10 More Games We Enjoyed At Summer Game Fest 2024

Summer Game Fest 2024 was so busy that even after we've covered some of the biggest games on the campus, like Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Astro Bot, and Lego Horizon Adventures, there's still so much more to talk about. To that end, we've rounded up 10 more games we enjoyed playing in Keighleyland, so you don't have to let all the noise of SGF drown out some of the cooler, but perhaps lesser heralded, games coming soon.

Here are 10 more games we enjoyed at Summer Game Fest 2024. And if you're looking for something new to play right now, we've also got a roundup of great Steam Next Fest demos you can try.

"Overwatch with Marvel" is the elevator pitch, sure, but Marvel Rivals boasts a few important differentiators, too. I played it for about an hour at SGF and loved the way maps are semi-destructible, lending to emergent moments and revised strategies. The game also features powerful team-up attacks for certain pairings, such as the tanky Groot and the healing Rocket Raccoon, among others, giving players more reason to work together as they tackle Overwatch-like objectives. And not for nothing, but the comic-book art direction looks wondrous.

Marvel Rivals will arrive on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. A closed beta is coming to PS5 in July.

Fans of classic adventure games with puzzles that demand some creative thinking may enjoy AI Confidential. It plays out across various cases, each of them dealing with artificial intelligence in some way, such as trying to track down someone missing in a home loaded up on smart devices, or dealing with therapy bots trained to take the place of humans. The gameplay is a mix of roundabout puzzle-solving and dialogue options, all of which are done using emoji. I think of it kind of like a more humorous, battery-powered Firewatch, in a sense.

It's coming to PC at the very least, but a release date has not yet been revealed.

This photography sim was the most zen-like game you could find at the Summer Game Fest campus. Played in first-person, you'll drop into open-world maps set all over the world and simply walk around, taking photos as you see fit. I did find a few collectibles, so the game has some traditional gameplay carrots-and-sticks if you want them, but for the most part, each landscape's open-ended pathways, gorgeous vistas, and soft, soothing soundtrack are the main idea, and I enjoyed it for that respite it provided--and I think I will at home too.

Lushfoil is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 in 2024.

We're living in an age where many fans who grew up in the classic Silent Hill and Resident Evil era are making their own games heavily inspired by those genre titans. Heartworm is one such game that'll feel like a long-lost sequel, if that's what you're into. What I played included expert sound design that unnerved me in all the right ways, and the merciful offering of tank or classic controls. It's yet another memorable release from the indie horror masters at DreadXP.

Heartworm launches on PC and consoles in 2025.

It's not easy to launch a Starship Troopers game in the year of Helldivers 2, but Starship Troopers: Extermination has a unique feature that I adored in my hands-on time with it. The team calls it the carnage update, which is part of the roadmap to the game's 1.0 and console launch this fall. With this update, the hundreds of dead arachnids found on any level will remain there, at which point you can blow them up, burrow through them, or, if you're not careful, be covered by them. As bodies pile, the living Archies will even climb over their dead brethren like a bug-infested World War Z. It was unrestrained chaos in my hour with the game, and I loved it.

Starship Troopers: Extermination is in Steam Early Access already, and is launching in its 1.0 state on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 on October 11.

Fans of Souls-likes have a new game coming soon to their libraries in the form of Flintlock: Siege of Dawn. And though the gameplay is surely reminiscent of other genre titans, it's the approach to storytelling that had me surprised. Flintlock foregoes the traditionally sparse storyline in a game like this and opts instead for a very western game dev approach involving fully voiced characters, cutscenes, and dialogue options. It's sort of like combining the combat of Dark Souls with the narrative structure of The Witcher. It was a nice touch, and since it comes from A44, the team behind my favorite Souls-like, Ashen, I'm eager to see what else they've done with the genre this time.

It's launching very soon for PC and Xbox Series X|S, including day one on Game Pass.

A looter-shooter set in a world of undead and mutated monsters, such as a school bus that sprouted gangly limbs, Once Human is kind of like The Day Before… if The Day Before was ever more than an idea. I never tire of a post-apocalyptic setting, and if you agree, this may be one to watch. It's shot into the top 10 games for Steam wishlist totals, so the audience is ready to flock to it next month. Think of it like The Division with deadly creatures. Dig that idea? Then this is one for you like it is for me.

Once Human is scheduled for July 9 on PC.

The one-person studio behind the charming 3D platformer throwback, Pumpkin Jack, has staffed up to the size of eight people and is still feeling nostalgic. With Akimbot, Ratchet and Clank fans have a new game that looks and feels much like the Insomniac favorites. Offering up its own creative weapons and colorful levels, I found my 30 minutes with the game not to be enough. Like the series that inspired it, Akimbot is very easy to get into and hard to put down.

It's coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 in 2024.

Hero shooters with gunplay taking precedence over character abilities have a tough hill to climb since it's a hill dominated by Valorant, but Fragpunk's unique twist on the genre should at least give it a fighting chance. In Fragpunk, classic modes like Demolition (Search and Destroy) pit small teams against each other where twitchy gunplay would normally win the round. However, the rules change with every single round thanks to cards each team can play to disrupt the flow of their opponents' gameplan. I saw things like moving the bomb-planting spot, giving players double-jump, and even big head mode, in classic arcade fashion. It keeps the meta shifting every five or so minutes, which is a fun twist on a now-typical approach.

It's coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S in 2025.

I saved my favorite game of the week for last. Flock is one part creature collector, one part birdwatching simulator, all tied up in a colorful and whimsical fantasy world that would feel right at home next to things like Adventure Time and Gumball on Cartoon Network. In it, you'll fly around floating villages trying to catalog all of the wildlife, filling out your Pokedex-like notebook, but never actually harming the critters. It's sweet and gentle and feels really fun in your hands, as the game's simple flying mechanics feel like a day at the playground.

Flock launches very soon--July 16--on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, and PS4.