Ten Exciting Games from E3 2016

I had very low expectations going into E3 this year. After so many incredibly exciting and surprising game announcements last year, 2016 seemed poised to be a “down year” for the convention, but it really took me aback. Both Microsoft and Sony had strong, tight showings and both had deeper looks into exciting games shown last year as well as some surprises. Nintendo’s wacky strategy of only focusing on a single game this year, on the other hand, also seemed to pay off: their beautiful new Zelda adventure took my breath away and has captured my imagination all over again. Here are ten games (and five honorable mentions) that I saw this E3 in any form and whether newly announced or not that have me excited and/or interested this year, in roughly ascending order based on simply how excited I am to play them:

ReCore

ReCore caught my interest last E3 with a rarely compelling CG trailer. The game is being created by former Metroid Prime developers (and being directed by Mark Pacini, the director of all three main Prime games) and Mega Man veteran Keiji Inafune and appropriately enough it seems to be some kind of hybrid of Metroid and Mega Man. The game involves exploring a desert planet overworld and fighting through waves of hostile robots, melding platforming with frantic gunplay in addition to a unique robot companion mechanic. The movement in the game looks really slick and speedy and overall it seems like it could be a blast to play. It also features a very colorful and fun aesthetic and overall the game seems to have a classic, bouncy, “gamey” appeal, in a good way, like a 3D platforming action game you might have seen on the N64 or during the GameCube/PS2 days. ReCore just overall has some good vibes. After watching some gameplay footage, I have a few qualms, like how visually busy the game seems to be with a cluttered HUD and tons of numbers and colors flashing everywhere, but I’m still definitely keeping my eye on this one when it releases in September this year.

Abzu

Abzu looks incredibly beautiful and there really isn’t that much else to say about it…other than, perhaps, that Flower and Journey art director, Matt Nava, is involved, as well as Austin Wintory, the composer of Journey. Did I mention that it looks really, really beautiful?

We Happy Few

The best E3 demos are the ones that amidst all the excitement and energy of a typical press conference completely ensnare me and make me forget what I’m even doing. We Happy Few was one of those. I was completely taken into this game’s world and its narrative and simply couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. When it was over, I was sold. I’ve been hearing good things about this game, but the gameplay shown at Microsoft’s conference was the first I’ve actually seen of it and it definitely lived up to its good name. What a great concept and an artful, intriguing-looking game that looks to have some smart insights into the way our society looks at emotional expression.

Inside

I know almost nothing about Inside besides that it is an action-adventure puzzle game being made by Playdead, the creators of Limbo, and that I want to play it. I don’t want to know anything else. It captured my attention not just because of its creator, but because of an arresting trailer at E3 2014. It went dark for two years and now we have a new trailer that completely engrosses me. What’s more, the game surprisingly comes out this summer. I’m looking forward to turning down the lights and immersing myself in this one.

I Am Setsuna

People are saying that I Am Setsuna is like a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger and that alone is enough to make me excited, but the game doesn’t look like a rehash or just a simple retro throwback. It seems to be taking some of the design and feel of CT and making something original. The narrative sounds uniquely compelling and melancholic and the art looks beautiful. I also love the idea of a snow and ice-covered world and how this supports the game’s central theme of “sadness”. This doesn’t seem to be just a glum, “dark” game for the sake of it though, but seems to really be doing something interesting with the central theme. I just love the feeling and atmosphere I get from the game’s trailer. The battle mechanics look to be taking a lot of inspiration from that time-traveling SNES masterpiece and that’s fantastic. There are a lot of RPGs I want to play and have yet to play, but I Am Setsuna has quickly climbed that list.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

