Xbox and Bethesda Developer_Direct [OT]: Redfall, Minecraft Legends, Forza, Elder Scrolls Online Updates

Zzero

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9 Jan 2023
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Just finished watching the showcase. Really good. Love the format, layout and presentation. Only negative which is me nitpicking is the constant cuts to the developers. Show the developers to start and end the game while talking over what we're seeing and it would be perfect. Okay, game wise -

- Minecraft Legends looks really cool but it's not for me. Releases on April 18th which is two weeks before Redfall and two to three weeks after Ghostwire Tokyo releases on Xbox Series.
- HiFi Rush is definitely unique and looks really good but not my type of game, however, when I sign up to Game Pass to play Atomic Heart in April, I will check it out. Dropping today was definitely unexpected.
- Forza Motorsport looks great. Wish the damage on the cars was "more" but I know why they can't do it. Not surprised that there wasn't a release date. I have always expected late September and im staying with it.
- The Elder Scrolls Online isn't for me but holy shit, they have a massive ton of expansions and content for the game.
- Redfall looks great and im really hyped for it. Can't wait!!! Playing solo and killing Vampires!!! Let's go baby!!! May 2nd officially confirmed.

Microsoft first party for 2023 thus far -

- HiFi Rush (January 25th)
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (January 31st)
- Ghostwire Tokyo (late March/early April)
- Minecraft Legends (April 18th)
- Redfall (May 2nd)
- The Elder Scrolls next expansion (June 20th)

TBA -

- Forza Motorsport (late September is my guess)
- Age of Empires IV (October is my guess)
- Starfield (November is my guess)

Overall, a great lineup spread out throughout 2023 and can build a lot of momentum going into 2024.
You also might get Hellblade 2 or "Midnight" from Ninja Theory.
 
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anonpuffs

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I liked the atmosphere from the reveal trailer a lot but have zero interest in a co-op focused game. I think going for both single player and co-op (and not just as a ticker on the box but as an actual focal point of the game's design) will fuck up the balancing and reward systems and lead to it being a worse game over-all. The ambition is going to kill it. Also, not really a deal breaker but the enemy character designs suck ass. They are so generic looking, I couldn't even tell you that they're supposed to be vampires without having been told in advance myself.

I paid little attention the last Far Cry (looked like more of the same tired formula to me) and didn't know there was co-op. Sounds like a mis-use of resources to me, too much ambition without the chops to back it up.

edit: And its not like I hid that feeling in my original post either, the entire rest of it was me talking about how the game could fall apart.
The thing is I don't think ambition excuses a mediocre product. Something is impressive when it is ambitious and it executes on that ambition, the problem I have with Redfall is that the scope of the game seems to have made its various elements mediocre because they didn't have time or resources to really focus on making things great. I agree with you on the enemy designs being kind of generic. They're not bad, per se, but at least in the trailer they don't even have enough health to show any distinct qualities. As I mentioned before, the shooting and gunplay looks bad. That should be the core of every shooter - making the guns feel good. Being open world doesn't make something ambitious. It makes it trend-chasing. Is there any reason for the game to be open world? Persistent open-world multiplayer teams would've been ambitious, and a pvp teams based asymmetrical game with territorial control would've been ambitious.
 

KiryuRealty

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Where it’s at.
The thing is I don't think ambition excuses a mediocre product. Something is impressive when it is ambitious and it executes on that ambition, the problem I have with Redfall is that the scope of the game seems to have made its various elements mediocre because they didn't have time or resources to really focus on making things great. I agree with you on the enemy designs being kind of generic. They're not bad, per se, but at least in the trailer they don't even have enough health to show any distinct qualities. As I mentioned before, the shooting and gunplay looks bad. That should be the core of every shooter - making the guns feel good. Being open world doesn't make something ambitious. It makes it trend-chasing. Is there any reason for the game to be open world? Persistent open-world multiplayer teams would've been ambitious, and a pvp teams based asymmetrical game with territorial control would've been ambitious.
Ambition is only impressive when it is fulfilled.
 

Hobbygaming

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I give that show a 5 too. I was letdown by a "next gen" Forza. I thought they were redoing their engine, it seems like that was more PR than anything

Hi Fi was a cool surprise, if they had 3 AAA games like Hellblade 2, Perfect Dark and Avowed or Indiana Jones there then it would've been a great show
 
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peter42O

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You also might get Hellblade 2 or "Midnight" from Ninja Theory.

