Alone in the Dark, Trine 5, and more to be shown off at THQ Nordic's summer showcase

THQ Nordic's Digital Showcase will grace our screens again this summer, and promises to "not only include world premiere announcements but also updates and reveals for previously-announced games". It'll run on August 11 at 12 pm PDT / 3 pm EDT / 8 pm BST / 9 pm CEST / 10 pm EEST on the company's YouTube and Twitch pages, and also its Steam page, if you're really keen to watch it there for some reason.

THQ is keeping schtum about its full line-up, but it did mention three games that will be putting in an appearance at the show in the event's press release. Those are Alone in the Dark, Outcast 2, and Trine 5.

Personally, I'm most interested to hear more about Alone in the Dark, THQ Nordic's reanimation of the once-esteemed horror series that's been dormant since 2015 (not without reason: the series' last entry before THQ Nordic bought it was the unloved Alone in the Dark: Illumination). This new entry promises a "completely original story" from the writer of SOMA, so it could end up being something really special if the stars align right.

Outcast 2, which I keep accidentally typing as 'Outlast 2' each time I write it, is a full-on sequel to 1999's cult classic action adventure game. The first game got a remake in 2017, and I guess did well enough that THQ saw fit to announce the sequel in 2021.

Finally, Trine 5 is another entry in the much-loved Trine series (you can tell by the name), a set of sidescrolling puzzle-platformers—with the exception of the third game, a 3D adventure that fans didn't like so much—that see you play as a knight, mage and thief, taking advantage of the abilities of each to make your way through each game's levels. This one only got announced recently, and is due for a release later this year, so it'll be good to hear more about it at the showcase.

Last year's showcase featured a tease for a potential (emphasis on potential) upcoming South Park game, and it's possible we might get some news on that front at the August event, too.

And that's your lot, I'm afraid. Except it isn't. THQ Nordic presumably has a bunch more things up its voluminous, intellectual property-stuffed sleeves that it's waiting to show off, but it didn't deign to mention them in the announcement. If you ask me, the company's number one priority should be to stop faffing around with Destroy All Humans and find a way to add Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction—Pandemic Studios' real greatest game—to its dragon's hoard of IP. It's gotta pop up at one of these events sooner or later, right?

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.