Oh would you look at the time? It’s half-past what-am-I-playing-o’clock. Here’s what’s been keeping me indoors so far this summer.
The Witcher 3
After finally beating the main quest line of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I was pretty eager to dive back in and clean up a lot of the side content I had missed. Simultaneously the Steam Summer Sale had begun, and the expansion pass was on sale for like 12 bucks. So instead of doing that aforementioned side content, I just started on the the first expansion, Hearts of Stone. I fear I will never be free of The Witcher 3 in my lifetime.
Dying Light
The recent announcement of a sequel has prompted some friends and I to dip back into the fantastic Dying Light. I had already beaten the game once before, but never touched any of the DLC. Thankfully, thanks to a sale and some participation from friends, I’ve fallen back into the zombie-filled hole that is Dying Light.
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
Released a few days ago, this pseudo-prequel to the upcoming Life is Strange 2, is a good foundation for the next entry in an already emotionally devastating series. There’s a lot to unpack in this little hour-long experience, and there is no question that The Awesome Adventures of Captain Awesome is an emotionally draining experience, but it’s definitely worth the price of admission at zero dollars.
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Cause of-fucking-course I’m playing this game. Look, I like these kinds of games and I wont apologize for that. There have been significant changes to formula since the last entry in the series, Car Mechanic Simulator 2015, that have made things a lot more interesting. For instance, in the previous entry, changing a wheel was just picking a rim and putting it on your car, tire and all. Now, you need to pick rim sizes, tire types, mount the tires and balance the wheels before you can slap it on a car. It sounds like busy work, but for a simulation game, it’s what I’m looking for.
There is so much other stuff that didn’t make conference stages that I’m sure will be in my lane, and I can’t wait to hear about them. But from what I saw over the past few days, these were some of the notable games that caught my eye at E3 2018.
Battlefield V
I’ve had a weird relationship with Battlefield over the years. I really enjoy it conceptually, but the actual playing it part usually is hit or miss for me. Part of why I enjoy it so much has to do with the memories I have of playing past entries with my friends. Having reconnected with one of my old Battlefield 3 buddies might be the reason why Battlefield V is so enticing to me, but I hope that game itself can stand on its own merits.
Halo Infinite
I have no idea what this game is going to be or why it isn’t called Halo 6, but I do know that as a long time fan of the Halo franchise, I’m excited to see what this one does differently. I personally wouldn’t mind if this turned out to be an evolving platform for the Halo series going forward, but I’m curious either way.
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
I really, really enjoyed Life is Strange and am onboard for anything that expands that universe. I felt that way even before I learned that it was a prequel to the upcoming Life is Strange 2, so knowing that all of these games weave into each other is just icing on the cake. And honestly, this game looks whimsical as hell and evokes a weird Calvin and Hobbes vibe with the main character losing himself in these imaginary worlds he’s conjuring. Also it’s free.
After Party
The people behind Oxenfree are making a game about having to out drink the devil to regain their mortality and be returned to the world of the living. I can’t wait to see more of it and eventually play it next year.
Tunic
I written about Tunic before, and all of my feeling about it then still ring true. It’s adorable, it has an awesome aesthetic, and it looks like the combat is going to be challenging and rewarding enough to pull me through the entirety of it.
Dying Light 2
I loved the first Dying Light and seeing the systemic changes they’re making to that game gets me even more excited. I love concept of being able to shape the world and story based on your decisions, and mixing that with the already great mechanics of the first Dying Light is a home run. The only thing I wish I could change about these games is the zombies. I would love this exact game even more if no zombies were involved. But hey, I’ll take this either way.
Cyberpunk 2077
The reveal trailer alone was enough to solidify my excitement, but the additional details that came afterwards make it all the more tantalizing for me. CD Projekt Red confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 is a first person RPG that allows you to customize a character with various stats, “Cool” being one of them. It’s an open world where you drive around (I’m assuming exclusively in a DeLorean) and shoot people. There’s more details here that should get you just as pumped as I am.
Starfield
I don’t know what it is, or when it’s coming, but the concept of a big Bethesda RPG in a sci-fi setting that doesn’t suck (Fallout) is something I’m interested in.
