Reaction - Summer Games Fest 2026

Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest has historically been an okay show for me, featuring some solid announcements but nothing that truly sticks in your mind. A specific event a couple of years ago was pretty bad, with reports from attendees that Geoff seemed frustrated. Whatever your opinions of Geoff, I’ve always defended him because I believe he truly loves and is passionate about video games. So, entering this year’s event, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away. Well... I was blown away.

How Bout that Start!

The show had an incredible start. Right away, we got Resident Evil: Code Veronica, the Code Veronica remake. It was just an announcement trailer, but it looks like we're getting another Resident Evil remake banger. I’ve never played or seen anyone play Code Veronica, so I’m going into it blind. I did think Geoff starting the show with this showed he had a lot bigger things to show, and was my first sign this was going to be a hell of a show.

Then, we got a pair of Cuphead announcements, which completely took me aback. The semi-pixel style Mighty Cuphead Adventure spinoff has my interest. Even though I never played the original game, I only saw a bunch of Let’s Plays. The sequel is probably going to be a while before we see it. Alien Isolation 2 was shown, and while I’m not the audience for that type of game, I know the original’s huge fans are going to eat this up, and I can’t help but be happy for them.

Gen Atlas is the next game from Fumito Ueda, creator of ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian. Not much to say here except we know the resume; now we wait to see what this game ends up being all about. Stranger Than Heaven got some stage presence , with Snoop Dogg making an appearance, saying Sega is his favorite game. Then, no joke, Tupac was revealed to be in the game. Now, this got a big pop originally, but many are questioning the ethics of adding a man who is no longer with us to a game. The claim is that they got the okay from his estate; however, his estate is not run by his family, and that’s a whole other debate and controversy you can look up. I was getting interested in this one, but the inclusion of Tupac is cringeworthy the more I think about it.

Truly a Game Fest

This was the typical SGF event; it’s about two hours, longer than it should be, but I felt like it was filled with a lot of really good stuff, and I didn’t feel the time like I usually do with Geoff’s shows. There were plenty of announcements, including DLC and expansion, but I’ll talk about some of the games that piqued my interest the most.

I’m not a TMNT guy, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin was announced, as Paramount is set to try to make a dent in the gaming space. I’m not exactly a fan of that company, but hey, every game company has its demons, and we’ll see how serious they are about making this a thing. I loved seeing Ben Starr, even if it was for Fortnite. Crossfire, a game made by devs from Call of Duty and The Last of Us fame, was shown. I want to be interested in this game, but my concern is whether it has forced co-op, like the Josef Fares games. I’m not a player of the series, but Guild Wars 3 took me by surprise considering I feel part two has been out forever. Control Resonant got another look. I’m hyped for this game, but I fear it was placed in such a bad spot, and I’m worried about when exactly I’ll be able to play it.

Other surprises include An Eggstremely Hard Game, which has a vibe that I think I’ll be all about if I do get a chance to play it, and reminded me of Untitled Goose Game a little bit. Swords of Legends looks good, but I am worried that it has the East-inspired action-adventure art direction that is starting to look repetitive. Virtua Fighter Crossroads is a game that looks cooler and cooler every time I see it, but I’m not a fighting game guy, so I think this one is going to be a Let’s Play. Sonic and Godzilla are teaming up in an awesome way in Sonic Racing Crossworlds, which got a huge pop out of me as a Godzilla superfan. We also got 007 First Light’s expansion pass, which focuses on Lenny Kravitz’s Bawma character. Hopefully, he actually feels important or has a good performance; in my opinion, he’s the weakest of the ensemble in the main game. The Dawn of Bloodwalker is getting stuck in my head more. Maybe it’s because I love unexpected original RPG experiences, but I think I’m going to pick this one up.

Other games include Star Wars Galactic Racer, The Wolf Among Us 2, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain, and an appearance from Tifa, who is coming to Street Fighter 6, plus so much more. It truly was a giant list of great games and good variety. Also, while it wasn’t in the actual Summer Games Fest show, quick shout-out to Exodus, a game that is forcing itself into my personal top ten most highly anticipated video games. I saw the extended gameplay video they put up, and I am getting major Mass Effect vibes. Keep your eye on this one.

Time to End it Right

We know Geoff had to end it right, and he did with Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the last in the remake trilogy. I think we all knew this was coming, but it was still a great announcement. It seems the game builds on the foundations of Rebirth more than Remake, which was expected. I love these remake games, but I do feel they are better played by fans of the original rather than new fans who have never experienced the story. I have my theories and opinions about how this one is going to wrap up, so it’s time to see if I'm right.

I do hope they finish it in a way that stays true to the original story and that the explanation of all the weird twists and turns is satisfying. It’s going to be crazy to finally get our hands on the final chapter and finish this Final Fantasy VII Remake journey that began with an E3 2015 shocker of a teaser trailer.

A - Great

Overall, this was my favorite of the “big four” shows this week. I can’t believe I’m saying this about a Summer Games Fest, which for me is a B-grade at best and tends to be a C-level event, but I have to admit that Geoff cooked here. It had a healthy variety of announcements, and E3-like reveals from the jump. Say what you will about the man, but when he tries his hardest and shows his real passion for games, Keighley can put on a hell of a show. Congrats, Geoff… you did great here.

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