Cognition Dissemination: Xbox Software Rises From the Ashes

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios provided the first big presentation from a hardware manufacturer in 2024 this past week with their Developer Direct, for good reason. After several years of being criticized for not having a solid-enough lineup of console exclusives for Xbox platforms, this year is set to be the opposite. The Xbox Series’ exclusive lineup will come into its own. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to create brand-new video games these days, especially of the big-budget AAA variety. Titles that XGS head Phil Spencer oversaw when they started development are finally coming to fruition.

One such game is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, one remarkably first revealed at the same time the Xbox Series X console at the Game Awards in 2019. It was clear even then that it would take a while before it was ready, thanks to its massive production values and how Ninja Theory was carefully crafting the experience. The game will arrive nearly seven years after Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice first released, remarkably before Microsoft purchased the company. After all this time, this will be the first big exclusive game they’re releasing as a console-exclusive for Xbox platforms.

The game is also somewhat risky. It will be about the same length as the first game, which took about seven to nine hours to finish. It will also be a digital-only title when it arrives on May 21st, the newest big-budget game to forgo a physical release. Sure, the first game was also digital-only upon release, but it’s more notable here that this was before Microsoft purchased Ninja Theory. The developer wanted to publish it themselves at the time, but couldn’t afford physical distribution on their own. Microsoft absolutely can. But this and their at-least-initial plans for the Series X revision make this a deliberate decision on Microsoft’s part. There’s still a chance that it could mimic the first game by receiving a physical release down the line, but it’s a coin flip of one.

Another big title is Avowed, the newest first-person RPG from Obsidian Entertainment. Like Hellblade II is for Ninja Theory, this will be the first big title Obsidian will release after being purchased by Microsoft. (Pentiment was by all accounts a solid game, but it hardly qualifies as “big.”) It’s another game that will further establish Xbox platforms as the top choice for western RPGs. The game is set on a mysterious island that takes place in the same world as the developer’s isometric Pillars of Eternity games, one with colorful sights, characters, and enemies. It looks good in action, even if the combat looks very, let’s say, typical for a western RPG. That’s not to say jankiness is bad in all cases.

Starfield was the big Xbox console RPG in the second half of last year, and Avowed is set to fill that gap this year. It could live up to its potential of being a cool-looking title that could grace several “Underappreciated Games” lists over the years, like Fallout: New Vegas and especially Alpha Protocol. If that’s the case, hopefully it will perform well out the game.

The biggest game, of course, will be Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. This is the Indiana Jones game announced by Bethesda a few years ago, notably a couple of months before Microsoft completed their purchase of the company. Quite a trend here. The Great Circle will take place between Temple of Doom and Raiders of the Lost Ark, featuring another quest in Indiana Jones’ longtime battles with the Nazis. He’s the guy who taught us to punch them, after all, and it’s still necessary.

Really, everything about this game’s presentation is interesting. It’s not as big of a surprise as it should have been among some gaming communities that this game will largely be a first-person experience, with third-person sections scattered throughout, considering the developer involved. MachineGames has only released first-person games over the last decade, and this was bound to join them. There are fans of the Uncharted and Tomb Raider franchises, both heavily inspired by Indiana Jones themselves, disappointed about this decision. That’s understandable, but this will help this game distinguish itself from those.

It also makes the game further resemble MachineGames’ Wolfenstein titles from this same developer, another franchise that features a character (BJ Blazkowicz) fighting against Nazis. This has lovingly become their MO.

The voice work for Indiana Jones himself is another matter. Though he inherits Harrison Ford’s likeness, since he is Indiana Jones, he’ll be voiced by Troy Baker doing his best Ford impression. His impression is honestly very good, far better than the alternatives of having Ford do the role himself (not the greatest decision after Dial of Destiny) or having an AI-created overlay of his voice through a program like Respeecher. It will take some adjustment to hear a different voice coming out the mouthof a character model that resembles Ford, but it should be fine. The Great Circle is another title releasing in what promises to be a great fall for Xbox.

It’s not an exclusive title, but it was nice to see Visions of Mana at the Developer Direct. Previous Mana games and remakes have dodged Xbox platforms, but it’s only a little mind-blowing that this will be the first to grace them. The game is planned for release in summer 2024, also on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC. The timeframe means there’s still plenty of time for Square Enix to at least port the superlative Trials of Mana remake to the Xbox Series systems before this game arrives. More people should play it.

This should be the first of several Xbox gaming presentations this year, considering they’ll want more opportunities to show these games off. When the company has been criticized for lacking exclusive titles for so long, they’ll want to prove how that’s no longer the case. Let’s see if the company maintains this momentum from here on.