As the press conferences at E3 2019 are over, and the expo itself really starts, here are some of the highlights from the past few days.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts didn’t technically participate in E3 2019, instead choosing to host their own EA Play Event in the days before like they did last year.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
With 10+ minutes of gameplay shown, EA shows off the main protagonist, a young padawan on the run named Cal, traversing via running on walls and swinging and grappling his way around. In combat Cal uses both his lightsaber and different force abilities in his fight to free the people from the grasp of the Empire. You can play Fallen Order on PS4, Xbox One and PC starting November 15. - The Sims 4: Island Living
This new expansion, coming to Mac and PC on June 21 and to consoles on July 16, will allow your sims to move seamlessly between water and land, as well as diving and swimming with dolphins. You have to watch out for the active volcano though, since it can send a ball of fiery death hurtling through your neighborhood. Also, there are mermaids. What’s not to like?
- Apex Legends
A new legend was announced for Battle Charge Season 2. His name is Wattson, and he uses an electrified fence and powerful pylons to wreak havoc. Season 2 also brings a new ranked mode, along with some changes in weaponry and stacking of weekly and daily challenges, making leveling up easier.
Microsoft
- Cyberpunk 2077
Keanu Reeves himself got on stage to announce his presence in the game, as well as the release date for the game. He also went through a bit about the game itself, calling it “breathtaking”, to which an audience member called back, “you’re breathtaking” creating a brand new meme. The game will be set in an open-world landscape, with a branching storyline and customizable characters. You will play as a mercenary in the seedy underbelly of a world where people have become obsessed with cybernetic enhancements. Reeves seems very excited about the game, and we trust him on that. Cyberpunk 2077 will be out April 16 2020.
- Project Scarlett
Project Scarlett is the next generation Xbox, slated for release for the 2020 holidays. The console will also be backwards compatible with previous Xbox consoles, a very sought after quality among console gamers. The main focus on the next generation console seems to be on shortening load times and upping the performance of the hardware. - Gears 5
Gears 5, the latest installment in the Gears of War-series, will center around Kait Diaz (voiced by Laura Bailey), and playing as Kait you will have to uncover the origin of both her family and the Locust. JD Fenix, Delmont Walker, and Martin Fenix are also back for Gears 5. The game releases to the general public on September 10, but if you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate you can get your hands on it 4 days early.
Bethesda
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
B.J Blazcowicz has diasppeared, and in Wolfenstein: Youngblood his daughters go on a rescue mission to try and find their father. The levels of the game are going to be more open-ended than previous Wolfenstein games, and will feature previously unseen weapons and upgrades (though you will see the hatchet again). The game drops on July 26 and you will be able to play either solo or co-op on PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4.
- The Elder Scrolls: Blades
There will be tons of new content coming to The Elder Scrolls: Blades in the coming update. A new dragon questline, new jobs, solo arena battles, and a custom jewelry system. The game is currently available on iOS and Android, but will also be coming to Nintendo Switch this coming fall. This is major news since there will be support for cross-play between the mobile versions, as well as cross-progression, which means you will be able to play on your mobile device now, and then continue where you are in the game on the Nintendo Switch. - DOOM Eternal
Featuring new weapons to use as you kill your way through hellish monsters with machine parts, the game will also have a new “Battlemode”. It is a new multiplayer mode that has one player as the Doomslayer, and two other players controlling demons, and you fight until someone wins best out of three. Though DOOM Eternal was announced back in 2018, it won’t be available to the public until November 22. However, the trailer shown at E3 indicates that the game will be worth the wait.
Ubisoft
- Watch Dogs: Legion
There is no set protagonist in Watch Dogs: Legion, you can either switch between characters, or play the one you want to play as until you die, in which case that character will permanently die. Set in post-brexit London, all the characters are working together to try and for a resistance to liberate the city. With plenty of characters to chose from, the big star in this announcement seems to be Helen, the granny ex-assassin, who took social media by storm. The potential of creating your own timeline through how and when you chose to play which characters is astounding, but unfortunately you will have to wait until March 6 2020 to get your hands on the game.
