The 16ish Best Trailers from the Xbox 2025 Summer Showcase (and a Splatoon announcement)
Keeper by Lee Petty and Double Fine Productions
I’ve found that during reveal season, it’s helpful to occasionally take a step back and gain perspective. It’s important to remember that even if you’re disappointed by a lineup, any one of these shows will produce more “good” games than the average player will be able to finish in a year. I’m guilty of feeling a bit let down by the absence of a few titles from this year’s Summer Microsoft showcase–but I still enjoyed myself.
Here are my first impressions of the best things I saw at Xbox (with a sassy side order of Splatoon news at the end).
The Outer Worlds 2
I haven’t played the first Outer Worlds–but I recently finished Avowed (review coming soon…maybe?) and while I don’t need more of this style of RPG right now, I could see picking it up in the future. It’s currently slated to be released on October 29th.
I appreciate that all aspects of this game world are seen as opportunities for storytelling instead of simply adding or subtracting a skill point from your stats. One of my favorites that was highlighted is that you can take bad knees as a character flaw (they’ll pop when you toggle out of crouch–thereby ruining your stealth). Another is you can choose to be a kleptomaniac where your character involuntarily “picks up” things that don’t belong to them–sometimes in front of their owners.
Regardless of how lukewarm I feel about Outer Worlds 2 overall (and its 80 dollar price tag–go play it on Game Pass), I am happy that the post-show deep dive focused on Obsidian. They seem like thoughtful developers and a group of good people who are carrying a workload that would crush most studios. They’re releasing three large projects this year alone.
Hang in there, guys. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel–though that might just be a troop of glowing mushrooms.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
I’m a big fan of the almost comically bleak Plague Tale series, and while I know they consistently sell well, I’m always surprised when they sell well enough to get a new entry. I’m not sure how Resonance with its minotaur and maze motifs will fit in with the larger narrative (frankly, I don’t care if it does), but I will be playing it as soon as I can.
ROG Xbox Handheld
I’m a little sad that we’re not getting some kind of truly unique device–like Microsoft’s version of a transparent toxic green Game Boy–but with the continued focus on everything being an Xbox (9 times out of 10 this just means you can play games on your phone), it’s exactly what I expected it to be. I currently don’t own any of the handheld PCs, but if I was in the market for one, I’d be tempted to grab this. I have a sickness where I want my first playthrough of Lost Odyssey or Blue Dragon to be on this thing. I couldn’t even tell you why I feel this way (I also can’t tell you if that level of backwards compatibility will be available at launch).
It is devious how much Silksong they showed in this reveal. They know what that game does to us.
Any guesses at how insane the price is going to be? 800 dollars?
The Blood of the Dawnwalker
Rebel Wolves is a studio that has some CD Projekt RED lineage (and you can totally tell in this trailer). In general, I’m thirsty for more vampire games, and it might just be my nostalgia goggles, but this made me really miss Legacy of Kain.
I’m curious how the movement (specifically scaling vertical walls) will translate in the open world.
Super Meat Boy 3D
I’ve been out of the Meat Boy ecosystem (the Meat Boy slaughterhouse?) since the first entry, but I love 3D platformers and will blindly try any and all of them. I hope it plays like a brutally difficult Super Mario 3D World (a focus on 3D corridors instead of wide open spaces), but I’m open-minded for whatever approach they decide to take.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - The Order of the Giants DLC
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was one of my favorite titles from last year. I’m surprised we’re getting DLC so soon–but I guess it makes sense because Machine Games can just drop Indy into a new adventure set in a new location.
This is set to release on September 4th. My limited hard drive space is already weeping at the thought of a reinstall.
Beast of Reincarnation
Seeing the Game Freak logo appear at the opening of this trailer was a legitimate holy shit moment (they make Pokemon–and Pocket Card Jockey). As for the game itself, the Princess Mononoke comparisons feel fitting.
It’s out next year.
