Well, it’s official, The Elder Scrolls VI is real and happening. Maybe not this year… maybe not next… but it’s happening and we have actual proof.
As for what else we got from E3 these past two days, sit back and buckle up because it’s a doozy of new announcements that will make your head spin… Let’s do this.
MICROSOFT
E3 was a snooze fest until Microsoft showed up. With more than 50 games to show off, 18 of which were world premiers; Mixed with the announcement of Microsoft working on their new console: Made for a deadly recipe that was hard to follow up.
Let’s talk about the biggest games first since there is a lot to unpack here.
Halo: Infinite
The next Halo game looks to be taking place on a Halo. One that didn’t explode. All we know is that it is using a brand new game engine and that it will follow Master Chief and only Master Chief… Thank the heavens.
We also got the announcement of Gears 5, the fifth entry in the Gears of War franchise; as well as two other Gears of War games: Gears of War Pop! and Gears of War Tactics.
As if that wasn’t enough, Bethesda closed off their conference with a new trailer for Cyberpunk 2077, the new game from the creators of The Witcher franchise.
Microsoft’s Press Conference was a doozy and contained some of the most exciting gameplay reveals and surprises that I have seen in a long time, I’m excited to see what comes next for Xbox fans, now let’s get into the short list of most the games we saw at the conference:
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Crackdown 3
- Fallout 76
- Metro Exodus
- Shadows Die Twice
- Kingdom Hearts
- Sea of Thieves
- Forza Horizon 4
- We Happy Few
- PUBG
- The Division 2
- Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
- Devil May Cry 5
- Cuphead
- Tunic
- Dying Light 2
- Battletoads
- Just Cause 4
- And more…
I believe that Microsoft put on an incredible show and I am excited to see what they have the rest of the week.
BETHESDA
Before I say anything I want to discuss how this conference was structured… Every year there are bad shows and good shows. Microsoft had a VERY good show, one that set the tone for the future of Xbox and the community. Bethesda on the other hand… had a VERY bad show. At least until Todd Howard walked out and wowed us with some incredible Fallout 76 gameplay, the announcement of not one but TWO new games coming from the main studio, as well as make fun of himself with the announcement of Skyrim: Very special Edition; which turns out is a real app you can get for Alexa.
Other than the obvious huge announcement of Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield, we didn’t see many other big deal announcements. The Doom sequel entitled Doom: Eternal, was a fun thing to see especial after how good Doom 2016 was. It was also good to see some love for Prey and Wolfenstein 2 with DLC for both AND VR modes.
Other than that we saw older games talked about and already announced titles like Rage 2 get talked about a lot, not to mention a boring and dumb rock concert too.
Overall I would say that Bethesda nailed it, except that they could have just shown the trailer for Elder Scrolls VI and that would have been enough to crash their website with traffic.
UBISOFT
I love Ubisoft’s press conferences usually but this year just didn’t do it for me. Don’t get me wrong it was fine, but after being spoiled by Microsoft, it’s hard to get excited.
The only surprise new game announcement was for a new Trials game called Trails Rising. Which is exciting if you love the Trials series but for me, it was underwhelming.
As for the really good parts, we got a wonderful new trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2. This is my most anticipated game of this E3 so far (That could change with Smash Bros, Fire Emblem, or Metroid Prime 4… Probably Metroid), not just because it looked fun or because of the partnership with Hitrecord, but because it looks like a mix between Cowboy Bebop and Treasure Planet, which are my 2 favorite properties ever. I can’t wait to see more from this game, and I’m sold. Just give me a release date PLEASE!
Now let’s talk about the other Announcements, talking about For Honor, Rainbow 6 Siege, and the upcoming Crew 2, was a very smart thing. Showing support for these incredible games and how they are improving for the future makes me feel good and I think keeps the community happy too. It was also good to see The Division 2 and see how dedicated Ubisoft is to make a good experience for those of us who like shared world shooters.
The second most exciting trailer for me was for Ubisoft’s new pirate game: Skull and Bones. I love pirates and I can’t wait to customize my ship and sail the high seas with my buddies. Enough Said.
Last but certainly not least they dove into Assassins Creed Odyssey. The next advents in the (almost always) annual franchise. And let me be the first (Definitely not the first) to say that I… Am genuinely excited for this one. Not only does Greece look way cooler to explore than Egypt, but put me in a game where you can have different romance options and I am all in. Overall I’m excited to see where Assassins Creed goes next.
Ubisoft did a good job, and I’m proud to be a fan of them. I am looking forward to The Crew 2 and more.
SONY
Alright, this was the one everyone was waiting for. Not only did Sony have the excitement of The Last of Us Part II behind them, but Death Stranding and Spiderman really help keep the hype going. And while I was very hyped with the opening of there show; seeing Ellie all grown up, the first openly gay women main character in a triple-A game, having a MUCH NEEDED SAME SEX KISS ON STAGE AT E3; it wasn’t quite enough to make me ignore the atrocious pacing of this conference. revealing one o the most anticipated games of all time and following with 15 minutes of filler WHILE THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE MOVES TO ANOTHER THEATRE is unacceptable and completely moronic. There was no reason for this conference to be run this way and I was highly disappointed.
However…
Every single game Sony showed was incredible: Ghost of Tsushima blew me away, SURPRISE Resident Evil 2 is back, Squanch games is the funniest game company ever invented, Death Stranding is still insane and I love it, Spider-Man continues to look like the game my 10-year-old self-wants, Control was awesome and then they showed that remedy was making it and I LOST MY MIND.
While the show itself sucked, Sony clearly has a monopoly on single player console exclusives, and I am so excited to see what’s next for them. Overall good job but get your stuff together Sony that was horrible.
We still have one more press conference before I sign off and launch our new podcast in the coming weeks. I look forward to Nintendo’s showcase tomorrow, and to finally live in a world where we know what characters are going to be in the new Smash Bros game.
What was your favorite announcement? Comment below!
