From exciting new IPs to the return of two Capcom fan-favourites, there was a lot to love from this year’s SGF
The dust is finally settling on an exceptionally busy suite of June gaming events.
As usual, we had Summer Game Fest, the annual LA show and E3 replacement put on by Markham, Ontario’s Geoff Keighley, and its accompanying media-only Play Days event featuring exclusive gameplay demos and developer interviews. On top of that, big companies like PlayStation and Xbox, as well as smaller indie-focused initiatives like Day of the Devs, held their own showcases. (That’s to say nothing of the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 in between all of this.)
During this time, I was fortunate to head to LA and check out dozens of games across SGF Play Days, the Xbox Games Showcase and other events. For the sake of simplicity and consistency, I’m going to lump all of these events under the “SGF” umbrella. I’ll also note that a few games that others have been buzzing about that I probably would have really liked — including Mixtape and Grave Seasons — were sadly fully booked, so I never ended up trying them.
While it was overall a bit quieter compared to last year, this also meant that smaller games got more attention — many of which made this list. (Note: I’ll be including games that I both got to play and those that were featured in showcases, provided we saw actual gameplay. CG trailers don’t count.)
Now, let’s get into it!
Polygon described the debut game from Toronto’s Soft Rains as “PowerWash Simulator meets Metroid,” and honestly, that’s an apt descriptor. As deep-space disaster specialist Dalia, your job is to investigate a crumbling space colony and lay the people to rest in special rituals. Along the way, the game, which hails from veterans of the likes of Bethesda, Ubisoft and Riot, will challenge you to use a high-tech elemental sprayer, zero-G and tethers to clear a path through all kinds of different alien fungus, resulting in some inventive gameplay opportunities. Throw in a uniquely emotional “death positive” story, and we could have a real winner here.
For more on Ambrosia Sky, check out our full hands-on preview that includes insight from some of the Soft Rains team.
One of my favourite indie games ever is Spiritfarer, another Canadian title that tackles the concept of death in a novel way. Now, that same team at Montreal-based developer Thunder Lotus is back with its next game, and it looks absolutely incredible. In At Fate’s End, you play as a young heiress that must fight her estranged siblings in a deadly ritual of succession. But unlike your traditional Game of Thrones-style conflict, Thunder Lotus is infusing the poignant character writing of Spiritfarer with real-time Tarot-inspired combat to make something truly unique and personal. It looks to be a brilliant method of storytelling through gameplay mechanics, and given the resounding success of Spiritfarer, I’m confident this will hit just as hard — or even harder.
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC (plus Xbox Game Pass)
Release date: TBA
At first glance, developer InXile’s Clockwork Revolution looks like a polished enough Victorian steampunk riff on the sort of atmospheric dystopian setting and stunning art deco aesthetic made popular in games by BioShock. But after an admittedly long stretch of exposition, the latest trailer for this original Xbox game really plays its hand: a series of really cool time-based powers. Besides promising a choice-based narrative involving time travel, Clockwork Revolution features all sorts of inventive time-bending combat abilities, including rewinding to retrieve bullets you just fired, slowing down incoming hazards or even undoing environmental destruction you caused with a throwable gadget to create cover for yourself. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out in the final game.
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Release date: Early 2026
Outerloop Games’ Thirsty Suitors is one of my favourite indie games of the past several years thanks to the way South Asian culture was effortlessly interwoven into the staples of RPG-inspired turn-based combat and developable character relationships. The team’s next game, Dosa Divas, looks to retain much of that charm and novel representation while adding its own flavour.
For one, the story centres around two characters this time, sisters Amani and Samara, whose passion for lovingly home-cooked meals is threatened by a corporation that’s dominating the world with heavily processed slop. (It’s easy to see how this can double for a commentary on art in general.)
But combat is also more interesting this time around, thanks to a party-based system that incorporates an “ancient spirit-mech,” flavour profile weaknesses like “Savoury” and “Spicy,” and Mario RPG-esque timed button inputs and Bravely Default-style turn-stacking to increase power. Dosa Divas looks like a real mouthwatering dish all around.
