The E3 2017 press
conferences have come and gone and we've been given lots of new
information on previously announced games as well as plenty of brand
new announcements too. Overall it's been a good E3 event, however certain
press conferences left me feeling slightly underwhelmed and there was
a lack of games that I expected to see but that weren't mentioned at
all (The Last of Us: Part 2 and a new From Software
'Souls-like' game being two of them).
EA's conference is
never normally anything I get excited for but this year they actually
had more content to my taste than usual. Microsoft had a much better
year than usual because of all the indie titles being announced (a
few of their AAA games looked quite interesting too). Bethesda was
quite disappointing, there was no new Elder Scrolls or Doom and very
little new announcements that appealed to me. Devolver Digital's
presence at E3 was refreshingly entertaining (acting as an over the
top parody of the major conferences) and even featured a head
explosion and the removal of limbs, but had no actual games that
looked all that great which was a shame. Then there was the PC gaming
show which is the only conference that bored me, simply because they
had very little to announce but dragged it on over a long period of
time. Then we had Sony who had an amazing conference last year, which
perhaps made this year's a little bit underwhelming. This is probably
because of them mainly showing content from games we already know
exist. Nintendo shared the same fate as Sony, being underwhelming
overall due to it's major releases being available at an unspecific
time next year rather than being available soon.
I'm not too interested
in most AAA games so don't expect to see this list being full of
those, however you might see some smaller independent games that you
missed in other coverage. So; without further adieu, here's the list
of my personal top 10 highlights of E3 2017 starting with my least
anticipated and ending with my most anticipated.
10
Sea of Thieves
Microsoft Conference
Release Date: Early
2018
My least anticipated
game of this list is Sea of Thieves. A pirate themed exploration
based game which a heavy emphasis on multiplayer co-op and
competitive elements. This was actually featured at last year's E3 and
had my attention then too. I've never played a decent pirate game (at
least on this scale) and it would be great if it turned out to be
good.
The reason it's number
ten on this list is because the amount of fun you have with this game
is down to how many people you play it with and who those people are.
So if you're playing it with strangers it's unlikely you'll have as
much fun as if you were playing with people you know and the issue with this is getting multiple people you know all playing this game at the
same time, which probably won't happen too often. But if you have the
people to do this with on a regular basis, I'm sure it'll be a
fantastic time.
9
Detroit: Become Human
Sony Conference
Release Date: Unknown
This is probably a more
controversial game to have on this list simply because games of this
style seem to be quite polarising. Some people love them and some
people hate them. But then some people who like this type of game
don't like Quantic Dream's games which actually makes this somewhat
of a niche title (at least when compared to some other AAA games).
However, I personally do like the
previous work of Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls) so
I would imagine that I'll also enjoy this new game too. It's set in
the near future where robots (which look like regular humans) are
being sold as things to replace manual labourers and to generally
help with day to day life. Some of these robots are starting a revolt
because they've become so intelligent that they've developed
individual thought. Yeah, it's not an original premise at all, but
with the way the story is told and the way we interact with the
story, there's potential for this to be something great.
8
A Way Out
EA Conference
Release Date: 2018
I never expected
something from EA to actually catch my attention, but here we are. A
Way Out is being made by the independent developer 'Hazelight
Studios' who created Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (which instantly
grabs my attention because that was a great game). A Way Out is built
from the ground up to be played as a co-op experience (either locally
or online) where you and another player have to break out of prison
by working together to distract guards, find tools to help you escape and much, much
more.
If you're a fan of
local co-op games this will be right up your alley, it's not very
often we get a game that is designed especially to be played in this
way.
7
Metroid: Samus Returns
Nintendo Treehouse
Release Date: September
15th 2017
I have a feeling that this game will have slipped under the radar of some people due to the
fact that it wasn't actually announced in the Nintendo Spotlight event but
rather in a Nintendo Treehouse event that followed the Spotlight. Not
only that but with the huge reveal of Metroid Prime 4, this one may
have fallen to the sidelines slightly. Also, the fact that it's a 3DS
exclusive may put some people off.
Either way, what we
have here is a remake of Metroid II: The Return of Samus which was
originally for the Game Boy. If you (like a lot of fans of the
series) have been asking for a 2D Metroid, this is the game for you.
It looks like an incredibly faithful remake which adds a few more
modern elements (like a free aiming mode and a counter move which
looks really satisfying to pull off) which make it more in line with
the recent Metroid games.
The reason Metroid
Prime 4 isn't on this list is because they didn't show anything about
it, whereas they showed a ton of gameplay of Metroid: Samus Returns and I'm personally
very excited for it.
6
Cuphead
Microsoft Conference
Release Date: September
29th 2017
By now I'm sure
everyone knows what Cuphead is, but if by any chance you don't, it's
a run and gun game developed by StudioMDHR Entertainment with a
1930's cartoon art style which looks absolutely incredible.
Seriously, if you've never watched any gameplay of Cuphead then do
yourself a favour and do so right now.
Despite being appealing
to me primarily based on the visuals, the gameplay also looks to be
really good too. Rather than featuring stages filled with platforming
and enemies (like Contra), Cuphead is based around continuous boss
battles which makes it more unique and interesting than other games
in the genre and I'm interested to see how this is implemented. Not
only does everything I've mentioned about this game so far appeal to me but it also features co-op which
I'm a huge fan of. Needless to say, I'm very excited for this.
5
Shadow of the Colossus
Sony Conference
Release Date: Early
2018
In one of the most
surprising announcements of the whole of E3 2017 it was revealed in
the Sony conference that a remake of Shadow of the Colossus is being
developed by Bluepoint Games (who previously remastered the PS2
version of Shadow of the Colossus for PS3 systems). I'm of the
opinion that this isn't really a game that needs to be remade at all,
it still looks fantastic, it still plays great (though it has aged
very slightly) and the PS3 version is even better. Yet still, a
remake is happening and even though I never even considered the
possibility of a remake, I'm still excited it's a thing.
