Much like last year’s show, this year’s Future Games Show was absolutely jam-packed with all manner of reveals, trailers and updates on previously announced games. If you’ve missed this year’s showcase or simply just want a refresher on everything that was shown, our Future Games Show roundup has you covered.
Highwater
A post-apocalyptic, turn-based adventure, Highwater has players attempting to escape to safety as they meet new friends along the way all the while the omnipresent Highwater Pirate Radio provides witty commentary and a bop-worthy soundtrack to the proceedings. Highwater is set to release on PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series consoles this summer.
Resistor
Combining car racing and RPG elements, Resistor is a post-apocalyptic, cel-shaded extravaganza that will be released on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms in the near future.
Instinction
First-person, prehistoric dino-shooter Instinction not only got its first proper gameplay trailer at this year’s show, but also confirmation that playtest applications would soon be available on the Steam page for the game ahead of its 2025 PC release.
Star Trucker
An interstellar take on the truck sim genre, Star Trucker blends the obsessive detail of truck simulations with RPG elements to create something truly unique as you brave the cosmos in search of precious cargo, ship upgrades and the endless unknown. Star Trucker is set to release on PC sometime in 2024.
Lords of the Fallen
CI Games’ resurgent Soulslike Lords of the Fallen has looked better with each and every trailer and its showing at this year’s Future Games Show was no different. An opulent Unreal Engine 5 powered Soulslike odyssey that is overflowing with nightmarish locations and foes, Lords of the Fallen is confirmed to release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on October 13, 2023.
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale does largely what it says on the tin – it’s a battle royale game with rhythm gameplay elements where players take on the role of various thrash loving avians as they battle it out with friends across a range of ludicrous minigames. Headbangers: Rhythm Royale looks set to bring the mosh pit to PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms sometime this year.
The Last Faith
One of the true highlights of this year’s Future Games Show, The Last Faith transplants the grim beats of Bloodborne into a two-dimensional, Metroidvania style platformer. With its action embellished by a gorgeous pixel-art aesthetic and a deep combat system that is overflowing with mastery and sophistication, The Last Faith will release for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch platforms this October. Even better still, beta sign-ups are now available at the Steam page for The Last Faith.
Steel Seed
Unfolding in a world blighted by an eco-catastrophe in the far-flung future, Steel Seed is a stealth action adventure set to release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series platforms sometime in 2024.
Distant Bloom
Essentially a reverse apocalypse simulator, Distant Bloom has you and your fellow spacefaring crewmates travelling to what seems like a paradise planet, but upon landing, appears to be anything but. Using Plant Power(™) to help the planet recover, Distant Bloom is a wholesome, yet sophisticated nature management sim that looks set to delight when it touches down on PC soon.
Go Fight Fantastic
A beautifully realised hack and slash effort, Go Fight Fantastic is a cheerfully twee action spectacle that has up to three players laying the smack down on an invading horde of relentless aliens. Prior to the release of Go Fight Fantastic on PC later this year, eager brawlers can get their hands on a free demo on the official Steam page for the game.
En Garde!
Another highlight from this year’s Future Games Show, En Garde! Is a swashbuckling odyssey that has players strapping on their boots, feathered hat and rapier as they try to take down a tyrannical island regime. Generously awash in colourful visuals, humour and environment based combat, En Garde! will dance and strike its way to a PC release later this year. If you can’t wait until then, a neat free demo can be nabbed from the En Garde! Steam page.
Alaskan Road Truckers
Another example of a game doing exactly what it says on the tin, Alaskan Road Truckers whisks players off to the titular frigid tundras of Alaska as they transport cargo through some of the most treacherous terrain on Earth. Alaskan Road Truckers releases on PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms later this year.
The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales
A narrative adventure with a penchant for old-fashioned puzzles, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales puts players in the shoes of a former writer that can now leap into books to steal legendary items from their pages in order to restore his career to its former glory. The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales will release on PC, PlayStation and Xbox platforms on June 22. A free demo is also available on the Steam page for the game.
Deceit 2
An Unreal Engine 5 powered sequel to the 2017 FPS of the same name, Deceit 2 instead takes the approach of a social deduction horror title, tasking between 6-9 players which two of them have been infected by a deadly virus. Deceit 2 is slated to arrive on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series platforms sometime later in 2023. You can get the jump on your friends by getting stuck into the Deceit 2 beta over at Deceit.GG.
