8 Summer Game Fest Titles To Watch

Stand out highlights from indie developers

This year of cancelled events and spike in online communication has led to a brand new type of mid-year all-out games bonanza. In the absence of E3, Geoff Keighly (building on his industry experience of running the Video Game Awards show) has stepped up to gather together almost all the top industry professionals in a new online showcase: Summer Game Fest. With this new format, there’s been way more space for smaller titles to breathe, including these 8 following titles which I think will be worth keeping an eye on.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

• Ember Lab / Ember Lab

• PC / PS4 / PS5

• Holiday 2020

‘Sibling power duo’ studios are very in right now, and it’s excellent to see the fresh perspectives they can bring. This new action-adventure title from new studio Ember Lab has strong ‘Kubo and the 2 Strings’ vibes while channelling the spirit of ‘Pikmin’ + Miyazaki soot sprites for their own little creatures dubbed ‘Rot’. From the release video, it seems like there’s something nefarious taking hold of the forest environment Kena is from, and only through puzzle-solving, platforming, corralling Rot creatures, and tight combat will she be able to bring balance. Gorgeous green environments, creepy organic creature designs, and lots of natural forms weave their way into the visual style. Despite the small scale of the studio and scope of this project, Kena looks set to take full advantage of new console hardware with loads of ray tracing and particle effects that bring this lush Jungle to life. There seems to be a lot at stake in this story for Kena and her home and hopefully, more will be revealed by a Holiday 2020 release.

Röki

• Polygon Treehouse / United Label

• Switch, PC

• July, 2020

A surprise showing during the Guerrilla Collective, this new title is from Polygon Treehouse (comprised of two ex-creative directors from Guerrilla games). Inspired by Scandinavian folklore, Röki is a contemporary fairytale filled with mythical creatures and down to earth interactions. The trailer highlighted an emphasis on atmosphere, scale, and a contemplative pace. Some of the most intriguing elements look to be the distinctive collectable mechanics, favour-based mission trees, and RPG puzzle mechanics. There’s a grand mystery playing out in the snowy hills of this tale and it looks like the humanity of these creatures will be what brings peace. Thankfully, it’s not too long now until gamers can know more with a short wait to its July release.

Cardaclysm: Shards of the Four

• Elder Games / Headup

• PC (for now?)

• Summer 2020

Card collecting rogue-lites have been all the rage recently, and it looks like they’ll be saturating the market for many years to come. Fortunately, ‘Cardaclysm’ (from one-man studio Elder Games) looks to be a refreshing take on the genre. A procedurally generated world with missions and free range of movement feels like something that’s been strictly lacking from other standout titles like ‘Slay the Spire’ and ‘Pirates: Outlaws’. Players overcome strategic encounters to obtain monster and spell cards to implement in following battles. There also looks to be strong RPG elements of cards collecting, upgrading, and mission rewards. The key to any great rogue-lite is risk/reward loss with a balance of steady mounting progress. Time will tell if this developer can pull it off, but the wait is short with a summer 2020 release.

NUTS: An Adventure in Squirrel Surveillance

• Joon, Pol, Mutsch, Char & Torfi /Noodlecake

• PC

• 2021

The squirrels are up to something, and only with close observation in a colourfully, over-saturated wood will the player figure it out. From the trailer, there looks to be all manner of equipment ready to be carefully set up, and catching glimpses of squirrel subjects might be easier than it seems as they’re decked out in vibrant colour pallets. It’s hard not to see the clear inspirations from ‘Firewatch’ or even more puzzle-oriented exploration games like ‘The Witness’, but those parallels do little to diminish the charm and style this passion project has in spades.

System Shock 2020

• Nightdive Studios / Nightdive Studios

• PC / PS4 / Xbox One

• 2020

A cyber-punk action RPG with old-school styling and the benefit of modern sensibilities. This great refreshed take on this underappreciated gem from 1994 aims to make a classic approachable for new players and fans alike. A Kickstarter success story (with over $1.3 million raised), this is the brainchild of Nightdive Studios in coordination with the original dev team, Looking Glass Studios, as well as a handful of other industry professionals from similarly themed larger projects. The atmosphere they’ve created is a unique one of neon-lit corridors and technology infused into every surface; feeling simultaneously arcadey and foreboding. There’s some malicious force at play here, where the only way to get the bottom of what’s going on looks to be through hacking and violence. Definitely look forward to more from this title before the year’s end.

Bugsnax

• Young Horses / Young Horses

• PC / PS4 / PS5

• Holiday 2020

Absurd, surreal, and fun are all calling cards of Young Horses’ games, and those qualities look to be on full display here. If it’s anything like their previous game ‘Octodad’, half the challenge will come from attempting the bare minimum of character locomotion. In what was shown off, insectoid sentient food (denoted by the requisite big googly eyes) wanders a colourful island, sticking to other organic matter and grafting traits together in surprising ways. Don’t be fooled by the cheery music and care-free tone though, something more sinister is lurking somewhere in uncharted parts of the island.

Stray

• BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna

• PC / PS4 / PS5

• 2021

Players can finally live out their dreams of being a cute cat in a world without humans. Originally revealed as ‘HK Project’, there has finally been another look at this techno-future title along with a rename. As a courier cat in a future inhabited by slums and robots just trying to survive, you seem to be tasked with making deliveries and solving the odd mystery as they come up. The movement and traversal as a cat looks to be the most inventive aspect of this concept though since every surface or tiny pipe could be a new route to explore. It will be a little while until release so hopefully, BlueTwelve Studio will reveal a little bit more about their vision before then.

Little Devil Inside

• Neostream Interactive / ???

• PC / PS4 / PS5 / Xbox One / Switch

• TBA

Probably the most talked-about game of those shown off this summer, this title has had a surprisingly long shelf life. Back in 2015, on Neostream’s funding campaign for this game, they hinted towards a 2016 release. Although they’ve missed that mark by about 4 years (and counting) this extra time appears to have only empowered their vision. A lone adventurer slashes his way through vast, mysterious landscapes, and a polished cartoon art-styled tonally smashes together with the mundane activities and detailed schedule of an elderly man. Only time will tell how these two vastly different concepts mesh together but if these short looks are anything to go by, the result should be something fresh and spectacular.

Not you Godfall