I'm not expecting either game to get released this year. I still believe that Hellblade 2 is November 2024. Have no idea about Project Midnight which is from Compulsion Games. Have to see it and get a sense of how far along it is in development before making a prediction.
 

Zzero

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I'm not expecting either game to get released this year. I still believe that Hellblade 2 is November 2024. Have no idea about Project Midnight which is from Compulsion Games. Have to see it and get a sense of how far along it is in development before making a prediction.
Right, sorry, put the wrong name down when looking back at my chart. But I dunno, Hellblade 2 seemed like it was far along in the gameplay trailer they posted last year. I think it should be able to make 2023, though it obviously might not ooooooor if Starfield is delayed then you probably wouldn't want the two competing with eachother.
 
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peter42O

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Right, sorry, put the wrong name down when looking back at my chart. But I dunno, Hellblade 2 seemed like it was far along in the gameplay trailer they posted last year. I think it should be able to make 2023, though it obviously might not ooooooor if Starfield is delayed then you probably wouldn't want the two competing with eachother.

No worries. lol

No reason for Microsoft to rush out the games or stack them on top of one another. Hellblade 2 is probably very far along but I do expect them to take at least 6 months if not more on testing and polishing. If Forza/Starfield are Fall 2023 then definitely no reason to release it this year. Maybe early 2024 if it's ready and Fall 2023 goes like I believe that it will. We'll see.
 

Elder Legend

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Overall - I think the pacing of this presentation was solid. I enjoy developers talk and getting their points across quickly. There was also enough gameplay there in between for me to understand what's happening. This is a much better format than what Microsoft used to do in the past.

If you're wanting big long demo showcases though, that's where E3 comes in.

1 - Don't care for ESO
2 - Forza I think was good, but it did not blow me away. They also sneaked in a stealth delay into that game. It was supposed to be out within the 6 months of this year, but that's not happening now it seems, since they didn't give even a month or a season date other than just 2023.

3 - Minecraft Legends looks fun, it's nice too see a different take on the RTS genre. Will play this when it releases. But it's not the biggest thing on my list.

4 - Hi-Fi Rush was a decent surprise that reminded me of the Dreamcast/OG Xbox Era with this visuals and gameplay style. Cool that it came out on the same day. Glad that Microsoft is letting their studios have freedom on working on smaller projects.

Obsidian with Grounded and now Tango Gameworks with this game. Both titles are very different and polar opposite of what these studios used to make.

Kudos to them for the creativity and freedom.

5 - I was happy with what I saw with Redfall. Visuals may not be mind blowing but Arkane always heavily relied on good world building and art styles which Redfall has. It's nice to have a game based on vampires. There are not many of those. I like the mix of RPG and FPS gameplay elements.

Glad that this is not a L4D clone and rather it's own thing. My only concern is the amount of content the game will have and if they are planning on keeping making content updates or if it's a 1 time thing like Far Cry 6 in terms of progression and story. I think the universe is cool and has potential to be a solid new IP with its own cast of cool characters and lore.

Can't wait to play it and hope it does well.

Overall, I'd say this was a 8/10 show for me. I kind of wished they'd sneak in an announcement or a tease for Evil Within 3 (at the end of the hi-fi rush presentation) or something along those lines assuming the game does exist. But that is personal wishful thinking.

They need to continue this format, it worked well imho.
 

anonpuffs

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I believe the next show is in March, or at least that seems to be the rumor.
For Bethesda right? I'm hoping Starfield gives a much better showing than last time because the last trailer did not inspire a lot of confidence. Let's see what happens when the studio is forced to fix their bugs instead of just rushing things out the door.
 

TubzGaming

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Shaun The Sheep Movie Ok GIF
 

Elder Legend

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For Bethesda right? I'm hoping Starfield gives a much better showing than last time because the last trailer did not inspire a lot of confidence. Let's see what happens when the studio is forced to fix their bugs instead of just rushing things out the door.
I'll be real with you - Bethesda won't ever release a game bug-free. It's impossible for such large games as Starfield or Skyrim. They are too big. It's almost a part of their DNA at this point lol.

