E3 Special 2019

Another year, another E3 I almost forgot was happening. But who can blame me? Sony couldn’t even be bothered to turn up, and EA decided to scrap their conference in favour of a Nintendo Direct style presentation. But hey, we still had Microsoft, Ubisoft and the absolutely awful PC Gaming Show to enjoy.

EA Play is what they called it, but there wasn’t much to see. I would have been interested in the new Battlefield V content if they hadn’t already released the trailer a week or so ago. But we did get our first look at Jedi: Fallen Order which looks . . . okay, I guess? I mean, it looks like a typical, modern, third person action adventure game.

The demo wasn’t particularly impressive in terms of level design, but I’m going to assume they were showcasing an early, tutorial style area. The combat looked decent, but the lack of lightsaber dismemberment was a little silly. Even the old Outcast games didn’t shy away from the odd severed arm.

Microsoft were up next with an actual conference on a stage with the obligatory ‘applause’ messages flashing up on the screen for the audience. I’m not sure we were supposed to see those at home. The Outer Worlds looks interesting in terms of setting and story, but also looks janky as f**k in terms of gameplay. Bleeding Edge, a 4v4 multiplayer game was revealed and promptly forgotten by everyone.

Ori 2 had a gorgeous trailer, but won’t be releasing until next year. A Blair Witch game? What year is this again? Cyberpunk 2077 had a new CG trailer with a reveal that stole the show. Hopefully they’ll release some actual gameplay footage in a week or so, like they did last year.

What else? Dying Light 2 might be cool, if they can improve upon the original. We had another CG trailer for Elden Ring, the next FromSoftware game. CG trailers were a big thing this year and actual gameplay was rather thin on the ground. The Microsoft show concluded with the announcement of a new console release towards the end of 2020 and the new Halo as a launch title. I’m struggling to get excited.

Bethesda did their expected self-deprecating jokes about the absolute shit show that was Fallout 76. Sorry, Bethesda, but it’s not charming any more – it’s time to get your shit in order. Deathloop is a new game by Arkane that looks interesting . . . based on the CG trailer, at least. I guess I’m sort of excited for the new DOOM. I’m not so excited to be able to stream it to a smart phone attached to a game pad, though.

The PC Gaming Show was the only one I watched live and kind of wish I hadn’t. I actually gave up half way and just spun through the rest of the stream later. The PC Gaming Show AKA Where The F**k is Bannerlord . . . but there was no Bannerlord.

There was Evil Genius 2 and Bloodlines 2, though. You’d think I’d be excited about Bloodlines 2 but I’m keeping my expectations low. The name alone isn’t enough to sell it to me and the gameplay they’ve shown still looks pretty rough.

Oh, and who can forget about the reveal that Shenmue 3 is now a (timed?) Epic Store exclusive. I kind of saw this coming, considering what happened to Metro: Exodus – same publishers, same bullshit. I’ve already written about my dislike for the Epic Store and how it operates so I’ll try to keep this short: F**K EPIC.

I don’t remember anything else about the Ubisoft conference other than Watch_Dogs 3. Ignoring the rather hysterical ‘post-Brexit dystopian London’ nonsense, the game looks pretty interesting but I do have my concerns about the ‘play as any NPC’ mechanic. The idea is that you can ‘recruit’ any random NPC – each with their own unique skills – and switch between them as you please.

The demo where they showed this mechanic was neat, but obviously scripted. I don’t think the game will be anywhere near as ‘organic’ as they’re promising in terms of how the story / missions evolve. I also have concerns about the game lacking any central protagonist. If every ‘character’ you play as is a totally disposable NPC, then why would you care?

My notes for the Square Enix video were just ‘eh, whatever’ so I guess I wasn’t very excited by anything I saw. Devolver Digital did another violent and weird video which is the only reason people watch it. They’re certainly not watching for the games, although Carrion looks cool and My Friend Pedro got a release date.

And finally we have Nintendo, who I think everyone will agree ‘won’ E3 2019, but it wasn’t exactly a high bar to clear. They really just had to step over it and try not to stumble. Oh shit, son, is that a Panzer Dragoon remake? No More Heroes 3? Astral Chain? Breath of the Wild 2? It might be time to dust off my Switch! But no Bayonetta 3? You were so close, Nintendo. So close.