Simon’s top five games from E3 2016

E3 was a crazy couple of days, so many announcements, so many reveals, just so many games, and there were so many surprises. Many of the press conferences may have been underwhelming, and for lack of a better word boring, but E3 is about the games and there was plenty to love from new announcements, to the return of older games. There was Zelda, The Last Guardian, We Happy Few, and so many more great games, and whether you were there in person, or like me sitting in front of your computer for almost two straight days there was so much going on. But which games were best? This will differ by person and what they are interested in, and here are the five games that caught my interest whether they were old or new:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild amiibo beautiful image

Nintendo really surprised many of us when they revealed that then titled Zelda U was going to be the only game at E3 (which it really wasn’t) from them. Many of us even doubted Nintendo, and that they would stay relevant at the event with only this game, I admit that I even held little confidence in Nintendo for their decision, but yet they surprised all of us. In what was their main feature Nintendo grabbed our interest, they showed off a pretty confident game that showed us what the first real high definition Zelda could do.

Nintendo showed off many great new features for the game, an extensive open world, Hyrule returned to nature, many classic role playing game elements including clothing effects, and new ways to approach the world. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Zelda game that people always wanted, and Nintendo showed it off with great confidence, and I feel this was the E3 highlight but it was not the game that impressed me the most, or grabbed my interest quite as much.

  1. Death Stranding

Death Stranding title

The gaming public should probably prepare the noose now and prepare me for the hanging but I am going to outright say I don’t get Hideo Kojima, and yes I understand that nobody really gets Hideo Kojima, what I truly mean is I don’t get the fascination with the man. Why do we worship the ground he walks on? He is just a man who makes games, and truthfully I don’t think he has made anything that deserves the admiration of the game industry, until now at least.

I may not get Hideo Kojima, but what I do get is games and the interesting concepts that they may bring, and his new game may just be the first time I have legitimately cared about something he is making. During Sony’s press conference, Hideo Kojima stepped out onto the stage for a whole thirty seconds and what followed was something interesting, Death Stranding may have only been shown in a cinematic trailer but already it seems to be something pretty interesting.

The ties that bind, and the symbolism that ties to it, Hideo Kojima’s new project seems to offer plenty of symbolism and open interpretation, and I feel could really mess with the player by what is shown. I don’t know if this game will be any good, and simply put it is too soon to tell, but you have my interest and if this game proves to be as interesting as its teaser, Death Stranding could truly be something special.

  1. Detroit: Become Human

Detroit Become Human Conner

I only recently started playing Quantic Dream’s games starting with Beyond: Two Souls which I absolutely loved, and this game demonstrated just how emotionally demanding these games could be, and more importantly they provide some excellent social commentary on many real world issues despite the fictional nature. I was already interested in their newest game Detroit: Become Human, but with E3, Sony and Quantic Dream have managed to convince me further, I don’t expect the emotional drain that is Beyond Two Souls, but the newest trailer has shown a great demonstration on this games demand.

Using a prime example of our character Conner trying to save a young girl from a dis-functioning Android showed a certain amount of depth and the various ways the situation can be handled. In a small way this reminded me of a tamer version of a certain scene in Life Is Strange, but in the games approach of searching for clues to unlock new options it feels unique. Even more interesting to me is the fact we play as an Android who is very aware of typical protocol’s and the need to help humans and this could play in brilliantly as part of the story, will we get the option to revolt against humanity and become conflicted by the varying believes of other Androids. I would like to think so, and of all Quantic Dream’s games I feel this has the most potential, and there could be some really interesting themes that end up getting discussed.

  1. South Park: The Fractured But Whole

South Park The Fractured But Whole The Coon on sign

The prospect of South Park: The Fractured But Whole excited me when it was announced at E3 in 2015, and E3 2016 just cemented why I am looking forward to this game more. Simply based on footage shown during Ubisoft’s E3 conference, this game looks to expand upon the wonderful foundation that was built in Stick of Truth, and how it will evolve in terms of gameplay, fixing one of the few criticisms with the game. The Fractured But Whole is not simply the same game with a new story, this game swaps out the fantasy Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones aesthetic for Superheroes to essentially play off the Marvel name, the only unfortunate casualty that will be made for the new game is my swords, I will miss you my fairy princess sword it got me through some tough times.

Unlike many I never had an issue with the gameplay of Stick of Truth, I liked the simple design of the turn based combat style, this actually felt like a design made more for those unfamiliar with general games like this which worked for me, but The Fractured But Whole will expand upon this and that could be fun. The combat style issues in a greater dimension for strategy, and how you will choose to approach each battle is up to you, consider the new system the main course to Stick of Truth’s appetiser. Beyond all this there is also the story which is sure to be pretty funny, and offer plenty of commentary on the various superhero movies out today, and should also be an overall great experience. I really expect big things when this game launches this December, and if it goes above and beyond Stick of Truth I see plenty of Game of the Years in this games future.

  1. Days Gone

Days Gone threaten

Sony did their E3 conference right, they announced several games and even showed some decent footage for some of their more interesting titles. Among the announcements was Days Gone for the Playstation 4 and this game just looked and sounded incredible from the trailer, immediately as our protagonist described a world lost to time and referenced how many electrical items that we take for granted were gone. What we now saw was an interesting play on the apocalypse that reminds me of Fallout crossed with The Last of Us, which is a pretty great combination, but that was not all I was also reminded of the TV show Revolution in the way much of the world was presented.

Then we saw the gameplay and again this looked pretty enjoyable, despite the traditional third person shooter fare, the world and enemies looked fascinating. I think it is too soon to tell if this game will actually be good, or if it will wind up as a generic zombie massacre game, but yet they have placed some excellent groundwork that shows a lot of potential for Sony Bends new game. So long as our character has some personality and they make use of the dystopian nature of the world for the story, I think this game could be a masterpiece. It is the enigma of what Days Gone could become that makes this game interesting and my personal highlight of E3.

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