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Thousands of gaming geeks descended upon Los Angeles for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or for those with their fingers on the X button pulse, E3. Each year the studios outdo themselves as the games and trailers become more beautiful, more graphically mind-blowing, and all with stories that challenge the genre. Most people queued to experience some of the biggest games this year. These included Black Ops 4, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Last of Us II (all of which look amazing) — although
Fortnite still ran the show. Here is a tiny slice of a few games that debuted at E3.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
Nine years ago we were promised a sequel to a 2003 game that was technically a commercial failure at launch, but that turned out to be an immensely fun cult game. It followed a photographer pirate lady called Jade and her pig-man friend as they found themselves having to save the world.
Now, the sequel is finally here. Everyone was delighted when Ubisoft ended its presentation with a cinematic trailer. All the original crew are back with a menagerie of half-human animal creatures. And to include fans of the original, Ubisoft has expanded its “space monkey program”, where fans can have a say how the game is made, by partnering up with actor Joseph GordonLevitt’s HitRecord to pay fans to make art and music for the game.
Death Stranding
Hideo Kojima’s newest game after the legend closed the door on his Metal Gear legacy promises to be a game changer. In its fourth mysterious trailer, we find actor Norman Reedus (pictured, Walking Dead) as a post-apocalyptic delivery man who traverses barren wastelands with curious packages — some of which are babies in artificial wombs. The world Kojima has built appears vast and isolating, but that doesn’t mean you’re alone. There are cameos from actor Léa Seydoux and the ghost of Lindsay Wagner, but not all those who roam the wastelands can be seen — especially the things that want to eat you. Never have handprints in mud been so menacing.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Project Red (CDPR) — the same minds behind the mega-smash Witcher — is a strong candidate for top game presentation at E3. CDPR has left the Gerrald’s magical past behind for the gritty underbelly of the future with a game whose aesthetic is a bright playground wrought into a neon hybrid of Drive, Blade Runner, Fifth Element, Judge Dredd and Enter the Void. This first person shooter apparently breaks the mold of gameplay thanks to the use of augmentation where your character goes beyond the simple “upgrade” gaming trope and becomes all the more immersive just as it would if you yourself were choosing how you would update your own body. Your designed character is a small mercenary cog in a much bigger machine of unruliness and debauchery in a city where every building is practically a city unto itself.