- Roller Champions
Roller Champions takes place in 2029, and you play in teams of three in this team PvP game that combines racing and sports. You compete in a futuristic style of roller derby, where you go around a track in teams of three and score points by completing laps with the ball in team possession before scoring a goal. The game will feature fully customizable characters, with each game you win you gain fans and can land sponsorship deals, and you start from the bottom and work yourself up. The game is available for download for a first demo until June 14, so grab it here while you can. The full game is scheduled for release early next year. - Gods & Monsters
In this new fantasy game you set out to rescue ancient gods from the claws of Typhon, one of the deadliest creatures in all of Greek mythology. There will be puzzles, dungeons and heroic feats to complete, and the trailer promises a brightly colored world to explore using the powers that the pantheon grants you. The game will be available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PS4 on Februrary 25 next year. - Rainbow Six Quarantine
Built on the same engine as the very popular Rainbow Six Seige, Quarantine is a new coop tactical shooter where you will team up with two other people to go on different missions. You will be facing off against some kind of mutant parasite that seems to have taken hold of both humans and their surroundings. The gameplay will be very familiar to players of Rainbow Six Seige, ranging from how to use gadgets and weaponry to tactics in the game, though it is absolutely not necessary to have played it before jumping into Rainbow Six Quarantine. The game doesn’t have a set date of release yet, though it is slated for a 2020 release.
Square Enix
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
While we did get a teaser trailer and a release date at the Final Fantasy VII concert on Sunday, Square Enix opened up their announcements with a deep dive into the upcoming and much anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake. Producer Yoshinori Kitase mentioned during the conference that there will be two Blu-Ray discs worth of content, with the first of the stories to tell taking place in Midgar with the retelling of Final Fantasy VII. Aside from the full length trailer, they also showed a gameplay trailer where they demonstrated how combat will work. You will be able to switch between party members to utilize the full potential of the characters, but they will keep fighting even if you are not directly controlling them. Much like the system in Final Fantasy XV, each attack charges a bar, that when full can be used to trigger extra powerful attacks. You also need to charge these bars to be able to use items during battle, such as drinking a potion. The game looks truly amazing, and the crowd went wild at the appearance of Tifa, one of the few characters we have not gotten a glimpse of before. Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for pre-order right now, and will be out on March 3, 2020.
- Marvel’s Avengers
With a star-studded voice acting cast consisting of Troy Baker, Nolan North, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey and Jeff Schine, Marvel’s Avengers reassemble the earth’s mightiest heroes. The trailer starts during A-Day, a celebration of the superheroes that is interrupted by Task Master, one of the many villains to make life miserable for the general public. Things do not go exactly as planned, but the remaining Avengers do their best to keep going. This will be a service game, with the notable difference that new characters and regions will be free, and there will be no loot boxes. Marvel’s Avengers will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 15 2020. - Final Fantasly VIII Remastered
When the announcement came last year of multiple games in the Final Fantasy-franchise getting ported to Nintendo Switch and Xbox One there was an outcry due to Final Fantasy VIII not being on the list of games. Now we know why. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam sometime later this year.
Nintendo
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel
This was perhaps the biggest surprise of all the conferences, Nintendo dropped a short teaser announcing that there is a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in the works. While the trailer is truly a teaser, there has been much speculation about the short hair that Zelda sports. Is this a hint that there is a multiplayer coming, or simply that we will be able to switch between playing as Link and Zelda? Only time will tell, but for now, the entire gaming community is positively buzzing witht the news. There is no information on the release date as of yet.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Set up on the beach and create your dream living situation with the deserted island getaway package provided to you by Nook, Inc. That is the premise of this new Animal Crossing-game. Compared to the previous games in the series, it seems like you will be crafting pretty much everything your new little village will need. The trailer also shows a bunch of villagers getting together on the beach, which might mean that you will be able to visit your neighbors again. Originally slated for release later this year, the game needed a bit more time for completion, so it will drop on March 20, 2020. - Luigi’s Mansion 3
There had been previous talk about Luigi’s Mansion 3, but it was properly confirmed during the Nintendo Direct conference. The trailer showcases some of Luigi’s new abilities in the coming game, such as a slam-attack, a suction shot, and a sidekick aptly named Gooigi. With Gooigi you can reach places where Luigi can’t go, and you can also use him to play coop with one of your friends. The trailer also introduces the Scare Scraper, an 8 player coop mode where you have to work together to defeat the ghosts and save the Toads before time runs out. Luigi’s Mansion 3 will be available on Nintendo Switch later this year.