ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event – Day 1 Impressions

Jesse 'Doncabesa' Norris July 22, 2020Last Updated: July 22, 2020

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The ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event is running from July 21st through the 27^th. It features 70+ E3 style show floor demos which are available to download for free on the Xbox One console family.

Here are our thoughts on a few of the titles. Check back in daily as we post more impressions.

Destroy All Humans

A remake of the 2005 original is first up. It releases July 28^th on console and PC. With the retail release only a week away this demo is highly polished and One X enhanced running at 4k resolution and 60 frames per second. It is a beat for beat remake of the 2005 original with the original voice acting and gameplay. If you liked it then you’ll enjoy it now with a fresh coat of paint.

CrisTales

A love letter to JRPGs. Releasing on November 17^th, 2020 the demo is polished, showcasing some beautiful 2d art. You are placed into a combat situation with no leveling systems enabled, and offense and defense work on a timing system of pressing the correct button at the moment of attack to either get a 2^nd attack in or to attempt a block. A perfectly timed block will result in a parry which can negate all incoming damage. Overall this one showed great promise if you’re a fan of the genre and is worth keeping an eye on.

Welcome to Elk

The short twenty minutes of this demo aren’t quite enough to grasp completely what this game is about, but they’re certainly enough to pique your interest. From the little I could play, I know that Welcome to Elk is about a character, Friggs, moving to a small island with the help of her father’s friend. The game’s cartoonesque art style and up beat soundtrack sets the stage for what seems like a light hearted adventure. However even in only the few minutes I played, I could tell that the game has dark undertones that won’t take long to surface.

In terms of the gameplay, the demo only had you walk around speaking to the townspeople and take part in a small minigame. It wasn’t enough to sell me on the game, but the underlying tones were intriguing enough to keep Welcome to Elk on my radar.

SkateBird

This one is an early demo that crashed on me twice, but it is great to get to experience what an E3 build typically is in this fashion. You are a small bird skating your life away in a large house. Controls were deliberate and a bit floaty but showed promise as developer Glass Bottom Games works towards full release scheduled for 2021.

Raji: An Ancient Epic

One of the things I love about the video game industry is how global it is. We get to play games made from people all over the world with different cultures and beliefs. With Raji: An Ancient Epic, we get a glimpse into Hindu myth and legend, a culture we rarely see in the industry.

The demo starts off at the beginning of the story, where you play as a girl called Raji, who’s brother is kidnapped by demons. The game is a top down platformer action game and the first level, which is also the tutorial, is available for playing. It goes through the various combat moves you can use as well as teaching you some basic platforming. The acrobatic movement of Raji flows well and the combat, while a little rough, has potential. This coupled with the unique setting of the game makes Raji: An Ancient Epic, worth keeping an eye on.

We will have continual coverage of individual titles as the event goes on. Make sure to check in daily.

Also, 15 new titles were announced for Xbox One by the id@xbox team as their demos released today. They are: