Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

Fairly late with my thoughts of the Developer Direct but here they are.

So I thought it was a really good showcase! It's a unique structure, showing off gameplay but also the developers.

Avowed looks pretty good. I'm mostly impressed by the freedom of customising your loadouts and being able to switch to different ones on the fly. Other than that, it looks like another standard western RPG. I'm sure I'll like it but I kinda get the feeling that Xbox is going to be over-saturated with western RPGs. We had Starfield last year and now Avowed this year. People might get tired of that but I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see.

Hellblade II looks good but we didn't really need to see more gameplay of this game. It was announced five years ago, just release it already lol. Good thing we got a date now (late May) so we won't be waiting too long to play it. Also read that it's going to be around the same length as the first Hellblade, which was fairly short. Have to wonder then why it took them so long to release the game. I feel like this is becoming a trend with Microsoft developers now (another example being Turn 10 with Forza Motorsport) as they sure love taking their sweet time to release their games.

Indiana Jones was definitely the highlight of the show. I'm glad the game will be in first-person in order to distinguish it from Uncharted and Tomb Raider. Using the likeness of Harrison Ford is a good decision, even though it's not his voice. I would've liked to see more gameplay because that aspect feels a bit precarious right now. It this a shooter or not? You see Indy using guns but you're mostly seeing him using the whip and punching. I wouldn't mind a mix of shooting, stealth and melee combat. It wouldn't be fun without a fair amount of shooting. Although maybe he's not the type to use guns? I genuinely can't remember even though I've seen all five movies lol.

So overall, it's looking like it'll be a pretty good year for Xbox in terms of exclusives. Also can't forget Stalker 2, which is coming out in September this year.

@CharlieChooChoo I believe I read that the classic scene in Raiders you describe was actually supposed to be a long choreographed fight with Indy’s whip versus the swordsman, but Harrison Ford had the idea to just shoot him and Spielberg consented. Hard to imagine the movie without that humorous and famous scene. 😄

As far as the Indy game, it plus the Hellblade sequel might be enough to get my attention for dipping into the Xbox world. I’m not sold on Starfield, Forza, or anything else that’s exclusive, but I loved Hellblade and also am a fan of the archeological exploration genre. The first person viewpoint is a turn-off though.

I wonder if Sony is keeping the new Uncharted close to the vest as a way to do a counterpunch when the Indiana Jones game releases.

@Th3solution Actually the part in Raiders was because Harrion Ford had a stomach virus and just wanted to get the scene done with so he could use the bathroom. He told Spielberg, "Cant I just shoot him?" The production crew got a good chuckle out of it and loved the idea so the let him shoot him so he could go get some rest.

If I did want to play anything that xbox has to offer, I can get Gamepass on my new telly. I've not actually tried of any of the gaming apps available, so have no idea what the experience will be like. Especially playing an xbox game with a DualSense controller, which I imagine would be a bit strange at first.

When I tried Stadia on my old telly, the couple games I played were unplayable, so it can't be any worse than that.

I don't wanna come across as a hater or whatever, but I have been kinda surprised by the reception Avowed is getting, seems people are hyped and pleased by what they saw. And I am happy for them of course, but I thought it looked genuinely kinda bad?

We just got done complaining about Bethesda's fairly dated presentation when it comes to things like conversations and character interactions, and this is doing exactly that. I also don't know anyone who liked Skyrim's combat, and I feel like good first person melee combat games can be counted on one hand, and if this showcase is meant to show off the combat at its finest...

I am just not as convinced as others seem to be, is all I am saying.

@Pizzamorg I'll be honest, anything that is a narrative, choice-based rpg is going to struggle in a world after BG3 but I share your sentiment. They never really showed examples of choices that were morally grey. Added to that, the combat looked like a budget version of immortals of aveum. Hope I'm wrong as I really liked new vegas so their take on skyrim sounds like a great idea!

Yeah I thought that combat showcase was rough. Underbaked animations, a real lack of any sense of weight or impact to anything, not to mention that they kept showing that spell slinger build thing and either the dude was just straight up missing, or the hit registration was completely borked. If this is meant to show the peak of the combat to generate hype, I dread to think about how rough the moment to moment combat is.

@JohnnyShoulder Xbox cloud gaming isn't quite there yet. I tried it out about a year ago and it hadn't improved since I first tried it out back in 2020. In fact, it's actually worse now. There's a bloody queue now whenever you boot up a game. Imagine getting home from work and having to wait 5-10 minutes each time before you're "allowed" to play a game. It's absolutely ridiculous.

