Here's everything featured in the Xbox Partner Preview showcase
Spooky oil rigs! Haunted granny! More!
Microsoft's Xbox Partner Preview showcase might have an exceptionally rubbish name, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's not worth a watch! Tonight's latest instalment was a pretty decent offering all-round, that, while perhaps not exciting as such, did at least have some interesting reveals. There was first footage of Konami's Metal Gear Sold 3 remake, a new game from PowerWash Simulator developer FuturLab, and more. And if you're looking for a summary of it all that won't take up 30 minutes of your time, then read on.
First up, we learned Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will continue the series' tradition of extravagant side activities when it releases on 26th January next year, giving players the opportunity to manage an entire tropical island resort in pure Animal Crossing fashion. There's fishing, bug catching, crafting, and a whole lot more as detailed in the trailer below.
PowerWash simulator developer FuturLab unveiled its new game Ikaro: Will Not Die, a spiritual successor to the studio's acclaimed Velocity series that promises "satisfying flow-state" rogue-lite action that you can read more about elsewhere.
In the first of several gameplay reveals, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs developer The Chinese Room offered a first proper look at its intriguing narrative-driven first-person horror Still Wakes the Deep. If it's spooky, 70s-set North Sea oil rig action you're after then you've come to the right place.
Developer Teyon's RoboCop: Rogue City is, somewhat surprisingly, shaping up to be a pretty good time, as Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell found out recently. And with its 2nd November release on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC almost upon us, we've now been given a fresh look at its gameplay, including a face-off against the powerful ED-209.
Another one that caught Chris Tapsell's eye, developer Microbird's Dungeons of Hinterberg - in which players socialise and dungeon-dive across the once-sleepy Austrian mountain resort that gives the game its name - is due out next year, with a day-one Game Pass launch included. Its latest Xbox showcase appearance offered a closer look at the social aspects driving the game, because success in Dungeons of Hinterberg requires more than just a pointy sword.
Spirit of the North 2 was mostly a surprise because I've never heard of Spirit of the North 1, but I am now wiser and certainly intrigued to learn more about the series' foxy, visually striking adventures. This time around, players take control of a new lead fox who's partnered with a flying companion. There's no release date for Spirit of the North 2, but it's "coming soon".
Metal Gear Solid Green Triangle: Snake Eater is the previously announced Metal Gear Sold 3 remake from Konami's internal development team. We haven't heard all that much about it since its unveiling back in May, but tonight's Xbox showcase offered up first in-game footage, including a little bit of gameplay. The good news? It looks okay.
Manor Lords is a strategy game that sees players attempting to rustle up a thriving medieval town. It promises in-depth city building, large-scale tactical battles, plus complex economic and social simulations. And if you like that sort of things (which I do, even if I prefer my games to look a little bit less like a damp weekend in Wales), it's launching for PC on 25th April next year. It's also a day-one Game Pass release.
The Finals really does look quite smashing with its eye-popping destruction physics, and developer Embark Studio has announced that its free-to-play team-based competitive shooter will be holding a cross-platform open beta for Steam, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 from tomorrow, 26th October to 5th November.
Ark: Survival Ascended - developer Studio Wildcard's controversial remake of dino-survival hit Ark: Survival Evolved - popped up during tonight's Xbox Partner Preview to give viewers a first look at some gameplay. That's certainly a late reveal considering the game enters Steam early access today - or at least should have done; it's still nowhere to be seen, hours after the announcement, at the time of writing. What Wildcard didn't mentioned during the showcase is that the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions have been delayed to November.
And finally, what better way to celebrate Alan Wake 2's impending release this Friday, 27th October, than with a bit of a song and some footage of an FBI agent harassing a haunted granny? Exactly. Please enjoy.
