As we attempt to pin down the character of a weeklong period of game announcements and demos, there’s a tendency for the collective memory to settle on a single line. “You’re breathtaking”, or “My body is ready”, or “This is how you share your games on PS4”. It’s perhaps appropriate that the equivalent words in 2022 weren’t uttered on any conference stage but rather on a Twitter audio livestream, before the sprawl of events and showcases had even begun: “Manage your expectations”.
A stark warning, especially from Geoff Keighley, a man whose name has become synonymous with hype. And when Keighley’s Summer Game Fest kickoff show airs a week later, it’s clear just how much he meant it. There’s the unmistakable impression of a show struggling to fill the two-hour slot to which it has already committed – something which is, admittedly, a bit of a relief for those of us in the air during its broadcast, as we discover that its entire contents can be scrubbed through in roughly the time it takes to pass LAX customs. Watched in this fashion, the show becomes one long blur of grey steel corridors, body-horror aliens and sluggish on-stage interviews, all leading, surely, towards the inevitable ‘one more thing’ bombshell.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CHANTS OF SENNAAR
How Babel helped a world of stealth become a world of words
MEGHNA JAYANTH
Around the industry in eight games: one writer's journey through indie to triple-A and back again.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Sam Fisher's final outing is also his most enigmatic
Post Script
How low should a boss go?
TWO POINT STUDIOS
How a new studio rose from the ashes of Lionhead success not simulated
RAIDERS OF THE ARCHIVE
Wolfenstein-style shootouts are just a small part of the picture in MachineGames' maximalist Indy game
SPLITGATE 2
If it ain't broke, don't fix Split
KINGDOM COME: DELIVERANCE II
A bigger, better - and funnier Bohemian rhapsody
Narrative Engine
Write it like you stole it
The Outer Limits
Journeys fo the farthest reaches of interactive entertainment