The annual Game Developers Conference kicked off this week in San Francisco and, as it does every year, Microsoft’s Xbox brand put together a collection of game demos for the media to try out. These are all from its partner studios, specifically those under its ID@Xbox subbrand.

I spent a few hours playing a handful of games, talked to several of the developers behind the titles and came out with a list of highlights of upcoming games that are well worth paying attention to.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The standout of the show for me was easily Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an upcoming roleplaying game by French studio Sandfall Interactive. Key highlights included the lovely art style that showed off a stunning amount of particle effects. The game’s music was also extremely enjoyable, especially in combat. RPG combat music is often heard over and over again during the course of a lengthy game and having something I was looking forward to hearing was a joy.

But the most exciting feature, and what really makes Clair Obscur stand out from a typical JRPG, was the combat itself. It starts off as turn-based — time freezes in between you and the enemy taking turns attacking and defending — but quickly introduces several real-time elements.

When using special skills, you can press A at specific moments to inflict more damage or perform attacks at once, similar to what you’d see in a Paper Mario game. You also have the ability to either dodge with B, or for higher risk and reward, parry with RB when an enemy attacks, which follows with a counterattack. This real-time action is pushed even further by allowing the player, while the battle is paused on their turn and controlling the character Gustav, to press LT to aim a ranged attack and then freely move the reticle and shoot at an enemy’s weak points. 

This mix of turn-based battle with real-time action sequences gives the game a super fun flow when engaging enemies. I’m excited to play through the full game when it comes out April 23 for Xbox, PS5 and PC.

Hotel Barcelona

Hotel Barcelona is being led by indie super duo developers Swery and Suda51, known for the Deadly Premonition and No More Heroes games, respectively. When you hear those two names, you’re bound to expect this collaboration to have a weird, dark tone, and that’s exactly what Hotel Barcelona has. 

This time the devs are putting their creative power toward a side-scrolling roguelike set inside a horror movie. You’ll fight your way through a spooky sleep-away camp as you unlock stronger and stronger abilities. Each death sends you back to a mysterious hotel full of quirky and offbeat characters. The game is very difficult, but Swery told me that’s part of the design. You’re meant to repeat these sequences and really learn the combat. Swery said there’s a lot to find here for fans of his previous work and that he and Suda51 are working hard to make this their best game to date. 

Hotel Barcelona currently has no release date but will be coming to Xbox, PS5 and PC. 

Mandragora

Mandragora is another side-scrolling action game, but with a heavy emphasis on player customization as you level up. Our demo had three classes to choose from, while an additional three will be available in the full game in the future. What was pleasantly surprising is that your character has six different skill trees to upgrade, including trees for the other classes. Want to play as a rogue who dual-wields poison daggers but still has access to the mage’s casting? Sure, you can do that. 

It’s worth noting that the combat shares more DNA with a soulslike than other side-scrolling action games like Dead Cells. Actions cost stamina and animation priority is key. You won’t be able to dodge out of your attack whenever you want, so players will have to be strategic when engaged in combat. When you die (and you will), a corpse run is required to collect your missing resources. 

Mandragora is releasing on April 17 for Xbox, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Herdling

Herdling was definitely the smallest of the games I played at the event. You control a kid with a magic wand who can direct these large, horned creatures away from you, just like a dog herding sheep. As you guide the creatures through a destroyed, apocalyptic city, you find and recruit more of these beasts to your herd. It gives Where the Wild Things Are vibes. 

The puzzles are pretty easy to solve and the gameplay is definitely more about engaging and petting your new friends. Once you leave the city for a colorful, lush meadow, the game introduces the ability to have your beasts stampede forward at a much faster speed. The demo ends after racing through magical flowers as the music crescendoed. It was a pretty short and light demo and I’m interested in how the team will expand this into a full game. 

Herdling is coming out sometime in 2025 for Xbox and PC.

To a T

From Keita Takahashi, the creator of cult hit Katamari Damacy, comes a much more narrative-focused title in To a T. You play as a 13-year-old child who has spent their whole life in a T pose (their arms and shoulders cannot bend, like a video game character who has loaded incorrectly). From there the demo takes you through a few mini games around what it is like living with this limitation. The kid uses a special sink and an extra long tooth brush, for example. 

Despite this, the game oozes charm and delight, just as you’d expect from this creator. The world is filled with whimsical characters, first and foremost being your friend Giraffe, who loves making sandwiches. But for every wholesome element, there’s a more touching yet darker side to this coming of age story. The protagonist gets bullied on their first day of school because of their T-shaped situation.

Takahashi explained after the demo that he’s telling a touching story that hits close to home, reflecting back on his own experiences being bullied while growing up in Japan. I’m extremely interested in what To a T has to say and what this designer can do when narrative is a core element in his game. 

To a T is coming out May 28 for Xbox, PS5 and PC.