As Day 3 and Day 4 of E3 2021 was a little lighter on the conferences. Day 3 basically had one conference with Capcom giving a fairly short show in general and Day 4 had Nintendo Direct and Bandai Namco. Bandai Namco covered one game, The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes in a more detailed interview.
Let’s see the highlights for Capcom and Nintendo Direct.
CAPCOM
Resident Evil: Village Updates
Producer Tsuyoshi Kanda teased new updates and DLC are arriving for the game from July while also providing a brief look at a new deathmatch mode Resident Evil Re:Verse where players will be able to battle each other as both heroes and bio weapons from the franchise.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
The sequel to the original Monster Hunter Stories, which debuted in 2017 on Nintendo 3DS. Before being ported to mobile devices, with the translated version launching in 2018.
The series features the same creatures from the core Monster Hunter games, but instead of hunting them down, the game takes a more humane approach. Hunters tame monsters, ride them around the world, and battle alongside them against other monsters.
The game will see all the Rathalos disappearing from the world with you playing as the grandchild of a famous hunter named Red who receives a mysterious egg which hatches, a flightless Rathalos with razor hands instead of wings and proving a new mystery to unravel
One of the first update for the game will be Palamute from Monster Hunter Rise on July 9th while Monster Hunter Rise will also be getting new updates throughout June
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (July 27st)
Bringing together two titles previously only available in Japan here you will play as Phoenix Wright’s ancestor Ryunosuke Naruhodo who is joined by Detective Herlock Sholmes. The game will also include two new features: the Dance of deduction where Herlock will make wild assumptions that you will have to correct while finding new evidence. Summation Examination on the other hand will see you will attempt to swing the Jury in your favor and weed out contradicting stories. This one is landing on Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
NINTENDO DIRECT
While Nintendo is not normally one of the stronger conferences here really delivered a great collection of trailers all presented in their usual unique style. But if you’re a Switch owner there is plenty to look forward to it seems.
Mario Party Superstars (October 29th)
Continuing to tap into their history here they dig out and remaster 5 classic boards from the Mario party franchise as well as 100 classic mini games. Better still online play is included so you can play with friends or strangers.
These remasters continue to be a welcome addition to the Switch catalogue especially with the prices only continuing to rise on the previous gen consoles and games, thanks to a cut throat trading scene it allows fans to either tap into their nostalgic memories of these titles or enjoy them for the first time
Metroid Dread (October 8th)
The first 2D Metroid game in 19 years!! Sure they might still be working on Metroid Prime 4 but this stylish return to the game’s roots really hits all the right notes like Sonic Heroes. The game will also hit shelves with a pair of amiibo for Samus and EMMI, a new robot character introduced in the trailer.
Cruis’N Blast (Fall 2021)
Arcade publisher Raw Thrills co-founded by Eugene Jarvis, the original designer of the Cruis’n series released by Midway Games back in the 1990s released Cruis’n Blast in arcades in January 2017 the first Cruis’n title since 2007’s Wii game Cruis’n.
Needless to say this is perfect arcade racing fun and looks like a great port of the arcade game.
WarioWare: Get It Together (September 10th)
The mini game collection returns this time with two player.
Danganronpa Decadance
Collecting three games from the franchise for the Nintendo Switch The bundle brings together Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. As you play a group of students forced to kill each other by a psychotic teddy bear while conducting trials to find out who the killer was.
Needless to say it’s a series with a big cult following so this is a great collection to see get a re-release
Fatal Frame – Maiden of Black Water
The latest addition to the fatal frame series looks to tap into all the things we love about the franchise when it returns later this year, as you battle more ghosts using your camera.
Legend of Zelda Announcements
If your a Zelda fan this really was the show for you with Nintendo not only announcing the remaster of Skyward Sword and the Game and Watch of the first three games The Legend of Zelda, Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, and the game boy version The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
We also got our first look at the Breath of the Wild sequel due out next year and while the information about the game might have been limited the first footage looked great
Also announced:
Kazuya Mishima from Tekken heading to Super Smash Bros.Ultimate
Life Is Strange Trilogy heading to Switch along with True Colours: September 10th
Super Monkey Ball Mania: October 5th
Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-boot camp: December 3rd
Hyrule Warriors DLC Age of Calamity: June 18th
Hyrule Warriors DLC Pulse of the Ancients: November
E3 crept up on us before we knew it. While mostly everything is still in a virtual set-up due to the pandemic, we’ve changed out approach to only cover the highlights of what stood out to us in the different showcases over the next few days. Day 1 kicked off with Ubisoft Forward followed by the quirky Devolver Digital Showcase and wrapped up with Gearbox Entertainment.
