To kick off Summer Game Fest, the ringleader of the successor to E3, Geoff Keighley, showcased a set of game trailers for games we’ve heard of and others debuting for the first time.
While Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have trended toward their own showcases, with E3 gone, Summer Game Fest has become the big mid-year multi-platform release show. And this year, we saw a huge selection of games big and small in the two-hour showcase.
From huge and rumored games like Civilization VII and Black Myth: Wukong to the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow to a Lego take on the Horizon adventure games and a beautiful new game from the makers of Gris, the trailers we saw were interesting but not everything we saw in the two-hour showcase. Here’s the top five we liked:
Watch this: Top 5 Trailers From Summer Game Fest 2024
For folks wanting more, below are the biggest trailers we saw at the showcase — some of which were teases, others showed gameplay, and nearly every one revealed something we hadn’t seen before.
Civilization VII
The next great civilization-building game, Civilization VII, got a vibes trailer Coming to PC and consoles in 2025. While we didn’t get any gameplay in this trailer or any hint at what’s new in the latest of the storied game franchise, Sid Meier himself said in a Zoomed-in video that we’ll get a full reveal of the gameplay later this summer.
Lego Horizon Adventures
The latest Lego recreation of a popular story is Lego Horizon Adventures, adapting the world of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West with Lego’s cute and lighthearted aesthetic (as well as with online and couch co-op). The game comes out on PS5, Switch and PC during the Holiday 2024 season.
Alan Wake II DLC
Alan Wake II was one of the best games of 2023, and studio Remedy promised DLC was coming — then surprise dropped the first of two promised expansions at Summer Game Fest, available on June 8. Night Springs, as it’s called, will have three chapters to play, each starring a member of the so-called Remedyverse of games: sheriff Shawn Breaker introduced in Alan Wake II, superfan and waitress Rose introduced in the original Alan Wake and Federal Bureau of Control director Jesse Faden who debuted in Control
Alan Wake II’s Night Springs DLC is included in the Expansion Pass of the Deluxe Edition of the game, or standard edition owners can pay $20 to upgrade to the Deluxe edition, according to IGN.
Black Myth Wukong
While the trailer didn’t give us too much, it’s yet another presentation of vibes for a game we won’t have to wait much longer to see: the game is out on August 20, 2024 for PS5 and PC.
Metaphor ReFantazio
We got another trailer of Metaphor ReFantazio, from the makers of the Persona games. This trailer focused on a feature that’s at the core of the game, archetypes — like personas, they embody human emotions like fear and anxiety, gaining experience and becoming more powerful. The game is now available for preorder and coming out on October 11 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Batman Arkham Shadow
The next Batman game, Batman Arkham Shadow, got a trailer teasing the tone and enemies — including hte mysterious Rat King — of the new VR game, which is out for Meta Quest 3 in Fall 2024.
Harry Potter Quidditch Champions
On the heels of the wildly successful Hogwarts Legacy, another game in the Harry Potter world is coming soon, this time centered around the broom-based game of quidditch. It will launch Sept 3 for PS5, Xbox One X/S, PC and Switch.
The First Descendent
Seen at the State of Play last week, The First Descendent is a looter shooter which will be coming out soon on July 2 for PS5, Xbox One X/S and PC. The trailer has guns, grenades, acrobatics and cool scenes, though little of what looks like direct gameplay.
Star Wars Outlaws
The latest trailer for Star Wars Outlaws shows more gameplay and story content for the game, Ubisoft’s heist-focused game full of scoundrels and smugglers, which is due out on August 30, 2024.
Slitterhead
The gross and terrifying reveal of Slitterhead makes more sense when you know it’s coming from the creator of Silent Hill. The game is due out on November 8, 2024.
Dune: Awakening
We haven’t heard much about Dune: Awakening, a game set in the world of Frank Herbert’s science fiction classic that dominated the silver screen with Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptations. While we didn’t get any gameplay, the trailer for Dune: Awakening teases the focus of the game — Paul, heir of house Atreides, using his Kwisatz Haderach powers of foresight to examine what might have been.
No More Room In Hell 2
No More Room In Hell 2 looks like a gameplay heir to multiplayer co-op zombie shooters like Left 4 Dead. The trailer showed survivors fighting their way through hordes of enemies and falling gruesomely. The game has a big map, 8-player co-op, and permadeath. The game will be available in early access this Halloween.
Neva
From the creators of the visually stunning platformer Gris comes Neva, a gorgeous pastoral adventure starring a girl and her wolf. It looks to have similar gameplay to Gris — 2D side-scrolling with gorgeous foreground and background visuals. Neva will come out later in 2024.
