This is a list of my top 10 highlights of E3 2016, the list is about games which have either been announced or have previously been revealed and just expanded on at the event. This year has been one of the strongest ever for Sony and because of that a lot of the games on the list are from that conference, however there are also quite a few from the other conferences too. All in all it's been a really good year for E3, with a lot of games being announced, a lot of actual gameplay being shown, a lot of release dates given and a lot of unexpected shocks. Anyway, without further ado, here's the list, starting from my least anticipated to most anticipated.
10
God of War
Sony Conference
Release Date: Unknown (PlayStation 4)
What a way to open an E3 conference,
with one of the most well known PlayStation exclusives in recent
years being revealed to a full live orchestra. God of War is a series
I've always wanted to get into because I like the setting and story
but because it's a hack and slash game it's completely put me off. Maybe
one day I'll give the older ones a play but for now let's talk about
the new game announced at E3.
It looks like a huge departure from the
previous entries in the series, featuring a much older (and bearded)
Kratos who has a son and is acting like an actual father (albeit a somewhat harsh one). We saw Kratos taking his son on a hunting trip and
teaching him how to track and kill, but while setting out to do this, they are
ambushed by huge monsters and Kratos has to jump into action. Unlike
the other games, this one doesn't appear to be a hack and slash game,
the combat looks more similar to a Dark Souls game, having a much
slower and methodical place and featuring dodging and a heavier emphasis on timing. The
camera is also mostly placed over the shoulder making it look like
The Last of Us at times. I like the look of this over it's
predecessors in every single way and I'm pretty sure that rather
being a continuation of the series this might be a reboot, but we'll
have to see when more information is revealed.
9
Days Gone
Sony Conference
Release Date: Unknown (PlayStation 4)
Something else I really didn't expect
was to have a open world post apocalyptic zombie game on this list.
But where most of these kind of games look somewhat cheap or uninteresting to me (like State
of Decay, Infestation: Survivor Stories and Day Z) Days Gone actually
looks well made.
Beyond being well made though, it also
looks to be quite tense, with hordes of running zombies (think 28
Days Later) coming after you if you're heard or spotted by them. The
environments look impressively interactive, you see the main character
closing gates, breaking windows, moving obstacles out of the way and
much more in order to escape and block the zombies path.
Oddly enough, from the initial trailer
shown at E3 I didn't care about this at all, but at the end of the conference when the
gameplay was shown, it looked surprisingly good and I don't normally
think that about these kinds of games. Of course, we didn't see much
gameplay in the grand scheme of things and it could have been made to look a lot better than it
actually is because of the scripted nature of E3 gameplay showcases,
but still. This has potential.
8
Grow Up
Ubisoft Conference
Release Date: August 2016 (PlayStation
4, Xbox One & PC)
Grow Up is a sequel to the 2015 3D
platformer game (something which is a bit of a rarity nowadays) 'Grow
Home'. I only heard about Grow Home because it was free on
PlayStation Plus a while ago, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance
because I loved it and I think it's very much a hidden gem.
Grow Up looks to expand on the
groundwork that Grow Home set out by offering a bigger map to explore
and instead of making your way to a spaceship (like in Grow Home),
you're now growing and riding plants all the way to the moon. There's also a lot of new abilities that you can use to change the environment and navigate your way through the air.
It's a cute game with interesting
mechanics, bright and appealing graphics and a memorable main
character in the form of the wobbly robot called B.U.D.
7
We Happy Few
Microsoft Conference
Release Date: July 26, 2016
(Xbox One & PC)
I hadn't heard of this game until I saw
it at this year's E3 and I don't know how I had missed out on it
because it looks fantastic. It's set in a retro futuristic world
(obviously inspired by Bioshock judging from the art style) where
people must take 'Joy' pills which change the world around them into a
much more positive place while also keeping you as a content and
happy prisoner.
It's a survival game, meaning you have
to search for food and water while avoiding suspicion from all of the
happy people otherwise your cover will be blown and you'll be forced
to take more 'Joy'. Your ultimate objective is to escape the city but to do so there will be a lot of obstacles in your way.
It's an interesting concept made better
with it's setting and art style and I'm very much looking forward to
playing this.
6
The Last Guardian
Sony Conference
Release Date: October 26, 2016 (PlayStation 4)
This is a game which has been in
development for an extremely long time and has also been anticipated for a
long time because of this. Whether the game will live up to those
years of anticipation I have no idea, but what I can say is that this
game not only looks great from a gameplay perspective but also looks
like it'll be an emotional journey too.
It's an adventure game developed by
Team Ico (the studio behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) and
features a young boy who meets a large dog/bird hybrid and the two
proceed to help and protect each other as they go on a journey. The graphics and art style also look amazing with the contrast between the boy and the creature being striking because of their differences, but them working together regardless, it reflects the story and gameplay elements which is something I appreciate.
5
Inside
Microsoft Conference
Release Date: June 29, 2016
(Xbox One) & July 7, 2016 (PC)
Those of you that have read some of my
other lists could probably have seen this one coming. I'm a huge fan
of Limbo and I've been anticipating Inside since it was revealed.
Although not a lot more was shown of it this year, we did get a look
at some new sections of the game and finally got a solid release
date!
