Gaming Influence: Thoughts - Xbox Games Showcase + Starfield Direct

Hello everyone, 

Welcome to Gaming Influence, a reboot of the same name I created in WrestleCorp. However, not only will I be giving my thoughts on certain video games and video game series, but also video game movies, video game anime, video game digital presentations, etc.

For this edition of Gaming Influence, I'll be giving my thoughts on Xbox Games Showcase + Starfield Direct that happened on June 11, 2023.

Before I start, not every game that was shown in this presentation will be talked about as I will mainly talk about games that I care about and am interested in. If the games you care about and are interested in don't show up here, don't take it personally, have nothing against the games, but they're not just for me or it's just that I don't have much to say about them except cool. However, if you are happy with the games that you care about and are interested in that I'm not or nothing to say about it, good for you and I'm happy for you.

Anyway, let's get started!

If you're wondering what Xbox Games Showcase is, you can check that out with my last year's thoughts on the show itself here: Xbox Games Showcase 2022 Thoughts

This year's Xbox Games Showcase is a bit different compared to last year as last year, it also involved Bethesda. However, this year, Bethesda is only focusing on one game and that is Starfield which is why there's a Starfield Direct giving an in-depth of what Starfield will have to offer. 

Without further ado, let's get to it!

Fable is an action role-playing game developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios as the game will be coming to Xbox Series X and PC in the future.

Oh my god, finally! After three years since the announcement of the reboot of this franchise, we finally got to see it again with gameplay as well which looks awesome. The graphics definitely look stunning and I really hope this reboot of the series does well for them. Either way, hope to see more of this game in the future.

Star Wars Outlaws is an open-world action-adventure game developed and published by Ubisoft as it will be coming to Xbox Series X in 2024.

I have to say, this Star Wars game looks incredible as the graphics look amazing. Granted, wish that we got gameplay from this trailer, but we're getting more info on this game with the Ubisoft Forward the next day so looking forward to seeing that to see what this game is all about. Hope it goes well and we'll see how this game will turn out once it's released next year.

33 Immortals is a co-op action-roguelike game developed by Thunder Lotus. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X in 2024.

This game reminds me a lot of Hades, especially with that gameplay which looks like a lot of fun. The fact that this game is also co-op and you can have up to 33 players play at the same time is pretty sweet. Very interested to see more of this game in the future once it comes out next year. 

PAYDAY 3 is a first-person shooter game developed by Overkill Software and Starbreeze Studios and published by Prime Matter. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X on September 21, 2023.

Oh wow! It's been a decade since the last PAYDAY game which was back in August 2013 back on PS3 and Xbox 360 so this is quite huge. Despite not being a fan of shooters, PAYDAY from what I've played back in the day was fun so I expect this to be fun as well. We'll see how this game will turn out once it comes out in three months.

Persona 3 Reload is a reimaging of the original role-playing game developed by Atlus back in 2006 on PS2. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in early 2024.

Well, the rumors were true about this and it looks fantastic! Persona 3 is definitely a game that needs a remake or reimaging of some kind due to not having all of the content into one whereas Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable have their own separate content. Really hope this is the definitive version of Persona 3 and the fact that it has Persona 5 graphics makes me love it a lot. If this a reimaging of Persona 3, I'm very curious to see if they'll change anything from the original, but only time will tell. Looking forward to playing this early next year.

Avowed is an action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in 2024.

Yes! Finally! It's about time we see more of Avowed which was another game we haven't seen anything since the Xbox Games Showcase back in 2020 and it looks great. The fact that Obsidian Entertainment is making a Skyrim-like game is something I'm totally on board for. Looking forward to seeing how this game will turn out next year.

Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island is a free new original story for the action-adventure game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Studios, Sea of Thieves, as they crossover with Monkey Island as the free update will be released on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC, on July 20, 2023.

Oh wow, didn't expect Sea of Thieves and Money Island to do a crossover like this which is pretty awesome. Plus, it fits pretty well since both games are pirated-theme so this totally works for a crossover. Looking forward to seeing how this crossover will turn out as it comes out next month.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a flight simulator developed by Asobo Studio and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in 2024.

Holy crap! Didn't expect another new Microsoft Flight Simulator since we just got one a few years ago, but the fact that this game has more variety on what you can do with the recent one by doing rescue missions, races, etc., this is taking Microsoft Flight Simulator to the next level. I can't wait to see how this will turn out when it's released next year.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a sequel to the action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in 2024.

The more I see this game, the more I'm impressed by it due to its beautiful graphics. The story continues to be interesting as Senua, the protagonist of the game, continues to explore herself and the struggles that she has to go through with her life. I'm intrigued about where this will go next in this game when it comes out next year.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the next game within this recent change from action-adventure to the role-playing genre, Like a Dragon, developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in early 2024.