Clockwork Revolution
As optimistic as I try to be about the industry as a whole, I’m beginning to think we’re never going to see Cloud Chamber’s BioShock (this feeling is sharper than usual because the time mechanic in Clockwork Revolution appears to function like something straight out of BioShock Infinite).
Ignore my rambling, none of these concerns apply to inXile’s next project. I love when a game goes the extra mile to transform basic gameplay and menus into a spectacle. The ornate character builder and weapon blueprints being forged into metal at the center of this trailer are especially glorious examples of that.
No release date–but I’m thrilled we finally got to see it again.
Grounded 2
I didn’t play the first Grounded–more out of a lack of co-op companions than a lack of interest. My inability to make friends won’t prevent me from giving this one a shot. The spiders are fuzzier (and even more terrifying) this time around.
Cronos: The New Dawn
The Silent Hill 2 remake is excellent. If this turns out to just be Bloober Team’s stab at the Dead Space formula (or, dare I dream, it be an audition for them to eventually work on a Dead Space 2 remake) that’s good enough for me.
Flesh hallways are having a big year.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4
I probably have 300 hours in Tony Hawk 3 and 0 hours in 4 (I need to fix this ASAP). The remakes of the first two are fantastic so you would think these entries would inevitably get the same treatment; but with the reports that Activision was moving more and more of their resources into Call of Duty, I was beginning to doubt that would actually happen.
Nora Vasconcellos is playable!
It releases on July 11th, will be available on Game Pass, and I’ll be preloading.
At Fate’s End
I once had a coworker who didn’t play games at all ask me about Spiritfarer. That’s the quality that Thunder Lotus puts into their productions.
At Fate’s End looks to be no different. This trailer is in-game footage! The character designs are wonderful, animation is stunning, and I’m curious how the tarot card mechanics function.
Persona 4 Revival
If this hadn’t been soft leaked, I would have flown out of my chair.
I wish this trailer had revealed more, but honestly, I’m just happy that it exists at all. With no release date, I could see this being an early 2027 game.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy XVI are finally coming to Xbox (FFXVI is actually available now). There isn’t much to say beyond that, but you should play both of these if you haven’t yet.
Keeper
I thought there might be a possibility that we would get a new Double Fine game in this showcase (Psychonauts 2 released in 2021), but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
Keeper tells the story of a spidery lighthouse and its bird friend as they go on a journey together. I’m not sure what any of that means from a narrative or gameplay perspective, yet–but I bet I’ll be sobbing by the time it’s over.
I’m going to shoot my shot. If anyone from Double Fine is reading this, I want to work for you. I have experience writing about lighthouses.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
I thought this was Perfect Dark.
A large portion of the internet forgot that Microsoft had dissolved Tango Gameworks and assumed this was Evil Within 3 (I wish, that would have been truly worthy of a “one more thing”).
I couldn’t remember if this year’s Call of Duty had already been announced, which should tell you my level of investment. I enjoyed Black Ops 6–it felt truly ambitious at times and I imagine I’ll play 7. Its appearance here just didn’t hit as hard for me, a person who burns through the campaign every year and then moves on, as it could have (especially as the last reveal of what is theoretically Xbox’s biggest show of 2025).
Splatoon Raiders
Nintendo appears to have put the final nail in the coffin of any possibility that we’re getting a Direct this week by randomly announcing a new Splatoon spinoff title. I have a deep love for Splatoon–but I’ll admit its single player content is consistently the weakest aspect of the franchise. Hopefully, this will be a step in the right direction.
This announcement also means I now have a hard date that I need to purchase a Switch 2 by.
Can we have another Splatfest now? Please?
I’m still planning on half a dozen more articles covering all the best stuff from the over 500 announcements that took place last week. With my current workflow (this translates to the way I’ve been rewatching most of these trailers) they’re all being put together simultaneously. Thank you for your continued support and being patient. I’m fortunate enough to be my own boss and have no harsh deadlines. I’ll release them as they’re ready.