I’m a big fan of the Shantae games and Half-Genie Hero is shaping up to be the best one yet. I’ve been patiently waiting for this game since I backed it on Kickstarter in late 2013, but It looks like it is going to be well worth the wait. The first thing that is immediately apparent about this game is that it’s freakin’ gorgeous. When I first saw the new art direction back when the Kickstarter began, I was a bit skeptical and missed the wonderful spritework done in the previous Shantae games. WayForward has pulled if off though; the game looks like a playable Disney animation. What’s more, it’s bringing back a big part of Shantae’s identity, her transformations, which I missed in her previous game, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. The mechanics and platforming look as smooth as ever and most exciting of all we finally have a release date: September 27 of this year. Also, another Jake Kaufman soundtrack is always a good thing.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

I cannot contain my excitement for this game, which is another from the Kickstarter camp (and another I supported in a heartbeat). Legendary post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi promised a new Metroidvania (or Igavania rather) in the style of his previous works and that seems to be exactly what he’s delivering. I’ve been wary about the choice of 2.5D visuals, but the game is actually looking pretty great, particularly the environment. I’m a little iffy about the monster designs, but it’s not a huge dealbreaker so far. The fact that the game looks (and seems like it plays) as good as it does so early in development inspires tremendous confidence in the final work though and makes me super happy that I supported this one. We haven’t gotten a proper gothic Metroidvania game since 2008’s excellent Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and I’m just so excited for a new game in this style. Familiar isn’t always a bad thing, especially if the particular kind of game in question has been missing for quite some time.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon captured my attention with a surprising and fantastic reveal last year and every time I see this game, I’m completely drawn into its beautiful, vibrant world. I love nature vs. technology themes and the whole far future concept where these mysterious machine animals have taken over the earth is just an instantly intriguing set-up to me. I love that there’s a mystery at the core of Horizon and that the developers aren’t giving too much away. Also, in a medium where combat mechanics saturate the landscape and often make my eyes glaze over at E3, the combat encounters in Horizon look exhilarating and gripping instead of merely routine and trivial affairs. There are a few aspects of the game I’m weary of, such as the protagonist’s constant narration but I can see that the developers are building her to be an established character that we step into the role of, which is a valid approach. Also, the characters’ expressions and animation during the conversation in the gameplay video shown at Sony’s press conference are a little rough, so hopefully that can be ironed out by release. All in all though, Horizon is a game that makes me whisper to myself how I really need to get a PS4.

The Last Guardian

The Last Guardian is ultimately the reason I will likely buy a PS4 sometime this year though, because it’s the kind of game I need to play as soon as it comes out to avoid the experience being spoiled in any way. It’s true that this is largely such an anticipated experience for me because of the pedigree of its director/designer Fumito Ueda and his team, and because Shadow of the Colossus is…well…Shadow of the Colossus, but this doesn’t mean that I don’t think The Last Guardian looks beautiful and compelling, and the concept of a boy and his beast is something near to my heart. I love animals and stories about human and animal relationships and I know everyone is saying it, and this isn’t necessarily an inherent reason for greatness of course, but at the very least this game will likely be quite the cathartic experience. TLG seems more Ico than SotC (or perhaps like a combination of the two), but that’s just fine (Ico is a beautiful experience in its own right). The Last Guardian doesn’t need to be a masterpiece and it doesn’t need to live up to years and years of expectation, it just needs to be whatever it is and whatever its creators wanted to make. I’m just so glad that it’s actually finally coming out on October 25 of this year.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

I already wrote a detailed piece about my thoughts on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s grand unveiling, but suffice it to say it’s a beautiful-looking dream come true for a long-time Zelda fan like myself. I’m digging the art and overall vibe of the game as well as the freedom of exploration and action it is going to provide. The world in Breath of the Wild is also coated in mystery and I’m loving what Nintendo seems to be doing with the narrative, atmosphere, and overall feel of the experience. I simply can’t wait to get lost in the wilds of the ruined kingdom of Hyrule next year.