UBISOFT FORWARD 2021
Considering that E3 is the showcase for the year ahead, it’s obviously very disappointing that Ubisoft usually the highlight of the E3 conference calendar came with such a disappointing slate padded out with updates for existing titles and trailers for their TV / Movie projects and just so much cringe worthy presentation….is it too late to get Aisha back?
So let’s cut the fat from the steak as here are the few highlights from the show.
Rainbow Six Extraction(September 16th)
Normally we don’t have a lot to say about Rainbow Six Siege as over the six years of the game’s launch, we’re not exactly big players of online multiplayer games or into e-sports. However with Back 4 Blood on the horizon the Rainbow Six team keen to not be outdone bring us Rainbow Six Extraction
A tactical shooter game which is a 1-3 player co-op experience set in a world battling an alien threat (see completely different). The game will also bring back many of the popular operators with a strong emphasis on risk and reward with captured players going MIA and can’t be playing until their team members save them.
The show did offer a good look at both gameplay and the different alien threats along with their design including a look at how the alien threat is a parasite that evolves in the different containment areas on the world map. Though for fans of Left 4 Dead you can’t help but feel that nagging feeling of familiarity.
Rocksmith+
Following in the footsteps of Just Dance, the Interactive Music Learning will be offering its own mobile version as well as the expected subscription service. The big plus being that it will require no gear other than your guitar and your phone which will double as a mic.
Certainly this is a smart move for the evolution of the game, with the subscription certainly providing a more appealing draw to the most casual learner not wanting to shell out on a full priced game for a hobby they might not stick with.
No, it’s not Steep 2 even though everything on offer is essentially the same so you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a sequel to the open world winter sports sim. As with that game, you have the freedom to go and do what you want while competing in a variety of extreme sports from jet powered wingsuits and BMX’s to snowboarding in a natural playground packed with landmarks and competitions that you can have fun solo or with your friends.
Far Cry 6 (October 7)
Another cinematic trailer for the game showcasing Giancarlo Esposito as the main villain Anton Castillo but nothing that we havn’t seen before.
Surprisingly the most interesting part of the presentation was Far Cry 6 Season Pass which includes Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon as well getting to play the iconic villains from Farcry 3 to 5 with their original voice actors returning and Ubisoft promising that this DLC will “Delve into these iconic villain’s twisted minds, uncover their backstories, battle their inner demons, and reunite with familiar faces,” when the game is released in October.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (2022)
The next Nintendo and Ubisoft collaboration is here as the next game in the Mario + Rabbids is announced and titled Sparks of Hope. Sparks being the Rabids and Lumas morph. This time, the new adventure takes place with an entire galaxy to explore via spaceship. There are new elements added to the genre and claims to still be easy to play but hard to master for those looking for a challenge. That being said, this is a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (2022)
Ubisoft always presents their surprise first looks as the big ending to their showcase to wrap things up. Much in that style, they offered up a first look at the upcoming Avatar game boasting the use of their Snowdrop engine.
What we got here though was another cinematic trailer for the upcoming first person action adventure game in an open-world experience which promises a whole new story from the upcoming film(s) but really all it did was bring back memories of the last time they tried to turn the film into a game back on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
And all the rest from Ubisoft Forward below…
Just Dance 2022 returns with it’s yearly update on November 4th with special guest: Todrick Hall (exciting if you know who this is I guess)
Year 6 of Rainbow Six Siege brings with it Crossplay with PC, Stadia, Luna
For Honor, Trackmania, The Crew 2, Watch Dogs Legion: all packed with new updates and seasons
Brawlhalla: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are being added as playable characters
Ghost Recon Breakpoint will have some upcoming updates in celebration for the franchise’s 20th anniversary
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: A wide slate of free updates and upcoming second expansion, The Siege of Paris coming in Summer 2021
TV series: Mythic Quest, Season 2 on Apple TV
Movie: Werewolves Within: in theatres June 25th and On Demand July 2nd
DEVOLVER MAXPASS +
Devolver Digital’s showcase has always been a skit of over the top performances while dropping their upcoming independent games set to be published in the coming year. This year is no different as they use a backdrop of having Maxpass+ with premium access to their games and end it in a rather clever way. For a half an hour show, it’s quite entertaining overall with this unique approach with a few interesting indie games to look forward to.
