Hands-on with Alien: Isolation 2, Halo: Campaign Evolved, Onimusha, and more thoughts

It's hard to believe that Summer Game Fest 2026 is already over, and it was a whirlwind of an extended weekend. This was the most packed my schedule has ever been, and that's a common sentiment for most of my peers that I spoke with in the rare moments between appointments.

I did genuinely consider waiting and compiling everything into a single, uber-long newsletter, but a few wildly disparate embargo times made that unwise. Similarly, sending a separate email for literally everything I saw seemed...somewhat excessive.

So, a happy compromise! This is the first of a few newsletters to come focused on the titles I've seen and/or played at Summer Game Fest, as well as the developers who work so hard to make it all happen.

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Alien: Isolation 2 is more of the same, and that's great

My time at Summer Game Fest actually kicked off with a 20-minute demo for Alien: Isolation 2 from Sega and Creative Assembly, a sequel that I'm still pleasantly surprised to see underway.

A brief presentation makes it clear this is a true survival-horror sequel, picking up almost immediately after the events of Alien: Isolation. While players no longer control Amanda Ripley, she'll have a role to play in the story. Most importantly, once again, the titular creature is unstoppable. It can be scared off once you've acquired certain tools and weapons, but it can't be killed.

The demo opened with the very beginning of the game on a dark colony world. Despite the giant shift in setting — the first game took place almost entirely on a massive space station —it works, and the atmosphere is immediately oppressive.

As the new protagonist (a woman named Blake, leading a survey team) explores outside a crashed ship, a storm beats down across the planet. Taking just a few steps forward feels inherently dangerous, and even before there's a sign of alien life, it's clear that this world is hostile to any human presence.

Despite Creative Assembly's emphasis that this is pre-alpha gameplay footage, it looks great, with lightning briefly illuminating a dark sky as Blake explores, finally coming up an oddly-configured crashed spaceship.

Despite warnings from one of her workers, Blake forges ahead into the ship in search of survivors, gathering scrap and components that can be used for crafting various items or repairing damaged electrical systems.

The familiar sight of a save station puts a lump in my throat, a lump that refuses to budge upon the reveal that this isn't a spaceship at all. It's a detached portion of Sevastapol station...and it houses one particularly angry resident. A familiar game of cat-and-mouse immediately unfolds, and it's nerve-wracking to navigate through vents and under tables, listening for the sounds of the Xenomorph as it stalks across the halls.

While I can proudly say I was never caught and killed, it isn't easy, with the alien suddenly doubling back at points to catch me off guard, or suddenly jumping into the vents to move through rooms without being seen.

Slowly, I'm able to work my way through to the entrance, only to finally be pounced by the beast. Just as I'm certain I was a hair too slow, an explosion sends Blake and the creature alike flying, and the demo is over.

There's no release date, but Alien: Isolation 2 is coming to Xbox, PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Gears of War: E-Day's devs want to make "the best damn game" possible

Shortly after the conclusion of the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, I had the chance to take part in a group Q&A with some members of The Coalition, including Gears of War: E-Day creative director Matt Searcy and studio brand director Nicole Fawcette.

When asked if the team has been pulling from other games in building the latest Gears of War, Fawcette goes in the opposite direction.

"If anything, this is us being more ourselves," she explains, noting that the team took feedback from what worked and what didn't in prior entries, including Gears 5.

Gears of War: E-Day takes place across three days, with the city it's set in being treated as one of the main characters. Initially it looks pristine, with cars, lights, people, and more, something that really hasn't been seen in the franchise before. As the carnage goes on, the city worsens. It becomes harder and rarer to save civilians. The power will go out. The ruins pile up.

That brutality and focus on civilians is a key choice, as my group was shown gnarly concept art of Locusts butchering the human populace.

While the team has changed some longstanding Gears traditions, such as enhancing movement by allowing players to jump and slide, these are meant to reward high-risk manuevers, not replacing careful movement through cover entirely. Similarly, the longstanding Active Reload system may be in the middle of the screen now, but it can be moved back to the upper-right of the screen, if players prefer.

Naturally, the topic of the packed September-October release schedule came up, as well as the news out of the showcase that Gears of War: E-Day is an Xbox console exclusive.