For those that don't know what Inside
is, it's a 2.5D cinematic platformer which looks to be set in a
dystopian future where you play as a young boy who seems to
be escaping from a large facility. No story information has been
given officially so this is all speculation, however what I can say is that it
looks great.
4
Resident Evil 7
Sony Conference
Release Date: January 24, 2017 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One & PC)
What can I say about this? I didn't think in a million years a new Resident Evil title would be high up on one of my highlights or best lists, but here we are. The trailer kept me guessing what this game was throughout, it looked genuinely terrifying and reminded me of the atmosphere that P.T. was drenched in, while also reminding me of Outlast too (I could have sworn this was a teaser for Outlast 2).
If the game is anything like this trailer makes out, this is going to be absolutely terrifying, I was on the edge of my seat just watching it, never mind playing it. When the game's title begun to fade in and simply said "VII" I had no idea what was going on, and then the full title faded in and simply said "Resident Evil VII" I was so surprised and didn't expect this from this franchise at all. I really hope they don't ruin this, they seem to know what they're going for with the atmosphere this time and the new first person camera shows that they are obviously looking to revitalise the series and I think this is not only a very good thing, but also quite brave and respectable of them.
Also it's VR compatible... I don't think I could handle that...
3
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo Conference
Release Date: 2017 (Wii U & NX)
Wow. Nintendo are known for not being
very good at changing their franchises and for offering the same or very
similar experiences again and again. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of
the Wild seems to be on a mission to change this. Gone is the linear
gameplay from all previous Zelda titles, now there is a truly open
world with a lot more RPG elements thrown in. Customisable costumes,
a crafting system, deeper combat systems and eating food rather than
finding floating hearts to recover health all make this feel fresh
while still clearly being a Zelda game. The new Zelda seems to be throwing the rule book
out the window and I'm very excited to play it.
It has a jump button,
a climbing mechanic and so much more that other Zelda games have
never had. With games like Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 being so open
and free, it seems fitting that Zelda has now took this route too.
Whereas all the previous games in the
series have been a medieval fantasy setting, the new entry seems to
feature more technology rather than being entirely magical. The
environments seem a lot more interactive, with you being able to burn
and cut down trees, as well as building campfires and other objects. Not to mention that it looks fantastic visually,
with bright cartoon-like graphics that all look crisp, clear and
vibrant.
This is definitely a must buy for me,
and I'll be picking it up as soon as possible.
2
Death Stranding
Sony Conference
Release Date: Unknown (PlayStation 4)
This is yet another title I didn't
expect to see anything about at all at this year's E3 event. Hideo
Kojima (the mastermind behind the Metal Gear Solid franchise) is
making a new game after his controversial departure from Konami. The
game is being developed by his own team (Kojima Productions) and
Sony.
No gameplay was shown, but the
cinematic trailer is interesting and sets the tone for the upcoming
game extremely well. Some things in the trailer bring to mind the
cancelled Silent Hills and the infamous P.T. teaser game (for example
Norman Reedus portraying the main character and the strange
supernatural baby) but I think this is a coincidence and it most likely has nothing in common with the cancelled Silent Hills game beyond this.
Let's face it, it's a Hideo Kojima
game, so we know it's going to be good. I just can't wait to hear
more about what this game is. Personally, after playing P.T. I'm
really hoping for a horror game but I'm sure whatever genre it is, it will
be amazing.
1
Crash Bandicoot (Remake)
Sony Conference
Release Date: Unknown (PlayStation 4)
The long rumored return of the
PlayStation mascot is finally upon us. Although first starring in add
on content for Skylanders: Imaginators, Crash Bandicoot is returning
in a remake of his first three games (Crash Bandicoot, Crash
Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped) which
were originally developed by Naughty Dog. Unexpectedly, the remakes
will be made in a partnership between the original owners of the
Crash Bandicoot franchise (Sony) and the current owners (Activision)
which is something I never would have expected.
These three games are among the first
games I ever played and hold up today as some of the best 3D
platformers ever made. A new lick of paint, trophy support and
slightly modifiying the first Crash Bandicoot game's checkpoint and
save system to be more in line with the second and third game's is
all I could ask for. The actual details of the remake are unknown as
of yet (for example whether it will be a retail release or download
only, it's release date and gameplay footage) but I have extremely
high hopes for this and I hope it meets them.
That's the end of my list, although I
do want to go through a few honorable mentions because there are
quite a lot of other games which I'm also very much looking forward
to or interested in. The first is a game called Fe which was at the
EA conference which looks like a 3D adventure game similar to
Journey, the Skyrim Special Edition which is a remaster of the
critically acclaimed Bethesda game, Sea of Thieves which was shown at the Microsoft conference and is an online
survival game where you play as a pirate and must enlist the help of
other pirates to control a ship and take to the high seas, you can
also fight other pirate ships, making it a great co-op game. Recore
is a third person shooter featured at the Microsoft conference where
you can find cores and place them in robots which then proceed to
help you navigate your way around and help you fight. Detroit: Become
Human is the next game by Quantic Dream (who made Heavy Rain and
Beyond: Two Souls) and looks to be the same style of game as the previous ones, only in a
futuristic cyber-punk setting, this was shown at the Sony Conference.
That was a lot to get through, but I
hope you enjoyed reading my list. Tell me what you think on my
Facebook page or by leaving a comment below! I would be interested to
know what other people's highlights were.
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