TrueAchievements crew highlights — The Recreation Awards 2024
Whereas there won’t have been a lot in the way in which of updates for these upcoming Xbox exclusives, we nonetheless noticed a improbable vary of bulletins, from launch dates to world premieres, plus a beautiful why-is-this-happening little bit of Geoff Keighley riffing with (or fairly, being roasted by) the enduring Muppet characters, Statler and Waldorf. In terms of precise video games, nonetheless, this is what stood out for us…
Blackfrost: The Lengthy Darkish II
The Recreation Awards was filled with so many fantastic reveals and bulletins that it’s arduous to select only one spotlight. Nevertheless, I’m an enormous fan of Hinterland Studio’s The Lengthy Darkish, and after I noticed these acquainted frigid vistas and dancing Northern Lights seem in that Blackfrost: The Lengthy Darkish II trailer, I immediately knew which sport I used to be going to champion.
In case you’re unfamiliar with The Lengthy Darkish, it’s a survival sport that sees you making an attempt to outlive alone after your airplane crashes within the rugged Canadian wilderness. It’s a must to handle your starvation, thirst, heat, situation of your gear, and power, all whereas making an attempt to navigate to a brand new location and battling the weather and wildlife.
At first, it may be fairly brutal, and each journey outdoors of your cozy shelter is a matter of life or loss of life, however when you’re accustomed to the sport’s survival methods, you may get right into a rhythm and actually respect the beautiful world Hinterland has constructed. Critically, the environment on this sport is unimaginable, and there’s nothing else prefer it in a online game.
With Blackfrost: The Lengthy Darkish II, Hinterland is constructing upon the whole lot that made the primary sport so particular. In response to the developer, Blackfrost is the “first survival sport constructed ground-up as a survival RPG.” You’ll be capable of construct your personal character, customise their attributes, and try and survive both by yourself or in co-op with friends. There are additionally new hazards to keep away from and new mechanics to become familiar with, comparable to a brand new Will to Reside system that throws components of psychological survival into the combo.
Sadly, Blackfrost: The Lengthy Darkish II has solely been introduced for a 2026 early entry launch on Steam, so it appears it will likely be some time earlier than it involves Xbox. Fingers crossed Hinterland doesn’t maintain us ready too lengthy!
The Witcher 4
If there was one factor I hadn’t even dared to hope for at The Recreation Awards, it was information of The Witcher 4 — not to mention a six-minute-long reveal trailer with Ciri entrance and centre as the brand new protagonist.
This trailer was sufficient to seize a few of that very same environment from our first glimpses of The Witcher 3: harsh, darkish worlds, grotesque monsters, and a mistrust for all witcher-kind. The Witcher 3 launched us to some unattainable decisions after which some completely unplanned penalties for these decisions, and it seems to be like The Witcher 4 will do the identical: we see Ciri making an attempt to save lots of a younger girl, solely to defeat the monster and discover that girl dying anyway.
I do know we should not base our hopes an excessive amount of on cinematic trailers, however it’s arduous to not anticipate nice issues after The Witcher 3 turned out to be one of many biggest video games of all time. This time round, it is Ciri as the primary character and on her personal path to grow to be an skilled witcher. Fortunately for all of us who’d miss him, Geralt will nonetheless characteristic — we even heard a couple of traces of that iconic gravelly Geralt voice on the finish of the trailer.
I can not wait to listen to extra about The Witcher 4. I’ve acquired no concept when that is likely to be, and we do not have a whisper of a touch of a launch window but, however oh wow is it thrilling simply to know that we’ll be heading again to the world of The Witcher.
Dying Gentle: The Beast
I like gore, violence, and zombies in my video video games, and I particularly beloved the primary Dying Gentle, so Dying Gentle: The Beast was a straightforward selection for me as a spotlight from this 12 months’s present. There have been many different improbable bulletins throughout The Recreation Awards too, so I additionally wish to shout out Killing Ground 3 as one other prime announcement.
Swinging again to my precise spotlight, although, Dying Gentle: The Beast began life as DLC for the second sport however has since grown right into a standalone title. It’s set 13 years after the occasions of the unique Dying Gentle, sticking us within the, absolutely worn-out, sneakers of Kyle Crane as soon as once more. The place has Crane been all this time? Caught in a lab being prodded by scientists for varied experiments, as a result of even throughout a zombie apocalypse people nonetheless really feel the necessity to show that we’re the true monsters.
The Beast’s setting means we’re heading again to a time nearer to when the outbreak began in Harran, so anticipate extra up to date weapons in comparison with what we had been slaying corpses with in Villedor. The newest trailer from Techland exhibits a return for automobiles, grenade launchers, pistols, flamethrowers, and extra… oh, and Crane has talents linked to a mutation brought on by the experiments, in order that may very well be enjoyable!
Dying Gentle: The Beast launches on Xbox someday in summer season 2025, and it’ll be free for gamers who personal Dying Gentle 2: Final Version — bonus!