Reason why those games are very successful and have long life is because their foundation is well executed. But the mods and community is the reasons why people still play them to this day.

I thought presentation of Starfield last year was fine, but it didn't blow me away either. It's just exciting too see a new IP. If you were hoping for mind blowing visuals then I hate to break it to you but you won't ever get them from Bethesda. Bethesda is not about pushing visual fidelity or insane technological advances. They're about delivering stories, lore and universes.

If you are looking for your mind to be blown away for visuals then that would be The Coalition. The next Gears game will showcase what UE5 can really do. Playground Games as well, I have a strong feeling Fable will be an impressive looking game.
 

anonpuffs

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I'll be real with you - Bethesda won't ever release a game bug-free. It's impossible for such large games as Starfield or Skyrim. They are too big. It's almost a part of their DNA at this point lol.

Reason why those games are very successful and have long life is because their foundation is well executed. But the mods and community is the reasons why people still play them to this day.

I thought presentation of Starfield last year was fine, but it didn't blow me away either. It's just exciting too see a new IP. If you were hoping for mind blowing visuals then I hate to break it to you but you won't ever get them from Bethesda. Bethesda is not about pushing visual fidelity or insane technological advances. They're about delivering stories, lore and universes.

If you are looking for your mind to be blown away for visuals then that would be The Coalition. The next Gears game will showcase what UE5 can really do. Playground Games as well, I have a strong feeling Fable will be an impressive looking game.
That's a bullshit excuse. There are plenty of games that are massive open worlds that come out with only minor or cosmetic bugs. Bethesda simply has never committed to fixing them.
 

Elder Legend

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That's a bullshit excuse. There are plenty of games that are massive open worlds that come out with only minor or cosmetic bugs. Bethesda simply has never committed to fixing them.
I wasn't making an excuse. I was educating you on how Bethesda operates and what they are known for.

Now it's your turn to educate me and give me a list of these open world massive games that have no big bugs. I'd like to see.

Bethesda has always been that way, has nothing to do commitment.
 
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peter42O

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I believe the next show is in March, or at least that seems to be the rumor.

There's a rumored Bethesda media event which if I had to guess will be a hands on preview event for Redfall and the next expansion for TESO. Pretty sure Henderson said that he was told not to expect Starfield there but im not 100% certain.
 

adamsapple

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There's a rumored Bethesda media event which if I had to guess will be a hands on preview event for Redfall and the next expansion for TESO. Pretty sure Henderson said that he was told not to expect Starfield there but im not 100% certain.

They have repeatedly said there will be a dedicated Starfield show, so that is most likely gonna be the main focus of the March show (if that is even the real date).

In the blog after this direct, they also said they will have a big E3 keynote in the summer as well, so hopefully they keep the smaller streams going as well along with the big shows.
 
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peter42O

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They have repeatedly said there will be a dedicated Starfield show, so that is most likely gonna be the main focus of the March show (if that is even the real date).

In the blog after this direct, they also said they will have a big E3 keynote in the summer as well, so hopefully they keep the smaller streams going as well along with the big shows.

The dedicated Starfield show is NOT this media show that's happening in March. Tom Henderson says that only Redfall and the TESO expansion are expected at this event. I believe the Starfield show will be in May, release in November and hands on in September give or take.

E3 return was expected. Microsoft is the only hardware manufacturer that shows up. I am hoping for a second small Developer Direct in April. If there's nothing until June, it's like, okay but hoping for one show per quarter.
 

anonpuffs

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I wasn't making an excuse. I was educating you on how Bethesda operates and what they are known for.

Now it's your turn to educate me and give me a list of these open world massive games that have no big bugs. I'd like to see.

Bethesda has always been that way, has nothing to do commitment.
Genshin Impact for one. The sony open world games are relatively bug free. Ubisoft open world games have bugs but not nearly to the scale that Bethesda games have(aside from maybe watchdogs legion, but even then it's an order of magnitude less). Bethesda has a reputation for making janky games for a reason. it's because they're fucking janky as fuck. Xenoblade chronicles 3 was a giant and massive open world game and it didn't have anywhere near the bugs that a typical bethesda release does.
 

Zzero

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Talking about their big, buggy games is such a throwback. But its been so long since Skyrim, maybe they've fixed their standards...