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The Future Games Show aired earlier today, offering an exclusive look at some of the most exciting titles on the horizon, with new trailers, gameplay demos, and interviews with developers. The best part is that you can watch the entire event from start to finish on GamesRadar's YouTube page if you weren't able to tune in live, so there's still the opportunity to make an evening of it yet.
For those who simply want a need-to-know breakdown of every major reveal, announcement, and trailer from the event, however, this Future Games Show round-up is at your service. Below, you'll find a full, easily digestible summary of the major highlights shown during the online extravaganza, alongside videos for all the trailers and gameplay demos that accompanied each title. Check it out, and let us know in the comments which upcoming games of 2020 and beyond have you most excited.
Kena: The Bridge of Spirits
Fresh from the PS5 Future of Gaming showcase, we got a chance to catch up with Kena: The Bridge of Spirits developers Mike and Josh Grier, to talk about what to expect from their utterly charming adventure. If, like us, you feel in love with the Pixar-esque animation and Kubo and The Two Strings art style, we highly recommend checking out the full interview above.
Dustborn
You may know Red Thread Games best as the creators of Dreamfall Chapters and Draugen, but its next project, Dustborn, is inarguably its most ambitious yet. Set in an future dystopian America, this third person adventure is all about the power of language and, more specifically, the harm caused by misinformation in the post-truth era. You play as Pax, a young pregnant woman stuck on the fringes of society who sets out on a road trip across the country in the hope of finding better opportunities for herself and her new family. As you travel, your crew of friends and companions will grow, as will your vocabulary of new words, which can be deployed in a unique gameplay system through both conversation and combat. It's an intriguing setup for Dustborn, and one that already has us itching to play from the short teaser trailer revealed at The Future Game Show.
Serial Cleaners
If you've played the original Serial Cleaner, a deviously entertaining stealth-action game in which you role-play as a professional evidence scrubber, then you'll understand why we should be excited for this newly announced sequel from developer Draw Distanced. Announced at the Future Games Show with a teaser trailer, Serial Cleaners will not just be making the jump from its 1970's setting into a Tarantino-inspired recreation of the 1990's, but from two-dimensions to three, and will be launching on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2021. If you're a fan of a) Metal Gear Solid and b) antibacterial spray, then Serial Cleaners will no doubt be up your crime-ridden alley.
Quantum Error
One of the first known titles to be announced for PS5, Quantum Error's debut at the Future Games Show gave us a better look at its horror-filled world, characters, and gameplay. Say hello to the Monad Quantum Research Facility, which you'll be exploring as fireman Jacob Thomas after the eerie science lab suspiciously catches alight.
Suffice to say, not is all as it seems, and Jacob will be forced to deal with more than just a few flames during his adventures through Teamkill Media's survival horror gauntlet. The studio has already teased how the technology afforded by the PS5 endows Quantum Error with a scarily realistic physics engine, where "99.9%" of in-game objects will be physically simulated. Here's hoping the game lives up to its promise when it launches later this year.
Skater XL
It's fair to say that skateboarding games have officially made their comeback in the last few years, and Skater XL is one of the best of the bunch out there right now. Easy Day Studios' action sports sim is already out on PC, but heading to console later this Summer, and the Future Games Show was able to unveil a new trailer to celebrate the upcoming launch. The sizzle reel gives us a better look at one of Skater XL's levels, Easy Day High School, which enrols you back into education in the best way possible, trading homework for half pipes in an environment filled with opportunities to show off your skateboarding skill. Just don't let any of your old teachers catch you in the act.
Ghostrunner
Ever since it was first announced last year, Ghostrunner has caught people's attention. It's super fast, first-person gameplay set in a neon-soaked cyberpunk universe is certainly eye-catching from a distance, but there's so much more going on under the surface of One More Level Games' debut title. The new gameplay trailer featured at the Future Games Show offers a better look at Ghostrunner's unique combat system, which can only be described as a lightning fast chess game where you're the Queen and everyone else is a paltry pawn.
With its focus on free-running, sword slicing action, and trial-by-error level design, Ghostrunner channels the same kind of carnographic kinaesthetics that made the likes of Dishonored, Titanfall, and Mirror's Edge so entertaining, and we can't wait to play it once the game releases later this year.
Morbid
Punks are all the rage in games right now; cyberpunk, steampunk, Frostpunk, cloudpunk brainpunk, and now - with the announcement of Merge Games' new RPG Morbid, horrorpunk. Announced at the Future Games Show, this gothic adventure is all about slaying monsters, levelling up, and avoiding the onset of insanity as you descend further into its dark, depraved urban setting. Your sanity meter in Morbid will need to be monitored at all times, even while you tinker with your character through the game's deep customisation and upgrade systems, all backed up by a deep well of lore bubbling in the background of Merge Games' impressive looking universe. You'll be able to enter its trials sometime later this year, when Morbid launches on PC and console.