Honorable Mentions: Death Stranding, Cuphead, Bound, RESIDENT EVII biohazard, Yomawari: Night Alone

Dang! Just looking at this list of games makes me so excited! Particularly, looking at those last two together makes my head spin. What a great time for video games! On the whole, I’d say it was a pretty great E3 and I look forward to next year…and, you know, actually playing games in-between.

My Favorite Games from E3 2015

I tell myself that E3 is nothing but a week long commercial, a hype generator cooked up by business people in business suits engineered to make me want to give them money and treat them like gods and the games shown like holy artifacts, each trailer a hallowed gift. I tell myself to sit back, to be measured and aware of what E3 really is. But there was real emotion last week, there was genuineness, and there were games no one thought would ever see the light of day, games that look refreshing and imaginative, nostalgic games, and games that look like they are really taking the medium to a new level. Sure, the usual onslaught of cars, guns, and bloody killing sprees were there, and yes, all the corporate shilling was intact, but for me all of that was overshadowed by some of the most exciting video games I’ve seen get the spotlight at E3 in a long time.

These are, in no particularly ranked order, the games that stood out to me the most this past week. Whether they were extensively demoed or simply teased, it doesn’t matter. As long as it was a game that was announced or shown off in some fashion at this year’s E3, it’s applicable for this list. There are other games not present that I’m very interested in, but they didn’t make the cut either because I’ve already known about them for a while and didn’t find out much new, or because these ten games just eclipsed them somehow in term of surprising me or leaving an impact on me this particular year. These are the titles I’ll fondly remember from this E3, and the ones that I’m just really jazzed about right now.

Super Mario Maker (Sep. 11, 2015)

Nintendo had a rough E3 this year. Many people, myself included, were a bit underwhelmed by their Digital Event, people are complaining about Star Fox Zero’s controls, and some misguided individuals are petitioning for the cancellation of Metroid Prime: Federation Force. But if there’s one thing I think we can all agree on, it’s that Super Mario Maker just looks swell. Easily Nintendo’s star game for me this E3, Nintendo’s celebration of Super Mario’s 30^th anniversary looks to be delivering on its full potential with robust and easy to use level creation and sharing options in addition to pipe-loads of quirky charm. It hits all the right nostalgic notes, but it’s also an innovative and spectacular idea. On top of all that, it’s kind of like a direct sequel or expansion to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World all in one (like a new “Lost Levels”, except for all three games, and with not necessarily all brutally tough levels). Super Mario Maker feels to me like an apology for that lazy Super Mario All-Stars port Nintendo released for the series’ 25^th anniversary back in 2010. It had a very strong showing at the 2015 Nintendo World Championships before the show even started, and continued to make me smile all throughout the week. Like seriously, I can’t not smile watching this game.

ReCore (Spring 2016)

In the past, I’ve railed on CG trailers and how their abundance at E3 always annoys me. I’d almost always rather see actual in-game footage instead of just a pre-rendered movie that tells me nothing about how the actual work is going to turn out. This E3, however, I’ve realized that CG trailers have their place, and they can be done well. Right from the get go, I was interested after seeing “from Keiji Inafune and the makers of Metroid Prime” (umm…yes, please!), but even beyond that, the music and art design of ReCore immediately set a tone that pulled me in, evoking the likes of both Kino’s Journey and Metroid itself, while also being something fresh. The trailer for ReCore also does a great job of telling a succinct little story that effectively gives me an idea of how the game’s central mechanic is going to work, and the reveal of the title at the end drives this “core” concept home (sorry, I had to). ReCore, you have my attention.

Cuphead (1936 plus eighty years)

Do I even need to say anything? I think Cuphead’s footage speaks for itself. Shown for all of one second during an indie montage at Microsoft’s conference last year, it was the kind of thing that made me lean forward and say, “Hey, wait! Wait! What was THAT?” The description for the E3 2015 trailer on YouTube reads “Inspired by 1930s cartoons, the visuals are hand drawn and inked and the music is all original jazz recordings”…now that is how you sell me a video game. I love visually-creative platformers as a general rule, but Cuphead really stands out to me because of just how utterly seamless it looks. There is nothing about Cuphead’s presentation that gives away its status as a video game; it’s just a playable cartoon.

