Geoff Keighley’s showcase, featuring a Bugsnax theme performance and world premieres with Muppet star Miss Piggy.
Kicking off the Summer Game Fest ten minutes early was singer-songwriter Johnathan Eng, who graced the ears of streamers with an unplugged suite from rhythm combat game Sayonara Wild Hearts. Acoustic sounds filled the pop-driven soundtrack heard in game to start the Summer Game Fest world premieres with a somber Monday morning vibe. Fellow Muppet Scooter welcomed streamers from home, teasing a hostile takeover by the iconic puppets. Eng, who co-wrote the tracks and album, provided his own vocals in a unique set.
The Summer Game Fest July Showcase also started with a deeper reveal of Gl1tch from Rogue Company, who was teased in Nintendo’s earlier Direct Mini showcase. In a banter with Keighley, he introduced a longer CG trailer which featured different weapons players could use in the game. Shotguns, pistols and akimbo SMGs make the game’s firefights fair game against other players in 4V4 and 2v2 modes (at launch). Of course, the weapons are also essential for players to complete various objectives with across a sprawling cityscape.
Rogue Company is also surprise launching today, with footage for the Nintendo Switch showing off 60fps action and crossplay across all consoles.
Overcooked is also making its way onto next generation consoles with a 4K remaster, bringing the original game and Overcooked 2 in a special bundle. The games are also getting online multiplayer, with players being able to join any game in frantic co-op kitchen action. Overcooked: All You Can Eat is coming to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, and includes brand new levels and chefs exclusive to next gen.
Originally released in 2016, the Overcooked series adds a fun spin to chaotic kitchen workplaces. Players have to work with up to four players to create various dishes under a time crunch. But each order requires specific steps, requiring chefs to practice their memory skills and multitasking as long as they can before going in the weeds.
Miss Piggy showed up on Summer Game Fest and promoted Muppets Now, a brand new series streaming on Disney+ on July 31, 2020. She also shared her experience as a gamer, including having dinner with Hideo Kojima and collecting over a hundred gamer trophies on PlayStation. She also promoted Girls Make Games to encourage young women to enter game development careers worldwide.
SMITE received a brand new CG trailer, featuring Tsukuyomi as a new playable character wielding two large elbow blades and aura-type abilities.
Kero Kero Bonito appeared on Summer Game Fest to sing the full theme for It’s Bugsnax, adding to the mystery of Young Horses’ upcoming next gen adventure game. The surprisingly catchy theme was covered by fans early after its PS5 reveal, while Kero Kero Bonito shared the rest of the vocals and lyrics that players would constantly be hearing over their playthrough. Of course, everyone’s talkin’ about Bugsnax.
Indie developers were profiled in Day of the Devs, letting viewers meet unseen teams behind some upcoming games across a slew of trailers. First-person slasher game Ghostrunner was given a story update, revealing players become a combat cyborg who navigates a mysterious tower in a post-apocalyptic world. He also meets Whisper, an AI concierge who takes players into the CyberWorld, a training hub designed as a Japanese dojo.
The Summer Game Fest update also showed the titular Ghostrunner with full voice acting and in-game dialogue with other characters. Its one-hit kill combat was also emphasized, and encourages players to keep moving to avoid dying instantly. Players also have to engage in platforming sequences while dodging lasers and other environmental hazards.
Leap Game Studios made a Summer Game Fest appearance and discussed Tunche, a cartoon art-animated 2D brawler inspired by Devil May Cry on enemy design and melee combat. It also features two player coop, letting friends take on progressively tough bosses together. Tunche also features different characters to experiment play styles with against unique bosses. A demo was surprised launched on Steam after its reveal.
Girls Make Games presented their summer camp and workshop programs, teaching young girls between eight-to-18 years old to create video games. Groups who successfully develop a game also have a chance to see it on Kickstarter. This includes Find Me, an upcoming 2D platformer with light-based mechanics. Players become a shadow who navigates a dark city while avoiding lights.
