It’s a new year so it’s also time to see what to expect for new games showing up in 2025. Microsoft is launching the first assault for their Xbox brand as they gave us a taste of four upcoming games in the pipeline during the Xbox Developer Direct for this year.
During the Xbox Developer Direct, Microsoft went to four different developers who were working on games that are to be released on Xbox (and other platforms) within the year. I watched the entire thing live and, well, this was a really good show for the most part as it made me want to play most of the games showcased. So, let’s go rank the games and check out which are the ones that look like they’re going to be worth your time in the near future.
You may have noticed I said most of the games showcased and not all of them. Well, sadly, that’s because Compulsion Games‘ South of Midnight simply didn’t tickle my fancy.
Honestly, I was really open to the idea of South of Midnight, with the main heroine, Hazel, searching for her mother in a magical world based on deep south mythology. I do love games which borrows ideas from lesser known folklore such as the Xenosaga games (which takes notes from Gnostic mysticism) and the new God of War games (with all the Norse mythology stories). As I have very little knowledge about American South folklore, I thought this would be a good way to spike my interest in these stories.
Unfortunately, there was a lot to dislike about South of Midnight for me. For one thing, I really hated the decision to use a stuttering framerate akin to what you would see in old stop motion special effects and the Spider-Verse movies. I initially thought it was like this because the cutscenes were still in beta or something. But it turns out the choice was intentional! The big problem is it makes it inconsistent with the the gameplay, which (rightfully so) uses a much smoother framerate. Bouncing around the stuttering framerate to smooth, flowing movements gives me brain whiplash.
The gameplay in South of Midnight also looks pretty generic as I just didn’t see anything that hooked me in. I just didn’t see anything unique about the traversal or the combat that made me think it was going to be exciting. It just looked like stuff I’ve seen in other games. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Compulsion Games still needs to make the gameplay feel like it looks fun. This made it look generic as all heck.
Finally, after seeing how the story starts and why the main character got separated from her mother in the first place, I had an immediate dislike for Hazel. In the trailer, they show her storming off after she blows up at her mother for helping other people. Mind you, she does this in the middle of evacuating from her home during a typhoon. That kind of dumb character writing is on the same level as Forspoken! So, yeah. looks like I’m never going to be visiting the swamplands in 2025.
When Persona 5 came out, I immediately fell in love with the game. This, for me, was a return to an era when JRPGs were the best thing in gaming. So, the instant Sandfall Interactive‘s Expedition 33 battle combat menu shows those very distinct options show up, this piqued my interest really quick. Thankfully, Expedition 33 looks like there’s more than just menus as the people behind the game freely admit they love JRPGs themselves and they wanted to make a game in a similar vein.
First thing I want to cover is the combat since that’s what caught my attention in the first place. Not only does Expedition 33 use a turn based combat system of yore, it also mixes in real time quick time events as well. So, you don’t just order a character to do an attack. There are prompts that pop up while doing the attack. This gives me the impression that combat won’t be just spamming the attack option as the game does give you incentive to pay attention to what’s happening while the attack is occurring. Kind of reminds me of Legend of Dragoon in a way. Hey, Sony! Where’s my remake of Legend of Dragoon, by the way?
The story also seemed to have an interesting hook as well. There’s a mysterious island that popped up with a giant pillar. Each year, a number gets carved into the pillar and everyone over that age vanishes. Various expeditions have gone to the island to try to find out the cause and stop this to no avail. This year, the task falls to you and your group to try to solve this. It’s a really good premise and I can only hope they do nail the storytelling and that the reveal is actually good.
My only real concern are, frankly, the characters. More specifically, their overall designs. While they do look detailed, they just come off as pretty blah. There’s nothing to them that stands out. The NPCs they party comes across are pretty boring looking as they don’t have any faces, so it’s hard to get attached to them emotionally. The main party also look generic and I simply don’t like the look of the main character. It’s like the head of the game told the art designer to “make the main character look like me but more handsome” or something like that. If this is what they think the main characters of a JRPG look like, they might want to play a little more Persona 5.
Are you as surprised as me that the sequel to one of the best action games out there is placed second on this list? I am… and I’m the one who’s writing this list! That’s not to say I’m not looking forward to this love child between Koei Tecmo‘s Team Ninja and Platinum Games as, from what we’ve seen so far, Ninja Gaiden 4 is going to be balls out action all the way! And I’m here for it!
Just from the trailer alone, Ninja Gaiden 4 looks like it’s going to be a banger of an action game as we do see your character doing all of the prerequisite ninja things like slicing through enemies, wall running, izuna dropping and wall jumping, just to name a few. We also got to see some new tricks like riding on rails, which just exudes an aura of coolness. Oh, and it looks gorgeous while all of this is going down!
One thing I am excited for is both Team Ninja and Platinum Games are working on this title. Team Ninja owns the IP but they have done fantastic work on previous Ninja Gaiden games. But adding Platinum Games, the same guys behind Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, two great other slash-happy action games, I can already see the bombastic and outrageous potential the fourth Ninja Gaiden game is going to have!
Oh, and to really add icing to this deliciously bloody cake is how, like any real good ninja, shadow dropped a remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black while they were announcing the fourth installment! For a lot of fans, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was the highlight of the series. So, releasing it with updated visuals? Wow!
Weirdly enough, my only real problem with the entire thing is the fact you probably won’t be controlling Ryu Hayabusa, the series’ protagonist, for most of Ninja Gaiden 4. The latest entry will have you playing as Yakumo, a new ninja from a rival clan. While previous games did have you controlling other characters for a brief time, this will be the first time Ryu Hayabusa will be the secondary character. I’m not sure how fans will take to this.
No one was more surprised to see this game, Doom: The Dark Ages, taking the top spot over Ninja Gaiden 4. Ninja Gaiden 4 opens up the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 and I thought nothing could beat this. Then id Software‘s comes in and overwhelms my synapses with numerous cool things to see. Yeah, I begrudgingly had to acknowledge this as the best thing they showed.
There was just so much to like with, at the very least, how Doom’s gameplay was presented. Doom Slayer has a wicked shield in this upcoming installment and, like with Captain America, it’s just just used for defense! He can toss it at enemies like a projectile and it looks like he can reflect specific green projectiles back at enemies. He also has multiple melee weapons that can be used to main and maul demons of any size. And all of these are connected to a single button each? If it works well, that’s just going to be so cool!
Also, Doom Slayer now has vehicles he can commandeer and, I’m sorry, all I can say is how “cool” they are because they are cool! I mean, a giant mech and a flying dragon! C’mon! Honestly, my only real issue is I just know my poor low-end gaming laptop won’t be able to handle all the awesomeness Doom: The Dark Ages has in store. Guess it’s time to upgrade?
What was the best game showcased during this year’s Xbox Developer Direct? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 