"You try to make the best damn game you can," Searcy says, adding that the team "couldn't be more excited" to launch as an Xbox exclusive.

Gears of War: E-Day is set to launch on Oct. 6, 2026 across Xbox and PC.

Halo: Campaign Evolved looks really good

Continuing my time with Xbox, I also went hands-on with a new build of Halo: Combat Evolved, this time checking out how Halo Studios has rebuilt Assault on the Control Room. The iconic snowbound map looks fantastic, and the ray-traced lighting shines here as plasma reflects off of ice and metal structure.

Playing through the level, many things are of course familiar, but there are some changes that continually add up in a big way. I'm able to pick up the Energy Swords from Elites, which is awesome, as well hijacking enemy vehicles, taking a Wraith tank for a spin when my Scorpion is too damaged to safely continue using.

The Plasma Pistol's EMP overcharge is a double-edged sword, as it makes swiping Banshees from the Covenant significantly easier, but also means my tanks are more vulnerable to small arms' fire from Grunts and Jackals, and I died more than once when my vehicle was suddenly disabled in the path of mortar fire.

I also have to mention the audio work, which is a significant improvement over the build I played last year. The Assault Rifle in particular sounds powerful and punchy, with bullets ripping through the air at high speed. The team has put in a lot of work here, and it seems to be coming together well.

While I didn't get to go hands-on with it, Halo Studios also told me about the new Campaign Remix feature, which is explicitly designed for longtime fans. Upon loading up Remix, the game randomly selects from any of the 42 Skulls that players have unlocked, meaning no two experiences will be the exact same.

Depending on what Skulls you have, that might mean simply playing in third-person while trying not touch the ground, or it could mean hitting the beach in The Silent Cartographer and being greeted by waves of Flood packing extra-powerful explosives.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is launching on Xbox, PC, and PS5 on July 28, 2026.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a dark comedy with fantastic swordplay

When I visited Capcom's section during Summer Game Fest, I was able to go hands-on with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, playing through a 30-minute (or so) gameplay demo that's different from the currently available public demo.

Protagonist Musashi Miyamoto is skilled with a sword, but his Oni gauntlet lends him extra strength for dealing with the horrific Genma that are cutting across Kyoto. Swordplay feels heavy and powerful, but this is no Soulslike. The gameplay carves (heh) its own path, with weighty strikes and counterattacks that make every swing of the sword critical, especially playing on the higher-difficulty "Action" setting, which I chose..

Combat doesn't shy away from gore, with enemies carved up into pieces at the end of every successful fight. Despite that, the game's tone can be somewhat lighthearted, and there's a playful, goofy energy at work. At one point, I was tasked with rescuing three stone statues for their five brothers (collectively known as the Eight Stout Pillars) and I've never heard a pile of rocks complain more about being rescued.

Musashi's exasperation in dealing with everything comes as a relief compared to the dark aesthetic of Kyoto, as the city's beauty is eclipsed by red corruption called Malice.

Interestingly, the game is somewhat open (though I'd hesitate to call it truly open world) with a large area to explore off the beaten path and complete side activities. These bestow resources, which can be used for critical upgrades, increasing Musashi's health, damage, and more.

My demo culminated in a boss fight against a truly disgusting, multi-limbed foe called Rasho-gan that is obsessed with stealing fingers, toes, arms, and legs. It was a hard fight, but I was able to prevail, to the delight of the Capcom staff who were watching me play.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches on Sept. 25, 2026 across Xbox, PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Resident Evil Veronica is entirely third-person

While I wasn't able to play Resident Evil Veronica during Summer Game Fest, I did get the chance to take part in a group Q&A, with Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi speaking through a translator.

Hirabayashi confirms that Resident Evil Veronica is indeed a fully third-person game, being modeled explicity after the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4. That decision makes sense, as the game's development team encompasses numerous veterans that worked on both of those titles.

Hirabayashi also addressed the game's title, which is dropping the "Code" from the original Resident Evil: Code Veronica. The reasoning here is quite simple. As other recent Resident Evil games have a single word or number in their title, dropping Code makes this latest remake fit the pattern.

There is no release date right now, but Resident Evil Veronica is slated to launch in 2027 across Xbox, PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2.