Let’s check out of some of the highlights of the show:
Trek to Yomi (2022)
The past few years have been a good few Japanese samurai games that’ve been released and mostly fairly big budget AAA titles. Taking it back a step is Trek to Yomi which is not only black and white but also a side scroller combat game. The art style and the combat both look really good in the fairly short trailer but might be an intriguing one to discover. It’s being released on the new generation consoles and PC.
Phantom Abyss (Steam Early Access June 22nd)
Multiplayer games have definitely been a huge focus and yet, Phantom Abyss takes on an asynchronous multiplayer first person experience through a temple full of obstacles as you chase after phantoms of other players that failed their attempts. The angle definitely sounds unique enough but it just depends whether the game is focused more on trial and error and luck or is there something more to it. It is heading into Steam Early Access on June 22nd so not too long of a wait to find out how it plays out from concept versus reality.
Wizard with a Gun (2022)
Wizard With A Gun is an upcoming sandbox survival game which can be played as multiplayer co-op or single player, much like Don’t Starve. In fact, looking at the art style and certain elements, the similarities are definitely there. The colors however are much more vibrant. The world does seem more magical as you do play as wizard characters and that adds a lot more combat and different fantastical enemies to encounter. Magic, crafting and building: Wizard With A Gun does seem to have its own angle. It’s expected to release on Nintendo Switch and PC.
Inscryption (2021)
From the creator of Pony Island and The Hex comes Inscryption, a card-based odyssey that looks like a lot of things from a card game/deckbuilding roguelike and a board game design. It also has a unique inked art style and some kind of adventure going on which involves escape room puzzles blending to create a psychological horror game. The idea is definitely unique in its various elements but the story is still not revealed yet. There’s still a lot of unknown about this one but you do have to appreciate that unlike other companies that give cinematic trailers over gameplay, Inscryption took the opposite path.
Other games mentioned in Devolver Digital showcase:
Death’s Door (July 20th, 2021)
Devolver Tumble Time (2021, Android & iOS)
Demon Throttle (2022, Nintendo Switch Physical Exclusive)
GEARBOX ENTERTAINMENT
Another quick showcase to get through as Gearbox Entertainment hosts a half hour show mostly boasting a few games and spending a good portion of the time on the movie set of the Borderlands film currently in production. The key points to note for the Borderlands movie is that its directed by Eli Roth and stars some popular names like Cate Blanchette, Jack Black, Kevin Hart. Of course, this is a gaming showcase considering its part of E3 so here’s a quick look at the few games presented…
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
There’s no doubt that Borderlands is a fabulous universe that Gearbox created. Taking on a standalone game from the franchise and bringing out a story circling Tiny Tina who was part of the fantastic Borderlands 2 DLC prior to this, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands centers around this character in a looter shooter set in a new fantasy environment. They reassure that this requires no prior knowledge of Borderlands to dive into. In this fantasy world, it’s filled with its own adventure full of goblins and dragons for starters along with other enemies. There’s no doubt that this announcement is the highlight of this showcase.
Tribes of Midgard (July 27th)
Developed by Norsfell and published by Gearbox Publishing, Tribes of Midgard is an upcoming survival role-playing game which can be a single player experience but best played as a co-op with up to 10 players. You play as a Viking and have to collect resources and build the tribe and village while also defending it from the threats like giants that will come to destroy it. It launches on Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Steam.
Other updates from Gearbox:
Godfall is coming to Playstation 4 in August 2021 and will have an expansion, Fire and Darkness
Homeworld 3 is in production
That wraps up the highlights of Day 1 of E3 2021. What games caught your attention? Let us know in the comments.
The Game Awards took place virtually on almost all online platforms available in a lot of countries around the world. Running at a whopping 3.5 hours, it brought it a line of presenters with Keanu Reeves, Gal Gadot, Tom Holland, Nolan North, Troy Baker and ending with Christopher Nolan presenting the Game of the Year awards. Of course, there was also a ton of world premiere trailers which is what everyone sits through these few hours for in hope of finding some new games to look forward to in the coming few months.