Beyond Eyes (Summer 2015)

I love seeing small indie developers with hugely creative ideas get the spotlight at E3, and this trend has become more and more prominent in the past couple of years. One of the most unique and special things about video games, and one of the many aspects of them still brimming with potential, is their ability to let us inhabit the role of anyone or anything, to let us walk in the shoes of someone or something else. The potential here to explore different life experiences other than our own and build empathy is enormous. In Beyond Eyes, the player steps into the shoes of a young bling girl looking for her lost cat. As she moves through her world using her other senses, the landscape and objects within it materialize around her, like watercolor paint expanding across a dry canvas. In one scenario, she might hear some rushing water and think it’s a fountain, only to get closer and realize that it’s actually a sewage pipe. Not only does the game’s art look beautiful and the concept show a lot of promise and originality, but this game is just one example of the power and potential of video games as a unique artistic medium, something that I really like to see at E3 in-between all the gun scopes and improved car textures.

Unravel (TBA)

…Speaking of which. Partway into the EA press conference, of all places, out onto the stage comes a shy, visibly nervous man with a tattooed hand and small doll made out of red yarn in his shaking hands. He goes on to explain that he got the idea for his game, called Unravel, about a small creature named Yarny that traverses beautiful environments inspired by Northern Scandinavia and leads a thread that connects all of us together, or something poetic and beautiful like that, when on a camping trip with his family. Unravel is a game aimed directly at my soul and my sensibilities. Saying in an interview that he doesn’t believe in “heavy-handed storytelling”, the game’s creative director, Martin Sahlin (the aforementioned tattooed man) says that he believes in "filling the world with interesting things, with clues, with details” that the player can discover on their own, adding that it's also fine if they don't because "it's more about the atmosphere and the feeling of the whole thing". So Unravel takes what I love about the Pikmin series (a small character running around huge photo-realistic environments) and presents a puzzle-platformer with reason and context for its level design, all wrapped up in a minimalist presentation? I think Martin Sahlin might be my soulmate.

Yoshi’s Woolly World (Oct. 16, 2015)

The yarn genre has really been taking off recently, hasn’t it? I love colorful Nintendo platformers, so naturally I anticipate playing and enjoying Yoshi’s Woolly World. But what sets this spiritual successor to Kirby’s Epic Yarn (which is one of my favorite platformers from the last console generation) apart from the likes of something like New Super Mario Bros. is just how much handcrafted effort seems to be being put into this game. Obviously, the game’s artistic design is a huge draw, with everything being crafted out of wool, fabric, and giant knitting needles; it truly looks like something I can reach out and touch and feel. But I just love that the developers actually crafted real-life Yarn Yoshis during the game’s development. In addition, the composer for the game, who is trying to have a different song for every level, actually took up guitar lessons to make sure the soundtrack was up to par. I’m really looking forward to finally playing this during the cool autumn months later this year.

Horizon: Zero Dawn (2016)

One thing that made this year’s E3 stand out to me was a theme of change, of growth, of this medium and this industry finally beginning to take the first steps of reaching maturity. Sure, there was the usual onslaught of sense-assaulting cartoonish violence, cheers for particularly brutal digital decapitations, and all the familiar faces and concepts present, but there was also creative-looking new worlds and ideas, more of a focus on narrative and how games can evoke emotion. The words “emotional narrative” were uttered onstage at Sony’s press conference, as opposed to another bland, self-defeating joke about “f*cking blood and guts! Video games, am I right?”. In addition, there was a very notable effort in making games and the gaming scene more diverse, to reflect a growing and diverse audience. There were more female presenters on stage and a surprisingly ample amount of new games featuring female protagonists or at least a woman in a strong central role.

