This year’s E3 has had it’s up’s and plenty more downs (bow to the Hoop God, you pathetic mortals!) but there’s been plenty of thrilling games on show, and maybe it’s because of the contrast with last year’s dismal effort, but personally I’m satisfied. Among the numerous unveilings, showcases, hyperbole and ceiling cars, there were six games that particularly peaked my interest, and here they are. 

Dishonored 2

Dishonored was a fantastic swansong of the last generation, and Bethesda deserved the praise they received for releasing new IP from a studio without a history of success. With that considered, Dishonored 2 was inevitable and I’m sure fans were not disappointed. Corvo returns to his favourite pastime of stealthing and stabbing, but this time the player isn’t limited to the mute protagonist, with Emily Kaldwin also playable. It’s an exciting twist and it hopefully implies that more effort will be put into telling a complex story than last time, because the story was always Dishonored’s one downfall.

Continuing with the aesthetic of the original, Dishonored 2 looks gruesome and bleak. The graphics haven’t evolved much, but as long as the stylish visuals have been maintained, and they appear to have been, I’ll be as happy as Larry, and he’s one happy feller. With new powers and hopefully a larger and more vibrant Dunwall or Dunwall substitute, Dishonored 2 promises to please players every bit as much as its predecessor.

Beyond Eyes

Microsoft’s contribution to E3 was impressive in terms of the technology on display (honourable mention for the HoloLens. I mean, Jesus Christ!) but the games showcased were fairly disappointing for me personally. Halo: Guardians looked like standard Halo stuff, and Gears 4 looked like more of the same. However, there was one game they showed off that stood out from the crowd.

One of the seemingly truly original games to be shown off this year, Beyond Eyes is about a blind girl named Rae exploring a beautifully vibrant world whilst relying on her other senses. At first, I was sceptical about how blindness would work as a mechanic. If the game has any visuals at all, then it can’t be representing the main character’s blindness accurately. However, ‘Tiger & Squid’ (the game’s developer) seem to have an interesting mechanic in place in which the only parts of the world that are visible are the parts directly in front and surrounding the protagonist. It means that the gorgeous world pops into existence as the character explores whilst the rest of screen is filled with white unknown. It reminded me most of Silent Hill’s iconic fog, and whilst I imagine it will have a very different function in the upbeat Beyond Eyes, I’m excited to see it in action.

I’ll be more interested in Beyond Eyes when more information is released about it. I’m not even certain what kind of game it is going to be. The developer has said it’s an ‘adventure’ game, but at this point, that could mean anything. Despite the vagueness, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

I’m not sure what to say about this other than NEW MASS EFFECT GAME! EA opened their painfully awkward conference (who knew that Pelé was such a dull man) with a glimpse of the latest addition in Bioware’s venerable sci-fi series, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the hype.

All we know at this point is that the trailer had a bit of a western theme and that it’s features a new character and a new galaxy. It was enrapturing to say the least, but it did leave the series’ many fans desperate for more, and I’m sure we’ll all be hanging on Bioware’s every word until it’s release in 2016.

King’s Quest: Chapter 1 – A Knight to Remember

Shown off in depth during Youtube’s coverage of E3, I was a lot more intrigued by A Knight to Remember than I ever thought I would be. A re-imagining of a Sierra adventure series that was before my time, the new King’s Quest game looks far more like a Telltale game than it does anything Sierra ever made. It looks like a pretty game with high production values, my only complaint being that the connection to the King’s Quest franchise seems shallow at best. It’s a series known for infuriating puzzles, and from what the developers said, it seems A Knight to Remember will be more focused on telling a story.

As long as the story is well written and engaging, I can forgo the annoying, anti-logic adventure game puzzles, and any step away from the archaic adventure games of yesteryear wins a brownie point from me. The recent re-release of Grim Fandango showed that whilst a brilliant story is timeless, bullshit inventory puzzles that were designed to bait people into buying game guides are not. The first episode is set to be released next month, and although I can’t imagine it being a huge success, I’ll definitely be one of the first in the digital queue.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Earlier this year, I wrote an article listing sequels that I’d want to see. Low and behold, Trey Parker and Matt Stone waltzed on stage during Ubisoft’s presentation to discuss their new puntastic South Park game. Instead of imitating and lampooning RPGs, this time around the game will focus on the Coon & Friends, just as I desired.

The trailer was as funny as anybody would expect, but at this stage we don’t even know what kind of game it’s going to be. The comedy duo admitted that when they started work on The Stick of Truth, they didn’t really know how to make video games. However, now they’ve been through it once before, they can deliver a better experience with their second game. Speaking as someone who thought The Stick of Truth was an excellent game, that’s amazing to hear. Let’s just hope The Fractured But Whole (teehee) has a less turbulent development than its predecessor.

The Last Guardian

It’s safe to say that Sony blew everyone away with their conference and pretty much owned the entire event. The fact that they STARTED by showing extensive gameplay footage of The Last Guardian is testament to this.

I’m a huge fan of Ico, and like many gamers, I was relentlessly disappointed by all the indications that The Last Guardian was in developmental hell, and I think we all expected it to dissolve into vaporware with only the faint whiff of what might have been. Considering this, I was astonished to see that it’s still a thing that’s happening, and it looks fantastic.

Visually, it looks far more like Ico than Shadow of the Colossus (which is fine by me) and it promises to replicate Team Ico’s original title’s physics/platforming puzzles, except this time there’s a giant dog to help you along instead of a dainty young lady with attachment issues. The giant dog itself was the most impressive aspect of it. Beautifully animated, it conveyed so much personality with each movement of its body, and it’s hard not find a creature so lovably huge for its environment adorable. Can’t wait till they kill it horrifically at the end of the game!

Disagree with my selection? Think I’ve missed anything spectaculur? Let me know so I can get hyped about those games too. 

 

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