What?! We just got one Like a Dragon game coming out later this year and we got another coming out in early 2024?! Freaking Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio developing these Like a Dragon games like crazy. In all seriousness, this seems to be Like a Dragon 8 and the fact that Ichiban is in America makes me wonder where the story will go from here. Either way, we'll see how this will turn out when it comes out early next year.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an action game developed and published by Capcom. The game will be coming to Xbox Series X in the future.

Wow, didn't expect that Capcom is developing another new IP here and it looks pretty good. Love the art style and the gameplay looks pretty smooth with its combat. This game is one that definitely stood out from the rest that was shown in this presentation and hope to see more of this game in the future.

Forza Motorsport is a sim racing game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC on October 10, 2023.

We finally got a release date for this game after seeing it back in the Developer Direct in January earlier this year and the game continues to look amazing. This reboot of the Forza Motorsport series is quite interesting and we'll see which direction they'll take this series in when the reboot comes out in four months.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is part of the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls Online, as the next part of the adventure will be released on Xbox Series X and PC, on June 20, 2023.

Well, glad to see more of this expansion after we got more info on this back in the Developer Direct in January earlier this year and it looks good. We also actually got new gameplay for the game as well which is nice. Though, still waiting on Elder Scrolls VI Bethesda... Maybe one day we'll get it, but until then, this expansion should be quite interesting as it'll come out next week.

Overwatch 2 is getting a story mode as well as having a New Heroes Starter Pack which includes Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Ramattra, Sojourn, and Junker Queen. The pack will be released on Xbox Series X and PC on August 10, 2023.

It's about time that we finally got an update about the story mode for this game and it seems quite interesting as I'm glad that we're getting more backstory with these characters which is only a good thing. Plus, the New Heroes Starter Pack which contains five new heroes to the game is great as well. We'll see how this pack will turn out once it's released in two months.

Persona 5 Tactica is a turn-based strategy role-playing game developed and published by Atlus. The game will be coming to Xbox Series X and PC on November 17, 2023.

Oh wow, another Atlus game right here and it's a strategy Persona game?! I'm totally down for this as Persona 5 continues to get a lot of spin-offs. Love the chibi art style and the fact that this seems to be another story with the Persona 5 cast, I'm down. Looking forward to seeing more of this game when it comes out in five months.

Starfield is an action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC on September 6, 2023.

After multiple delays of this game, we finally got a release date of this game as this game continues to look amazing. Will give more thoughts on this game when I talk about the Starfield Direct later in this article/editorial so look forward to that once I get there.

Jusant is a new action-puzzle climbing game developed and published by Don't Nod as the game will be released on Xbox Series X this fall.

This looks to be interesting with the art style and the game definitely stands out in terms of its genre with puzzle climbing which is not common nowadays so that's cool. Very interested to see how this game will turn out and hope to see more of it in the future.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is an action-adventure role-playing game developed by Microbird Games and published by Curve Games. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X in 2024.

Just have to say that I really love the art style of the game and the environments that you explore with the character that you play as look beautiful. Plus, the gameplay looks a lot of fun with its action combat which is quite cool. Hope to see more of this game in the future when it comes out next year.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is the expansion of the action role-playing game developed and published by CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077. This expansion will be released on Xbox Series X on September 26, 2023.

This was announced back at the Game Awards last year, but the last trailer was more of a CGI trailer and not much gameplay. This trailer however had more gameplay which I appreciate and I like how Keanu Reeves was promoting the expansion which is great. Plus, Idris Elba playing Solomon Reed is pretty good as I think Idris Elba played his role well so good on him. Hope this expansion is good and we'll see how it turns out in three months.

Cities: Skylines II is the sequel to the popular city-building game developed by Colossal Order and published by Paradox Interactive, Cities: Skylines, which was released on PS4 and Switch in 2015. The game will be released on Xbox Series X on October 24, 2023.

Oh wow, I didn't expect a new Cities: Skylines game, but cool to see that we got one after eight years which is pretty cool. The graphics look beautiful and it looks like it has a lot more features compared to the first game as well. Looking forward to seeing how this game will turn out in four months.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantasy role-playing game developed and published by Atlus. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in 2024.

Oh my god! This is the Project Fantasy that Atlus has been working on since 2017 and I can't believe we finally got to see it after six years as it looks amazing. The fact that this game is being made by the team that made the Persona series is great. It definitely stands out compared to Persona and Shin Megami Tensei in terms of its art style, but you can still tell it's from Atlus which is nice. Plus, that menu and UI, are beautiful! Glad to see that this game is finally revealed and hope to see more of it next year.

