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Xbox hosted its Developer Direct showcase today, detailing progress on three games we knew about and one totally new title, Ninja Gaiden 4. If you couldn't tune in, here's what you missed: Ninja Gaiden 4 Ninja Gaiden 4 is being co-developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, best known for the Bayonetta series. The trailer introduces a new protagonist, Yakumo, and Team Ninja is pitching the game as a "true successor" to Ninja Gaiden 3 after the misstep of the Ninja Gaiden Z spinoff. It certainly seems like the exact middle ground between classic Ninja Gaiden and PlatinumGames action. It's coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox this fall, and will be on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Read more: Ninja Gaiden 4 is coming out this fall South of Midnight Following Ninja Gaiden was South of Midnight, the next game from Compulsion Games, which previous made We Happy Few. South of Midnight has been in the works for a long time, and the studio has been good at communicating progress, especially in recent months. All of which is to say, there wasn't a lot of new info here, aside from a release date: April 8, 2025. (Just to keep the streak going yes, this will be available on Game Pass on day one.) Read more: The striking South of Midnight comes to Xbox and PC on April 8 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been on our radar for some time, and it's still looking great. It's the debut title from Sandfall Interactive, a French studio. Drawing inspiration from France in its late 19th-century golden age, Clair Obscur is a fantasy adventure that seems to pull heavily from the world of JRPGs even the music at the start of Sandfall's segment sounded like the Velvet Room from the Persona series. Again, the big news was a release date April 24. It'll be arriving on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles, and will be playable on Game Pass on day one. Doom: The Dark Ages While we knew it was coming, id Software's Doom: The Dark Ages deep dive certainly stole the show for Engadget. It's billed as the biggest Doom game ever, but its also more focused than any other installment in the franchise other than the original Doom, perhaps. The Dark Ages is a tanky romp through a medieval, cosmic Hell, starring an incredibly beefy Slayer and featuring three basic inputs: shield saw, melee and gun. Doom: The Dark Ages is due out on May 15 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, including Game Pass. Read more: Doom: The Dark Ages hits PC, PS5 and Xbox on May 15 And that was that a pretty great start to 2025 for Xbox, though the eagle-eyed among you may have realized that all bar South of Midnight are coming to Sony's PlayStation as well as Microsoft's consoles and PC. You can relive the full showcase below: Or... if you don't have time for that, Microsoft for some reason put together a 72-second recap: This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/everything-announced-at-the-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-190406197.html?src=rss
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South of Midnight, Compulsion Games' upcoming Southern Gothic/dark fantasy adventure, got some time in the spotlight during Xbox's Developer Direct event on Thursday. The studio revealed that the game is coming to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Cloud Gaming and PC on April 8. As ever, Game Pass Ultimate, Console and PC subscribers will get access on day one. Those who snap up the premium edition can jump in five days early. This deep dive into South of Midnight focused on the world, combat and story, which sees a hurricane tear through the part of the Deep South where main character Hazel and her mother live. The two get into an argument that ends in disaster, as their home is swept away with Hazel's mom still inside. As she sets out to find her mother, Hazel finds that the hurricane has brought some fantasy creatures, both friendly and otherwise, to her corner of the world. Our hero learns that she is a weaver, someone who possesses magical abilities. A gold star for anyone who guessed that these can be used for traversal and in combat. Timing is said to be a critical component of battles, so you'd best be sure that your reactions are on point. Speaking of time, Compulsion Games says that South of Midnight should take most players between 10 and 12 hours to finish.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/the-striking-south-of-midnight-comes-to-xbox-and-pc-on-april-8-185157726.html?src=rss
