The Ubisoft Forward showcase brought us new looks at Assassinās Creed Mirage, Star Wars Outlaws, and long blue cat simulator, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoraā¦
Itās been a week that has brought us new trailers and hype for games of all sizes, from the indie delights of the Guerrilla Collective to the sprawling behemoth that is Starfield. Last night, it was Ubisoftās turn to show off its upcoming wares. And while there were few surprises (something thatās becoming an endangered species in any case thanks to the leaky nature of the internet), thereās plenty of new information to chew over.
Hereās our pick of the highlights:
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
James Cameronās sci-fi fantasy sequel may have come out months ago, but Ubisoft clearly isnāt making just another rushed movie-game tie-in with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. An open-world action adventure developed by Massive Entertainment (with an assist from several other Ubisoft studios), it looks something like a Far Cry game set in the moviesā dayglo alien world.
Frontiers of Pandoraās new gameplay trailer provides a guided tour of this Avatar productās chief selling points: riding around on flying lizards, hunting and foraging for food, and blowing away pesky colonial humans using guns and rocket launchers. Thereās even online two-player co-op, which isnāt something we were expecting.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora releases on 7 December for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
We were surprised to see that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown had received something of a backlash when it was announced a few days back, with complaints that the 2D action game doesnāt particularly resemble the cinematic platformers of old. Maybe Ubisoftās new gameplay trailer will put some of those grumpy takes to rest, as the action here looks pretty enjoyable to us. Thereās the heroās new time-warping powers for one thing ā a suite of abilities that allow him to dash, undo mistakes (like, say, getting stabbed by a gigantic boss) and suck enemies into what look like black holes. Itās a āsemi open worldā game, too, so maybe this could be next yearās equivalent of Metroid Dread.
Oh, and the trailer appears to end with the protagonist shrieking, āARRGH BIRDS!!ā Just give it a BAFTA already.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is out on 18 January 2024 for Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
The Crew Motorfest
Youāll note that weāre concentrating exclusively on gameplay trailers in this highlights post, and thereās a good reason for that. Things like ācinematic introductionā promos may look pretty, but for us, thatās pretty much where their use ends. Rather than bother with The Crew Motorfest's āNOT ACTUAL GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE trailer, then, letās focus instead on its gameplay, which looks as slick and smooth as youād expect from the arcade racing series. In fact, the in-engine footage looks so good, we almost wonder why Ubisoft went to the expense of even making a CGI trailer, but hey-ho. The Crew Motorfest is clearly intended as a rival to Forza Horizon ā to the point where some shots look uncannily similar to recent entries in Playground Gamesā high-octane series.
The Crew Motorfest is out on 14 September for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Assassinās Creed Mirage
Posing in high places, stabbing people in the back, nimbly hopping across beams, collecting feathers ā Assassinās Creed Mirage provides a return to the simpler antics of earlier games in the series, albeit with yet another new historical setting: 9th century Baghdad. Given just how gigantic other recent entries have become, Mirageās more compact campaign ā which is said to last about 15 hours or so ā could serve as a welcome change of pace.
Ubisoftās mission to make an Assassinās Creed game for every device known to humanity also continues with the announcement trailer for Assassinās Creed Nexus VR for Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 headsets, and a fresh look at Assassinās Creed Codename Jade, a China-set outing for Android and iOS.
Assassinās Creed Mirage releases on 12 October for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Star Wars Outlaws
Yesterdayās reveal trailer gave us our first glimpse of Ubisoftās open-world Star Wars game, but last nightās gameplay trailer provided a ten-minute dive into its gameplay and plot. One of the neat points it shows off is what weāre calling Star Wars Outlawsā critter mechanic. Squirrel-like sidekick Nix is capable of distracting enemies, scuttling off to activate switches, steal weapons, and more besides. Itās like a 3D, unfeasibly big-budget take on the lovely Planet of Lana. Thereās plenty of gunplay, too, which immediately separates Outlaws from the Soulslike sword fighting of the Star Wars Jedi titles. Yep, weāre looking forward to this one.
Star Wars Outlaws releases in 2024 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
This shooter
In among the Ubisoft Forward showcaseās other trailers and announcements, there was also some new footage for XDefiant, a multiplayer first-person shooter. It looks fine.
XDefiant is out this summer following an open beta phase that will run from 21 to 23 June.