Life by You
Life by You is a sprawling life simulation that in many ways feels like a more advanced version of EA’s The Sims, not least thanks to its promise of near limitless modding which will allow players to minutely tailor every aspect of the game to their liking. Life by You will hit PC Early Access on September 13, 2023.
MADiSON VR
MADiSON VR brings the psychological terror of MADiSON into, you guessed it, the realms of Virtual Reality with a stealthy, thickly atmospheric yarn that has you snapping and developing photos from supernatural phenomena. MADiSON VR hits PSVR2 and Steam VR later this year.
Surviving Deponia
Daedalic Entertainment’s long-running point and click adventure series makes the leap to the survival genre with Surviving Deponia, tasking players to build settlements, ward off enemies and make new allies in a world that is quite literally filled with garbage. Surviving Deponia will enter into PC Early Access sometime later in 2023.
Homeseek
Envisioning a world ravaged by nuclear war where water is an extremely rare, almost mythical commodity, Homeseek is a post-apocalyptic strategy survival offering that will be released for PC on July 20, 2023.
Laika: Aged Through Blood
A self-described ‘Motorvania’, Lakia: Aged Through Blood has players tearing through a post-apocalyptic wasteland at speed, laying waste to vicious enemies, discovering secret treasures, unlocking new paths and taking down screen-filling bosses. Laika: Aged Through Blood roars onto PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms sometime in 2023. In the meantime, PC owners can get stuck into a Steam demo which will be arriving on June 19, 2023.
Space Gears
Space Gears is a base building RTS that whisks players off to a far-flung future where the colonisation of Mars is well underway by means of mechs, tanks and all manner of high-tech weaponry across a variety of PvP and PvE game modes. You’ll not only be able to take your arse(well, mechs) to Mars when Space Gears releases soon on PC, but playtests are available on the Space Gears Steam page in the interim.
Layers of Fear
With Bloober Team’s Unreal Engine 5 powered reimagination of its Layers of Fear games due out on June 15, it’s certainly timely that an all-new cinematic trailer was dropped for it at this year’s Future Game Show. Boasting enough jump scares and creeping horror to settle even the most ardent of horror fans, Layers of Fear terrifies its way onto PC, Mac, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on June 15, 2023.
Enchanted Portals
Developed by just two people and displaying a certain visual similarity to the much beloved Cuphead, Enchanted Portals is a side-scrolling, bullet hell adventure platformer that has two fledgling mages venturing into various worlds that each have their own art style in order to retrieve a magic book. Filled with comedy and not to mention rock hard bullet hell shenanigans, Enchanted Portals looks set to cast a spell on PC this year with console versions to follow.
Shattered Heaven
If dark fantasy, deckbuilding RPGs generously stuffed with procedural dungeons and enemies are your thing then you’ll be pleased to know that not only does Shattered Heaven tick that box with aplomb, but it’s also available right now on PC. Shadowdrops are lovely aren’t they?
Moving Out 2
The Overcooked! of home removal games returns with Moving Out 2 and in doing so brings all new environments, characters and accessibility options to its wacky, physics based goings on. Grab a friend (or two) because Moving Out 2 is looking to shift some serious furniture when it releases on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch platforms in the near future.
Warhaven
Warhaven is NEXON’s free-to-play 16 vs 16 fantasy battler where players can choose and specialise in a number of different classes as they wage war against their foes. Warhaven is set to release on PC later in 2023.
SteamWorld Build
The SteamWorld franchise continues its many tentacled spread across genres with a take on the city builder genre in SteamWorld Build. Tasked with not only constructing a place for the various robotic folks to live, you’ll also be digging up long lost relics and forgotten technology – I mean, it is a SteamWorld game after all. SteamWorld Build will release on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch platforms before the end of 2023.
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle
A third-person survival horror effort with more than a knowing nod to the genre effort of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle looks to bring more horror and monster blasting thrills when it shoots its way onto PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms on August 30, 2023.
New Cycle
Unfolding after a terrible solar flare has wrecked the ecology of Earth, New Cycle is a city builder that has players rebuilding civilization however they can with a combination of old, pre-flare technology and new advances in construction that can be researched throughout the game. New Cycle will release at some point soon on PC, but prior to that a free demo of the game can be nabbed from its Steam page.
