Gaming Influence: Thoughts - Xbox Developer Direct 2024

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 the Xbox Developer Direct 2024 which happened on January 18, 2024.

Anyway, let's get started!

For those who are wondering, what is Xbox Developer Direct? You can check what it is through my thoughts on the Xbox Developer Direct last year here: Gaming Influence: Thoughts - Xbox & Bethesda Developer Direct 2023

Anyway, let's get started!

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 Fall 2024.

This game was first shown back at the Xbox Games Showcase they had in 2020 so after four years, it'll finally be released and it looks incredible thus far. The combat and gameplay look to be great with the different gameplay styles whether you can a sword and shield, dual guns, or dual wands to use magic which is quite awesome. In addition, the story is quite interesting and the actions you choose can affect how the story will play out so I'm curious to see how that'll play out. Looking forward to playing this game once it comes out this fall.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is an action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC on May 21, 2024.

The first time this game was shown was back on the Game Awards 2020 so after more than three years, we're finally going to get the game this year and it looks incredible. The combat and gameplay look very smooth and definitely a lot different, but I have a great feeling that even the developers mentioned that you will feel the tension and pressure of the battles Senua is in and that you are trying to survive which is going to be an interesting experience. Plus, the story continues to be intriguing as it'll continue Senua's journey from the first game, and looking forward to seeing how this game will turn out when it comes out in four months.

Visions of Mana is a high fantasy action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The game is coming to Xbox Series X and PC in Summer 2024.

Well, this was a surprise here as I didn't expect Square Enix to appear here, but they did and with Visions of Mana as well as it's coming to Xbox which is great for Xbox fans. The updated art designs for the monsters in Visions of Mana look great and the mascot for the game looks great as well. The music sounds incredible so I expect the soundtrack to deliver on that front and the gameplay looks as fun as ever. Great to see Square Enix marketing this game and hope it turns out great once it's released this summer.

Ara: History Untold is a turn-based grand strategy game developed by Oxide Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is set to be released on PC in Fall 2024.

This game definitely has a broad scope when it comes to strategy and design as it's very similar to the Civilization games with its own twist to it which is great to see. The customization for this game is quite impressive too as it has a lot of different strategies on what you want to do for your civilization, different leaders that players can choose that will benefit them in certain skills in the game, and the crafting mechanics on what they want to craft for buildings, tools, and clothing is quite interesting as well. Very curious to see how this game will turn out when it's released this fall.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is an action-adventure game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda. The game is set to be released on Xbox Series X and PC later this year.

This game has been in development for a long time and it looks like it'll finally be released this year as it looks incredible. It's been a while since we had an Indiana Jones game as the graphics of this game look insane. The gameplay looks to very impactful too as they used real-life action simulation to telegraph how the combat works in this game which feels like you're actually getting beaten down or when you feel very powerful. It's also great to see that they got the composers of the Indiana Jones movies to be a part of this game so the soundtrack should be great as well. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product of this game and we'll see how it'll turn out later this year.

Overall, this was a good show from Xbox. What I like about their digital presentations compared to Nintendo and PlayStation is that they show the development side of their games and have their developers talk about the game which is great to see as well. Didn't expect Square Enix to show up at all which is a nice surprise and the first-party games are looking great as well as they're coming out this year. With the new acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox has an interesting future and we'll see how they do through the rest of the year.

You can catch the whole presentation of the Xbox Developer Direct yourself with the link below:

What are your thoughts on the Xbox Developer Direct 2024?

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

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