Then there was Horizon: Zero Dawn, a game starring a woman that takes place in a world unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The game’s extensive and fantastic trailer/demo begins with a well-acted narration over beautiful panoramic landscape shots that tells the story of a modern civilization like our own falling and eventually being reclaimed by natural forces. We then see hunter-gatherer tribes emerge in a “post-historic” world that tells tales of the “old ones” that went extinct. We’ve seen this tale before, but it’s told so well through visuals, narration, and some truly gorgeous music that I was completely immersed and already on board with this game. Then the twist came: “…for this world was never ours…we’ve always shared it…”, the female narrator suddenly says as we see otherworldly mechanical animals enter the scene, first in the form of a few small scavengers, and then followed by massive robotic dinosaurs with disks for heads that come stomping across a stunning, sunlit prairie, like some kind of cyberpunk Jurassic Park. It’s wonderful, and the juxtaposition of the natural elements and the unnatural, metallic creatures makes for an immediately intriguing and fresh-looking world. That would have been enough to get my interest, but then the trailer seamlessly transitions into a lengthy gameplay portion where the familiar narrator, now fully revealed as our player character, starts creeping through wonderfully-rendered plants as she hunts mechanical deer in order to harvest some kind of green canister attached to their backs. Before reaching her prey, she kills a smaller beast, after which she subverts every law of E3 by expressing remorse and actually apologizing to the life she’s taken. It all culminates in a thrilling Shadow of the Colossus-esque battle with a robotic T-Rex thing. In a word: it’s breathtaking, a genuine surprise, and I can’t wait to see more (ok, more than a word).

…did I say Shadow of the Colossus?

The Last Guardian (2016)

It’s real, and Sony opened their show with gameplay of it.

I know I said I wasn’t putting these games in any significant order, but I obviously saved these last three for a reason. After years of rumors, cancelation scares, and many dashed hopes, The Last Guardian’s long-awaited, often doubted, and always hoped for return kicked off an hour of dreams. I said this E3 was special for showing signs that this troubled and stagnant industry is changing, but it was equally as special for how it spoke to a generation. How it resurrected old legends and made me cover my mouth in stunned disbelief. I just don’t even really need to say it, do I? The Last Guardian. It’s one of those games, those ones I sigh about at the end of every E3 press conference cycle because once again it didn’t show up. But this time it did.

The spiritual successor to a work of interactive art that defined an era of video games for me and remains one of my most cherished interactive experiences, The Last Guardian also just looks like an incredibly touching and ambitious game, and it’s central “mechanic” revolving around the bond of a young boy and his giant gryphon-cat-bird friend has me enchanted all over again. Sure, there have been many games since The Last Guardian was first unveiled back in 2009 that have aimed to capitalize on the emotional potential of interactive art, but The Last Guardian still excites me due to its promising concept and its masterful pedigree. It also just makes me tear up every time I see it (why does Trico have to look so much like my own dog?). I don’t even know if I’ll be able to handle this game when it hopefully, oh please hopefully, releases next year.

Final Fantasy VII Remake (TBA)

So they opened with The Last Guardian? I mean, what could they possibly have if they…Oh. Ooooooh. Even though it was set up by Adam Boyes beforehand, Final Fantasy VII fans have learned better than to trust a smug presenter promising the world. Even as the trailer went on and a recognizable Midgar began to be more and more slowly unveiled, with talk of “reunions” and “promises” accompanying the proceedings, I still wasn’t convinced. At first I thought it was a proper, full-fledged sequel to FFVII, then perhaps another movie. Even at the end of the trailer, at first only a logo appeared with no title. Well, in order to dissuade any confusion, to make things perfectly, perfectly clear, a single word appeared with booming fanfare afterword:

“Remake”