Ruffy and the Riverside
Ruffy and the Riverside is a retro platforming throwback in the best sense. Intertwining charm-stuffed sprite work with vibrant three-dimensional worlds, Ruffy and the Riverside is a retina-stroking ode to the platformers of yesteryear and it’ll release on PC and Nintendo Switch later this year with other consoles to follow.
Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson
A turn-based, musical RPG with a pixel-art aesthetic, Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson has players commanding powerful instruments as they attempt to force back creatures of musical nightmare. Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson strums its way to PC sometime in 2024.
Paleo Pines
If some bright spark decided to combine Jurassic Park with Stardew Valley they would get Paleo Pines. Requiring players to fulfil that most sacred of duties – creating and maintaining a dinosaur sanctuary, Paleo Pines will chomp its way to PC on September 26, 2023.
Hammerwatch 2
Crackshell’s Hammerwatch sequel promises a much broader scope than either its immediate prequel or the Heroes of Hammerwatch spin-off. A top-down hack and slasher with roguelike elements, Hammerwatch 2 not only brings a larger, more open world for wannabe adventurers to explore and cut across, but also a range of much more sophisticated quests to take on as well. Hammerwatch 2 lands on PC soon with console releases to follow. A PC demo will be available for download on June 19, 2023.
Station to Station
A city builder with a difference (and not just sharing the title of a funky David Bowie song), Station to Station is all about connecting up remote cities and towns through the magic of locomotives and the railways that they move upon. Station to Station will get a PC release later in 2023 and a demo can be downloaded right now.
REKA
In REKA, players take on the well-worn boots of a witch who must venture across a fantastical land brewing potions, summoning creatures and helping (or hindering) the local denizens depending on your inclination. REKA will attempt to spellbind PC gamers sometime in 2024.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
Depicting a world where ancient Greek Gods live among us, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical sets players off on a mystical, role-playing odyssey of non-linear narrative adventure and of course, foot-tapping music. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical will release on PC, PlayStation Xbox and Nintendo Switch platforms on August 3, 2023.
Reveil
Stalking in the footsteps of games such as What Remains of Edith Finch, Reveil is a first-person, narrative driven psychological thriller that has players exploring the grim secrets of a sinister playground circus. Reveil will creep its way to PC sometime later in 2023.
Pacific Drive
Ironwood Studios’ eye-opening, road trip survival horror effort got another showing at the Future Games Show, this time showcasing the survival elements of the game as players repair their car, secure resources and attempt to escape unspeakable horrors. Pacific Drive will turn right onto PC and PS5 platforms later in 2023.
Cookie Cutter
A visually stunning Metroidvania, Cookie Cutter brings the rage and chainsaws in impressive measure as players take control of Cherry, a vengeful android with a mortal soul, who must venture across a dark sci-fi hellscape to rescue her creator and lover. Hyperviolent and with oodles of style to spare, Cookie Cutter looks like it will be anything but when it hits PC later in 2023.
The Precinct
Taking us all back to the Decade of Greed in the 1980s, The Precinct puts players into the shoes and badge of Nick Cordell, a rookie cop who must navigate the criminal underworld in a sandbox adventure like no other. The Precinct is set to release on PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms on a date to be announced.
Luto
Luto is a first-person horror adventure in which players take control of someone who simply cannot leave their own house, thanks in no small part to a malevolent supernatural presence that is stopping them from doing so. Luto will bring its spine-tingling beats to PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms at some point in the near future.
The Spirit of the Samurai
Easily one of the most impressive offerings in the whole Future Games Show presentation, The Spirit of the Samurai is a stop-motion, side-scrolling action adventure where players take control of a resurrected samurai to take on a wealth of evil Oni and other dark creatures from the deepest recesses of Japanese mythology. The Spirit of the Samurai is set to carve a path onto PC sometime in 2024.
Unreal Engine 5 Showcase
Featuring a look at the use of cutting edge visual technology in upcoming titles, the Unreal Engine 5 showcase was an eye-opening look at how developers and creators are leveraging the latest iteration of Epic’s industry leading game engine.
The Best of the Rest – The Ones to Watch Sizzle Reel
Despite the Future Games Show clocking in at well over two hours, there were still a number of games that weren’t able to have their own time to shine during the show. Luckily, the following games were able to nab a spot in the Future Games Show ‘Ones to Watch’ sizzle reel:
- Cross Blitz
- Deathground
- Odinfall
- Punch Club 2
- Unrecord
- Venture to the Vile