Shredded Secrets is a drawing-animated 2D platformer inspired by middle school experiences. Themes of bullying, social exclusivity and young love are explored while players connect with four characters. Players also have to dodge insults hurled by bullies while it’s developed by three Girls Make Games alumni.
Strange Scaffold showcased their zany first-person puzzle game Airport for Aliens on Summer Game Fest, featuring a variety of puzzles that have to be located by deciphering coves. Players also interact with generic dog photos, who are very much sentient and run the mysterious airport.
Unto the End, a 2D Viking hack-and-slash by 2 Ton Studios was shown off with bloody melee combat against monsters inspired by Nordic legend. The game features no HUD and players have to depend on environmental cues and an inventory system to survive.
A world premiere was shown for Mundaun, a first-person horror game six years in development. Inspired by vintage horror films, it features an Inkwell-noire aesthetic which was also hand-drawn in pencil by developers.
Medieval 2D dueling game GriefHelm shows off an intricate melee combat system, with players using high, middle and low attacks to slay enemy knights. It also features four-player couch coop for its campaign and free-for-all deathmatches. Along the story, players can also upgrade their knight with new armour and weapons for progression. GriefHelm is set to arrive on August 2020.
Revealed over an earlier Nintendo Direct, cross-section puzzle game I Am Dead was given a story and gameplay update on Summer Game Fest. Players become a dead museum curator with an ability to see through any object. This is used to find hints that can save a colourfully-animated island from disappearing. Objects including desks, purses and full apartments can be revealed in x-ray fashion.
Like Resident Evil and L.A. Noire, players also have to rotate the objects to uncover clues from different angles. Characters, ranging from anthropomorphic birds and fruits are just as unique as their living spaces. I Am Dead tells its story with subtle world-building, letting players learn about other dead characters through grieving NPCs.
Figment: Creed Valley by Bed Time Digital Games is an isometric platformer which is populated with mind-bending puzzles. Under a dreamscape, players have to solve first-world problems from strange NPCs, all fully-voice acted to bring light humor and heart into a unique fantasy world. Boss battles are also full-on musical numbers, with players needing rhythm-based timing to fight them. No release date was announced after its reveal.
Iam8bit returned to co-host the Summer Game Fest and introduced a 3D adventure game called Alba, teased as a large adventure game. Nearga Studios introduced VoidTrain, an interactive first-person adventure inspired by vintage toy model trains. Players also have to float through different void spaces to solve puzzles and shoot their way through soldiers and supernatural enemies. Different worlds let players loot for treasures and new weapons to use, while larger enemies can hunt players if they’re not careful. VoidTrain is slated for a Fall 2020 release.
Mechinus by Huey Games is a 2D puzzle platformer set in a clockwork-like world. All of its inhabitants are gears which move on rails at all times. As an adorable mustached-cog, players have to find ways to keep moving while interacting with unique creatures made from mechanical parts. No release was given for Mechinus.
Maskmaker was introduced by InnerspaceVR as their latest adventure game. Like A Fisherman’s Tale, the game is a thought-provoking adventure set in an empty world. The game features different worlds players can enter by wearing a mask, sharing similar world-building mechanics like Virtual Virtual Reality. It’s set for a Spring 2021 release.
Afterburner Studios came on the Summer Game Fest to reveal Dreamscaper, a 3D isometric action adventure game set in a medieval fantasy world. Players have to fight through a handful of levels in order to escape a nightmarish realm filled with unique bosses.
Acclaimed 2D melee platformer Blasphemous is getting a True Torment mode, featuring New Game+ and a special Penitence system to give your character perks. The DLC also adds new bosses and story content to expand its grim world. A new NPC can enhance players’ penitences to even the odds in battles. The Stir of Dawn DLC is coming soon as a free update for Blasphemous across all systems.
Summer Game Fest’s Day of the Devs ended with a live performance by Japanese recording artist Baiyon, featuring lo-fi sounds (made with ice in a tin cup). It gradually blossomed into electronic beats inspired by Pixel Junk Eden 2.
