Today’s the birthday of the Triple-I Initiative, a 45-minute showcase of game announcements and trailers from the likes of Slay The Spire devs MegaCrit, Darkest Dungeon devs Red Hook and Dead Cells custodians Evil Empire. What makes a “triple-I” game a “triple-I” game, as opposed to (hawk, spit) a regular indie? I’ve given it some thought, and I think the answer is: “has more money and status than most indies, but not, like, Call of Duty levels, and also one of our partners is Gearbox Publishing, so this is perhaps ‘indie’ in the Geoff Keighley sense.”
Don’t expect any of Keighley’s beloved Kojima interludes or dance numbers in this one, however. The IIIIs are a leaner, quieter showcase with no host or advertising or celebrity drop-ins – you can read more about the thinking behind the event in my GDC interview with a few of the participating studios. Find the full stream below.
Don’t have 45 minutes to spare? Well, hark at you with your active and efficient lifestyle. Here’s a quick round-up of what we here at the Treehouse consider to be the more significant announcements from tonight’s showcase, leaving aside the bittier videos and the console-specific stuff.
The big news of the day: MegaCrit have announced Slay The Spire 2 with a flashy story animation. It’s coming to early access in 2025. Here’s Alice0’s write-up.
Risk of Rain 2, meanwhile, is getting a Devotion Update which introduces the Verdant Falls stage, together with some alt skins and new artefacts.
Procedural detective sim Shadows Of Doubt has a brand new Sharpshooter Assassin update, live now…
…while retro 2D steampunk platformer Gestalt: Steam and Cylinder has a release date – 21st May.
Vampire Survivors is partnering with Contra in the shape of Operation Guns – out 9th May. Amongst other things it introduces lupine Brad Fang from Contra: Hard Corps
Thorium have announced UnderMine 2, a sequel to their well-regarded action-RPG.
Nic’s also fairly enthusiastic about arcade dafty What The Car?, which now has a Steam demo and 5th September release date.
Medieval kingdom sim Norland is coming to early access on 16th May.
Speaking of kingdoms, Darkest Dungeon 2 is getting a big new mode
Wabisabi Games, meanwhile, have unveiled Rakugaki, a Gearbox-incubated sci-fi game about revolutionary graffiti artists, for summer 2024 release.
There’s a big Fall Of Avalon update in the works for dour roguelike Ravenswatch, out 22nd April 2024.
Tactical RPG The Last Spell is also getting some DLC, Dwarves of Runenberg, which launches 24th April.
A new trailer for Cat Quest 3, which appears to feature more than three cats, and also some ghosts.
Alice0 favourite Brotato will receive some Abyssal Terrors DLC and a couch co-op update this summer…
…while historical strategy game Old World’s Behind The Throne expansion arrives on 28th May 2024.
Palworld’s arena multiplayer made a fleeting appearance in the showcase, as reported by Matt – it’s out this year. Thunderlotus’s 33 Immortals, meanwhile, goes into closed beta on 24th May
Some footage of Wizard Of Legend 2. I’m not familiar with the series but the footage reminds me a tiny bit of Magicka, and I do like Magicka.
A small but pleasant surprise drop: mountain city-builder Laysara: Summit Kingdom is out this very minute in early access.
Here’s a proper trailer for V: Rising’s Castlevania crossover DLC, in which you can batter Simon Belmont – and presumably, drink his blood? It’s out 8th May.
There’s also a new trailer for Never Alone 2, sequel to the game about an indigenous child traversing a world of ice.
Oh, and we should probably mention The Rogue Prince of Persia, “a new roguelite that combines wall running with Arkham-style agile combat”
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