E3 was chock full of great software, but there are still games that I wish were there. So as is obligatory for video-game-wannabe-commentators like myself, here’s a list of the top five games I wish were at E3 2019!
Beyond Good and Evil 2
It has been years (more than a decade!) since I played the first game. I honestly remember the broad strokes of it, but wouldn’t be able to get into the specifics of the game to save my life. And yet, Beyond Good and Evil 2 has me pumped.
I’m pumped even though the details are still pretty sparse. We know the world will be reflective of the original game. We know we won’t play as Jade this time, as the game is a prequel supposedly taking place a generation before Jade’s birth. In fact, it appears you’ll play as a custom-made character ala Elder Scrolls.
And any story details at this point are completely lacking. The little that we’ve seen of BG&E2 has focused more on gameplay and the world. So I was really hoping to get more details this year. Alas, no. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has a big presence next year, though, as a push for next-gen consoles.
Tunic
Tunic is the long-under-development Zelda-like game from indie developer Andrew Shouldice. It swaps out Link for a cute fox but presents itself in a top-down, isometric world that immediately conjures thoughts of Hyrule (at least in Zelda’s earlier days).
Tunic has been at the last two E3s, including in 2018 when it was showcased by Microsoft and announced as a console exclusive (though still coming to PC). It is slated to be released this year but was oddly quiet at E3.
This has been my favorite indie title from E3 the past few years, so I was hoping for a release date and some more gameplay. Indie game development is a rough gig, so I’m happy to wait it out a little longer. But just a little.
Grand Theft Auto VI
This was always a long shot, but the idea of a big GTA announcement is at the forefront of my hopes for E3 every year. Rockstar has not been a big presence at E3 for a while, so that hope is always ill-placed. Yet I still have hope.
That hope is even more unrealistic given that Red Dead Redemption 2 is still in its early days and Rockstar is still pumping content into GTA Online. Yet I still have hope.
However, GTA V released in 2013 and Rockstar has spaced out new GTAs by 5-7 years, so we’re about due. I would guess we get an announcement in the next year and see the new game around 2021. Really, all I wanted was a nice little teaser with a hint at a location. There’s always 2020, I suppose.
Metroid Prime 4
Yet again, it’s not a surprise that Metroid Prime 4 did not appear at E3. Nintendo announced at the beginning of the year that development wasn’t going well on the game, so they essentially scrapped the project and rebooted with the help of Retro.
While it’s disappointing that the game is still a long way out, it’s really encouraging that Retro is back on board. Retro has proven they know how to make this game, so the final product will almost certainly be better off.
Still, I would have loved a little more information about progress at E3 this year. All we’ve seen so far is a logo, so even a little concept art or a hint about what the story will be would have been exciting. The fact that there was nothing means Nintendo likely doesn’t have anything they want to commit to yet.
The Last of Us 2
For me, the biggest casualty of Sony’s E3 hiatus is not seeing more of The Last of Us 2. While Sony has a great slate of software coming, The Last of Us 2 is easily the one I’m most excited about.
The first title in the franchise set a new bar for narrative in an action-adventure game. The world is so well thought out and the gameplay is really rewarding. But more than that, the characters are relatable and deep.
We (think we) know that the sequel will focus more on Ellie, though Joel is still a central part of the story. We also know that the scope of this one is supposed to be more ambitious. With at least 7 years between the two games, there’s both a lot of expectation and potential for disappointment. Yet Naughty Dog has proven they can deliver sequels with Uncharted that keep the franchise moving forward. I would guess Sony makes this one of the highlight transitional titles between the PS4 and PS5.
There’s always next year…
