Xbox Series X: Microsoft shows console power and 13 games

With a new format, Microsoft has started the countdown to the release of the Xbox Series X. From now on there will be monthly news on the Xbox Series X, the games and the game studios responsible for the works as part of 20/20. The premiere was a success: For the first time, fans could experience the performance of the next-gen Xbox - and take a look at the first 13 games for Xbox Series X.

The feature that Microsoft somewhat cryptically calls “Smart Delivery” should be particularly exciting for fans. This includes all titles that are always available in the most powerful version across different console generations. All titles from Xbox Game Studios will do this, as well as games from third-party providers such as CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077 will also be offered as a next-gen variant.  

It should come as no surprise that the Xbox Series X would become a powerful console. How the next-gen console will fare in comparison to the competition, especially the Playstation 5, fans will probably only know when Sony follows suit with a show format - or at least detailed information on the new power console with the innovative wireless controller published.

First games for Xbox Series X known

What the Xbox Series X can do, Microsoft has now given a rudimentary answer. A total of 13 games were featured in the 20/20 premiere show, including some promising titles. In addition to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, highlights were the announcement of a new offshoot from Sega's Yakuza series, Vampires: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 and the horror video game The Medium by the Bloober Team with music by Akira Yamaoka, who already composed the theme for Silent Hill .

Without exception, all 13 games presented had a good end to the screen. Here is an overview of the first known game titles for Xbox Series X. 

Xbox Series X: Assassin's Creed Valhalla comes "in beautiful"

In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, players slip into the role of the Viking Eivor, who goes in search of fame and honor and explores an open world. In it they face the merciless struggle for survival in England in the dark ages. Looting, pillaging and managing a settlement are three of the focus points of this new assassination game.

Bright Memory: Infinite (Playism)

Bright Memory: Infinite is a genre mix of shooter and action developed by the FYQD studio. In the game, players combine their favorites from a huge selection of skills and unleash combo attacks.

In the next-gen trailer for Bright Memory: Infinite, players can take a first look at what to expect in the action shooter:

In 2036, fans enter a thriving, futuristic metropolis and face an inexplicable celestial phenomenon that puzzles researchers around the world. Last but not least, the graphics including the successful visual effects make this title interesting. The developers confirm that DirectX ray tracing is also responsible for the optical stimuli. 

Call of the Sea (Raw Fury)

Players immerse themselves in the era of the 1930s and experience loads of adventures and tricky puzzles from the first-person perspective in Call of the Sea. You embody Norah, a desperate wife on the search for her husband's missing expedition. The search on an idyllic island in the South Pacific, on which numerous puzzles are hidden.

Call of the Sea could be one of those titles that you tend to underestimate at the beginning. A profound story could be hidden behind the brightly colored look. 

Chorus (Deep Silver)

Deep Silver's Chorus is a fast paced space shooter. In it, players discover the eponymous world of chorus. At the center of the solo title is a dark, adult story about salvation.

A first trailer shows gameplay scenes and cutscenes:

Players control Nara, a pilot with a ghostly past, and her starfighter Forsaken. Together they hunt down a relentless enemy and the dark cult that is responsible for Nara's fate.

DiRT 5 (Codemasters)

With Dirt 5, Codemasters brings the next part of the racing series onto the market. This time the concept seems to be based on Forza rather than typical rally events. In any case, the trailer for the first known racing game for Xbox Series X is fast:

DiRT 5 not only opens a new chapter in the DiRT series, it heralds the next generation of racing - perhaps more daring and cheeky than ever before. New features, innovative functions and a fresh approach make DiRT 5 a novel experience for the well-known series that celebrates the style and culture of off-road racing.

Madden NFL 21 (Electronic Arts)

Maden NFL 21 is coming to Xbox Series X, that's for sure. There wasn't much to see about the title, except for Patrick Mahomes, who already announced how incredible the new offshoot from EA Sports NFL series is going to be. 

Because Madden NFL 21 traditionally launches at the start of the National Football League season, the title will be available well ahead of the Xbox Series X. So the key info of this announcement is Smart delivery support. More than three decades have passed since John Madden Football was released in 1988. Since then, Madden NFL has continued to evolve, providing players with an even more authentic and fun football experience. The popular series continues with Madden NFL 21, bringing a whole new feel to football for fans on Xbox Series X.

Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Players take on the role of Yuito Sumeragi, a new recruit to the OSF who, like his childhood savior, wants to become an elite psyker. Armed with an extraordinary talent for psychokinesis, they enter the futuristic city of New Himuka, where they uncover the secrets of a world ruled by technology and psychic psychic abilities.