The experience itself is decent. There's no input lag, but the screen frequently refreshes and that gets annoying over time.

@LtSarge I went to try Nvidia Gforce Now, but there were only 6 months subscriptions available, as the monthly ones were out of stock or something? Not sure how that is even possible lol. The same with the free service too. I'm not willing to drop 60 or 90 quid on something that might not work up to my expectations.

Thanks for heads up on the queuing thing. I didn't realise that, and seems a bit sucky.

@AgentCooper ah that’s a shame actually… have been pretty excited by what I’ve seen of Jusant.

@AgentCooper It does feel like Xbox developers don't care about pushing limits with their games now that they don't need their games to sell well. And as a result, I feel like Xbox gamers are setting a lower standard for Xbox games. I mean, I played Redfall and it's a very mediocre game. Go over to Pure Xbox and there will be a fair amount of people who think that it's a good game. It's not even close to being a good game, the developers have done the absolute bare minimum with this title.

Microsoft seriously needs to be more strict with their studios.

Regarding Jusant, I actually enjoyed it because of the fun climbing mechanics. It could get frustrating sometimes but it was overall a pretty fun game.

@AgentCooper I honestly didn’t even know what’s on GamePass, but I did look it up and there’s some really enticing third party games there. Some from my wishlist are on there like Lies of P, Dead Space (in fact all of them are there), Wild Hearts, and Wo Long.

@AgentCooper I have no immediate plans to jump into GamePass or the Xbox ecosystem, but I was impressed to see some of the inclusions on the service. And actually a lot of the games I find compelling are also on PS+, except for those I listed.

First party is the real question with GamePass. As someone who has a boat load of game already to play, I think the only way I dive into the console (which would not only require a big up-front investment in hardware but also the subscription cost) is if something first party knocks my socks off. 9-10/10 type of game, and preferably more than one. So that’s where Indiana Jones could that. I’ll assume Hellblade II is going to be a 9/10. But even if those two hit, I just don’t know.

The other third party games there like Lies of P and Wo Long are on my wishlist, but honestly are several games deep on the backlog, so I’m satisfied to wait until either a steeper price drop or a drop onto PS+. It’s what I did recently with A Plague Tale Requiem and my patience was rewarded and I’m loving the game and pleased that it came without any added cost.

But if and when, I’m certain to share thoughts on those two Souls-likes. But as I mentioned on the Souls thread, I plan to prioritize the From games I have left first.

As for Persona 3, I am really interested in your experience there, and P3 is a great get for GamePass. I’ll leave my thoughts on the series over on that thread. 🧵 😄

So I watched the Indy game clip. It looks fine whatever, nothing that exciting.

... But am I the only one who thinks he sounds nothing like Harrison Ford and it's just Troy Baker with a slight accent?

Admitedly it's been a while since I've watched one of the films or heard Harrison and I've seen people saying he sounds alike but I don't hear it at all

@AgentCooper good to hear mate… and kudos on Ole Munch, love that character!

So in the recent "rumours" of Xbox "games" coming to "PS', is there anything out of those 'half'-"baked" "exclusives" you want to play?
Me "personally" 'I''d play a Gears "of" War game but that"'s about it. "Nothing" else screams (or talks) "a" must play"."

@Matter I have a list of Xbox game I'd buy on PlayStation. It's not very long (and part of it is upcoming games) which is I never really considered buying the console.
It includes:

• Both Ori games
• Gears Of War (especially 2&3, I played 1 on PC back in the day and I hear the newer ones aren't as good)
• HiFi Rush
• Hellblade 2
• the Indiana Jones game

I think that's literally it

@Matter My thoughts are similar but to @Voltan — I don’t feel anything is a “must-play” from the Xbox library, but I would almost certainly buy Hellblade II because I loved the first one. Also am a fan of the movies, so would be interested in Indiana Jones.

Gears and Fable have always held my curiosity too. And Forza, mainly because it’s so highly rated, although I am not a racer aficionado and have been perfectly satisfied with playing the occasional Gran Turismo every few years. 😄

Fable is another one I could be interested in but I'd need to see more. I liked the 1st one (again, back in my PC gaming days) but I have literally no idea where the series went from there.

I might give them a go when they come to PS Plus.