This past week's Summer Game Fest ran a hefty runtime, and as admittedly bizarre as the presentation's structure was, there were some noteworthy video game reveals and announcements. The show mostly provided updates on previously announced titles, with some exclusive reveals occasionally thrown into the mix.
Fans on Reddit were equally confused about the decisions made, but plenty of them nonetheless expressed enthusiasm about the various games that caught their eye. Major highlights came from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and the remake of The Last of Us: Part I, but there was also a distinct JRPG touch present as well.
The Callisto Protocol Gameplay Trailer
While the likes of the upcoming Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space remakes are the highest-profile survival-horror games coming within the next year, The Callisto Protocol looks like another exciting horror game with increasing promise. Developed by newcomers Striking Distance Studio -- and directed by the original Dead Space's Glen Schofield -- The Callisto Protocol is a sci-fi horror game that puts players in the shoes of an inmate on a space prison colony attempting to escape an alien invasion.
Summer Game Fest released a new gameplay trailer for it, with Redditors like Kayjin23 expressing their optimism for this new IP, saying "This looks excellent. Exactly what I wanted from it. Dead Space (especially 2) has some really, really good gameplay and decision making with staggering and delimbing and this looks like no exception."
The Last Of Us Part I Remake Reveal & Release Date
The original The Last of Us was not only one of the best games of the PlayStation 3 console generation, but it's also one of the best games on the PS4 thanks to the remastered version. Some fans are reasonably wondering why a game that still holds up as well as it does today -- through its remaster -- needs a top-to-bottom remake in the first place, but it'll no doubt be a massive pull come September 2022.
Redditor RevolutionaryLeave77 commented that "A sign of a faithful remake is that it looks just like you remember it. My first impression was that it looks the same, but then I remembered what TLOU1 graphics actually looked like, and... yeah there's a big leap from PS3 to PS5." The original version was a gaming milestone for its acclaimed mix of action-adventure/survival-horror with cinematic storytelling, so refining the gameplay should be all that's left to polish.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II Gameplay
After its trailer and October 28th, 2022 release date announcement, Summer Game Fest revealed gameplay for the "Dark Water" mission of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's story campaign. As the name suggests, this sequel will be a remake/reboot of the original Modern Warfare games released during the PS3 and Xbox 360 console generations.
The mission showed the return of fan-favorite character Soap, and Redditor Nate5162 was pleased with the bit of story shown, saying "I like that this mission is a hybrid of Crew Expendable and The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday from COD4 and MW2. It makes sense to combine classic missions into one whilst having brand new missions." The Call of Duty franchise has been getting staler in recent years, so fans will be hoping that Modern Warfare II succeeds in being a stunning throwback with modernized gunplay.
One Piece Odyssey Gameplay Trailer
Licensed anime games tend to have (somewhat deservedly) gotten a stigma of mostly being half-hearted cash grabs defined by cut-and-paste arena fighting games, but Bandai Namco and developers ILCA are both looking to change that with One Piece Odyssey. This game is going to be a full-on JRPG complete with turn-based combat set to the backdrop of an original story.
Even non-franchise fans like Redditor CrawdadMcCray are feeling drawn to the game, saying "I have no experience with One Piece but this is giving me Dragon Quest XI vibes, which is extremely intriguing for me." With the beautiful Dragon Quest-like aesthetic, JRPG subgenre, and with One Piece being generally accepted as one of the best shounen anime/manga ever, Odyssey seems like a match made in heaven. Looks can be deceiving and fans have felt burned before, but the trailers shown so far have been promising.
Street Fighter 6 Gameplay Trailer & Character Reveal
The Street Fighter series has given fans some of the greatest fighting games of all time, and Capcom's premier genre franchise had its 6th mainline entry formally revealed at the recent PlayStation State of Play. Summer Game Fest gave fans a new gameplay trailer, as well as a reveal for returning fan-favorite character Guile.
Redditor Agnes-Varda1992 was extremely impressed, exclaiming that "He looks so f****** good. What else can I say? The character design here is immaculate compared to V." Street Fighter 6's art direction aims to blend a dash of realism with graffiti-style art, which, on top of open-world/hub elements of the game, combine for a visually vibrant experience.
Soul Hackers 2 Gameplay & Release Date
While Atlus has primarily become known for its Persona franchise, the publisher/developer is set to revive another spin-off series in the form of Soul Hackers 2. This sci-fi-themed JRPG takes place in the 21st century during a war between two factions of humans known as Devil Summoners, with two supernatural beings descending upon the human world to help avoid their doom.
Soul Hackers 2 didn't get a massive new look, but it did receive a brief new trailer touching upon its story's premise. Redditor KF-Sigurd was pleased with the subgenre's upcoming offerings, listing "June, Three Hopes. July, Xenoblade Chronicles 3. August, Soul Hackers 2. That's a great lineup of JRPGs for the summer." There are plenty of modern JRPG greats worth playing today, and Soul Hackers 2 is poised to contribute to the ongoing JRPG renaissance this August.
Cuphead DLC Gameplay
Studio MDHR's Cuphead made itself an instant darling of the indie gaming scene and beyond when it initially launched in 2017. Fans have since been anxiously waiting for its DLC expansion, aptly named The Delicious Last Course. It's been an agonizing wait for fans, but it looks to finally be ready at the end of this month.
Redditor SchtickleOfFluoride8 was thrilled over the new gameplay, exclaiming "Hell. F******. Yes. This way the best news of the show for me. I've been waiting forever for this. I hope it's longer than just a few bosses." Cuphead's charming '20s-era cartoon motif, fast-paced run-and-gun gameplay, and compelling challenge made the game a hit, and The Delicious Last Course will look to expand upon that with a new playable character, levels, and boss fights.
The Last Of Us Standalone Multiplayer Game
Though it seems to have been moving along slowly in development considering how quiet Naughty Dog has been on the game, The Last of Us is set to get a standalone multiplayer spinoff. It was formally revealed at Summer Game Fest, but only in the capacity of concept art.
The game could be a ways off, but given the acclaim the series and the studio have built, many fans are excited by the prospect nonetheless. Redditor TehRainbowKiwi was very optimistic about the game and said "Very excited that this game will tell a complete story and a brand new one. I have no doubt this will be exceptional and top quality like everything naughty dog releases."