The style of this game for Xbox Series X takes getting used to, but appeals to all those Japano fans who can't get enough of such games. Because there isn't too much choice in the genre, the announcement of this alternative is hugely gratifying.

Scorn (ebb)

Scorn is a real surprise. The game is an atmospheric horror adventure from the first person perspective, set in a nightmarish universe made up of strange shapes and dark veils.

The game concept throws players unprepared into a completely alien world: isolated and lost, they then explore various interconnected regions in a non-linear way. Each of these disturbing environments has its own personality, and each location has its own story, puzzles, and characters. 

That not only sounds exciting, but could also be visually impressive - including breathtaking lighting effects. The settings shown in the trailer give rise to this assumption. Scorn could become one of those titles for Xbox Series X where you can actually see the graphic power in detail.

Second Extinction (Systemic Reaction)

Dino shooting à la Turok in modern, only in a team. Second Extinction is an intense cooperative shooter for up to three players in which players face mutated dinosaurs that have taken over the earth.

Teamwork is key as players take on the role of their survivor and combine unique abilities, weapons and skills to take down the overwhelming odds of the enemy. Not only does that sound pretty wacky, it probably is too. It is well known that there are not many dinosaur games, there are still few players in which dinosaurs really want to get into your head.

The Ascent (Neon Giant / Curve Digital)

The Ascent is a cyberpunk action role-playing game that players can choose to play alone or in co-op mode. The mega-corporation, The Ascent Group, has just collapsed. Hustle and bustle and chaos are the result and without protection everyone is on their own.

The star of this game for Xbox Series X is probably the setting. In the trailer you get a good first impression of the dense atmospheres and a fairly "cyberpunk" style, which could even compete with the cyberpunk game Cyberpunk 2077 - at least visually, because The Ascent is more of a fast hit-and-run action in terms of gameplay.

The Medium (Bloober Team)

Here comes the horror - and it comes with good music. From Bloober Team, the makers of Blair Witch, Observer and Layers of Fear, The Medium is a next-generation psychological horror. Players slip into the role of Marianne, a medium that wanders between the real world and the level of ghosts.

Chased by the vision of child murder, players travel to an abandoned hotel resort that was the scene of a terrible tragedy many years ago. There they start looking for answers. The immersive soundtrack for The Medium is a collaboration between two composers: Arkadiusz Reikowski from Bloober Team and Akira Yamaoka, who also composed the Silent Hill theme. The soundtrack is based on the continuous motif of The Medium: Duality.

The game has style and perhaps the exact combination of horror and mystery that made Silent Hill so popular. As fans of Observer we cannot avoid this title without.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 (Paradox Interactive)

What kind of bloodsucker will you be? This is the question Paradox Interactive asks fans and invites them to go on new adventures. Imagine the Joker as a mixture of Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix and you get a shallow version of that dancing bloodsucker in this first trailer:

Players enter the world of darkness and rise in the company of vampires. You explore Seattle - a city full of alluring and equally dangerous characters and factions. In this sequel to the cult classic, game decisions, plans and actions affect the balance of power.

Wonderfully weird, idiosyncratic, but at the same time typically vampires: The Masquerade. You probably don't have to like the game or the literarily sucked-out topic, but you should definitely play Bloodlines 2. The concept suggests a lot of crazy entertainment.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (SEGA)

The legendary Yakuza series is opening a new chapter in 2020 - with Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The game is now the seventh installment in the series and will be released as a launch title for Xbox Series X.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon supports the release of the Smart Delivery feature of the Xbox Series X: If you buy the version for Xbox One, you will receive a free update to the Xbox Series X version. The cross save function between Xbox One and Xbox Series X is also integrated. With the help of this feature, players can start playing right where they left off after a console upgrade.

There is already around one and a half minutes of yakuza fun with the first trailer:

When Ichi has been messed with by the family, there is only one goal: to beat up Yakuza members. And in all conceivable ways: with hard knocks and quick kicks. If that doesn't help, a laser beam shot from a high-tech satellite in orbit may help. The cool hairstyle is on top of it. 

Yakuza: Like a Dragon will probably offer a comparatively classic Mafia story paired with lots of blatant fights. You could hardly imagine a better launch title than this firework of action.

Microsoft's next-gen console will be released at the end of the year. the technical details of the Xbox Series X are widely known. Now fans were allowed to take a first look at some games - including crass gameplay from Assassin's Creed Valhalla (small joke!). 

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