The Game Awards 2024 impressions

[Aazealh]

We've been talking about it in the chat but I figured I'd make a thread for more convenience. I thought this was a pretty decent show overall, and while there was some cringe (Ken Kutaragi getting up, Harrison Ford looking really old...), I enjoyed the (ever so brief) speeches and even the way the Muppets were laying into Keighley. Swen Vincke and Nicolas Doucet in particular came across as real class acts.

But of course, the real reason anyone watches this thing is the trailers, so I'm going to list those that stood out to me. Starting of course with Slay the Spire 2!

Where's the Watcher though...
Well, it's a meager consolation (to me) but at least there's a new Witcher game coming. A new saga begins with Ciri as the protagonist.

Probably the biggest announcement from an industry perspective was Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet from Naughty Dog. It's the quality you can expect from them, in a whole new Sci-Fi world. Might need to get a PS5 for this.

Next is another big one. Kamiya had been teasing it a little, but it's official: he's working on a sequel to Ōkami with Capcom under a new "Clovers" studio. It's early days but that's going to be a big moment.

Fumito Ueda, another legendary game director, is working on a fourth game after Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. It's just called "Project Robot" so far and seems to involve a character piloting a giant robot in an "end of the world" type situation. As a fan of Into the Breach, I can only say that I approve.

From the studio behind Brothers & It Takes Two, Split Fiction looks super fun. It's got some Dirty Pair vibes to it! Really looking forward to that one. They've even got a Metroid segment in there!

Capcom isn't just reviving Ōkami but Onimusha as well. Nice graphics, modernized gameplay... I'm here for it.

And if Onimusha isn't enough, there's a new Ninja Gaiden game from the guys behind Streets of Rage 4 and TMNT: Shredder's Revenge. I'll take it! Looks great.

Well, that's it for me, but what about you guys? Which titles caught your eye? There were a bunch more, from the Elden Ring spin off to Mafia: The Old Country or even The Outer Wilds 2.

 

[Goat]

I watch TGAs mainly for trailers and announcements, and in that regards I think yesterday's has been the best show in all of the 10 editions.

As a big FromSoftware fan, I'm kinda disappointed for their announcement of the ER Monster Huntery spin-off.
I understand that it's basically a low effort cashgrab that can give some good influx of money while working on big things, but still, I can't look at FromSoftware as that-kind-of-company. Re-using assets is acceptable in such a project, but using 1:1 stuff like the firekeeper and the Nameless King straight from DS3 can for sure imply some unfortunate consequences on the lore interpretation that leave a bad distaste in my mouth. On the gameplay POV the game seems to be very fast and action-y, so it will probably be a lot of fun! Will look forward to it.
I was hoping to see what's next, but that has to wait for a while it seems.

Other highlights for me personally have been the Okami sequel, Project Robot by Ueda, Mafia-in-Sicily (they must dub this in italian, hugh!) and Naughty Dog's reveal. This one has a Cowbob Bebop vibe that I liked a lot. It seems to be far off still, but for sure the atmosphere is promising.

Overall a pretty solid show, with a couple of good speeches. Keighley delivered!

 

[Aazealh]

I watch TGAs mainly for trailers and announcements, and in that regards I think yesterday's has been the best show in all of the 10 editions.

Agreed.

As a big FromSoftware fan, I'm kinda disappointed for their announcement of the ER Monster Huntery spin-off.
I understand that it's basically a low effort cashgrab that can give some good influx of money while working on big things, but still, I can't look at FromSoftware as that-kind-of-company. Re-using assets is acceptable in such a project, but using 1:1 stuff like the firekeeper and the Nameless King straight from DS3 can for sure imply some unfortunate consequences on the lore interpretation that leave a bad distaste in my mouth.
On the gameplay POV the game seems to be very fast and action-y, so it will probably be a lot of fun! Will look forward to it.

Posting the trailer so people can check it out.

Anyway, the general sentiment so far seems to be disappointment. I get it, can't say that I'm interested in this myself. It just feels too derivative and the gameplay just by itself isn't a big draw for me.

Mafia-in-Sicily (they must dub this in italian, hugh!)

You must mean in Sicilian.

 

[Walter]

The standouts for me were—

INTERGALACTIC
I have really wanted Naughty Dog to move past their The Road fanfic for a decade, so I'm really happy that their next game is a totally new setting and genre. In a NYT interview before the show, Neil Druckmann said the team's influences included Cowboy Bebop and Akira. Of course, those were each so influential that they would have been influences whether they're acknowledged or not. But I'm wondering about that Akira influence... Here's hoping it's more than just translating Kaneda's bike into a spaceship. Because when someone says Akira to me, I go to the post-apocalyptic setting and how the story dealt with the society's disruption over time. But sure, the bike is cool, too. *Sigh* I probably shouldn't even be excited, because this studio usually just teases things that never land well with me.

