A short walk from GDC 2024 proper at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, tucked away inside a quiet parlor, ID@Xbox had set up an array of Xbox dev kits, gaming PCs, and TVs. I was invited to this secluded event, but I was far from the only person there — dozens of people from Xbox, media outlets, various publishers, and more were all eager to experience the games Xbox had to show off, and there were some gems here. There were 10 in total, of which I could personally play four.
For the other six, I at least made sure I had time to watch other event attendees play to get a feel for the games. ID@Xbox has long been one of my favorite parts of the Xbox ecosystem, and the team there is continuing to help developers bring more incredible games to consoles and PCs. From day one Xbox Game Pass additions to debut titles from brand-new developers, there was a lot worth getting excited about. Some of these games may even become some of the best Xbox games on the platform.
I also got a behind-the-scenes look at ID@Xbox, indie game development, and what the future may hold — but you may have to wait a little longer to hear my thoughts. For now, let's focus on the games I played at GDC.
ID@Xbox at GDC — Dungeons of Hinterberg
• Genre: Action-adventure / life sim
• Developer: Microbird
• Publisher: Curve Games
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC
• Xbox Game Pass? Yes!
• Release date: Fall 2024
Windows Central isn't new to the Dungeons of Hinterberg hype. We've had our eyes on this unique debut title from nine-person studio Microbird since it was first revealed during Xbox Games Showcase 2023 as one of many games confirmed for Xbox Game Pass. My colleague Samuel Tolbert even got an opportunity to preview Dungeons of Hinterberg shortly after that event and came away with very positive impressions of the very early, in-progress game.
The version of Dungeons of Hinterberg I could play was clearly much further along in development, with a noticeable increase in polish and refinement. I got to play the game for around 25 minutes before I was pulled away for an interview, and I watched other people play it while chatting with the team behind it. My thoughts? This is one of my most anticipated games of the year now, and I'll be eagerly awaiting its arrival on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass at some point in 2024.
On the one hand, Dungeons of Hinterberg is an approachable, third-person action RPG with varied abilities, gear, and powers to hack and slash through a myriad of shadowy enemies. Exploring those danger-fraught dungeons also means exploring extremely diverse, often surreal environments, solving plenty of surprisingly creative puzzles, and dashing through the world on your zippy hoverboard. All the typical action RPG features are here, like currencies, loot, and more. However, actual progression in both your abilities and the story comes from the other half of the game.
That involves exploring a town where you can sell your goodies, pick up new loot, and spend time with people all over. The inhabitants of this town are characters you gradually draw closer to, and the advancement of your relationships leads to new story beats, character upgrades, and deeper dives into what makes everyone tick. It's a unique contrast to the more traditional action-adventure gameplay, combining two traditionally distinct genres in a strangely compelling fashion. I honestly loved what I played, with every element feeling fantastic in its own way. According to the team members I spoke with, it'll also be a relatively meaty game, with 25-30 hours of content.
Dungeons of Hinterberg has already attracted a lot of attention, especially for an indie game from a brand-new studio. It's incredible to see, and I have high hopes for this unique, gorgeously cel-shaded game.
ID@Xbox at GDC — Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island
• Genre: Narrative-adventure
• Developer: Polygon Treehouse
• Publisher: Whitethorn Games
• Platforms: Xbox, Windows PC, PlayStation, Switch
• Xbox Game Pass? No
• Release date: Summer 2024
I had heard of Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, but my interest before playing it was nothing more than passing. However, now I can say I'm greatly looking forward to playing the entire game later this year, as it seems like the perfect, casual break between hard and heavy games. It's short, relaxing, beautiful, and intriguing enough that I didn't want my demo time to end (sadly, it had to). It's strictly a narrative-adventure game with no action to speak of, but it still raises the stakes in other ways.
In the game, you play as Alex, who has been shipwrecked on a mysterious island with no signs of her fellow crewmates or a way back home. Upon exploring, she discovers the island is home to a vast assortment of ruins, and a mysterious statue begins speaking to her at the center. Soon, you learn that Alex has been stranded on Ambrosia Island, and from there, the mysteries begin to unravel and expand. You'll explore, slowly uncovering new secrets, revealing new puzzles, and meeting new people, who you soon discover to be familiar figures.
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is a delightful retelling of the classic Greek myths we all know and love. It puts you face to face with reimagined gods suffering under a mysterious illness or curse that strips them of their memories and identities. They need your help more than you need theirs, as you're the only one who can bring balance back to the island. The number of hidden features I spied but could not fully explore in my short time with the game made me impatient to experience the completed project, but I can wait.
