Hi friends,

It turns out the VGG Campout, the holidays, and the rush of games that have come out in the last month take a larger-than-expected toll on our time... but we're back! And we've got a special edition of the gaming news roundup.

We've wrestled together recaps of EVERYTHING announced in the latest editions of the Day of the Devs showcase, Wholesome Games' Wholesome Snack, and Geoff Keighley's big "The Game Awards" showcase! Over 100 pieces of news are boiled down for you below.

We're sure you've heard by now that Baldur's Gate 3 took home Game of the Year during The Game Awards, but did you know we'll be revealing VGG's 2023 GOTY on December 22? Plan to join us for the announcement stream!

Here comes a lot, so buckle up gamers.

Fern and Nate

December 6 - 8 | VGG's Day of the Devs, Wholesome Snack,
The Game Awards News Roundup and Highlights

Fans of trippy and experimental games... We've got a handful of releases for you from across the whole weekend of shows.

• Nirvana Noir, the follow-up to the jazzy point-and-click adventure Genesis Noir (catch up on our full playthrough), was revealed during Day of the Devs. The monochrome jazzy noir is accented by a colorful splash of '60s rock this time and the visuals look wild as ever.

• Dome-King Cabbage is an enigmatic visual novel showcased during Day of the Devs. The lead developer's story about how the game came into being is honestly beautiful and the game's level of weird is right up our alley.

• Thrasher, the follow-up to the overwhelming-in-a-good-way audio/visual experience that is Thumper, got a world premier and will be just as musical and trippy as its predecessor.

• Janet DeMornay is a Slumlord (and a Witch) showed us what absurdist queer horror can look like and it's pretty damn cool. Living in a house that is constantly fighting against you, reliving the glory days of your strange witch landlord, and fighting back against the magical strangers who stop into your apartment has never looked better.

Sci-fi gamers were fed well, as The Game Awards delivered a handful of compelling sci-fi concepts... alongside some of the most generic looking trailers.

• There was Exodus, a new RPG from a team made up of ex-Bioware developers whose storyline features time dilation and the King of Time Dilation himself, Matthew McConaughey.

• Tencent revealed Last Sentinel, a cyberpunk open-world RPG from their LA studio. Robot nuns and motorcycle mommy fans should tune in.

• Nexon debuted the first trailer for The First Descendant, a game that looks... like Genshin meets Death Stranding? Hyper-realistic landscapes, exosuit-clad anime people, and giant boss fights await.

• Sharkmob, the team behind the Vampire the Masquerade battle royale revealed Exoborne. This new extraction shooter seems to play with verticality and over-the-top action in a genre more known for realism.

Those who like to game together have lots to be excited about! All three shows had some fascinating co-op experiences leaning on the joy of mutual discovery and the comedy of proximity voice chat.

• The newest game from the Untitled Goose Game developers, Big Walk, looks to be part The Witness in its abstract puzzle gaming and part... every big cooperative multiplayer game on Twitch right now? The Game Awards deserves kudos for showcasing games like this alongside God of War Ragnarok and Prince of Persia.

• Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop) takes the comforting experience of exchanging letters with strangers and expands it in all ways. Its Day of the Devs trailer showcased how you can shout into the void, share letters, and explore a cityscape to let the deep feelings out of you.

• Flock, the latest game from the folks behind Hohokum and I Am Dead, debuted new looks at the fantasy zoology game at both the Wholesome Snack and Day of the Devs. With friends, you'll fly on a giant bird to identify and discover strange mythical creatures. The big announcement? A demo is out!

• Baladins, a cooperative RPG experience reminiscent of Monster Prom and The Yawhg, debuted a new trailer and consoles announcement. This game has been a community favorite for a while and the fun time-driven, turn-based adventuring is worth a look.

Mystery gamers had their ears perked, with reveals of surprise sequels, brand-new games pulling from classics of the genre, and even one reveal that had Nate dancing live on stream.

• Duck Detective: The Secret Salami promises to pull from the likes of Return of the Obra Dinn and Case of the Golden Idol, but in a wholly more approachable and adorable package, complete with another anthropomorphic detective. Of course, the Wholesome Snack introduced us to this duck.

• Speaking of iconic detectives, Detective Grimoire is back! The Mermaid's Tongue is the latest Grimoire adventure, bringing players to the shores of an abandoned fishing town and deep into a haunted submarine.

• VGG Game of the Year 2022 nominee Case of the Golden Idol... officially has a sequel! Rise of the Golden Idol has you piecing together a mystery in the '70s, brings in 3D elements, and promises to be just as grimy as the first game.

• Another VGG Game of the Year nominee, this time from 2021 — Inscryption — revealed a successor. Daniel Mullins dives back into the world of Pony Island with Pony Island 2: Panda Circus. The mysteries here I can't even begin to explain but it's so worth diving into, I swear.

And to wrap up our packages, here's a look at four of the most exciting traditional big-budget hype reveals from The Game Awards.

• One of my favorite trailers from the entire week was Arkane's sneaky reveal of their next big game... MARVEL'S BLADE. Arkane is going third-person, taking us to France, and letting us undoubtedly make exciting immersive sim decisions as a vampire hunter.

• Hideo Kojima's latest project, OD, couldn't show much. But this Xbox exclusive announced collaborations with Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, Udo Kier, and director Jordan Peele. If only this segment wasn't five times as long as award winners were allowed to talk.

• SEGA, amidst some turmoil, saw a need to get people excited about the brand again... so they went and announced five games. Reviving Golden Axe, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio Future, Shinobi, and Streets of Rage is one way to do that.

• The big ONE LAST THING reveal was certainly worth the wait, as Capcom showcased the next Monster Hunter title, Monster Hunter: Wilds. Monster Hunter: World brought the series to new heights and Wilds is already promising to be even more ambitious.

The Rest of the Announcements

The Game Awards

•  Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Usual June - PC

• Harmonium: The Musical - PC, Xbox, Mobile

• Windblown - PC

• Thrasher - PC, VR

• World of Goo 2

• Metaphor: Refantazio - PC, Xbox

• God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla - PlayStation

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox

• Hellblade: Senua's Saga - PC, Xbox

• Kemuri

• No Rest for the Wicked - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• The Casting of Frank Stone (Single Player Dead by Daylingt)

• Visions of Mana - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Rise of the Ronin - PlayStation

• Jurassic Park: Survival - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Black Myth Wukong - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Tales of Kenzera: ZAU - PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox

• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Berserkey: Khazan - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth - PlayStation

• Skull and Bones - PC, PlayStation, Xbox

• Den of Wolves - PC

• Light No Fire

• Stormgate - PC

• Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen/Rising Tide - PlayStation

New On VGG This Week

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