After a shaky start to 2023, Microsoft’s Xbox and Starfield showcase double header was a confident and compelling menu for the next couple of years – and a welcome distraction from the smoke still wafting from the kitchen.
Expectations were, perhaps, a little low – while the bar set by Sony with its own showcase was even lower. For some starved fans, any glimpse of Fable would likely have been considered enough of a win. For everyone else, well, we knew we were getting an hour of Starfield – and that was likely going to be just fine.
As it was, Microsoft smashed out the best games reveal event we’ve seen in years – and finally brought life to a lacklustre not-E3 week overall. Nearly every announcement was an exclusive or brand-new title getting its reveal on Microsoft’s virtual stage. More importantly, nearly every announcement was something that looked interesting enough to play. Even the rare moments where things dragged were a far cry from the sponsorships and unvarnished advertising we all sat through last week, during self-appointed E3 replacement Summer Game Fest’s livestream. It was a thoroughly entertaining and rousing spectacle.
An eye-catching “in-game footage” look at the new Fable provided pitch-perfect humour from Richard Ayoade, followed by the stylish South of Midnight from Compulsion, the World Premiere of Ubisoft Massive’s Star Wars adventure (seemingly inhabiting the Force Ghost of Amy Hennig’s Ragtag), and then a reveal for 33 Immortals, the next project from Thunder Lotus, the studio behind the wonderful and moving Spiritfarer.