Not all games light a fire in every gamer’s heart. One person’s most anticipated game is another’s winner of the lamest-title-ever award. So we thought we’d share with you our personal highlights and the games that we’re most looking forward to. Here we proudly present to you, the best of E3 (according to us)! To see the trailers for any of these games, simply click the image.
Di
Life is Strange: Before the Storm
All it took was one trailer to get me into the nostalgic feels of the world that is Life is Strange. I’m a little annoyed that a lot of E3 seemed to be games piggybacking off the success of predecessors (please no one say “4K”, “remastered” or “DLC” anymore). But this was the one time I was like, “Oh okay. Yeah that makes sense.” Actually, I’m more than a little excited than that last statement implies. Because if there are any devs that know how to do game storywriting, Don’t Nod has my vote after the number of times I went to sleep haunted by unexpected plot twists.
In this prequel, it looks it puts you in Chloe’s shoes. I’m a teensy-bit sad about that because I was more of a Max fan. But hey, you finally get to meet the elusive Rachael Amber. More unlikely friendships, more indie sounds, and wait….what…Chloe gets outfits that actually get different reactions in-game? Yeah, I’m hella pumped.
The Last Night
I’m beginning to realize what a sucker I am for atmosphere. Sheesh, this thing immediately makes me feel all Blade Runner-ish. Do I know what it’s about? Nope. But listen to this (taken from the Steam synopsis):
“…people are now defining themselves by what they consume, not what they create.”
I like the way these guys are thinking. If you want to get cyberpunked early, you can try the early draft at http://timsoret.itch.io/the-last-night. Just make sure to have Flash enabled.
A Way Out
This one had me at “couch or online co-op”. Oh yeah – and “prison break”. In this, you and a friend can play Leo and Vincent, two dudes who are strangers until they find themselves in the same jail. I can imagine this being jampacked full of team solidarity or LOL and facepalm moments. Or maybe just you and your friend yelling at each other with no one really listening. All of this sounds like a good time to me. Bring on the freedom spoon! Uh, just in case, I should clarify that that was a Monaco reference.
Laura
Beyond Good and Evil 2
When I watched the cinematic trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2 I didn’t immediately recognise it from its predecessor, but the quirky and wonderfully voice acted characters, the humour and the fast paced action made me sit up and take notice. I shared the palpable excitement with the audience as the trailer ended and the title came up on the screen. Beyond Good and Evil 2 is coming at last! The original game had an engaging story and innovative gameplay, and with a 14 year wait for a sequel, it feels long overdue. With Ubisoft Montpellier at the helm, the studio behind the touching Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Rayman Legends (one of the few platformers that managed to capture my heart with it’s flawless level design) I feel confident that this sci fi space opera will be worth the wait
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Watching the gameplay trailer for the Marvel’s Spider-Man, I was initially intrigued by the stealth. It seems very reminiscent of the Batman: Arkham series, with Spider-Man watching from the rafters, and using his web and the environment to strategically take down one enemy after another. But it was the cinematic gameplay with quick time events where I really started to get excited. Quick time events can be very hit and miss but when they’re well executed with fast action, near misses and edge of your seat tension, nothing draws me more into the scene and immerses me in the action. The Marvel’s Spider-Man trailer left me itching to get my hands on a controller and delve into the game.
Days Gone
I love a good, narrative heavy zombie game, and it looks like Days Gone will deliver exactly that. Protagonist Deacon St John seems like a lovable anti-hero doing what it takes to survive in this cut throat, post apocalyptic world where the undead are but one of many dangers. During the gameplay trailer, I was on the edge of my seat as St John was chased by ravaging dogs and then went flying from his bike after driving into a tripwire and had to fight off two assailants with only a knife The trailer also shows a horde of zombies being used as a weapon, with St John diverting them into an enemy camp, which I think is just plain awesome. It seems like the player will be able to choose between the stealthy approach, or running into combat all guns ablazing. In these kind of games, I always try to do the former and end up doing the later with hilarious results, so I’m looking forward to trying my luck in Days Gone.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Ok, so it’s not a new game, it’s a remaster, but I’m super hyped for Shadow of the Colossus. I tried to play the PlayStation 2 version of the game well after its time (and despite its age, it’s still a very pretty game!) and, while I loved the concept of a game consisting entirely of boss fights, I struggled with the horrific and outdated controls. From what I can tell from the trailer, it seems like this remaster will keep the spirit of the original game, but with a face lift. I’m ecstatic that I’ll get a fresh chance to play this game in a modern form, with updated graphics and hopefully (please, please!) improved controls.
