New games, new team-ups, and new gameplay
They did it. They invoked theSummer Game Festhashtag. But it’s Annapurna Interactive, a publisher on a real hot streak that doesn’t seem like it’ll fizzle out anytime soon, so we can let it slide. And come to think of it, last year might’ve been an endless tide of publisher-led showcases that didn’t always justify themselves, but 2021 hasn’t really been tiring on that front. Post-E3, I kind of forgot Summer Game Fest was a thing.
Today’s stream is the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, and I feel confident that it’ll be worth showing up for based on the company’s track record and its current slate of upcoming titles —Stray,Solar Ash,Neon White, and Fullbright’sOpen Roads, to name a few that have clicked with me. Not that critical reception is everything, but it is worth reminding that AI was the second-best game publisher of 2020,per Metacritic.
The stream starts atnoon Pacific, and you can follow along live onYouTubeandTwitch.
Eric and I are hoping for some locked-and-loaded release dates for a few of those known quantities. On Twitter, Annapurna Interactivesaid to expect“gameplay reveals, new game announcements, and a few more surprises.” Post-show, theTwitch Gamingchannel will have “exclusive bonuses, like interviews with a few of the devs featured.”
The teaser trailer for this showcase had a bit ofOuter Wilds, so that’ll be swell. You see that? Iamcapable of calling Mobius Digital’s time-loop adventure by its correct name.
Loved the pacing and tone of this showcase.