This might be cheating slightly since it’s not a “video game,” per se, but Magic: The Gathering nonetheless had a major presence at SGF Play Days to promote its massive crossover with Final Fantasy. In some respects, I was the perfect person to try this out; while I’ve never played Magic, Final Fantasy is my all-time favourite series, so my interest was piqued. And after a one-hour demo session, I came out absolutely in love with the trading card game (TCG).
Right off the bat, I found the game a lot less difficult to pick up than I was expecting, reminding me, in some ways, of all my years playing Yu-Gi-Oh! But ultimately, it was how lovingly Wizards of the Coast brought to life so many iconic FF characters, monsters and locations that won me over. Building up my Mana by using Islands and Lands based on the likes of FFX’s tropical Besaid and FFIX’s economically polarized Treno, using the Instant “Sephiroth’s Intervention” card (which, rather coldly, recreates his infamous murder of Aerith) and then playing the Legendary Creature “Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir” to wreak havoc made for one addictive loop. I can’t wait to (try to) get my hands on more of the sets.
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release date: TBA 2026
Even as someone without any prior connection to Capcom’s nearly 25-year-old action-adventure series, Onimusha: Way of the Sword absolutely blew me away. The game stars a fictionalized version of famed warrior and artist Miyamoto Musashi (modelled here after Seven Samurai legend Toshiro Mifune) who must wield the mysterious Oni Gauntlet to repel a malevolent underworld force known as Genma.
While I didn’t see much of the story, I marvelled at the tight and stylish combat, which gives a genuine — and all-too-rare — weight to swords, especially when you parry a strike and the blades lock and grind for a bit as sparks fly up and down. There’s also an almost boxer-like fluidity in the way Musashi bobs and weaves to avoid slashes and even swiftly lifts environmental objects like tables for cover before powerfully kicking them forward to hit enemies. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been more excited to learn the way of the sword in a game.
Capcom shocked everyone by ending the Summer Game Fest live showcase with the grand reveal of the ninth mainline Resident Evil game, and then surprised us further by showing the first-ever gameplay demo at Play Days. Right off the bat, I was in awe at how well Requiem builds upon the tension of the recent first-person Resident Evil games, especially through a more vulnerable than ever protagonist, Grace Ashcroft. The promise of perhaps the most frightening Mr. X-esque pursuer to date, as well as a return to fan-favourite series staples like Raccoon City and even the inclusion of an optional third-person perspective, all suggest that Requiem could bring Resident Evil to all-time highs.
In a nice full-circle moment, SGF revealed that Montreal’s Tribute Games, the TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge developer, which was made up of alums from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, is making a successor to that acclaimed beat ’em up.
Set in a futuristic Toronto, the game follows Scott and Ramona as they fight against three rival gangs controlled by shadowy forces. It’s always lovely to see such a quintessentially Canadian game, and having the involvement of Canuck Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley (who recently worked on the brilliant Netflix anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) and Tribute promises only more utterly inventive storytelling and thrilling side-scrolling action.
This might just be one of the most clever and original multiplayer games I’ve ever seen. Drawing from the “immersive sim” experience of Deus Ex creator Warren Spector, OtherSide Entertainment’s Thick as Thieves is a competitive stealth game set in a rich Scotland-inspired 1910s metropolis. In a match, you and two other players from different thieves’ guilds are tasked with stealing loot from a well-guarded facility.
To do that, you’ll have to use all kinds of archetype-specific abilities, like a grappling gun, glamour that can conceal you as an NPC, or a fairy you can send to pickpocket keys from guards. As you do this, actual NPCs will be patrolling the areas, each of which is filled with randomized elements like differently placed windows, clues and lock combos. All of this promises to create incredibly emergent kinds of gameplay scenarios between players and NPCs, and I’m eager to see more.
What were your favourite games that you saw during Summer Game Fest? Let us know in the comments.
