Defining Duke, Episode 231 | A Slow Year? - Our Reactions To The Xbox Games Showcase 2025

Xbox has been the gold standard for showcases these last two years. Whether it be their summer showcases or Developer Direct, they just seem to have a death grip on the rhythm needed to put on a good show along with well timed announcements. Well, no one stays hot forever, so it was inevitable that Xbox would come down to earth at some point. The question is, when they do, where would they end up? Fortunately, it wasn't terrible! We got a deep look at The Outer Worlds 2 while Double Fine finally came out of hiding with their atmospheric adventure game, Keeper. Clockwork Revolution stole the show with a 5+ minute trailer and, naturally, Call Of Duty is coming back again this year. Perhaps most noteworthy was the reveal of the ROG Xbox Ally X. As long reported, this partnership with ASUS will be the beginning of Xbox's handheld journey. Cog went hands-on, so we have to-the-minute thoughts on the user experience, UI updates, and performance testing!

Note: Constellation will also be released shortly!

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro

0:03:24 - General Impressions

0:12:28 – Outer Worlds 2

0:30:16 – High On Life 2

0:33:49 – Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

0:37:45 – Rog Xbox Ally X

0:56:10 – Blood Of The Dawnwalker

0:58:08 – Super Meat Boy 3D

0:59:35 – Ninja Gaiden 4

1:04:54 – Indiana Jones: The Order Of Giants

1:11:02 – Beast Of Reincarnation

1:13:48 – Clockwork Revolution

1:24:52 – Grounded 2

1:31:37 – Chronos: The New Dawn

1:36:19 – Aphelion

1:40:05 – There Are No Ghosts At The Grand

1:43:03 – Mudang Two Hearts

1:45:50 – Planet Of Lana 2

1:51:37 – Animo

1:55:51 – Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4

1:57:00 – At Fate's End

1:59:06 – Gears Of War Reloaded

2:01:58 – Persona 4 Revival

2:11:06 – Invincible VS

2:16:00 – Final Fantasy has come to Xbox

2:27:17 – Keeper

2:34:19 – Phil's 2026 Teases

2:54:51 – Black Ops 7