The Quiet Man
I’ll be real here, I mostly included this because the name is so dumb, but the little tiny glimpse of combat we saw was pretty captivating for me. I’m always down for some good punching and kicking in games.
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Another one of those “what even is this game” games, BG&E2 looks impressive visually and mechanically, I just want to know what I’m doing and what the structure is. But that world seems pretty cool to me and that’s enough to keep this game on my radar.
Trials Rising
Trials is fun, you should play a Trials game. That is until you reach the last few levels where the impossible is asked of you. With alleged better tutorialization, maybe I can finally beat the final levels of a Trials game. Probably not though.
The Last of Us II
Games are too happy these days. I need a good ol’ fashioned romp through the morose to bring me back down to Earth. Nothing like a sequel to the heart-wrenching Last of Us to fill that void. Seriously, fuck this game for looking so amazing and making me want to play it. I know how this ends, and it most certainly is in tears.
Ghosts Of Tsushima
Just watch the trailer Sony showed off for Ghosts of Tsushima. That should be all you need to know about why I want to play this game so badly.
Spiderman
I feel like with the popularity of the Marvel movies over the past few years, I should be up to my ears in good superhero games to play. Unfortunately, since the Arkham games wrapped up, I’ve only been left with Lego-based options. Then you got Spiderman over here, shooting his hot webs all over the place, and I’ll admit it – I’m impressed.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
I think what I enjoy most about Smash Bros. isn’t the actual gameplay, but the absurdity of its roster. Seeing shit like Solid Snake punching Sonic in the mouth, or Ryu uppercutting Cloud into space just fills me with a joy that I had long forgotten. Smash Bros. just seems like Nintendo got a hold of a bunch of 80’s and 90’s kids and asked them who would win a fight, over and over.
The Final Fantasy VII remake is totally real. Please believe us.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
The show opened with a short sequence of a plane crashing which probably isn’t a great time for Lara Croft. After that we cut to gameplay of Lara hiding in a tree and shooting a poisonous arrow at a guy that made him lose his mind before he ultimately died. We then see her perform some takedowns on unsuspecting dudes before slathering herself in mud to blend into the environment. All of what we’re seeing here is stealth gameplay until Lara leaps out from the bushes to stab a dude in the face. Somehow she escapes that situation unnoticed, only for her to throw an ignited gas canister on top of three dudes so she can watch them burn alive.
It looked pretty cool, but aside from some mud-rubbin’ I didn’t really see much that differentiates it from its predecessors. Still, I like this series well enough to check it out when it releases later this year.
The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit
We saw some of this at Microsoft’s briefing, but we got a different look at it here. We are quickly reminded that this isn’t Life is Strange 2, but an introduction to the world of Life is Strange. It seems to build upon the idea that based on whatever adventure this kid imagines in his mind, you’ll get a new gameplay experience. Whereas Life is Strange was built around rewinding time, this looks like it will allow for the player play with different kinds of mechanics based on the adventure. But that’s just my best guess.
We’ll find out on June 26th when it releases for free.
Baylon’s Fall
It’s a Platinum game about slashing through some sort of medieval styled world. Not much stood out to me here outside of the fact it looked like a Bayonetta game with an illusion to 4 player coop right at the end. So it could be cool, but there’s not much to go on right now.
Just Cause 4
Taking place in South America, once again Rico Rodriguez is sent in to fight an oppressive regime and tornadoes. There are claims that weather is going to be the big defining characteristic in this entry, blizzards and tornadoes being the highlights. Also in addition to the rocket boosters and grappling hooks, you’ll get these cool balloons you can attach to things so you can make your enemies just slowly float away. Looks pretty awesome, but we’ll see if it pans out.
What appeared to be an actual video of a man walking into an alley and getting heckled by stereotypical gang members, made a weird transition into gameplay of him brawling with them and kicking their asses. Also he’s deaf. Could this be The Bouncer sequel we’ve all been waiting for? Perhaps. We’ll learn more in August.
Then the conference just ended. No mention of their Avengers project, no mention of the Final Fantasy VII remake, and the same incomprehensible Kingdom Hearts III trailer from the Microsoft briefing yesterday.