Future Games Show: Indie montage round-up
The Almost Gone
Release Date: June 25
On: Switch, PC
The Almost Gone is a mind boggling, fastidious designed narrative puzzle game from developer Happy Volcano, releasing in just a few weeks time on Nintendo Switch and PC. Don't mistake the relaxing vibe of its trailer for an easy breezy brain train, however. There's darkness hiding beneath every miniature set piece. Check out The Almost Gone Steam page right here.
Anno: Mutationem
Release Date: TBC
On: TBC
Not to be confused with Ubisoft's city sim series, Anno: Mutationem is a cyberpunk action game from Chinese developer Thinking Stars. Its presence at the Future Games Show provided more than enough reason to get on board with its unique marriage of 2D and 3D visuals, coupled with a combat system that refuses to pull any punches. Get more updates from the Anno: Mutationem twitter account.
Stagehands!
Release Date: TBC
On: PC
This bouncy co-op platformer by suchagamestudio puts the focus on working with your mates to help build stages for the Merry Go Round theatre. File this one under "so cute, it practically hurts" and discover more about it here.
Unbound: Worlds Apart
Release Date: TBC
On: PC
Metroidvania meets Portal in this beautiful little 2D side scroller from Alien Pixel Studios. Solve puzzles, battle mysterious foes, and explore a painterly fantasy realm as a side-scrolling mage, who can conjure gateways to alternate universes as though it were a simple party trick. Can't wait to play? There's a free demo on Steam which you can play right now. Well, maybe get to the end of this round up first.
Wave Break
Release Date: TBC
On: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
If Skater XL is too lacking in H2O for your tastes, Wave Break has you covered. Funktronic Labs' off-beat "skateboating" game takes all the gratifying mechanics of the action sports genre it's inspired by, and drops it into a quirky rendition of 1980's Miami, complete with kooky characters, arcade gameplay, and an earwormy synthwave soundtrack.
Inkulinati
Release Date: 2021
On: PC
You'll have never played nor seen anything quite like Inkulinati. Yaza Games' turn-based strategy is inspired by the unique art style of medieval marginalia, and centred entirely around anthropomorphic animals beating the crap out of each other. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer above.
Alaloth - Champions of the Four Kingdoms
Release Date: 2020
On: PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Alaloth will immediately appeal to fans of Baldur's Gate and Pillars of Eternity, especially when they hear that RPG writing veteran Chris Avellone is working with Gamera Interactive to bring its old school-style adventure to life.
DogGone
Release Date: TBC
On: TBC
You can't pet the Dog in DogGone, but that's an understandable trade-off given that you're playing as them in Raconteur Games' story-driven odyssey, in which a determined pup is trying to find his way home. Inspired by the likes of Limbo and Journey, this is a narrative adventure not to be missed.
Cloudpunk
Release Date: Out Now
On: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC
If you haven't yet played Cloudpunk, the good news is that Ion Lands brilliant little sci-fi delivery service sim is now available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch following its original PC release. Need convincing? Just check out its trailer from the Future Game Show above.
Smite
Release Date: Out Now
On: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC
With old tentacle chops itself Cthulhu turning up in Smite on Tuesday, this glimpse of the update will be sure to get you hopping back into Hi-Rez's magnificent MOBA. Just try not to stare at it for too long...
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Release Date: 2020
On: PS4 and PC
Imagine if the battle royale genre had a fling with Takeshi's Castle by way of the Teletubbies, and you've just pictured Fall Guys. Mediatonic's bright and bubbly multiplayer party game is all about racing to the finish line against dozens of other players, and it looks like utter carnage in the best way possible.
Carrion
Release Date: 2020
On: PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Survival horror is fun and all, but it's hard to feel a tad jealous of the people who get to hunt down and kill you for sport. Carrion bucks that trend, letting players lose in the power fantasy of stalking and brutally murdering hapless humans as a tendrily, eldritch being of monstrous origin.
Windjammers 2
Release Date: 2020
On: Switch, Stadia, PC
The much anticipated sequel to the 1994 cult classic, Windjammers 2 is scheduled to launch later this year for PC, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia. It's a made up sports game that, frankly, deserves a spot at the Olympic Games, blending ice hockey with ultimate frisbee for a surprisingly tactical multiplayer experience.
Hammerting
Release Date: 2020
On: PC
Not to be confused with any old vertical dwarven mining colony sim, Hammerting describes itself as the vertical dwarven mining colony sim, one that threatens to steal entire evenings from you when it launches later this year. Expect plenty of crafting, mining, and hearty dwarven banter.
