The best of E3 2018

I'm sure everyone has had their fill of E3 by this point, but if you're not completely fatigued by the news or you'd just like a little refresher, I've included my favourite trailers below.

Can't wait for...

The Last of Us Part II

After their previous trailer, which could only be described as torture porn, Naughty Dog dial down the violence (just a little) in their latest trailer, featuring some in-game footage which is reminisent of the previous title.

The kiss between Ellie and Dina is being widely discussed on the web and is generally being seen as a possitive move for queer representation in video games.

I guess one of the reasons I'm looking forward to Part 2, is that the first game left a lasting impression. Naughty Dog have a track record of creating high quality titles which are fairly linear, cinematic and narrative heavy, and whilst interspersed with gun combat they're still easy enough to play through and enjoy.

Devil May Cry 5

Seemingly in a return to form, a sequel to the fourth sees Nero's return - presumably in a staring role.

Devil May Cry has always been a fun, button mashing, hack-n-slash. A complete contrast to the 'Souls series, you're the most powerful entity in the game, letting the player cut loose with absurdly acrobatic character movement and demonic special abilities.

The soundtracks are typically pretty fun too. I've been playing Devil Trigger by Casey & Ali Edwards quite a lot, to psyche myself up for DMC5's eventual release.

Oh - and Dante's back.

Sea of Solitude

This game is beautiful, and I really can't wait to explore this gorgeous, partially submerged landscape.

Connie (@CorneliaGeppert) has been teasing gifs for years before this was picked up by Electronic Arts, so I'm excited to see it getting more coverage and clearly having been further developed now.

There are hints of literary influences including Kafka and Lovecraft, but the art direction is more akin to Pixar. And it really works!

Knights & Bikes

As a backer of the Kickstarter project back in 2016, it's been interesting reading the developer updates, and seeing how the game has progressed from the early stages.

Even from the first trailer this game has looked it will be a lot of fun to play, one reason being that it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Can't wait to play this!

Sekiro: Shadows die twice

This scratches a few itches, being a spiritual successfor to Dark Souls, set in ancient Japan and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Whilst it's not the Bloodborne sequel many speculated, this opens a new branch in the developer's hellish hack and slash titles. The trailer holds a lot of promise, featuring some familiar mechanics, and some less so.

As expected VaatiVidya is on the case, putting together a neat gameplay speculation video which gives us an idea of what we might expect.

Ooblets

Words alone can't describe how sickeningly cute this game is.

Rebecca Cordingley (@nonplayercat) has teased plenty of gifs over the development of this title, and it seems like she's had so much fun creating this - I'm sure this will translate to the game.

The premise is similar to Pokémon. The player is responsible for nurturing and collecting Ooblets (small creatures of varying shapes and sizes), which are grown from plants. Recently the team made the decicion to swap the fighting mechanic for a dance-off feature instead, which given the style and general mood of the game was an inspired choice. It just works so much better!

This is a really ambitious project for the small team, but work is really paying off. Ooblets is looking amazing.

Death Stranding

This was my favourite takeaway from E3 2018. I'm a big fan of Kojima, and this will be such a departure from the Metal Gear franchise that I'm really not sure what to expect. As a result, I get excited whenever there's a chance to gleam some new insight on Death Stranding.

We know now that you, as Sam Porter Bridges (Normal Reedus), play a courier in a harsh landscape. Your role sees you traversing unspoiled terrain in a changed world. Whilst the environment is largely familair, it is layered with supernatural phenomenon, creatures out of phase with our ability to perceive them. Time-fall rains decay on any living thing it touches, aging plants and humans alike.

Also introduced in this trailer were new characters portrayed by Lindsay Wagner and Léa Seydoux, though little is known about either's role in the story.

Death Stranding is gonna be a real trip. I'll write about Kojima and his new studio's first game later in more detail, I'm sure.

The best of the rest

Along with the above, I really like the look of Tunic, Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 2, Fallout 76, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, Spider-man, Ghost of Tsushima, Super Smash Bros. - and there was even more that caught my eye.

How about you?

These were just a few of my most anticipated games, but there were so many impressive titles to look forward to! What were the biggest hits for you? Let me know via Twitter.