Annapurna Interactive Showcase is back for another year with some incredible reveals and updates today, and Not-E3 continues to deliver some exciting upcoming games. Granted, not everything shown today was new, but seeing more of Cocoon, Thirsty Suitors, and Blade Runner is undoubtedly nice.

The show was only 25 minutes, but it had much to look forward to in the coming months and early next year. Let’s break down what we saw during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase.

Lorelei And The Laser Eyes

Simogo, the developer of Sayonara Wild Hearts, is back with its next project, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Described as a non-linear adventure puzzle game, the way the trailer is presented will likely put you on edge as it is tense, given you’re seemingly trapped in a maze.

The trailer doesn’t give much away, but it does an excellent job pulling you in. There are more questions than answers if we look at the trailer above.

“Watch carefully, observe. Numbers. Patterns. Puzzles. Are they all part of a macabre game, a complot, a simple treasure hunt?” says the press release.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes launch on Switch and PC via Steam in 2023.

Cocoon

Jeppe Carlsen, the gameplay lead on Limbo and Inside, is back with Cocoon. Spanning worlds and worlds within the world, you look to master world-leaping mechanics to unravel a cosmic mystery.

Cocoon is described as a “unique take” on the puzzle adventure genre where each world exists within an ord you can carry. You can use your powers of leaping worlds to combine and arrange them to solve puzzles.

There is also alien environments and biomechanical devices you must learn to use and discover how they are connected to each other.

Every orb has an ability you can unlock, turning the orb into a tool to use within other worlds, including uncovering pathways and objects, firing projectiles, and more.

Cocoon will launch for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC on September 29.

Lushfoil Photography Sim

Annapurna Interactive is working with Matt Newell to work on Lushfoil Photography Sim.

The in-game camera includes an abundance of settings that you’d expect from a real-world professional DSLR camera. The camera simulates settings such as Auto/Manual Focus, Flash, Exposure, Contrast, White Balance, Aperture, Burst Shot and other effects for complete creative control over your photography. The game further provides tools that allow manipulation of your photos’ environmental conditions, such as manual adjustment of light angles, fog, snow, wind, and rain.

Environments are built in Unreal Engine 5 from the ground up to be efficiently optimized to showcase locations with stunning fidelity.

To A T

Annapurna Interactive is teaming up with Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi and Uvula on to a T. Described as a narrative adventure game; you play as a teenager who has a distinct posture and wants only wants to live everyday life.

You can explore the town with the help of your mom and dog. Along the way, you’ll deal with bullies and use the talent granted to you by your posture.

Flock

From Hollow Ponds and Richard Hogg, Flock received an update during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase. In a three-minute demo, we saw bits of the co-op elements where you can herd flying creatures.

The game is an ode to the joy of flight and discovery. Starting with a small herd of hover-sheep, you nurture and fly them toward fresh, untouched pastures. Along the way, you will discover the secrets of the beautiful uplands and its wild creatures.

Weird flying creatures. Are they fish? Birds? Snakes? It’s a real mystery. They are mostly friendly, though; with some skill, you can charm them to join your flock.

As your flock grows and your sheep gets woollier, you can use the wool you shear for hats, cardigans, and socks!

Flock is currently in development and coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC. It also joins Game Pass.

Ghost Bike

Developer Messhof is working with Annapurna Interactive on Ghost Bike. Playing as a kid from Freehub City, your mission is to revive the Ghost Bikes, magical couriers between the worlds of the living and the dead. You’ll head to the afterlife and save the lost souls of Wheel World.

Ghost Bike is set to launch in 2024, coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC. It also joins Game Pass.

Mundaun

Hidden Fields is launching Mundaun on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 with 4K resolution and 60 FPS. It is available now for $26.99 CAD on consoles.

Mundaun is a lovingly hand-penciled horror tale set in a dark, secluded valley of The Alps. Explore various areas full of secrets to discover, survive hostile encounters, drive vehicles, fill your inventory, and solve a variety of handcrafted puzzles.

Bounty Star

Dinogod has delayed its over-the-shoulder 3D action game Bounty Star into early 2024. It marries mech combat with farm and bae building, where the player takes on the role of a powerful ex-soldier named Clem. As she attempts to shed the guilt of her past, she looks to be a force for good in the Red Expanse, a post-post-apocalyptic version of the American Southwest.

Bounty Star lands on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC. It also joins Game Pass.

Stray

BlueTwelve Studio’s Stray finally heads to Xbox in August, one year after launching on PlayStation consoles and PC.

In our review, Steve said, “Stray offers an exciting and fascinating world to explore from the unique perspective of a cat. Combining a junky post-apocalyptic world with a stray feline works thematically on many different levels. BlueTwelve Studio crafted a beautiful game that never outstays its welcome. I wish we had more time in this world during the final stretch.

Stray gave me a chance to reflect on and look back at my relationship with my orange tabby. I had a tear in my eye during moments of the game and saw my furry friend in character put before me. Stray is a delightful time made by a team who cares about the relationship one has with their own animal. The game offers many authentic experiences that pair nicely with traversal and puzzle solving. Thus, Stay should not be overlooked and should be experienced, whether or not you own a cat.”

Storyteller

Daniel Benmergui’s Storyteller is coming to Netflix in September with new scenarios and characters.

In my review, I said, “Storyteller is a charming puzzler filled with fantastical stories. It is both beautifully animated and uniquely fun that has a rather simple premise but one that has the potential to offer something more than it does. In a world where Baba is You, and Snakebird exist, you’ll find new puzzlers compared to the best in their genre. In the case of Storyteller, I felt it gave you more information than necessary, which often made solving the puzzles far easier than I’d have liked. Still, I had fun with the clever moments offered throughout the short runtime, even though it lacks the depth the genre provides typically.”

Thirsty Suitors

The first update for the night featured Outerloop Games’ Thirsty Suitors, a game with relationships, culture, family pressures, and expressing yourself.

Jala must handle her demanding parents, reconcile with her exes, and fix her friendships before her sister’s wedding. To gamify the experience, Jala confronts her exes and does so in a turn-based battle system that’s over the top.

Thirsty Suitors has a release date of November 2.

Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth

Annapurna Interactive is internally working on Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth for consoles and PC. No release date was shown.

Here’s the Steam page description:

“Lots of people lost things in the Black Out.

I was lucky, I just lost a job.

But now they want me back.”

From Annapurna Interactive, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth brings the revered franchise back to games for the first time in 25 years.

Set between the original film and 2049, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth takes place after the events of the Black Out and asks: what does a Blade Runner do when there are no Replicants left to hunt?