It's that time of year again; June has always been an exciting month for video games since it's usually the time when most game publishers and developers choose to announce some of their most exciting software. Usually, most of the projects announced are far into the future, but this time it seems that many developers are planning to release their games either this year or next year, which means that there is a HUGE amount of games coming out very soon, and many of them look great! I'll be honest, I sometimes find these showcases to be disappointing, with only a few noteworthy titles revealed in each one, but this year I was pleasantly surprised to see so many exciting new projects from a lot of developers across the industry, and even more excited to see how many of them were releasing relatively soon. I have a huge list of games that caught my attention, but I just wanted to focus on a few of my favorite titles from each event that I watched:

Sony State of Play

With Sony announcing that their latest State of Play would be shown in a few select theatres, I got the impression that they had some big announcements to share with their audience. However, out of all the showcases I think Sony actually had the least amount of new announcements, and many of them weren't exactly new either. It seems like the main reason they were so excited about this event was due to the big announcement at the end, which I'll get to in a bit. A few of the most notable games to me were:

• Wolverine
  Obviously we all new this was coming, but I have been surprised that we haven't had a gameplay showcase like this sooner. I think we've needed an extended look at gameplay for a while and thankfully it looks like we've finally managed to get one. After watching it, I think that Insomniac's Wolverine looks like it's going to be everything fans could hope for. Aside from some excellent graphics and an original take on the source material, the actual gameplay looks about as violent and frenzied as you'd want it to be in a Wolverine game. I saw some critiques that the combat looks too similar to the spider-man games and I'm honestly not sure where they're coming from; I think that Wolverine's combat looks very different mechanically. While many super hero games are focused on attacking and countering, Wolverine's healing factor means that countering isn't really his style. He can tank the hits, and focus on dishing out as much damage as possible to any unlucky henchmen in his way. He can use the environment to his advantage as well: kicking enemies from trucks and into spikes, and giving you more ways to deal with enemies. This gameplay showcase gave me everything I wanted, and now I'm more confident that Insomniac understands what to do here. I'm just hoping that the story here is better than the one in Spider-Man 2.

• Rayman Legends Retold
  While a remake of the latest Rayman game does feel a little unnecessary, I am glad to see the series back with a new mainline game. The new artstyle looks really good, and I'll be curious to see what changes and additions they've made to the game.

• Kemuri
  Initially, I thought the game looked kind of interesting, but what really has me excited for it is that it's coming from Unseen Studios, founded by the lovable and energetic Ikumi Nakamura. She comes from Tango Gameworks, which created some of my favorite games from the last generation, and the more I saw of the game the more interested I became. I've enjoyed all of the games that she was involved in making, so I'm curious to see how this one turns out. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.

• God of War Laufey
  This was the huge announcement that Sony was betting on, since it took up 20 whole minutes of the entire showcase. I think that having so much time dedicated to this game was a bit of a mistake, especially since this was just the introduction to the game, and half of it was just cutscenes. Maybe it should have been cut down to the most interesting nine minutes, and perhaps that would have lead to more positive reception.
  With that said, what we did see looked very interesting, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. It looks like the combat will be a lot faster than the newer games, with new ariel combos that Fey can pull off (can't believe they FINALLY remembered how to add in a jump button). The afterlife of the gods is a setting with massive story potential, so I hope they make great use of it. The only part that worries me are Fey's companions. They seem way too quirky and they seem to have a bit of that millennial writing that people can't stand these days (myself included). Hopefully they aren't that bad in game, and hopefully the cube turns into something else because it just looks too distracting.

Summer Games Fest Kickoff
This might have been one of the best kickoff events that SGF has ever had: there was a lot of really cool stuff shown off to the point that I'd honestly say that they had the best showcase out of everybody. Some highlights include:

• Resident Evil: Veronica
  I was surprised to see this one show up so early, but I'm glad to know it exists. I've always wanted Capcom to start remaking some of the lesser-known Resident evil games, and now I think they'll finally start doing so since they've basically done all of the popular ones. This is being developed by the same team that did the RE2 and RE4 remakes, so I'm sure they'll do an amazing job here!