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Doom: The Dark Ages is set to come out on May 15 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Its a single-player sandbox experience with an emphasis on exploration, bloodshed and upgrading skill trees, introducing massive mech battles and a ridable cyber dragon that spits fire on command. Doom: The Dark Ages is the largest Doom game id Software has ever made, but to be perfectly clear and possibly assuage some fears, its not open-world. In fact, the directive for developers was to edit down everything controls, levels, menus, upgrade paths in order to emulate the reactive rush that made the original Doom games so addictive. According to executive producer Marty Stratton and game director Hugo Martin, Doom: The Dark Ages is a refined and thoughtful return to the series classic loop, set in the medieval wastelands of Hell and starring a super tanky Doom Slayer. id Software In The Dark Ages, the Slayer has three basic inputs: shield saw, melee and gun. The shield saw is a critical tool, allowing players to parry and block incoming attacks, and also acting as a boomerang-style projectile that can embed itself into enemies to rip through their demonic flesh. Parrying is a massive factor in the new game, and its also one of many aspects that players can customize in the difficulty settings. Youll be able to change the size of the parry window, adjust the actual game speed and fine-tune a dozen other factors to make each run feel just right. The Slayer has a choice of three melee weapons and he carries just one at a time. Theres an iron flame, an electrified gauntlet and a spiked mace, and each one can be upgraded as you make your way through Hell. The final main input is the trigger, which controls all of the gruesome guns. Theres a wondrous array of weapon-based brutality on display in The Dark Ages, including the Skullcrusher, a gun that eats the bones of murdered enemies and uses the shards as ammo. Certain levels will support skyscraper-sized Atlan battles and allow the Slayer to ride on the back of a cybernetic dragon, spraying flames on the gathered demons. These abilities wont be available at will, and are instead contained to specific regions of the map. There are also swimming levels which, speaking as someone with a phobia of deep water, is possibly the scariest thing in the new game. id Software The Slayer in Doom: The Dark Ages is beefy. Hes thick, heavy and armor-plated, and as he hunts demons through the medieval wastelands of Hell, hes going to feel different than the Slayers in 2016s Doom and its 2020 follow-up, Doom: Eternal. In terms of development mottos, Doom was run and gun, Eternal was jump and shoot, and The Dark Ages is, stand and fight. Strafing and twitchy teleportation-like abilities are still on the menu, but the emphasis this time around is on holding your ground and strategizing while shooting. What people didn't like in 2016 was that it was too repetitive, Martin said in a media Q&A before Thursdays Xbox Developer Direct, where id showed off new bits of the game. And in Eternal, some people said it was too hard. I actually think it's too complex. I think that the complexity of the control scheme led to unnecessary difficulties. You really want to be fighting the demons, the bad guys, not your controls. Martin and Stratton emphasized the importance of streamlining the core loop in The Dark Ages, while also building the largest, most adventure-feeling Doom game that id has ever made. There are skill trees, currency and more secrets to find than ever before, but theres not a lot of filler everything has a purpose and there are no unnecessary frills in the actual mechanics of combat, resource-collecting and upgrade paths. id Software There is a lot of exploration in this game, and it's for power, Stratton said. That's one of the things that is really important. You're finding resources and other things that allow you to improve yourself, upgrade your guns, upgrade your shield, your melee. So it isn't just the secrets, just the toys, that kind of thing. It really is an exploration for power. Martin added, I want to feel strong. It's got to be a good amount of speed and exploration and power, but I'm okay with you changing what that power fantasy is, especially if the change you make brings it back closer to classic Doom. I'm super down for that. The points of inspiration for Doom: The Dark Ages include Batman: Year One, Frank Millers The Dark Knight, and the film 300, specifically that iconic tracking shot of Leonidas slamming and stabbing his way through hordes of Persian warriors at the Hot Gates. Miller's The Dark Knight was a particularly poignant source for Martin. He drew an older, more powerful, thicker Batman, he said. And I just love that comic so much. And I always thought it would be so interesting to just, instead of a Ferrari, you'd be more of a monster truck. And that's what were working on, we've been talking about that for years and years. Doom: The Dark Ages is due out on May 15 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, including Game Pass.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/doom-the-dark-ages-hits-pc-ps5-and-xbox-on-may-15-190015221.html?src=rss
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