PROJECT ROBOT
Glad to see Ueda's still full of ideas, despite being so dormant for so long. If we consider that Trico was in development for nearly a decade, and it's been 8 years since then... Well, he's had plenty of time to spin his wheels for new worlds. I say NEW, but the main character is wearing a little cloth poncho over his sci-fi gear, in what I read as a transparent reference to Ico and SotC's character designs. That's a cute touch, but it did look out of place in the setting. Not much to go on yet, but the sound design was the most grabbing thing for me in the trailer: The little klaxon-like sounds presumably informing the character about the incoming swarm/explosion, and then the decapitation-liftoff. Pretty memorable ending!

I don't have a PS5, and so far other than Astro Bot haven't even considered getting one. But the above games are already urging me to start thinking about fixinig that eventually.

 

[Goat]

You must mean in Sicilian.

I was 100% sure that the game would feature no italian at all, but then I landed on this tweet:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826327285261037726

God exists!

 

[Aazealh]

INTERGALACTIC
I have really wanted Naughty Dog to move past their The Road fanfic for a decade, so I'm really happy that their next game is a totally new setting and genre. In a NYT interview before the show, Neil Druckmann said the team's influences included Cowboy Bebop and Akira. Of course, those were each so influential that they would have been influences whether they're acknowledged or not. But I'm wondering about that Akira influence... Here's hoping it's more than just translating Kaneda's bike into a spaceship. Because when someone says Akira to me, I go to the post-apocalyptic setting and how the story dealt with the society's disruption over time. But sure, the bike is cool, too. *Sigh* I probably shouldn't even be excited, because this studio usually just teases things that never land well with me.

I haven't read anything on the topic so far but I would be surprised if Porsche let Naughty Dog use their brand on a spaceship without having designed said ship themselves. All of this to say that the Akira influences will probably be found elsewhere. I did see a picture of the main character with a jacket that looks like Kaneda's, now that I think of it!

Small detail but I quite like the design on that weapon's handle. Feels very utilitarian, but in a cool Sci-Fi way.

PROJECT ROBOT
Glad to see Ueda's still full of ideas, despite being so dormant for so long. If we consider that Trico was in development for nearly a decade, and it's been 8 years since then... Well, he's had plenty of time to spin his wheels for new worlds. I say NEW, but the main character is wearing a little cloth poncho over his sci-fi gear, in what I read as a transparent reference to Ico and SotC's character designs. That's a cute touch, but it did look out of place in the setting. Not much to go on yet, but the sound design was the most grabbing thing for me in the trailer: The little klaxon-like sounds presumably informing the character about the incoming swarm/explosion, and then the decapitation-liftoff. Pretty memorable ending!

Yeah I'm also curious whether there will be connections to his previous works beyond the general vibe. Something I found notable: the warning voice is in English, not in some fake language. Oh and that lift-off with just the head is very evocative of Mazinger Z. I approve!

I was 100% sure that the game would feature no italian at all, but then I landed on this tweet:

Haha, yeah I almost replied that you'd have to make do with "Italian-accented English". Good to know they're committed to authenticity!

 

[Lawliet]

It was a surprisingly good show, despite some of the obligatory cringe moments (the standout being Kutaragi - for a "celebration of gaming" they sure didn't celebrate this man properly. It wasn't cool at all).

My highlights:

1. Of course, my standout moment was the announcement of Fumito Ueda's next project. That man is IMHO gaming's greatest genius - each game he made has been inspired and Shadow of the Colossus is my personal #1 game. Naturally I'll be excited for his new project, which came as a total surprise.

2. Another total surprise and standout moment was the return of Onimusha! I've been waiting for this since the PS3 debuted. Thanks for making me wait 20 years, Capcom! I can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

3. Studio RGG is also killing it, and I'm excited for their new project.

4. I'm also glad we finally got a release window for Crimson Desert, which has been my most anticipated game since its announcement in 2021, as well as a game I've posted about repeatedly over here. The last time I was this excited for a game was the upcoming release of Witcher 3, or maybe Cyberpunk 2077. This game was made for me. A whole year is not a specific release window, but at least they confirmed it for next year. Here's the trailer for anyone who missed it:

My disappointments:

1. No Bloodborne Remastered - we'll discover aliens before this happens apparently.

2. No Resident Evil 9.

3. No new IP announcements from From Software - that new Elden Ring project doesn't interest me much on top of it all.

4. That new Naughty Dog project being the last announcement - was expecting more GTA VI or something otherwise worth saving for last - a Naughty Dog project certainly ain't that, as far as I'm concerned. After the disaster that was The Last of Us Part II, referred to in certain circles as "the Turd" (seriously, I'd pay @Aazealh just to play and roast that trainwreck of a narrative as he is someone with high storytelling standards), I can't say I have a shred of interest in what that fraud Druckmann shits out next. Still, I'm prepared to eat my words if this ends up being good - even the Turd was great in terms of technical achievement and gameplay, it's just Druckmann's "writing" that soured the fuck out of it. We'll see.