• Alien Isolation 2
  FINALLY. I've been waiting for some news on this game, and so far this looks great. From the gameplay impressions I've heard, it sounds like they've made some good progress on this game, though there doesn't seem to be much news on the Alien AI just yet. Hopefully, the AI is as smart and terrifying as it was in the original.

• gen Atlas
  This is a new game from the creator of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and it looks like it'll be in a similar vein to the latter game. The scale of the robots you can control looks massive, and I'll be curious to see what the story will end up being.

• TMNT The Last Ronin
  After it's initial announcement we got basically nothing about this game, to the point I was worried it was getting cancelled. However, it seems like the game will still be made, just under a new development studio: PLATINUM. This is very exciting news for me; I can't wait to see what they do with this story.

• Crossfire
  A new game from some former developers from Naughty Dog, the game looks like it will follow in ND's same story-driven footsteps. The cover mechanics, and story look very interesting though, so I'll be watching out for this one when more info is revealed.

• Virtua Fighter Crossroads
  Not content with just revitalizing Virtua Fighter's gameplay, RGG studios also wants to make a single player mode that looks so expansive that it could be it's own game. The trailer they had showed off some chase scenes, an interactable environment, and third person combat that honestly reminded me of the Shenmue games. It looks like RGG studios want to go all in on both single player and multiplayer, and I can only hope they pull off both very well. I was already on board with RGG studios developing a new VF game, but this just makes me even more excited.

• 1666 Amsterdam
  Once again, some former Ubisoft developers have split off into their own studio to create a really unique game. There's a lot going in it's initial announcement trailer, but it does seem to take some design inspiration from the classic Assassin's Creed games, which many of these developers were involved in making. I'm curious to see how this one turns out.

• Stellar Blade: Blood Rain
  Although I have yet to play Stellar Blade, I have heard some high praise for it and I'm interested in trying it out eventually. This looks like more of the same, only with a heavier focus on melee combat: which looks stylish and fluid. I heard that Stellar Blade's story was kind of lacking, so hopefully they'll be able to improve that here.

• Final Fantasy VII: Revelation
  It's crazy how fast Square Enix has managed to release all three games in the FF VIII remake trilogy, with FF VII Revelation announced for a spring 2027 release date. There was a lot of gameplay shown off here, and it all looks great. If this is anything like the last two games, the FF VII remake trilogy may end up being one of the best remakes of all time. Hopefully they can stick the landing.

Xbox Games Showcase
Now that I have an Xbox, I am more interested in seeing what the platform has to offer, especially with new leadership at the helm. To my surprise, I actually saw a lot of games that I was interested in, including:

• Gears of War: E-Day
  This was obviously the game that Xbox was most excited about, and I can see why. It looks great, and based on the developer direct that aired right after the showcase it seems like the developers are really trying to recapture that core "Gears" feeling that the most recent games seem to have lacked. I'm really interested in seeing how this one turns out, especially since I now have the means to experience the rest of the series.

• State of Decay 3
  Glad to see this game finally appear, and it looks great! It looks like it'll expand on the open world, multiplayer zombie gameplay that defined the series. I'm always down for a good zombie game, especially one with multiplayer, so this is right up my alley.

• Senua (Hellblade 3)
  This looks like it'll address the issues with the simplistic gameplay that the last game was criticized for by having a bigger focus on combat. I have yet to play these games though, so I can't really say much here, but it does look cool.

• Clockwork Revolution
  I'm getting some Bioshock vibes here, which isn't a bad thing. It's looking like a really fun time travel adventure with a steampunk-inspired world and immersive sim elements. I just hope that it can deliver on the time travel aspects (i.e, things changing depending on what you do), and that the combat and gameplay remain interesting throughout the whole game. It was announced to be an Xbox exclusive, so perhaps Microsoft is very confident in this one to be a hit.

• Doom TDA Revelations
  Id's first DLC expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages is introducing some more weapons, more demons, and a larger focus on the cosmic realm. As someone who loved Doom: The Dark Ages, I will gladly accept more.

• Crazy Taxi World Tour
  The first of Sega's six planned revivals, and this one looks pretty good! Using The Offspring in the trailer was a nice touch. As long as this one is priced properly, and matches the same level of arcade fun that the original games were known for, I'm down.