For those that don't
know, Shadow of the Colossus is a game in which you travel around a
large world map to find and defeat sixteen bosses, the catch being
that there are no other enemies at all in the game. It's a very arty
experience, featuring very beautiful, stylised visuals and extremely
atmospheric design. A lot of the plot is interpreted by the player
because very little information about the game's world is handed out
to us on a plate and instead you have to read between the lines and
study the environment to come to your own conclusions (which is
similar to the Dark Souls series).
4
The Last Night
Microsoft Conference
Release Date: 2018
When I first saw the
trailer for this game I was instantly drawn to it. The pixel art
mixed with realistic lighting and 3D effects looks stunning and upon
finding out more information about the game in interviews, I was even
more interested in playing it. This is an independent game being
developed by Odd Tales and is a cinematic platformer (which is my
favourite genre of video games) inspired by Flashback, Another World
and Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee.
Despite knowing very
little about the story or actual gameplay, I'm very excited to try
this out and will be keeping a close eye on it's development.
3
Life is Strange: Before
the Storm
Microsoft Conference
Release Date: August
31st 2017
The original season of
Life is Strange is absolutely incredible and if you haven't played
it, you should do so as soon as you've finished reading this list.
It's not often a form of media can leave you thinking about it so
long after you've finished the experience but Life is Strange manages
to do this. It's the absolute pinnacle of it's genre and one of the
best games I've ever played. So why is the sequel (or more
accurately, prequel) not at the top of this list?
Well, although I am
very excited for it, I can't help but be a little bit sceptical. The
first season was so fantastic that it will be difficult to follow up
with something that comes anywhere near as close to the original
experience. Not only that though but the original developers of the
first season (Dontnod Entertainment) aren't developing Before the
Storm and instead it's been handed to Deck Nine Games (who I'm
unfamiliar with). The original voice actor of Chloe (Ashly Burch)
also isn't a part of this game despite it focusing on Chloe as the
main playable character which is also a bit of a disappointment. It
also doesn't feature time travel which was a major gameplay mechanic
and story element in the first game which is a part of the reason the
game is as great as it is.
So there's a lot of
reasons my anticipation for this has been lowered substantially,
however, I'm still hopeful that it will be great and I'm sure Deck
Nine Games know they have a huge task ahead of them creating another
story with such a well liked cast of characters and for a series
with an incredibly loyal and passionate fan base. Also, Life is
Strange 2 is still being developed by Dontnod, meaning that this is
more of a spin-off than a main series entry, so even if this isn't
fantastic, we still have that to look forward to (the second season
will also feature a cast of new characters which peaks my interest to
see what new directions they can take the series).
2
Monster Hunter World
Sony Conference
Release Date: Early
2018
Yet another huge and
unexpected surprise was the announcement of a brand new Monster
Hunter game, but not just any old Monster Hunter, one which is being
developed for PS4, Xbox One and PC. I've been wanting a Monster
Hunter created from the ground up to be on modern gaming hardware for
such a long time, and my wishes have finally been answered.
As with all the other
Monster Hunter games, there's a focus on four player co-op play and
the objective is to slay monsters and become a better monster hunter
by using the materials gained from these monsters to create better
armour and weapons, thus allowing you to progress and defeat even
tougher enemies. Where the game differs from other Monster Hunter
games is in the fact that it's HD and that it features an open
world. It also allows all regions from across the world to play
together and there's a new awesome looking grappling hook you can use
to manoeuvre around and as a part of combat. I am extremely excited for
this and cannot wait to get my hands on it.
1
Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo Spotlight
Release Date: October
27th 2017
I don't imagine this
number one spot was hard to see coming, but the stand out title of E3
for me is the new Super Mario game being developed for the Switch. As to be
expected, it looks amazing visually, the music and sound design is
absolute top quality and it looks like it controls fantastically too.
There hasn't been a mainline 3D Mario game since Super Mario Galaxy 2
on the Wii, so it's hard to not be excited for this after such a long time waiting.
This isn't just a
re-hash of previous Mario games though and it features some things
that make it unique. The primary thing being that Mario can now
possess certain enemies and control them to travel around different
areas of the levels. You can also dress Mario in different outfits
which will give you more interaction options with certain characters
as well as offering a reason to get the collectables (instead of
just doing it for bragging rights) because you need to spend these to
get access to the new costumes. But lets be honest. We don't care about the game's mechanics, we all just want to see Mario dress up in a poncho and sombrero.
Despite this E3 not
being as amazing as last year's on the surface, if you dig a little
bit deeper there are actually some really fantastic looking games
coming out over the next year. It's disappointing we didn't hear
anything about some of the games I was hoping to see, but what we got
instead was some nice shocks and surprises which I truly wasn't
expecting, and hey, there's still Gamescom and other gaming events
where some of these games might make an appearance (more information
on Death Stranding or the Resident Evil 2 remake would be nice to
see).
Before I leave you I
would just like to list off some of the games that didn't make it
into the top ten (for multiple reasons, but the primary reasons being
a lack of information or not showing any gameplay); God of War,
Beyond Good and Evil 2, Kirby 2018, Yoshi 2018, Metroid Prime 4,
Super Lucky's Tale, The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti, Ashen, Observer, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Tacoma.
Thank you for reading my list, if you think there are any games I
would like that I've missed please let me know in the comments below! If you feel like leaving your own top ten highlights, then please go ahead! It would be interesting to see what other people enjoyed being announced!
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