Made by a small three-team studio (with help from other creatives) and published by Whitethorn Games, a long-standing Xbox partner, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is coming to Xbox and Windows PC in addition to other consoles. Sadly, it's not confirmed for Xbox Game Pass like other Whitethorn games, but that's okay. The game will likely be around the 10-hour mark, making it the perfect getaway from time-consuming RPGs, Metroidvanias, sports and racing games, shooters, and everything else desperate for your attention. I, for one, rejoice in those sweet gaming breaks, and this game tastes like the ambrosia of gods in that sense.
Put this one on your map if you love approachable, effortlessly fun adventure games with light puzzles and plenty of hidden secrets.
ID@Xbox at GDC — Go-Go Town!
• Genre: Tycoon city builder
• Developer: Prideful Sloth
• Publisher: Prideful Sloth / CULT Games
• Platforms: Xbox, Windows PC, PlayStation, Switch
• Xbox Game Pass? No
• Release date: 2024
I'll be frank: I did not gravitate toward Go-Go Town! in any way at first. Nothing about it was compelling to me personally; as a gamer who tends to prefer games with definitive ends, I can strive toward; however, that changed once I played it alongside Prideful Sloth co-founder Cheryl Vance. Not only was Cheryl a delight, but the game itself immediately sold itself as an immensely fun co-op experience to play with friends.
Go-Go Town! fully embraces chaos; it's a tycoon city builder, meaning it strips back the seriousness and high stakes of city builders like Cities: Skylines in favor of a more relaxed, easygoing gameplay experience. It doesn't sacrifice too much depth, however. There's still so much you can do in Go-Go Town! to create a bustling, economically thriving city full of industry, tourism, and all the whacky hijinks Prideful Sloth included to make the game as wonderfully goofy and carefree as possible.
The game starts slow as you establish different industries like mining, forestry, and fishing but expands as you hire new people and unlock new technologies and buildings that allow you to automate everything from your local businesses to your exports and imports. Tourism also plays a huge role as well, bringing in valuable money and another form of currency that you can use to progress through the surprisingly long and diverse tech tree.
All the features I expect of a tycoon city builder are here, layered with all the silliness that can make a game genuinely incredible with friends. Anything your tourists can do, you can do, including riding around in vehicles, engaging with all the amusement buildings, and more. Customize your character to look like basically anything (my character was radioactive pink with a neon green handlebar mustache and a shark hat), high-five cows, proudly display a dead fish for the tourists to worship, and more. All of it is playable in local co-op with up to three of your friends.
Go-Go Town! comes to Xbox, Windows PC, and other console platforms later this year, and I'm excited to play it with my partner and daughter.
ID@Xbox at GDC — Sonzai
• Genre: Metroidvania
• Developer: Two Odd Diodes
• Publisher: Top Hat Studios
• Platforms: Xbox, Windows PC, PlayStation, Switch
• Xbox Game Pass? No
• Release date: Unannounced
The Metroidvania genre of video games is currently enjoying a healthy revival with excellent arrivals like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Cookie Cutter. Sonzai is shaping up to be another addition to the space but with different focuses and specialties. While most Metroidvanias tend to balance combat and platforming challenges, Sonzai is a 2D, action-brawler platformer focused on its deep, intricate combat systems.
It's a gorgeous game, with each scene and animation hand-drawn in a Japanese style, and the world intrigues and entices with its supernatural entities threatening the peaceful civilians you're sworn to protect. The writing is pretty lighthearted and natural (at least what I experienced), belying the extravagantly high skill ceiling of Sonzai's combat. A combination of throws, ground attacks, aerial attacks, dashing, and abilities combine with stacking combos and accrued bonuses, various weapons and gear options, and even optional modifiers.
Fifteen minutes was long enough to grasp the combat to the point where I could take on a handful of enemies at a time, but it was evident that I had barely scratched the surface. With upwards of 80 hours of content, according to the team behind Sonzai, there's plenty of time and opportunity for players to polish their skills, taking on increasingly tricky combat arenas. You're scored on each engagement, providing a synopsis of your proficiency in different categories, encouraging you to aim higher as you explore this massive, detailed, and gorgeous world.
Frankly, Sonzai probably isn't a game I will aim to finish myself, but it's also not made for me. It's made for those who love investing significant time in a game to master it, like with Soulslike titles such as Elden Ring, Lies of P, and so many more. I've played enough challenging Metroidvanias, though, to recognize that Sonzai has the potential to be something really special, as long as its late-game additions to the combat system are balanced and intuitive. In the typical Metroidvania style, you'll slowly accrue new abilities you can use to unlock new areas, and those abilities will undoubtedly mix up the combat, too.