Towerborne is an action-adventure game developed by Stoic where the game will be coming to Xbox Series X and PC in 2024.

The fact that this game is being developed by Stoic which brought us the Banner Sage trilogy, I think this game has a chance to be great, and judging by the trailer, it looks to be a lot of fun with the combat gameplay and the fact that you can play with co-op is nice. Looking forward to seeing more of this game when it comes out next year.

Clockwork Revolution is a role-playing game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC in the future.

This game looks pretty good as it's set in a steampunk world filled with robots and technology which I'm totally down for. The story seems very interesting too with the decisions that the protagonist made which led to the events in this game. However, we'll have to wait and see how everything turns out and hope to see more of it when it comes in the future.

With this game coming out in three months, did Xbox + Bethesda do enough to convince hardcore and casual gaming fans to be interested in this game? Well, let's find out and talked about what they've shown.

They first showed what the world of Starfield is like as they gave us an overview of what you can do n Starfield. That includes exploring over a thousand worlds, playing in third-person or first-person, and being able to customize your inventory whether it be your character, ship, or food. Players can fast-travel to different worlds to make exploration a lot better when it comes to traveling from one world to another. There will be cities in this game where there are a lot of NPCs where players can do quests.

They then talked about the general idea of the story and characters of Starfield. The player starts out as a part of Constellation, a team that explores the worlds across the galaxy as they're looking to find the answers to those worlds for humanity. The player must help the Constellation to fulfill those goals by exploring the galaxy. The characters they showcased in this game seem quite interesting that have different races, ethnicities, and personalities as they stand out from one another which I appreciate. Each city the player explores has different cultures that the player will experience whether it be allies or enemies that the player will encounter when exploring those cities.

Next, they then talked about the customization in the game which is insane. The player starts with 40 presets and then the player can customize their character from there as the amount of customization for your character is insane. The character customization also includes backgrounds for the character which can help the player through their quests when helping out NPCs. In addition, players can pick traits for themselves where they can get advantages and disadvantages whether it be rewards, skills, or trouble. Players when in battle can earn skill points where they can increase their skills with skill trees with ranks to help them with battle where the player can be whatever they want with whatever combat style they prefer which I think is awesome. The player can also customize their ship where over time, depending on what the player wants, they can design and customize their ship whatever they want which can help with looks and with combat. Not only the player can customize their ship on the outside, but also on the inside which increases the customization even further which is crazy. Members of Constellation can join the player on their adventures where they not only help the player with upgrading skills on their ship, but it can also lead to special relationships with the members of Constellation, even romance. 

After that, they then talked about exploring the galaxy in space as well as the combat in space. When doing certain settings on your ship, it can increase the speed of the ship when exploring, increase the speed to fast-travel from one world to another, or increase the power of the attacks your ship can inflict on enemies. There is combat in space for the player to do as well where beating enemies in space can let the player take over their ship and the player can do whatever they want with it which continues to give the freedom of players on what they can do within the game as it's incredible to see.

In addition, they go even further in-depth on exploring worlds in the game. When players are traveling to different worlds across the galaxy, each world has its own environment that the player can discover and experience. In addition, when exploring the worlds whether it be the creatures, the wildlife, or structures in those worlds, it gives players experience points to help increase their level to help with combat which gives players a good reason to explore those worlds. In addition, the player can even craft and add buildings and structures to the world that they explore where they can add crew members or people in that world to expand upon. 

Finally, they go even further in-depth with the combat system in the game. The player can fight in any style they want. Whether it be melee with knives and daggers, or far-range with multiple different varieties of guns, it's up to the player on how they want to fight which makes combat quite interesting depending on which playstyle you're going for. 

Overall, this was a great presentation from Xbox. To me, this has to be one of the best Xbox digital presentations in a while as they not only showed a great number of first-party games which they were definitely lacking for the past few years since they launched the Xbox Series X, but a great showcase for third-party and indie games that will be coming to Game Pass which is awesome. It's great that Phil Spencer is aware of the complaints from Xbox fans as they even restocked Xbox Series X to stores as well as having a 1 TB Xbox Series S coming out on September 1, 2023, which is nice. Finally, the Starfield Direct definitely made me more interested in Starfield than ever, and if done correctly, this could be a big win for Xbox so hoping for the best for them. Plus, that Starfield Xbox Series X Controller and Headset look awesome. Love it. It looks like Xbox is turning heads into next year and we'll see if they can keep up the momentum or not.

You can catch the full presentation of Xbox Games Showcase + Starfield Direct yourself with the link below:

What are your thoughts on the Xbox Games Showcase + Starfield Direct?

What were your highlights and what games do you really want?

Let me know in the comments below and thank you for reading.