Saskia
Super Mario Odyssey
Um. Wow. Looks like I will be getting a Nintendo Switch after all! I LOVE the Mario franchise and this looks like an amazing addition! Finally Mario gets to experience the whole wide world! Dinosaurs make an appearance which is always a good thing and you can now turn into all sorts of different things and characters! Mario as a fish or a mushroom is pretty hilarious and getting to be electricity looks like a blast (hehe).
Days Gone
Days Gone looks pretty amazing. The trailer gives the impression that it has a really solid story and some decent characters. Some freaky animals, fast zombies and gnarly knife fights thrown in – this is one I am really looking forward to watching someone else play! I love zombie games, but when they look this good I get way too freaked out to play them myself. It will be like going back to my childhood where I would watch my older cousins play games – I CAN’T WAIT!
Cuphead
I’m not usually into run and gun games, but Cuphead may be the exception. It’s based around continuous boss battles and is about the player trying to repay a debt to the devil The art in this game is what makes it a must play! It is in the style of 1930’s cartoons which is oddly unsettling in a semi creepy-but-can’t-look-away kind of way! Definitely will be adding this to my wishlist.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Really excited for this one! I wish there were a thousand more games like Life is Strange. Story based games where choices actually matter are 100% my jam. This time we get to play as Chloe and also meet Rachael and see what crazy stuff went on before Life is Strange begins. This is probably the game I am most excited about. The kind of excited where I will be booking 3 solid days of babysitters or getting my husband to take a day of annual leave to extend a long weekend so I can sit and fully immerse myself in the Life is Strange world until I am done! *Please be good please be good*
Jaz
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Ugh, I’ve been pumped for this for so long, and now it’s so close. I’m not sure they’re even calling it DLC anymore because I’ve just preordered a physical copy. It’s like those stories you wrote as a kid and you thought they were just going to be a couple of chapters and then 50 pages later you were like, “Oh, I haven’t even reached halfway yet!” Or, is that just me?
So anyway, classic Naughty Dog trying to make DLC and then accidentally making a full game. Instead of Nathan Drake, we’ve got Chloe and Nadine, two much-loved characters who definitely didn’t get enough screen time.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds
Okay, okay, I know this is just an expansion but UUGH. I was literally jumping up and down in my chair when I saw Guerrilla’s logo come on screen. We’re going to be getting a whole new area, a new set of missions, new machines to fight and just more Horizon Zero Dawn. I still think, it’s the best game to come out of 2017.
Anthem
BioWare’s Destiny. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Destiny, and I’m going to get Destiny 2 and love that as well, but Anthem looks fricken awesome. It’ll have the same elements of Destiny that I loved mixed in with all the story elements that I missed. I hope. The gameplay trailer sort of hinted at that.
BioWare, don’t let me down. This is a different kind of genre to the one you’re used to, but please play to your strengths. Give me great and compelling storytelling. Nail that, and then you’ve nailed me.
Moss
A fine-looking addition to the PSVR family. You play as the cutest mouse ever to scurry before my eyes. A little red bandana, with a little backpack, and a pretty kickass leaf gauntlet. I was just oohing and awwing from the moment the trailer started.
Those were our personal highlights! There were many games that we would have loved to mention (like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, A Plague Tale, and Ni no Kuni II to name a few), but there were too many to choose from! What were your highlights? What games are you most anticipated for?
