Twitter Reacts To The Xbox Series X Games Showcase
After a long wait and plenty of speculation, the Xbox Series X Games Showcase finally aired today. Along with an exclusive look at the gameplay for Halo Infinite, fans got a sneak peek at plenty of other launch exclusive titles coming to the Xbox Series X in the near future. Naturally, those same fans had a lot of opinions regarding the livestream event. Some were very pleased by the show Microsoft put on, while others were more lukewarm on the event and its big reveals.
First, let's start with the good. The games showcase kicked off with a look at Halo Infinite, and a large majority of fans were over the moon to finally see Master Chief back in action. Following a moody opening that felt more like the intro to Westworld than part of a Halo game, viewers were treated to a good old fashioned Halo shootout. One thing that fans responded to positively was the presence of an expansive in-game map and exploration. The idea of an open world Halo game sounds pretty enticing to a lot of fans of the series. After waiting so long for a good look at Halo Infinite, the preview definitely brought the thunder.
On the downside of the Halo preview, a lot of people on Twitter expressed dissatisfaction with the game's graphics. Some even went so far as to compare it unfavorably to earlier entries in the series. Noted video game info leaker Nibel also seemed very underwhelmed by the look of the game, but pointed out that it does look better in motion.
Still, there were plenty of other exciting game announcements. Bloober Team, the folks behind the terrifying Layers of Fear games and the trippy Observer, announced a new game called The Medium. This horror title plays out in two separate worlds simultaneously, bringing a very different and unprecedented type of gameplay to life. Several fans pointed out The Medium's similarities to the long-dormant Silent Hill franchise, with one person tweeting that Bloober stood to inherit the money Konami's losing by not making Silent Hill games.
Another game that drew excited responses was Obsidian's newly-announced RPG, Avowed. Not much is known about the game other than it seems to be a fantasy game in the mold of Skyrim. One fan was so wowed by the trailer for Avowed that they hinted they may have to buy an Xbox Series X just to play this one exclusive game.
Of course, there were other returning franchises aside from Halo that made appearances in the Xbox Series X showcase. Gamers finally got to see quick looks at new installments in the Forza and Fable franchises. As one person pointed out, it's interesting to note that both of these games are lacking numbers in the title, which seems to point to them being soft reboots of sorts.
One of the biggest revelations of the livestream is that every single game shown during the showcase would be coming to Xbox Game Pass. Ryan McCaffrey of IGN called this decision "incredible." This sentiment was echoed by actor Rick Malambri, who tweeted, "Xbox Game Pass is one of the greatest assets in Microsoft's pocket to Console & PC gamers. Excited to see what's down the pike this next gen."
Of course, not every response was quite so excited. As mentioned earlier, some people weren't particularly jazzed about the graphics on display throughout the presentation. Others were let down by the roster of games as a whole, including one fan who was frustrated by seeing a number of "enhanced old games."
Perhaps even more glaring is the fact that we are now only a few months away from the vague "Holidays 2020" timeframe during which the console is supposed to launch, and yet we still don't have a price point reveal. It makes one wonder how much longer we will have to wait.
As one fan joked, this waiting game has made the console war feel more like an old west standoff:
And so the console price standoff between Playstation, Xbox, and Gamers continues... pic.twitter.com/Dyum0vGnGp
— Foxcade 🦊🇨🇦 (@SuperFoxcade) July 23, 2020
Overall, fans were pretty divided on the presentation. One fan wrote, "Xbox killed it today. Before the presentation I was leaning more toward PS5 ... But almost every game Xbox showed today gave me goosebumps." Meanwhile, others felt like the presentation was so poor that Xbox had more or less already conceded defeat in this generation's console war.
The reception to this livestream was definitely more split than the one seen during PlayStation's big Future of Gaming event from last month. However, with a few months left before the new consoles launch and the persistent rumors surrounding the Xbox Lockhart, it's pretty likely that we haven't yet seen everything Xbox has up its sleeve.