The Tribeca Games Spotlight made its debut last year, showing off narratively-lead games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Lost in Random, and one of our favorites from 2021, Sable. This year, the presentation continued and was brimming with games that look equally promising. The Spotlight showcased nine unique experiences, with much-anticipated titles like A Plague Tale: Requiem and Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, and some lesser-known indie games that deserve a spot on players’ to-watch list. In case you missed the show, we’ve rounded up some highlights.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
Get ready to jump back into Night School Studio’s bizarre world once more because Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals looks wonderfully unsettling. The showcase gave us new snippets of protagonist Riley and her long-time friend Jacob exploring a nighttime trail, spooky caves, and abandoned structures. The pair banter back and forth in a quirky way Night School Studio fans will find familiar. The Spotlight also revealed the characters will be exploring alternate timelines. This time-hoping will allow players to go back and influence the past. Portals open on their own, but Riley and Jacob also seem to be able to open them for their own purposes. The developers even characterized the characters’ motives as possibly “nefarious.” The game is set to release on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC in the near future.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
We first met Hugo and Amicia in A Plague Tale: Innocence when the action/adventure stealth-centric title hit in 2019. Though it had some rough edges, the sibling’s story of surviving a rat infestation of immense proportions made the game a must-play. The sequel, A Plague Tale: Reqiuem, continues the story right from where we left off. From the footage, it looks like this adventure will be even darker than the first. We got glimpses of new scenes, like Amicia in a jail cell and calling for bystanders to run from a rat infestation. And though the game deals with the supernatural, it stays firmly rooted in reality. Amicia is not a warrior, so sticks mostly to stealth and can be defeated easily. Requiem is coming to all major consoles and PC later this year.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
The long-awaited DLC to Studio MDHR’s hand-drawn hit is finally coming this month. The huge expansion is set to release June 30 and promises to have all the beautiful and challenging action that made players fall for the base game.
Immortality
Sam Barlow, best known for Her Story and Telling Lies, is working on his next interactive experience, Immortality. The game revolves around the mystery of Marissa Marcel, an aspiring actress who seems to have simply vanished. You can dive into the drama soon on Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Venba
Players will unravel the story of an Indian mother who moves to Canada with her family in Venba. Set in the 1980s, the narrative will explore themes of communication, cultural identity, and love through branching dialogue and cooking. The game’s narrative vehicle is a damaged recipe book. In trying to restore it, the main character, Venba, will connect with her roots and help pass that down to her son. The game is coming to PC but has no official release date yet.
Thirsty Suitors
The vibrant look and wild premise make Thirsty Suitors one of the Spotlight’s most intriguing games, and it kicked off the show. You’ll play Jala, a single woman returning home for her sister’s wedding. She’ll fight the pressures of expectation, along with many of her exes and would-be suitors, in explosive, eye-popping battles. The footage showed off one of these conflicts as Jala’s 3rd-grade boyfriend, Sergio, hopes to win her over. The metaphorical jabs are made real and over-the-top, but the fight eventually ends with Sergio accepting his love isn’t based on anything substantial. There’s no word on when the game will launch, but it’s coming to PC when it does.
American Arcadia
Just shown at Summer Game Fest Live, American Arcadia looks to be an interactive experience in the vein of The Truman Show. The residents of the game’s seemingly perfect neighborhood are under 24/7 surveillance, all for entertainment. But Trevor Hills is ready to break out. The game’s coming to PC with no set release window, but you can play demos of American Arcadia and all the other games on this list starting tomorrow.
Tribecca’s hands-on demo festival begins June 11 and will let players try out every game shown off today. Time slots are limited and run through June 19. So, make sure you get a reservation for any games you want to check out as soon as you can. If you want to read more news for this summer’s season of showcases, we have you covered.