My Favorite Games Announced at E3ish
My backlog is suffering
Now that the summer of gaming is over, I want to reflect back on the games that I found most interesting throughout all presentations. Not all of these are new announcements, but provided a deeper dive that most definitely increased my interest for the game.
Star Wars Outlaws
I’ve never ever been the biggest Star Wars fan. Sure, I watched most movies and I am generally aware of the universe and lore, but never enough to go and buy a Star Wars game and fulfill my “Star Wars fantasy”.
However, this game has me excited beyond all logic and reasoning. It simply looks like a fun game that happens to be in the Star Wars universe. No lightsabers in sight, this game focuses on many things that aren’t part of the typical Star Wars story, and I feel that increases the excitement for me.
Neva
I absolutely LOVED Gris when it came out. It is a simple 2D puzzler with gorgeous art, very easy to enjoy on your phone or Nintendo Switch. Neva, though, it’s all that plus a lot of fast paced movement and combat. It looks beautiful and sooooo fluid, thanks to its lovely 2D art style.
Sonic x Shadow Generations
I mean it’s a remake of one of the best Sonic games ever - which I would’ve bought anyway - but the fact that they added Shadow as a playable character and added even more levels from Sonic’s past games is just a delightful bonus.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Ohhhhhh my god. I would’ve been happy with a remake of the Oracle games in this style/engine. But noooo Nintendo had to go the extra mile with a Zelda game where Zelda is the actual protagonist.
They have done something outstanding with this one. They took a 2D top-down Zelda game, famous for its constraints in the world to keep you moving in a straight line, and turned it into a game were solving the constraints IS the puzzle. It’s the openness of Breath of the Wild placed on a top-down game. Simply genius.
Frogun Encore
I played Frogun last year and immediately became one of my favorite games ever. Of course I’m excited for a sequel, especially knowing it’s coming out this very same month!
Ila: A Frosty Glide
Love me a platformer where the path to the finish looks linear, but the game is open enough that it lets you get there however you like. In Ila, you play as a witch apprentice in the snowy mountains, who rides her broom like a snowboard. The art feels like a 3D rendition of the Celeste art style, which is a big plus for me.
Life is Strange Double Exposure
I am a huge Life is Strange fan. The writing is so incredible that the superpowers you have in this game are like an added bonus. And now that we have Max returning as the main character I’m all !!!!! Her powers have shifted from simply being rewinding time to actually being able to exist in two universes at the same time???? insane.
Squeakross
I mean, a picross game is enough to get me excited, but a picross game where the puzzles are pieces of furniture you can use to decorate your mousehold? literally the best combination of games ever.
MIO: Memories in Orbit
I was already obsessed with the art style and the vibe on the first 30 seconds of this trailer, praying it had interesting gameplay, like a Metroidvania. And it is!! It looks very reminiscent of games like Ori, with fluid 2D movement and varied options to attack enemies. And a lot of insta-death spikes.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
I rarely go crazy for new Mario Party games, but this one seems to be leaning harder towards the traditional Mario Party board gameplay, and less on the forced “new and fun” modes they tend to include.
Can’t wait to roll a 40 and have everyone in the party hate me for the rest of the game.
While Waiting
A game about waiting, specifically designed to play while waiting on a queue or for a train, with over a hundred silly situations you can interact with. This is the perfect game for me.
Expedition 33
This came out of the blue! From an outside perspective, it just looks like a hyper realistic fantasy action game with an over the top dramatic storyline, which are a dime a dozen nowadays. But it’s actually an RPG with Paper Mario mechanics, where you’re always engaged during turn-based battles. It just happens to look incredibly bland in trailers, but it genuinely looks like a fun time.
Fear the Spotlight
I am not a horror game player, or movie watcher, or reader. I don’t like horror.
Yet this game had me hooked with such a quick showing. It leverages that PS1-era of graphics that always looked a bit creepy, and turned it into a horror game that looks like a lot of fun.
Farmagia
It’s hard to have people interested on this game based on its character design, art style or story. It all sounds very stupid.
But the gameplay looks crazy fun. It’s a farming game, where you harvest actual Pokemon-like creatures, that you then take into Pikmin-style battles. The idea of bringing 30 to 50 wild hogs into battle to fight a giant dragon sounds stupid, but a lot of fun too.
South of Midnight
This game has an incredible vibe. Last year we got a glimpse of this game with a cinematic trailer, but this year we got 5 full minutes of gameplay and it looked incredible and polished and fun and fluid and has a lot of movement options and I just want to play it right now.
Metal Gear Solid ∆: Snake Eater
I became a Metal Gear fan very late into my life, so I missed many of the first games. This remake is the perfect opportunity to experience what many call the best MGS game out there.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
I’ve played almost all major AC games, and Shadows looks so reminiscent of AC: Syndicate that it’s impossible to not be excited. It’s that Japanese Assassin’s game everyone has been asking for the past 10 years, and it’s finally here!
Abyss X Zero
This one came out of NOWHERE. It seems to be heavily inspired by one of my favorite Animes and I’m all in for this. The gameplay and art style are so over the top and action packed and fluid and Ahhhh I cannot wait to play this one.
I do have one criticism (the same one I have for that very same Anime) which you’ll probably catch if you watch the trailer
Mixtape
Ohhhh this was my favorite game of the show, period. It had me drop everything I was doing to see the trailer live during the Xbox showcase. The vibes are immaculate and the gameplay looks entertaining, you play as a group of teenagers in the 90s on their last day of high school, so you can expect CD players and skateboards and lots of shenanigans.
I was watching the stream with my fiancee and it was so funny how we both stopped everything we were doing to watch this trailer live. Can’t wait to know more.