My fellow fanatics, it’s E3 time again, which for hardcore players out there is the closest official thing to Christmas in July, with announcements of games both big and small.
Those announcements kept coming with Sony’s conference, which took a slightly different approach this year. Instead of a large extravagant show floor with special guests, musical numbers, and multiple people in suits, Sony decided to go for a smaller more intimate presentation. A way to go more in-depth about their big projects. Although Shawn Layden did show up in person to crack a few jokes about the change of venue.
While that means they didn’t have something as…interesting as the live performers seen at Ubisoft’s conference, they remembered what E3 was all about. So without delay, here is everything that Sony announced during their presentation and the delicious details that were dropped.
The Last of Us Part II
The continuation of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic survival adventure started off the show with composer Gustavo Santaolalla playing some music from the game. Setting the tone perfectly for what came next. A trailer showing a much older Ellie at some sort of social gathering, playing the wall flower and talking casually with young man. A seemingly normal thing except the conversation also goes on about patrols and shifts. Things become more intimate as Ellie and another woman take the dance floor and enjoy some close intimate conversation… followed by a kiss. It is now confirmed, Ellie is queer!
The trailer then seamlessly switches to a gameplay demo, showing Ellie in a dark forest. Showcasing The Last Of Us Part II’s overhauled visuals, as well as stealth and action gameplay. It also gives us a good look at the revamped enemy AI. It seems that at any time you can break off gunfights and hide, but the enemy will actually split up and search for you. It’s difficult to tell if this will only happen with several scripted sequences or will be an ongoing thing with new enemies, but the result is undeniably exciting and nail-biting in equal measure.
Ghost of Tsushima
After the press was moved to a new venue and treated to a Japanese flute performance, the showcase continued with a look at Ghost of Tsushima. The newest IP from Sucker Punch, the creators of the superhero sandbox series, InFamous. A teaser trailer was shown earlier this year but now at E3 we have even more information.
The presentation starts almost immediately in-game, with the main character traveling across a war-torn landscape. Then he gets on his horse and rides off, confirming that the game is in fact, open-world. We then get a look at the game’s sword combat as the hero faces down against some bandits. It appears to be counter-heavy or at least reflex-based, but looks amazing nonetheless. There also appears to be some rudimentary stealth and platforming elements as the demo shows the hero sneaking through an occupied tower and taking enemies by surprise.
Control is Revealed
We also got a new trailer for some psychedelic-looking horror game. Not much is known other than it appears to to have third-person combat, telekinesis-based superpowers, and a lot of twisty unreliable geography. The game is called Control and is…a new game by Remedy Studios? It’s slated for a 2019 release.
Resident Evil 2 Remake Confirmed!
It’s a Resident Evil 2 Remake! Capcom’s most popular installment in their beloved franchise is getting a fancy HD remake! The game appears to be from a third-person perspective. Aside from a January 25 2019 release date, not much else is known at this time.
Death Stranding Gameplay Revealed
Another trailer was shown for Hideo Kojima’s latest masterpiece, Death Stranding. The trailer reveals a bit more about the world and the characters, but nothing truly solid. Mostly of lead character Norman Reedus talking to an unseen female character and traveling. In-game footage is shown of exploration, wading through rivers, climbing mountains, etc.. Everything has decidedly plausible sci-fi look to it with bulky equipment and the like. But the trailer makes a sinister turn with some unseen creature stalking Reedus, only for him to be saved at the last minute by his unseen helper.
Not much else was really explained or revealed about the game. Seriously, if you have any idea what’s going on, feel free to explain. No release date has been given.
Tecmo Koei Announces Nioh 2
It appears that Team Ninja and Tecmo Koei are going all in on a sequel to their hack-and-slash RPG, Nioh 2. Only a prerendered trailer was shown and no release date was given.
More Spider-Man Was Shown
More footage was shown for Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man. This time the game shows Spidey getting called to some incident happening on the superprison called The Raft, and him having to stop an outbreak set-up by the villainous Electro. Combat was shown off and it is fittingly balletic and beautiful. The web-swinging complemented with Arkham Asylum style contextual dodges.
As the demo plays out, more Spider-Man villains are shown, including The Rhino, The Vulture, and The Scorpion. Teasing the formation of the iconic Sinister Six. The demo became a bit too scripted near the end, but the action looked solid enough.
And that was the big stuff that was revealed at Sony’s conference at E3 2018. Overall, some impressive stuff was shown, but I can’t help but be left wanting. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
