The last few posts I’ve written for this blog could be classified as downers. Freelance challenges, career changes, and general professional frustration have been front and center in my writings. Happily though, it’s E3 time! E3 is here to deliver a lot of pomp and fanfare to the games industry and get us all hyped for the fall and beyond.
I’ve done a few different E3 blogs before. For this year, I’m going to write a few blurbs about what I’m excited for and why. I’m not planning to dive deep into the conferences or review each and every publisher’s line up. I’ll leave that to others. I want to write about what I think is cool. So, without further adieu and in no particular order, here are the games I’m most excited for!
Game Title (Expected Platform of Purchase, expected release year): Blurb
- Anthem (PC or PS4 in 2019): I’m more curious about Anthem than anything else. Visually, it looks incredible. Deep sci-fi, Iron Man suits, guns, I really want to check it out. It is multiplayer centric and will be one of those Destiny style games, which I tend to be a bit lukewarm on. Destiny was fun but all I ever cared about was shooting stuff with my brother. I literally have no idea what the game is actually about. That’s the hang up I have with Anthem. Will I care about the story in this game, or will it just be a game where I get to be Iron Man with 3 friends?
- Madden (PC or PS4 this year): This is less about being all hyped about Madden and more about just keeping my eye on it. If this version of Madden reviews well, I might pick it up. I tend to buy Madden every other year and I skipped 2018. Low on the list though, but keeping my eye on it.
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC, 2019): I am not a “Souls-Like” fan. They have fantastic art, especially Bloodbourne, but I find them tedious and difficult. I only have so much time to play games, I don’t want to spend hours trying to beat the first boss. Git Guud you say? Get a life I say. Sekiro has my attention through fantastic design and samurai like combat. It’s as if it took an anime from my teen years, Rurouni Kenshin, and mashed it together with Bloodbourne to create something new and exciting. I know that Sucker Punch’s new game is similar in setting, but I don’t think it’s such a fantastical take on this era of Japan. This leaves me to be very interested in what FromSoftware is going to do.
- Kingdom Hearts 3 (PS4 in 2019): I won’t like, that trailer looked like it was missing sounds, had early cuts of voice over, and generally felt like a mess. Visually, it was stunning to see real time graphics that look like they belong in a Pixar film. I’ve seen enough combat demos from KH3 to know that it’ll probably play just fine. Am I concerned about the story and voice work? A bit. But I’ll still buy this game.
- Metro: Exodus (PC in 2019): I’m definitely going to have to build a new rig for some of these games. I’ve always enjoyed the Metro games and expect I’ll do the same here. Not much else to add other than early 2019 is going to be just PACKED with games.
- Dying Light 2 (PC in …): Dying Light was an excellent game that was released early on in this generation of consoles. I’m a bit surprised it took this long for a sequel, but it looks like they’re going to make it worth the wait. I’m not as pumped for this game as I am for many others (KH3, Fallout 76, Sony First Party, maybe Rage) but much like the first Dying Light, it’ll all be in the release date. Stick it in the early or mid summer, and I’ll be playing it.
- Cyberpunk 2077 (PC in 2020. I’m guessing): I love CDProjket and their games. The Witcher 3 is probably one of my favorite games of all time, and the series as a whole is right up there too. Based on the trailer, I expect Cyberpunk to carry on the strong traditions and design choices that CDProjket has established while being in a wholly new and unique world (to me anyway). I do question how CDPR will handle shooting, but I have faith. Can’t wait for this one.
- Rage 2 (PC in 2019): I am one of the few people who enjoyed the shooting of the first Rage. I never finished it, it was paced poorly and there wasn’t quite enough there to keep me going, but the character and enemy design was top notch and the world had potential. It seems that Rage 2 is going to try and tap into that potential. With cool powers, faster gunplay, neon colors, and a lightly Mad Max: Fury Road feel to it, I’m more than ready to give Rage another shot. Plus…I mean…Andrew W.K.
- Fallout 76 (probably PS4 in 2018): I love the Bethesda Fallout games. The bugs, the story, the choices, I love it all. The most recent one was one of my favorites. I thought the story was pretty solid and while a lot of game reviewers didn’t think the visuals were up to par, I didn’t really care. Fallout 76 looks to be a great addition to the series. I want to play multi-player with my brother (hence the PS4) in this game more than anything. Between settlement building, hunting for nukes, questing, and exploring a vast open land in the Shenandoah Valley, I don’t see how I can be disappointed with this game.
- Elder Scrolls: Blades (mobile in 2018): I’m more interested in Blades from a technical perspective than a full on gaming perspective. I just don’t play on my phone much. But, I do have a new long commute coming in a week, so perhaps Blades will be perfect for that once I beat every Vita game known to man.
- The Last of Us: Part II (PS4 in, I’m guessing, late 2019): The demo they showed was definitely scripted in parts, but the ideas were the real takeaway. Larger vertical environments, group focused encounters, the ability to use vegetation as hiding spots, playing as Ellie, and the general quality of the work all blew me away. The trailer was well put together too, with a focus on the quiet, semi normal moments that lead into the incredibly graphic violence. It feels as if Naughty Dog is going a bit Tarintino-esque with the sequel (Part II makes me think of Kill Bill) and I’m ok with it. This is easily one of the games I’m most looking forward to.
- Death Stranding (PS4 in, I’d say 2020): I don’t know what the fuck this game is about, but I’m all in. It looks like some insane mix of Metal Gear, Shadow of The Colossus, and…Alien or something. Hideo Kojima, never change.
- Waitin’ for Nintendo
As usual, there were a number of games announced that didn’t have release dates, most notably Cyberpunk, DOOM, Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield. I’m choosing to omit them, except for Cyberpunk. DOOM, ES6 and Starfield are games that are pretty far out with no release dates, and I think the latter two are probably coming to PS4 and PS5 in 2022 or something like that. I didn’t omit Cyberpunk because I can see that game making a fall 2019 date, and they had a trailer that was LEGIT. Good God, it was so good.
I also want to mention why Wolfenstein: Youngblood isn’t on this list. I have been a big fan of the recent Wolfenstein games, but I’m still a bit burnt out from WolfII. I want a bit more time to build back up to Wolfenstein, and something about Youngblood’s trailer just didn’t seem to work for me. I can’t say I’m jazzed about it being co-op either.
What about Sony’s other games, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, and Days Gone (which had a minor presence)? Ghost is interesting looking and speaks to my younger, teenage self, but I just don’t feel overly excited for it yet. Spider-Man I’ll probably pick up. I’m a big fan of the wall crawler. It is coming later this year and while I’ll get it, it’s again another title that I can’t find myself getting all pumped up for. I’m excited for Days Gone. I worked with a lot of the people on that team and I very much want to support their newest title. It looks pretty cool, and I’m a sucker for games that take place in areas I use to live. Most of it’s latest coverage came in the form of a Game Informer spotlight during the month of May instead of E3. Additonally, it was pushed back to February 2019 earlier this year. With it not being a larger focus at E3, I have to say I’m a little concerned Sony is overlooking it.
All that’s left is Nintendo at noon!
Dan