Here's everything announced during the Square Enix Presents game showcase
Square Enix's recent livestream revealed a new Life is Strange game, what's coming next from the Final Fantasy XV makers and... Space Invaders?
Image: Square Enix
Black Panther is on his way.
Earlier today, Square Enix kicked off their first ‘Square Enix Presents’ showcase, a livestream where they went over trailers and announcements for upcoming games on their slate. Another showcase is planned for later this year, but this was a pretty meaty look at upcoming games like Outriders and the next Life is Strange game.
Let’s run ‘em down!
Life is Strange: True Colors
A new Life is Strange game is always something worth celebrating. True Colours is the next main installment in a franchise that typically explores dark and relatable stories with a supernatural twist. This time, we’re exploring an all-new cast of characters, in an all-new location with a protagonist with an all-new power. You’ll play as Alex Chen, a young Asian American woman with the ability to read people’s emotions. After her brother Gabe dies, Alex moves to Colorado to uncover the truth behind his death - and in the process of doing so, unravels a mystery she never saw coming.
Deck Nine Games is developing this title, taking over from Dontnod Entertainment - who recently split with Square Enix, so it’s unlikely that they’ll ever make a Life is Strange game again. Life is Strange: True Colors will launch on 10 September, 2021 on Google Stadia, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection
Image: Square Enix
Another surprising announcement: Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm are getting remastered! This duology is getting improved visuals and animations, so players can expect, “vastly improved character animation using full facial mocap performance,” and more engine upgrades - including better lighting. Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a prequel to the first game, and it’s worth playing because developer Deck Nine Games is bringing back one of its characters - Steph - as a love interest for Alex Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors.
The Life is Strange Remastered Collection is available as part of Life is Strange: True Colors’ Ultimate Edition, dropping on 10 September, 2021 on the same platforms.
Forspoken (previously known as Project Athia)
Remember that flashy game Sony showed off a while ago from Final Fantasy XV developer Luminous Productions? It was originally presented as ‘Project Athia’, but now it’s called Forspoken. Ella Belinska stars as Frey Holland in this action-RPG, bullet-jumping through a harsh, deserted land to fight monsters of all shapes and sizes. The game will be exclusive to PlayStation 5 and PC, launching in 2022.
Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther DLC
Marvel’s Avengers showed up during this showcase and after the game’s many recent failures, I wasn’t expecting too much. We started off with an extended look at Clint Barton’s new story campaign: Operation Hawkeye - Future Imperfect, which launched today alongside new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S upgrades. Surprisingly, we also got a new look at the game’s next hero: Black Panther! The king of Wakanda, T’Challa will make his debut via the War for Wakanda expansion, which also brings a new villain - Klaw - to the game.
Outriders
People Can Fly’s new third-person looter-shooter gained a ton of popularity after its open beta, and Square Enix took some time to spill more details on the game today. The trailer above talks about what exactly the game is, how its loot and RPG systems work, and what the story entails. A second trailer called Appreciate Power acted as a CG story trailer. The game will launch on 1 April on Stadia, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. You can also grab the game on Xbox Game Pass on release day!
Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy
Tomb Raider’s 25th anniversary is happening this year, so developer Crystal Dynamics is taking the opportunity to reintroduce their Tomb Raider trilogy at a new discounted price. The Definitive Survivor Trilogy bundle consists of Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018), and you can grab them for US$19.99 for the next two weeks - at which point they’ll get a price hike to US$49.99. Don’t forget, a Tomb Raider anime is also coming to Netflix! Curiously, this bundle is currently not available in our local PlayStation Store.
Space Invaders AR
Imagine Pokemon Go - but the Pokemon are evil. Space Invaders AR takes a classic shooter you’re undoubtedly aware of and puts the aliens in real-life environments via augmented reality. We have no clue what the game looks like yet, since the teaser is fairly vague, but this is worth keeping an eye out for.
Balan Wonderworld
Good lord, this is a weird game. Balan Wonderworld is a 3D platformer launching on 26 March, 2021, and Square Enix took the opportunity to show us a launch trailer going over its many characters. You can check out this game via a playable demo on most platforms - which I would highly recommend doing before buying it.
Just Cause Mobile
Yup. This is really happening. Square Enix is bringing the Just Cause franchise’s chaotic, explosion-filled open-world gameplay to mobile platforms in this top-down shooter. You’ll be able to participate in 4-player multiplayer co-op missions, 30-player competitive matches and a story campaign - all for free. The game doesn’t have a release date yet, but we know that it’s coming sometime in 2021 for Android and iOS devices.
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