Sonzai will eventually land on Xbox, Windows PC, and other consoles. I was told 2024 is the ideal release window, but nothing is set in stone yet.
Six games I didn't have time to play
Despite being at the ID@Xbox event for over 3 hours, I scarcely had time to check out all the games I wanted to. There were six in total that I couldn't sit down and play myself, but I made a point of at least watching other attendees play the games I was interested in. Here's a quick rundown of what else I saw.
- Luna Abyss. I was very much interested in playing Luna Abyss, but I never found a chance because everyone wanted to play Luna Abyss. This gothic sci-fi, story-driven, first-person bullet hell shooter with fast-paced combat and platforming. If that's not enough to sell you on it immediately, I don't know what will. Luna Abyss looks like a ton of fun with a satisfying level of combat, and its visual fidelity is impressive. Hopefully, it'll be available for Xbox, Windows PC, and PlayStation soon.
- Echo Weaver. Another game I desperately wish I had played, Echo Weaver, plays like an abnormally fast-paced Metroidvania (this time focused on platforming rather than combat) in an intriguing, secret-filled world stuck in a time loop. It's up to you to polish your skills, navigate this world, solve many puzzles, and hopefully unravel the mystery that has frozen this dilapidated town in time. It looks like an incredibly interesting 2D platformer, and it's coming to Windows PCs and consoles, which should include Xbox.
- inKonbini: One Shop, Many Stories. My experience with inKonbini was watching Regina Reisinger, co-founder of Microbird and art director for Dungeons of Hinterberg, play during my time with ID@Xbox. At first glance, this game seems like a "convenience store simulator" centered around Japanese culture, but you soon realize its potential for powerful, emotional storytelling. It caught my attention and aims for a 2025 release on multiple platforms, including Xbox.
- Shadow of the Ninja Reborn. My gaming journey began with the original Xbox, so Shadow of the Ninja Reborn didn't have the impact on me that it does on others. That's because it's a 33-year-old NES game lovingly remade by its original team, bringing the classic 2D side-scrolling action platformer to modern platforms with all-new visuals and enhanced gameplay. It's releasing on Xbox, Windows PC, PlayStation, and Switch in 2024.
- The Sinking City 2. With Frogwares now firmly in command of its Lovecraftian horror IP, The Sinking City 2 is in full development with a brand-new, standalone narrative more focused on its survival-horror elements than with the previous entry. Players will be able to experience it without having played the first game in the franchise, and I have to admit the title, built in Unreal Engine 5, looks incredible. The Sinking City 2 arrives on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5 sometime in 2025.
- Sopa. I sadly did not see much of this game during the ID@Xbox event, which is a shame because it seems right up my alley. It's an emotional narrative adventure with a gorgeous art style inspired by some of the most heart-wrenching and beautiful animated movies, following the story of Miho as he searches a magical world for ingredients and realizes that time is passing too quickly on the way. It is coming to Xbox and Windows PC in Q3 of 2024 and landing on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
It's a diverse assortment of games, and the only similarities between them are that each is bound for Xbox and Windows PC and is being developed with help from the passionate folks at ID@Xbox. I wish I had been able to spend more time with every game shown at the event, but most of these games are also aiming for a 2024 release. These are just a handful of games currently in the works at ID@Xbox and for the wider Xbox ecosystem.
The future of indie games on Xbox
ID@Xbox does excellent work for the Xbox ecosystem, with a massive number of games coming out of the program. Xbox enjoyed its highest month for player engagement of all time this January thanks to Palworld, which came from ID@Xbox member Pocket Pair.
Right now, over 100 games are in active development under the ID@Xbox program in Southeast Asia, Africa, and India, and the relatively new Global Expansion team is responsible for that surge in projects. I spoke to the team director, Agnes Kim, but you'll have to wait a little longer to see what came from that conversation.
The energy from the ID@Xbox staff was infectious. Xbox is pushing inclusivity, representation, sustainability, and easy developer access to resources, support, and tools, and ID@Xbox is one of the best places to see it all come together. In a market where AAA games are becoming increasingly formulaic and monetized, indie developers push the envelope for creativity. There's still a lot of work to be done (and there always will be), but my time spent with ID@Xbox has made me more optimistic about the future of Xbox than ever. The 10 games showcased at GDC 2024 barely scratch the surface.