Now this is how you use a CG trailer. And what a fantastic trailer it is. Every word spoken, every shot, just designed to evoke specific emotions in those watching, just toying with all the fans hoping and anticipating. Now, I like Final Fantasy VII a lot, and there’s plenty of things that I admire about it, but I’ll admit that I don’t have as emotional a connection to it as many others, due to me not playing it when it was in its prime. I still remember how huge it was at that time though, and still have a lot of nostalgia for finally playing through it myself one summer years ago (though, I must shamefully confess, I never finished it, stopping just before the crater and Sephiroth; I hope to go back and run through the whole thing again sometime, this time to completion). I realize how massive the FFVII remake’s announcement is, and I think the way it was announced and the trailer itself is all brilliant, but it was almost immediately followed by an announcement that was my personal moment to start shouting things at my computer screen…

Shenmue III (When it’s ready)

Even as I write this, as I continue to look at the kickstarter (and yes, I backed it, of course I did) and the title: “Shenmue III”, I still can’t quite believe it, and I laugh to myself. Let me back up. I received a Dreamcast on Christmas day of 1999, right after it launched, and it blew my mind. Way ahead of their time, the games for that console delivered experiences I’d never dreamed of (heh…) in video games before. Sonic Adventure’s clean visuals and sense of speed made my jaw drop, Jet Grind Radio’s pioneering cel-shaded visuals and unique style were unlike anything I’d ever seen, and then there was a little game called Shenmue that made me realize the potential of video games. Never before had a game felt so real to me, had so much to interact with, and transported me to a place like the way Shenmue did. At the time, its detailed, fully interactable world, voice-acting (now notorious), and potent story-telling fully transported me, and not only cultivated my love of eastern culture, but cemented my love of video games.

I could go on. But suffice it to say, when Shenmue II was released in the west as an Xbox (at the time I only had a GameCube) exclusive, I was pretty bummed. I never played it, but I always, always wanted to. Well, now it’s finally time to get on ebay and pick up an original Xbox, I guess.

What made the announcement of Shenmue III (or to be more exact, its kickstarter) all the more potent was not only just how long it’s been since the release of Shenmue II (fourteen years), but because the continuation of Shenmue has long been nothing but a dream: the series’ continuation has become a joke, and has always been something I never thought would happen. But in front of a bewildered audience still recovering from Final Fantasy VII’s return, a shower of flower petals and Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki showed me that nothing is impossible, and that the legacy of Shenmue lives on, long after those enchanting Dreamcast days met with an all too abrupt end.  

Bonus! GameTrailers’ Live Stream

While not in fact a video game, I had to mention the always entertaining and somewhat revolutionary live stream that GameTrailers put on this year. Filled with genuine human moments and giving off the vibe of a bunch of friends hanging out and talking about E3, GameTrailers’ stream was the cure for the stiff, PR-fueled interviews and more “professional” streams that litter the internet during E3. Their stream was a constant highlight throughout the week for me, as I would dip in to see what they were up to, only to see Brandon Jones’ hilarious impersonations of his colleagues, Michael Huber crying about Shenmue, and more serious conversations about the potential of video games. The GT crew feels like a family and I just loved seeing their shenanigans all throughout the week. Also, their reactions to Sony’s “Triforce of Dreams” are simply the best thing on the internet.

Honorable Mentions: Dishonored 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, No Man’s Sky, Dreams, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Star Fox Zero, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, Earthbound Beginnings, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Fire Emblem Fates, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, FAST Racing Neo, Typoman, Kingdom Hearts III, Below, Edge of Nowhere, Soma…a lot of great and interesting games this year.

Some disappointments from Nintendo aside (that were, honestly, tempered by some great times with the still awesome Treehouse Live and some definitely fantastic-looking games on display; also puppets and Miyamoto visiting shrines and Mario courses on graph paper), this was a great E3. A legendary E3 even. And even though I tell myself it’s just a big, loud, silly, week-long corporate magic trick, hell if it isn’t a lot of fun, and hell if I’m not just excited for video games right now.