Here’s the list of the winners for The Game Awards:
Best Score/Music: Final Fantasy VII Remake Best Action/Adventure Game: The Last of Us Part II Best Family Game: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Best Community Support: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Best Debut Game: Phasmophobia Best eSports Game: League of Legends Best Performance: Laura Bailey (Abby – The Last of Us Part II) Best Ongoing Game: No Man’s Sky Best Art Direction: Ghost of Tsushima Best Action Game: Hades Best AR/VR Game: Half-Life: Alyx Best Sports/Racing Game: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skate 1+2 Most Anticipated Game: Elden Ring Best Narrative: The Last of Us Part 2 Games For Impact: Tell Me Why Best Multiplayer: Among Us Best Indie Game: Hades Best Audio Design: The Last of Us Part II Best Role Playing Game: Final Fantasy VII Remake Best Simulation/Strategy Game: Microsoft Flight Simulator Player’s Voice: Ghost of Tsushima Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat 11 Innovation in Accessibility: The Last of Us Part II Best Mobile Game: Among Us Best Game Direction: The Last of Us Part II Game of the Year: The Last of Us Part II
And now for the trailers that caught our eye. Those not talked about will be listed at the bottom.
Shady Part of Me (Available Now)
Shady Part of Me reminiscent of Little Nightmares as its story’s protagonist is also a little girl who is caught in the dark with only her shadow as a companion as she traverses through this world, with the trailer revealing the little creatures and obstacles. It definitely looks a promising title and what’s better is that it’s available now on consoles, PC and Switch.
NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139… (April 23, 2021)
NieR Replicant ver. 12247487139… is the upgraded prequel of NieR: Automata originally released in 2010 exclusively for Playstation 3, (hence the crazy string of numbers at the back). After the fairly successful run for NieR: Automata which boasted some great combat and narrative, this game certainly comes with some anticipation.
Remakes nowadays are absolutely everywhere but then, with the hype of NieR: Automata, it’s definitely breathed new life into this franchise so well worth a remake.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate – Sephiroth (December 2020)
Just when you thought that they were done adding characters to the already stacked roster, Nintendo pulled out this surprise addition which will no doubt make both Smash and Final Fantasy fans alike very happy, even if at one point it looked like he’d impaled Mario on trademark blade.
Perfect Dark
After 2 years for the announcement of Xbox Studio’s The Initiative, their first project has been revealed as a dive into the Perfect Dark series, a secret agent thriller set in a near future world. The trailer is a cinematic trailer of following a surveillance diving through buildings until it reaches Agent Dark. Its world looks very pretty from the trailer but at the end of the day, it’s still a cinematic trailer and we will need to wait for the gameplay to see how the experience will be.
Back 4 Blood (June 22, 2021)
If this brought to mind memories of Left 4 Dead then you won’t be surprised to learn that the team behind this zombie co-op shooter includes members of the Left 4 Dead team, while Turtle Rock Studios lets not forget also gave us the underappreciated Monster Hunter Evolve in which players played as either the monster being hunted or one of four hunters tasked with hunting it down. Needless to say if original developers have no interest in continuing the series this studio feels like a perfect second choice.
While we initially thought that we would only get to see the cinematic trailer which smacked off all the things which made Left 4 Dead such a fun title while playing as the much longed for spiritual sequel to the original games as we got the character banter, zombie mutants, fun weapons and locations as well as 20 foot monstrosity!!
Back 4 Blood closed Alpha starts on December 17th so sign up now – Back4Blood.com/Alpha
The Callisto Protocol (2022)
After years of remakes, Dead Space is a space horror game that has been anticipated. While The Callisto Protocol isn’t a Dead Space game, it is made by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield. The cinematic trailer is one that reminds us a lot of Dead Space right away. Its one that shows a lot of promise but then it’s got some big shoes to fill and one of the games that has a longer wait time as its set to release in 2022.
Open Roads
The next game by Fullbright, the developers of Gone Home and Tacoma is Open Roads, a narrative story about a mother and daughter who goes on a road trip to trace clues left behind by the grandmother’s diary . The artwork looks beautiful and the story seems intriguing especially helmed by Fullbright who are rather good storytellers plus its voiced by Keri Russell & Kaitlyn Dever, which is definitely exciting. No release date yet but one to look out for.
Season
In our pandemic times filled with lockdowns and solo activities, Scavenger Studios upcoming game Season is one that follows a bicycle road trip adventure game where it’s about exploring a new world and collecting memories and artifacts. It’s one that seems rather atmospheric and could be a touching little story depending on what the angle here is. It’s set for a PS5 release but thus far, no release date set yet.
