Xbox/Bethesda Showcase 2023 – What I Want To See

pczone.co.uk:

Today can’t come soon enough for Xbox fans, as most of 2022 proved irritatingly sparse for new AAA exclusives. Perhaps Wednesday, January 25th 2023 at 8 pm will be the turning point we’ve all been hoping for.

We’ve got a pretty good idea of what games we’re gonna see, but here are my thoughts on what I want to see from some of them.

When Starfield gameplay was finally revealed last year there were two major concerns for me – the lack of an exciting introduction to the story, and those janky graphics.

When I think of Skyrim, an absolute Bethesda classic, one of the first thing’s that comes to mind is that awesome reveal trailer narrated by the legendary Max Von Sydow. Before we knew anything about gameplay we had set the scene. In one memorable minute, nerds everywhere were peeing their pants with excitement at the possibilities. It’s reminiscent of the stirring narration that opens the Lord Of The Rings Movie trilogy, setting the tone for all things to come.

Starfield on the other hand has fallen a bit flat with its introduction so far. The reveal trailer in the starship was intriguing but rather bland. It plays more like a corporate promo video for a space exploration company than the rousing scene setter I’d hoped for. Halo Infinite’s 2019 ‘Discover Hope’ trailer is a far better example of what can be achieved here.

The 15-minute gameplay trailer shows us more, but there’s nothing much cinematic here either. This may not matter to many gamers, but I need to feel emotionally invested in a game and its characters to actually sink dozens or more hours into it. Character customisation and skill trees mean fuck all to me if I don’t care about what I’m doing or why. Just sayin’.

The very first thing I want to see in the showcase