Grab your game passes and get your asses in line, cause it’s Microsoft time.
Halo Infinite
No real info given outside of a trailer. Seems as if they’re launching a platform for Halo as well as a campaign. It’s unclear as to what makes this different enough to not call it Halo 6, but I’m definitely intrigued.
Ori & The Will of the Wisps
Following up the tremendous Ori & The Blind Forest is something that very much appears like its predecessor with enhanced combat and more mobility options. Not much info was given here aside from a general tone piece and some gameplay.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Initially I thought this was a Dark Souls-esque re-imagining of the Tenchu series. While I wasn’t too far off, it has a different name and seem to have more exploration and mobility options. Here we have something that invokes Bloodborne and God of War. Time will tell if it’s as gross as those games, but it definitely is trying.
Fallout 76
It appears all the rumors were true and this is prequel to all other games. It’s said to be 4 times the size of Fallout 4 and is a base building focused multiplayer game. No surprises here. More to come when we see it at the Bethesda Briefing.
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
This is billed as a story in the same universe of Life is Strange, but not featuring the same characters. With a focus on a young boy and his imagination, it looks like you’ll be seeing a bunch of fantastical stories with different settings, featuring him. It’s releasing for free on June 26th.
Crackdown 3
Terry Crews is yelling a lot, while a virtual Terry Crews is blowing shit up, and driving up walls. Nothing else really revealed. Allegedly releasing early next year.
We Happy Few
We Happy Few seems to have pivoted from its survival roots and has become more story focused. It shares a weird vibe with the Bioshock series which isn’t a bad thing. I personally prefer this approach to their original pitch, but I don’t think I’m breaking any new ground with that one. It’s out on August 10th.
The Division 2
They’re going for it with the setting and story. Shit went real bad in Washington DC apparently. It looks really good graphically but didn’t do much to differentiate itself from the original. From what I gather the end of the trailer sets up the idea that you and your friends can storm other player run bases.
ID@Xbox
This was just one of those classic “indie game montages.” I went ahead and picked out the games that looked interesting.
Afterparty
Outerwilds
Below
Conquerors Blade
Raji
Planet Alpha
Islands of Nine
Harold Halibut
The Wind Road
Ashen
Sable
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
What else can I say about this game? If you liked the previous games or the Uncharted series, this is probably a safe bet as far as games you’ll enjoy. If it builds upon the already rock solid formula of its predecessors, we’ll be in for another fantastic entry in the series.
Session.
Totally got my hopes up for Skate 4. But where EA refuses to deliver, smaller studios will step in. That’s what’s happening with Session. I’ve played the very early demo they put out a while ago and I wasn’t terribly impressed. Hopefully there have been big improvements since I’ve played it and it will fill that skateboard shaped hole in my heart.
Tunic
This game still looks out of this fucking world. It’s a Zelda-esque, isometric action-adventure game that looks charming as all hell. I humbly request that Tunic is released this moment.
Dying Light 2
More parkour, more zombies. Actually they really didn’t show any zombies, there was way more human drama. I prefer the focus on the people rather than the zombies, honestly. There’s a big focus on player choice, for example they showed dialogue options that effect your standing with various factions, which in turn, effect the world and missions you do.
Battletoads
No footage to show, but it has 3 player co-op. So yeah.
Just Cause 4
It’s Just Cause. You know what this game is. It might as well be called “Grappling Hooks and Explosions” at this point. It looked pretty neat, although then again, so did JC3. They showed a tornado, so that could be fun.
Gears Pop!
What if Gears of war, but Funko Pop and on phones? Huh? I guess that’s what this is. God help us all.
Gears Tactics
Looks like a tower defense, X-Com looking game. They really breezed through this announcement.
Gears 5
No “of War” on these games. It’s perplexing. They’re really leaning into the story with this trailer, and as someone who has not finished Gears of War 4, I have no idea what’s going on. But it looks like a personal journey featuring the lady from Gears of War 4. It looks nice and has cover shooting.
Cyberpunk 2077
I wasn’t a huge fan of The Witcher 3 mostly because of its setting. Cyberpunk 2077 seems to be everything I wanted out of the Witcher, but with more guns and neon. Sign me the hell up.
The Bonus World 