekick robot cat “808” which functions as a metronome for those of us who find ourselves more rhythmically challenged. 

Hi-Fi Rush is a new one and I was particularly interested to see that it would be releasing the night of the stream (1/25/23) on Gamepass! This is one title that I intend to pick up as it feels fresh and interesting, but I might just be trying to live out my non-musical dreams.

Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom – June

Grab your arcane tomes and strike deals with whatever dark god you wish. Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom has been announced and with it the new Archanist class wielding forbidden magic. To cap all that off, we are heading back to Eastern Morrowind which hasn’t been featured since the mid-90s! This game looks like it will have a little something for everyone, with PvE available but there being a clear bent towards the PvP aspects of the game to the degree to which I wonder how much content will exist in the PvE or if there will be efforts to push more players into the PvP game modes.

The game itself looks great, with new and interesting character art and the same standard we have come to expect of Elder Scrolls Online Chapters. There were the obvious subtle digs at the World of Warcraft franchise with reference to  no level restrictions or game subscriptions. This should be an addition that will make fans of these games happy, if not necessarily overwhelmed. The game promises immersion and story exploration. Zenimax will deliver.

Redfall – May 2

Wow! Redfall was the crown jewel of this release. Set in a city after Vampiric Gods released a vampire plague on humanity, you are now part of a team that is going neighborhood by neighborhood clearing out the blood-suckers (and the cultists that always show up in these scenarios) from your town using class abilities and modern weapons as well as improvised vamp-killing inventions. The gameplay and storyline look intriguing and fighting vampires is a fresh genre from what we have seen in this arena. The gunplay and art style paint a cool storyline that I can’t wait to get into with my friends.

There is some procedural generation for the vampire nests you clear when you take the fight to the enemy that will keep the game fresh. Customizable weapons and the ever-present search for “vampire stakes” with unique abilities will keep gameplay interesting and the player eager to push forward until you do battle with the Vampiric Gods themselves. 

Arcane Austin really has something here, and May 2nd cannot come soon enough. Don’t get bit!