• Magicians: The Devil's Deal
  A really cool looking FPS game, with a heavy emphasis on magic instead of weapons. I like the artstyle, and the setting, and the combat has a lot of potential. Hopefully we'll get more info on this game soon.

• Valor Mortis
  Having played the demo, I think that this is shaping up to be one of my favorite games of the year. The setting and story are very intriguing; focusing on a soldier from the French Army serving under Napoleon, who seems to be communicating to you telepathically? The first person souls combat works very well, and it feels really fun to fight some truly hideous creatures and soldiers. Hopefully they can improve some of the problems with performance and magic before launch, because otherwise this game is doing all the right things for me.

• Vivarium
  This one came out of nowhere for me, since cozy-looking life-sim games aren't usually my thing. However, Vivarium's art style and presentation interested me immediately, and based on the concept I think that this game has more behind it than meets the eye. Very interested to see how this one turns out.

• Spyro: A Realm Beyond
  Toys for Bob managed to escape the Call of Duty mines, and now they are back to deliver a brand new Spyro game! We only got a short announcement trailer, but considering how good Crash 4 was, I am confident that Toys for Bob can deliver something great here. These guys are really passionate about what they make, and I'm sure they'll handle Spyro with the same level of care they handled the remakes with.

Nintendo Direct
Finally, we have Nintendo's June Direct, the first direct we've gotten for the Switch 2 since it launched. I'm not sure why Nintendo took so long, usually we get at least one direct every season, but at least they showed up just in time for SGF. There's a few noteworthy announcements here, starting with:

• New Rhythm Heaven
  I don't think we got a single Rhythm Heaven game for the switch during it's entire lifespan, so I'm glad to see finally getting one. It doesn't look much different from any other Rhythm Heaven game, but what is there to really improve upon? These games are always fun, so I'm glad to see that Nintendo is keeping the series alive.

• Ports Galore
  Onimusha, Stellar Blade, Dragons Dogma 2, LIes of P, DMC V, Space Marine 2, and MGS Master Collection 2 were just a few of the ports announced for Switch 2 this year. It's kind of surreal seeing so many recent games releasing on the console after seeing so many of them skip Switch 1, but that just goes to show how powerful the Switch 2 is. I might double dip on a few of these once they go on sale, but I'm just happy that Nintendo fans can finally experience these games for themselves.

• Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
  I really need to play one of these games. I've always been interested in them, but I just never had the time to really get into them. This one looks like it'll be pretty expansive, with 4 playable characters with their own stories, and a heavier emphasis on combat. I like what I've seen so far, hopefully I'll actually get around to playing it instead of letting it collect dust in my backlog

• Xenoblade Trilogy Switch 2 Editions
  Everyone has been waiting for these to drop, I just hope that they are good ON RELEASE unlike Xenoblade X's Switch 2 edition.

• Xenoblade Genesis
  Surprise, a new Xenoblade game! I can't wait to see how Monolith Soft makes use of the Switch 2's power, those guys are wizards.

• Nintendo Switch Sports Resort
  Welcome back Wuhu Island

• Final Fantasy Resonance
  Don't know why it took Square so long to make a Final Fantasy game with their HD-2D engine, but I'm glad they finally are!

• Kingdom Hearts collection & Kingdom Hearts IV
  FINALLY! First, we finally get actual ports of Kingdom Hearts on Switch 1 and 2, which is insane. I never bought the cloud versions because, well quite frankly they kind of suck based on principle, but now I'm tempted to grab my 4th copy of all of these games. I can't help it, I'd love being able to play these games on the go.
  But of course, the really big news was Kingdom Hearts IV. The Kingdom Hearts fanbase has been desperate for any news regarding IV, since we really haven't gotten anything save for a few drawings from Nomura, and some rough looking screenshots. So imagine the surprise of the entire community when Square drops a full trailer for KH IV at a Nintendo Direct of all places. Usually these trailers air at Sony events, so for Kingdom Hearts to be here in such a big capacity is huge for Nintendo. We got a good look at the game running on Switch 2 hardware, and it actually looks pretty good. The combat seems like an evolution of the mechanics and systems introduced in 3, but with some new features such as the "Build" function, and the new keyblades having more of a purpose instead of a few stats and formchanges. Of course the big thing here is the story, and we got a few looks at some new and returning characters. As per usual, anyone who isn't keeping up with every game in this franchise will probably be lost, so if you are interested in KH IV, now would be a great time to hit up the KH Timeline to refresh your memory. I'm really happy that development seems to be going well, and that they had enough material to show off even after announcing FF VII Revelation. It gives me hope that we'll see this game release by 2028, but we'll have to wait and see. Maybe D23 will give us more information, one can only hope.

• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake
  For the big closer, Nintendo announced (after a bunch of leaks already spoiled it) that Ocarina of Time is getting a full on remake. We didn't get much, but just know that it's happening and that it's coming out THIS YEAR is enough to get me excited. I really hope that it's more than just a simple graphical update, there are so many ways to play Ocarina of Time already that I don't think we need something as straightforward as that. This is a game that deserves to be fully reimagined: keep the same story and the most important setpieces, but update everything else to keep it fresh. Expand the Kokiri Forest, add more side missions, fill Hyrule Field with more things to do, add new weapons, there are so many things Nintendo could do here! I'm sure Nintendo is planning something really special here with this remake, I can't wait to see more of it.

I'm sure this looks like a lot, but there are so many games that I haven't even mentioned here. I think I can safely say that this has been one of, if not the best, Summer Game Fests that we've had since they started. The crazy thing is that most of these games are coming out THIS YEAR, with many of them coming out in Fall, especially in September and October (NOBODY wants that GTA VI smoke). With all the doom and gloom that surrounds the gaming industry these days, it's good to be reminded that there's still so much good stuff on the horizon. If even half of these games end up being as good as they look, then 2026 might end up being the best year for this generation. Even if I don't end up playing all of these games, at least there'll be tons to think about once they go on sale next year. Exciting times for gamers, I hope all of these games see the light of day!

My full list of interesting announcements looks more like:

PlayStation:
- Rayman legends retold
- the lost wild
- stuntman Hollywood
- dynasty warriors 3 remake
- ill
- Kemuri
- More of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
- no rest for the wicked
- God of war Laufey

Summer games fest:
- RE: Veronica remake
- Alien Isolation 2
- gen Atlas (new game from ico creator)
- cup head 2
- cup head 8bit
- blood message
- TUPAC IN STRANGER THAN HEAVEN
- haex
- mortal shell 2 beta
- sand raiders of Sophie
- TMNT the last ronin game (by PLATINUM)
- Gundam rogue orbit
- Crossfire
- Virtua Fighter Crossroads
- Soulframe
- 1666 Amsterdam
- Saw genesis
- Star wars zero company
- the blood of dawnwalker
- Aion 2
- wuthering waves x cyberpunk 2077???
- swords of legends
- clutch
- the wolf among us 2
- Stellar Blade: Blood Rain
- fina fantasy VII Revelation (spring 2027)

Xbox
- Gears of war E Day (Xbox Exclusive) (Oct 6)
- Resonance: A plague tale legacy
- State of Decay 3
- Hellblade 3
- Metro 2039
- Clockwork Revolution (Xbox Exclusive)
- Wo Long 2
- Join Us
- Doom TDA Revelations (DLC)
- Crazy Taxi World Tour
- transparent green Xbox
- magicians the devil's deal
- Valor Mortis
- flight simulator national parks dlc
- where winds meet: hidden mountain
- Castlevania: Belmont's Curse in October
- Vivarium
- Spyro: A realm beyond

Nintendo
- New rhythm heaven
- Onimusha, Stellar Blade, Dragons Dogma 2, lords of fallen 2, lies of p ports
- Fire emblem Fortune's weave
- DMC V, space marine 2, observer, day Z, MGS 2 master collection, Metaphor Refantazio ports
- JJK game from vampire survivors devs
- Xenoblade trilogy switch 2 editions (hope they're good on launch.
- Xenoblade genesis
- Nintendo switch sports resort
- Final Fantasy Resonance
- Dragon Quest Monsters
- Duskbloods closed network test in September
- Splatoon raiders
- Minecraft switch 2 edition
- altier karia
- tales of eternia remastered
- Kingdom HEARTS NATIVE SW2 PORTS
- KH 4
- Ocarina of Time Remake 2026!