Developer Direct 2024 just premiered, with updates on five upcoming games: Avowed, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, Visions of Mana, Ara: History Untold and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle! We've put up a separate article for all things Indiana, so make sure to check that out! Now, let's see what these other four games had to tell us.

We've embedded the entire presentation below, as well as each segment separately further down in the article.

Avowed

Avowed is an upcoming action role-playing game that takes place in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity. It is developed by Obsidian Entertainment and scheduled to launch later in 2024. While we didn't get a lot of meaty details, the presentation did talk a little more in-depth about the combat system and quests:

  • Combat in Avowed is designed to be flexible (could refer to it as hybrid).
  • Emphasis on easily switching between different playstyles during combat.
  • Playstyles can include melee / ranged weapons or attacks, special abilities; basically the freedom to mix & match your build as you please.
  • Some quests have been designed to force players into making "difficult decisions with profound consequences".
  • One example shown depicted arriving at the aftermath of a bloody battle and having to decide which of the survivors' account of the fight you believe.
  • The general vibe was that these choice nodes are meant to both provide a meaningful in-the-moment experience and haunt the player in later stages of the game.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is an action-adventure game that serves as the sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. It is being developed by Ninja Theory and scheduled to be released May 21st this year. This presentation focused more on the atmosphere and story of the upcoming game, with an emphasis on the cinematic strides the studio is taking:

  • The game takes place in 10th century Iceland.
  • Senua will be taking on sinister supernatural forces such as giants and draugr.
  • The journey will have her make new enemies as well as allies, who will come to see her unique perspective as a new beacon of hope.
  • The phrase "shorter, narrative-led experience" was used, whatever that may entail.
  • The combat system for the sequel is entirely new and very different from the first time.
  • Very brutal, yet easy to get invested in.
  • Its goal is for the player to always feel like they barely scraped through each fight.

Bonus tip: Hellblade: Senua's Saga is currently a whopping 90% off on Steam. If you're interested in playing it or the sequel, now's the time to grab it!

Visions of Mana (Surprise Segment!)

The Mana series, known as Seiken Densetsu in Japan, is a high fantasy ARPG franchise currently owned by Square Enix (initially owned by Square). The series has a total of 18 installments, and Visions of mana will be the first new mainline Mana game in more than 15 years, as well as the first one to release on Xbox. Here's how they describe this new adventure:

Quote From Square Enix

his sprawling new single-player action RPG puts you in the shoes of Val – a curious and carefree young man and skilled fighter. One eventful night, his childhood friend is chosen as an alm – someone who must travel to the Mana Tree and rejuvenate the flow of mana power. Val joins her as the Soul Guard to protect her on her journey, and an epic adventure begins.

As Val, you’ll explore vast areas, battle monsters, gain allies, and uncover the many secrets of this expansive world. And what a world it is! As you can see from the screenshots and trailer, it’s a beautifully vibrant game with rich colors and expressive characters.

The beauty is matched by equally appealing combat. Aerial combat allows for physical and magic attacks in mid-air, and the grand and mysterious powers of the Elemental spirits can assist players in the form of specialized weapons.. It’s fast-paced, strategic, and endlessly satisfying.

In short, it’s a perfect entry point for those of you yet to experience a Mana game, as it brings together everything great about this incredible series.

There's a couple tidbits the presentation was keen on focusing:

  • The soundtrack will have over 100 songs, created by several past composers of the franchise.
  • A new friend / companion will join the Mana universe, the pikul!
  • The pikul is an absolutely adorable morph between a yorkshire terrier and an armadillo-like pangolin. Seriously, please see the video embedded below, it's super cute.

Visions of Mana is slated for a summer 2024 release.

Ara: History Untold

Ara: History Untold is an upcoming turn-based grand strategy video game being developed by Oxide Games, about building and leading a nation throughout alternate history. It's a different take on Civilization, basically, with some notable differences. Let's dig in:

  • First up, you'll see from the dev commentary that it looks really similar to Civilization, so you kinda' know what to expect going in.
  • Triumphs are Ara's version of Wonders, and from their description, they might provide more game-changing unique boons than their Civ counterparts.
  • One important distinction between the two games is in Ara, players' turn happen simultaneously.
  • This means everyone queues up their actions, and once that's done, they all take place at the same time, resulting in more dynamic and unpredictable gameplay moments.
  • Dangerous wildlife is not to be reckoned with! In Ara, your citizens may occasionally be pounced on by gangs of bloodthirsty coyotes.
  • The win condition is determined by a player's Prestige score, which is made up of several sub-scores.
  • Ara: History Untold has crafting! Crafting can be used to make sword, boots and other goods to further your goals, as wall as improvements to projects such as Triumphs.
  • Much like in Civilization you can win through War, Science, Culture or Religion, the same system exists in Ara, but a seemingly with a little more depth.

image of prestige screen

Ara: History Untold is scheduled to release in fall 2024!

That was it for Developer Direct 2024! What excited you the most out of all that was revealed? Anything that piqued your interest in particular? Let us know in the comments below.