4 Microsoft Titles We Really Should Have More Information On By Now

Below

Below is a fascinating looking indie game that seems a bit like a combination between Dark Souls and a roguelike. You explore a randomly generated environment as you travel deeper below a mountain, and of course, if you die it’s permanent. Sadly, it’s been four years since Below’s announcement, but we still hardly know any more about it now than we did back then.

Years have gone by with only a few short trailers to tell us about the game, and no kind of release date of even a release window. The last piece of info we received on Below was last Summer, when Capybara Games announced they’d be indefinitely delaying the game, which was supposed to release Summer 2016. Now, fast forward to this E3 and we still don’t have any more information after Microsoft’s press conference.

At this point, it seems like we may never find out more about Below. Of course we will, but there’s been such a slow drip of information and delay after delay, making Below feel like a far-off dream.

Ashen

Ashen is yet another indie game we know very little about, even after seeing a brand new trailer at this year’s E3. After being officially announced in 2015, we’ve found out very little about Ashen outside of the few gameplay trailers we’ve seen. This year’s trailer at the Microsoft conference gave us our biggest look yet, with a blend of survival, combat, and exploration.

We know that these elements all combine into what Ashen is, but we still don’t really know what the overall goal or objective of the game is. On top of that, we know that things like survival and exploration will be important, but don’t know what the bulk of the game will be like. Ashen certainly looks gorgeous in every instance we see it, but it’d be nice to see a little more about the game. Besides seeing a few short trailers, Microsoft should show us a bit of extended gameplay to really give us an idea of what the game is all about.

State of Decay 2

State of Decay 2 is clearly going to be one of Microsoft’s marquee titles moving forward, but it’s surprising how little we know about the game at this point. The newest trailer from Microsoft’s E3 2017 conference gives us our best look yet, but it’s still surprisingly sparse.

We’ve seen bits and pieces of gameplay in various trailers, and learned a few details from interviews. Things like different characters all have different personalities and skillsets, and all characters in your settlement can permanently die. There’s also a big emphasis on building an encampment and using the area to keep your group safe. At this point, however, we don’t really know how State of Decay 2 will differentiate itself from the first game. Considering the game was originally supposed to launch in 2017, we’ve gotten very little information on this Xbox exclusive. Now that it’s been delayed until 2018 there’s certainly more time, but Microsoft will definitely need to give us some more info soon.

Crackdown 3

Considering Crackdown 3 is Microsoft’s big title for the last part of the year, we really don’t have enough information on it. Everything we’ve learned about Crackdown 3 has been fairly ambiguous as well, from the story setup and differences in multiplayer to the cloud computing destruction, which we still don’t know how it’s supposed to work.

The game was announced all the way back at E3 2014, where fans were treated to a short announcement trailer. Crackdown 2 didn’t quite live up to people’s expectations, so there was quite a bit of hype surrounding the third game. Unfortunately, we’d all have to wait years to hear anything more on Crackdown 3, even to the point that some worried the game may be canceled after Scalebound’s sudden cancellation. This E3 showed us that isn’t the case, but only gave us one short gameplay trailer, that looked a little chaotic.

There’s still so much we don’t know about Crackdown 3 honestly – story, key gameplay elements, how destruction works, how multiplayer works, and much more. It’s clear that Microsoft wants the game to be the big title launching alongside the Xbox One X, but still hasn’t given us enough information to warrant excitement. They’re going to need to really amp up their info and coverage on Crackdown 3 if they want it to influence Xbox fans to jump onboard with the new system.