The start of the gaming event season is upon us, with this Summer Game Fest having a wide range of games and a few other things, too. Gameplay for Alan Wake 2, Like A Dragon: Gaiden, a look at the Street Fighter crossover for Exoprimal… A lot of gaming stuff. With a trailer for Netflix’s The Witcher also here. There were three things that caught my attention from this showcase, with two being from my core franchises… almost. You’ll see what I mean later on.

Before getting into the main three, I do want to highlight Fae Farm, a farm sim RPG that has a magical vibe. The preorder trailer that was at Summer Game Fest announced that it would be arriving 8/September. With the growing number of these farm sims, this is one of the few I’ve had my eye on. What can I say? I love magic, and I love farming. Of course I’m here for something that puts them together.

That first game is Sand Land, an action-RPG that looks to be set in a desert wasteland. At first, I felt I was looking at a new Dragon Quest Monsters. The visuals just screamed Dragon Quest to me. And is that really a surprise when legendary character artist Akira Toriyama is involved with the game? Almost a third of the way through the trailer, having given a look at some of the characters and landscapes, it proudly states that fact.

Then the trailer breaks out its action, with vehicles to roam the wastes, giant monsters to fight – in or out of those vehicles, and plenty of mysteries to explore. Though little was shown of any character dynamics, they can be felt in what is shown, with a pink-skinned boy and old desert-wise man being the player viewpoint and mentor respectively. And the dynamic they share is just lovely.

A new Sonic game! And this one 2D! And looking very much like a modern Advance series entry. Though this time with the classic versions of these characters. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy explore the North Star Islands as they stop Dr. Eggman’s newest evil plot. Four characters is good. It gives choice and variety, much like the Advance games did. But now there’s co-op play, allowing all four characters to get in on the action at the same time.

With new environments, there’s already looking a lot of variety to them from what was shown in the trailer. Beach and ruins. Forest. Cyberspace. Exploring these will be a lot of fun, as will finding the Chaos Emeralds and playing around with the powers they possess. Rather than having no use until the end game, each Emerald gives a unique power that allows for new traversal methods. And combat abilities.

Long-time missing character Fang the Sniper was teased to be within the game during the trailer, with it also confirmed that a new character designed by original Sonic character designer Naoto Ohshima will make their debut. While it is great to have a fully unique 2D Sonic game, the feel of it needs to be right. Whether the physics can replicate those older 2D games – or even the Advance games, will make or break the interest in this one. Especially as it will be a full-priced game.

Pokémon with guns. It’s hard not to escape that thought with this next one, and is exactly the reason for the almost with saying two come from my cores. Announced back in June 2021, Palworld is an open world survival monster collector that does not hide its inspiration. Right from that opening shot, you’d think you were looking at a copied homework with bits changed. And while further into this new trailer shows designs that look less like that inspiration, there’s no denying that familiarity surrounds you.

As said, then. Pokémon with guns. And those guns are prominent in this game. Sheep on sentry duty behind cover with automatic rifles. A dolphin-like biped with missile launchers strapped to its back. And even the player character carries an assortment of weapons to tackle these monsters with. Even without the guns, these monsters can fight with the usual elemental attacks monster collection games give to these creatures.

Near the end of this trailer, which was at Summer Game Fest to announce the early-access release date, some of the evil team is seen. And good God those leafy-looking quadrupeds are not happy with their servitude for this evil team. Seems like it’ll be up to us to rescue them from hell (quite literally, considering they’re within a volcano!) and put a stop to the other projects this evil team is running. That can begin starting January next year.

This first event from the gaming event season has certainly put some new games into the spotlight for me. And with a few more events coming over this next week, there’s sure to be plenty more to add to that list.

Images Taken From:
Sand Land | Steam Store
Palworld | Steam Store