“4K” was the word of the day at Microsoft’s 2017 presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on Sunday. To show off the graphics capabilities of their latest Xbox generation, the company went all out and brought previews of a whopping 42 different games. And not just giant Triple A franchises, either—many of the featured titles came from their ID@Xbox program, which seeks out new and emerging independent developer talent to showcase on Xbox.
While some of the games featured have been in the works for a while—Sea of Thieves, Ashen, Tacoma, and Cuphead, for example— the following made their debut on E3’s stage, and it’s going to be exciting to see how they turn out!
Deep Rock Galactic
I’ve got two words for you: space dwarves. Deep Rock Galactic is a cooperative FPS mining game for you and up to three other players, and looks something like if Minecraft’s survival multiplayer world were fused with Helldivers. It’s coming to Xbox first in 2018, but you’ll also be able to check it out on Steam’s Early Access.
The Artful Escape
Originally called The Artful Escape of Francis Vendretti during its Kickstarter campaign, this game bills itself as the “story of a teenager who embarks on a multidimensional adventure to inspire his stage persona.” Developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by AnnaPurna, the game will be released on both Xbox One and Windows 10 sometime soon.
The Darwin Project
Based just on this trailer from Scavengers Studios, The Darwin Project looks sort of like Team Fortress had a baby with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (or The Hunger Games, I guess, but I’m trying to be hip here!) and let it loose in the Canadian wilderness, which I approve of wholeheartedly.
Surviving Mars
There were a lot of cool glimpses of titles in ID@Xbox montage, but the gameplay for this Paradox Interactive game definitely stuck out to me. The company that made Crusader Kings and Stellaris is working on what is basically a The Martian-style strategy game where you try to build a human colony on Mars. The game is set for a 2018 release on most platforms, but something tells me it’ll look that much more gorgeous on 4K.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
This sequel to Moon Studios’ 2015 title Ori and the Blind Forest was leaked over a year ago during the last E3, and now we’re finally getting a better look at it. It will, presumably, be a Metroidvania-style platformer like the last one, and if thi previews is any indication, it’s going to look even more incredible.
Super Lucky’s Tale
Most games start as 2D platformers and make the jump to VR later, but not Lucky—he’s doing things in the opposite direction. The game will be an Xbox One exclusive, and will be available this year on November 7.
Which of these titles are you most excited to eventually play? Tell us all about it in the comments!
Image: Odd Tales
