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Aliens Dark Descent is a squad-based isometric shooter coming in 2023

Jesse Lennox
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Summer Gaming Marathon Feature Image
This story is part of the Digital Trends Summer Gaming Marathon series

A brand-new game in the Alien franchise titled Aliens: Dark Descent has been announced at the Summer Game Fest and it will arrive in 2023.

Summer Game Fest: Aliens Dark Descent World Premiere Trailer

The first surprise announcement from Summer Game Fest 2022 was none other than a new entry in the Alien franchise. Aliens: Dark Descent is the next game to drop us into the hostile world of Xenomorphs, this time from a new isometric perspective. The trailer was almost completely cinematic, setting the tone for the game as being a mix of action and horror, much like the seminal film, with only a brief look at the game in action in the final moments.

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Aside from Xenomorphs, Aliens: Dark Descent also shows a new humanoid enemy described as a “new kind of evil.” The game itself will be played from an isometric perspective, with players controlling a squad of marines, all in real time, who attempt to stop the alien outbreak occurring on Moon Lethe.

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Much like an XCOM title, Aliens: Dark Descent will let you customize and kit out your squad of five marines for each mission, all of whom need to be maintained physically and mentally to avoid losing them permanently. You will also manage and upgrade your base, conduct research, and develop new tools to help your squad survive the next mission.

Alien games have been hit-or-miss over the past decade, with Aliens: Colonial Marines being a notable black mark on the franchise. Despite that, Alien: Isolation was a fantastic horror experience that captured the mood and atmosphere of the original film, while Aliens: Fireteam Elite was a decent Left 4 Dead clone.

This will be the first time the franchise has gone for a more tactical-style game, so we can only speculate on which side of the fence it will ultimately fall when it releases in 2023.

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Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R improves an already great fighting game
Jotaro Kujo stands before a battle in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R.

While Street Fighter 6 was the talk of the show floor at Summer Game Fest Play Days, another fighting game also managed to impress me at the event. That title was JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R, a fighting game based on the popular and heavily-memed anime and manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The original JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle was first released in Japan in 2013, scoring a rare perfect score from the popular Japanese outlet Famitsu. Anime fighting games vary wildly in quality, but this was considered one of the better ones thanks to its thoughtful and rewarding gameplay.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R continues that game's legacy as an enhanced remaster that does more than visually update the game and turn servers back. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R adds in new characters, voice acting, and gameplay tweaks that almost make it feel like a different game. In the years since the 2013 game this is based on came out, both JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and the fighting game genre got a lot more popular. Thankfully, my demo showed that this fighting game has only gotten better with age.
To be continued 
Although JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R didn't get a remake-level visual overhaul, fans should still appreciate many of the graphical tweaks and just how pretty this game is. Even though I was playing a PS4, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R was one of the best-looking games at Summer Game Fest Play Days. The anime already has an extremely distinct art style and features a cast of overly-muscular characters, so it transitions to a fighting game almost perfectly. Pulling off special moves that you've seen in the manga and anime or calling out a stand yourself is super satisfying, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R will show them in all of their extremely detailed glory.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R - Early Access Demo
Even the voiceovers and character models got updates to match the voice acting and styles fans will remember from the anime. We don't get many video games based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, so it's nice to see this one put in extra care to respect the source material and improve upon the original release. That said, graphics will only get you so far in a fighting game. It's the gameplay mechanics that really ensure a fighting game lives or dies.
Thankfully, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R is a lot of fun to play.
The 2013 original was a 3D fighting game that plays more like Virtua Fighter than Jump Force. The standard attacks, combo, block, and dodge moves to be expected from fighting games are here, but characters can also summon their stands and basically get a second fighter to attack and zone with. Fights also have some other cute oddities, like having an assist character to strengthen some of your attacks or being able to taunt the other player when they are knocked down to take away some of their special meter gauges. That taunt feature specifically is not only hilarious but feels very JoJo and adds palpable benefits to what's usually just a visual gag in fighting games.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R does add a couple of new gameplay additions that players will definitely notice, including hit stops and jump dashes that give that game more competitive depth, as well as flash cancels that let players quickly cancel their current combo if they don't want to change their approach or the moves they are using

I didn't have enough time to kit out and learn combos and how to string them together, but I can clearly recognize just how these features will positively deepen JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R's meta. With auto combos for new players and revitalized online play too, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R hopefully won't have a problem attracting new JoJo's Bizzare Adventure fans to this fighting game. Whether you enjoyed the original release or want to see what a good JoJo's Bizarre Adventure game looks like, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R should be on your radar. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on September 2. If you want to try it before then, a demo is available on PS4 and PS5 until June 21.

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With 2022’s gaming lineup looking a little anemic after Starfield’s big delay, A Plague Tale: Requiem is now a “main stage” game. While it doesn’t have an official release date yet, it's supposed to launch this year during a notably slow season for games. If that holds true, the “AA” stealth action sequel will get a holiday season spotlight that’s usually reserved for bigger budget games with franchise star power behind them.

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It's looking like 2023 could be an outstanding year for Xbox, even if that comes at the cost of 2022's lineup. During the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12, Microsoft only showed games it expects to launch within the next 12 months. Many of these games were from Xbox Game Studios, and with the exceptions of As Dusk Falls and Pentiment, they all are set to release in the first half of 2023. Many other Xbox Game Studios titles are confirmed and assumed to be slated for 2023, too.
Next year looks like it may be when Xbox's bold acquisitions and Xbox Game Pass-driven strategy finally starts to pay off massively. Microsoft just needs to follow through on its promises with consistency first. 
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The first six months of 2023 are shaping up to be fantastic for Xbox players. During the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, Microsoft reiterated that Redfall and Starfield are still coming in the first half of next year. It then confirmed that Forza Motorsport will launch in spring 2023 and announced first-party strategy games Minecraft Legends and Ara: History Untold for the first half of 2023. Things aren't looking too shabby on the Xbox Game Pass front either, as games like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Flintlock, Ark 2, Ereban: Shadow Legacy, Ravenlok, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Cocoon, Persona 3 and 4, and more are all launching on the service on day one throughout the first half of 2023 from third-party partners. The Activision Blizzard acquisition may also be completed, so its games will also start coming to Xbox Game Pass.

While Microsoft was extremely quiet throughout the first half of 2022, that certainly won't be the case next year. We have a very clear picture of what early 2023 will look like for Xbox, and it's one of the most promising starts for its platforms ever. Microsoft also has the potential to continue that momentum throughout the rest of the year, with Avalanche Studios' Contraband already having a 2023 release date. We'd also love to see games like Hellblade II: Senua's Sacrifice and Perfect Dark make the cut for 2023 releases. If all of this pans out as expected, 2023 might be a standout year for Xbox as we finally start to see the fruits of its acquisitions, renewed Xbox Game Studios publishing, and lots of high-profile day one Xbox Game Pass games.
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Despite the excitement about how awesome 2023 may be for Xbox, I also don't have complete faith that Xbox Game Studios will follow through with everything it's promising. Many Xbox Game Studios games have reportedly had development issues, and several games have been pushed back. Delays are why we're in the 2023 release situation with Redfall and Starfield in the first place! Of course, outside factors like the COVID-19 pandemic have likely had a negative impact on game development, but it's tough to trust that all of these games will land in their promised release windows when Xbox has repeatedly delayed heavy hitters like Halo Infinite and Starfield.
Games like Avowed and Hellblade II also don't have release windows, so those could easily slip into 2024 and make Xbox's fall 2023 lineup less impressive than we're anticipating. We also don't know if Microsoft can keep up that cadence of releases into 2024 and beyond.

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