Everything Announced At the Xbox Partner Preview 2023
On October 25th, Xbox revealed a long list of third party partner games. There were some heavy hitters announced as well as some interesting indie games. Fast paced action games, a social dungeon crawler, and survival games all made an appearance. Here’s what’s coming soon from Xbox.
- Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth | Donkoko Island
Donkoko Island is a Yakuza style town management mini-game. Players will gather, fish and craft their own items or buy them from a store. Players will be able to build relationships with visitors by gifting them items they like. There’s also a house decoration aspect that players could potentially lose hours to. Donkoko Island will be optional content, however, if anyone wants to skip it entirely.
- Ikaro Will Not Die
Ikaro Will Not Die is an action rogue-like focused on gravity defying momentum. It’s a spiritual successor to Velocity 2X, also by FuturLab. Players will speed through cyberpunk landscapes using melee attacks, air dashes and somersaults to avoid enemies. There aren’t many details released on this title yet.
- Still Wakes the Deep
Set in 1975, players will have to navigate an oil rig in the middle of a raging storm. All while trying to save their crewmates from a horrific entity that lies beyond logic. Made by The Chinese Room (the Amnesia Series), Still Wakes The Deep promises to be an immersive horror story of survival on the North Sea off the coast of Ireland. Players will face flooding hallways and rain soaked outer decks while being chased by an unrelenting enemy.
- Robo Cop: Rogue City
RoboCop: Rogue City is an action game set in a futuristic Detroit. It’s up to players to dispense justice, but how they do that is up to their own judgment. Players will have a variety of weapons to choose from and upgrade as they battle a shadowy organization. Rogue City will take place between RoboCop 2 and 3, so iconic locations and characters will show up. And Peter Weller is reprising his role as the cybercop.
- Dungeons of Hinterberg
Dungeons of Hinterberg is a dungeon crawler set in the idyllic slopes of Austria.
As Luisa, players will be able to use wind, ice, and even create a snowboard from thin air to defeat enemies. There will be plenty of puzzles that require logic as well as magic skills to solve. Dungeons of Hinterberg has a unique social system. While some guests will simply want to chat or take pictures, some will teach Luisa tricks to help her improve herself as a slayer.
- Spirit of the North 2
In Spirit of the North 2, players will take on the role of a fox as they travel with a raven companion. This fox is tasked with awakening the guardians of an ancient world left in ruin. Players will travel through a vast open world where they’ll face challenging puzzle-based encounters and search for powerful runes to enhance their abilities. There will also be customization options, so players can change the way their fox looks and which skills they use.
- Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater
The new trailer for Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater showcased the first in-engine look. Snake Eater is a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3. New players can learn the origin of the series’ iconic operative, Snake. Old fans get to see a classic given new life with stunning graphics. The trailer shows off the stealth elements and highly detailed environments.
- Manor Lords
Manor Lords is a city builder that seeks to give players an organic playstyle. There’s no grid and buildings can be placed anywhere with full rotation. The game also boasts a realistic medieval fiefdom. Seasons will change, fields are plowed by oxen, sheep are herded on open pastures, etc. The buildings are based on (roughly) tenth to fifteenth century europe to allow players to fully immerse themselves in the fantasy. Manor Lords will also feature large scale strategic battles where weather, morale, and positioning all contribute to the final results.
- The Finals
The Finals is a free to play team shooter where players can alter, or even destroy, the environment for a chance at victory. Teams can choose to go in guns blazing or move stealthily to tear a building down under their enemies feet. There’s a variety of skills, weapons, and avatar customization options to help players stand out from the crowd. At the end of The Finals trailer it was revealed that an open beta would be starting on October 26th.
- Ark: Survival Ascended
Survival Ascended is a reimagining of Ark: Survival Evolved in Unreal Engine 5. It promises to bring dynamic features like all creatures creating waves and bubbles, seeing grass shift as an enemy stalks the player, redesigned UI, public multiplayer lobbies that can hold up to seventy people, crossplay/modding, two player local co-op, and a lot more. Players will be able to access all Ark content in Survival Ascended. The original island will be available at the start. Additional DLC worlds are going to be released over time for free.
- Alan Wake 2
The new trailer for Alan Wake II showed gameplay from Saga Anderson’s perspective. Where she faces off against a creature with the appearance of a human woman, at least down to its torso. Its bottom is a mirror image of its top half. This is a direct sequel and players will still be able to see just what became of Alan Wake after the events of the first game. Alan Wake II has a release date of October 27th, so it won’t be long before players can jump into the latest installment of Remedy’s horror thriller.