Ark II
Taking the unexpected stray away from the multiplayer game format that Ark is known for, Ark II showed a cinematic trailer with a CGI ripped Vin Diesel protecting his family while killing some dinosaurs. Vin Diesel and dinosaurs sounds like quite the combo and probably one of the big surprises of The Game Awards. The question now is what are the plans in terms of what this game will be: will there be multiplayer or is this a more ambitious single player game? It has no release date so far so we can only hope that more information will be dropped in future events about the direction it will choose to take.
Paired with this announcement is an Ark: The Animated Series which is set to release in 2022 and lists a fantastic line-up of voice cast including Vin Diesel, Elliot Page, Michelle Yeoh, David Tennant, Karl Urban and Russell Crowe. That’s a pretty stellar line-up for an animated series.
Returnal (PS5, March 19, 2021)
Despite the release being leaked before the show his third person shooter is a psychological horror about a woman stuck in a continuous loop forced to live, die, repeat not unlike it’s fellow Playstation stablemate Deathloop both of which will be exclusives for the console.
Super Meat Boy Forever (December 23, 2020)
For years we have been eagerly awaiting a follow up to the breakout indie hit and now seemingly out of nowhere we finally might get to see the next chapter of the Meat Boy saga as rejoin our hero who since his last outing has settled down with Bandage girl to start a family. However when Dr. Fetus returns and abducts their child Nugget it’s time to leap back into action this time being joined by a host of new characters and abilities while maintaining the same frustrating and addictive gameplay as the original.
It Takes Two (March 26, 2021)
Hazelight continue to be the studio to watch with their innovative game let alone their ongoing quest to revive the couch co-op as they follow up their prison break game A Way Out as this time you and a friend will play as either Cody or May. Two human-turned-dolls who while going through a rough patch in their marriage are forced to work together as they travel through a magical world to find a way to break the spell in a game which already looks set to blend different types of gameplay from platforming to puzzle solving.
Evil West (2021)
A new title from developer Flying Wild Hog Studios who previously gave us Shadow Warriors and now return with a supernatural western with players taking control of Jesse Rentier one of the last agents of a secret vampire hunting organisation and with a dark force threatening the American frontier its down to him to stop it.
Armed with the usual firepower of the old west, Jesse also has a multipurpose gauntlet which we got to see a couple of its abilities during the cinematic trailer including wolverine claws and even the ability to channel lightning. Over the course of the game you will be able to unlock new gadgets and perks with the option to play co-op makes it another title to watch out for.
Scarlet Nexus (Summer 2021)
Originally revealed back in May, here we finally got to see more of the gameplay and story or should that be stories as players will get to experience the dual perspectives of Yuito and Kasane two new recruits psionic soldiers battling a supernatural threat called “The Others”.
Players will be able to move objects with their mind as well as borrow the abilities of your teammates with the action looking fast and frantic, which alongside the stunning graphics only makes us all the more excited to finally get to play this one.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Game (2021)
Set in the League of Legends world, we finally got to see our first gameplay trailer for this single player spin off and while the plot might still be a mystery, the game will see you forming a team alongside three of the game champions all of which will bring different skills and attacks to your party in this turn based combat game.
Mass Effect Untitled Sequel
While Mass Effect Andromeda might not have been the continuation to the massively popular original trilogy anybody wanted and that’s without going into the problematic ending of the original game, there was still that thrill in this cinematic trailer of seeing Liara again as she walked across a snowy planet ending with her picking up a piece of N7 Armour and ending with the promise that Mass Effect will continue. What this means in terms of the storyline is unclear at the moment and considering that Asari live for centuries we could be looking at a completely new timeline. Certainly consider us excited for this one.
Other titles announced at The Game Awards
Loop Hero
Tchia
Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut (Nintendo Switch)
We are OFK (interactive series, Spring 2021)
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout – Season 3 (Dec 15)
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gates of Oblivion (2021)
Monster Hunter Rise (March 26, 2021) – Demo on January 2021
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War: Season One
Among Us – New Map: The Airship (early 2021)
Crimson Desert (MMO, Winter 2021)
Dragonage
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (March 2021, free upgrade for all players)
Overcooked: All You Can Eat – Swedish Chef (Available Now as Free Download)
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey (Early 2021)
F.I.S.T. Forged in Shadow Torch (Coming Spring 2021)
Evil Dead: The Game (Coming 2021) – looks like multiplayer
Ghosts N Goblins Resurrection (Feb 25, 2021 Nintendo Switch)
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