Sony just concluded its Playstation E3 press briefing in Los Angeles. While we didn’t see a lot of new titles, the presentation went heavy on virtual reality offerings and console exclusives.
What’s New
Playstation may not have brought the highest number of all-new originals to this E3, but what we did see were solid triple-A experiences.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds
This expansion to the critically-lauded post-post-apocalyptic tale of a redhead with dredlocks who fights robot dinosaurs is due out later this year.
Shadow of the Colossus remake
Maybe this is why The Last Guardian took so long to come out. (Yes, I know, this is being handled by a different studio, don’t @ me.)This is no mere graphical update; everything is reconstructed from the ground up in gorgeous high definition. It’s currently positioned for a 2018 release.
What We Got to See More Of
Sony also devoted a fair chunk of its press conference to follow-ups on previously-announced games, spending some time exploring new areas and gameplay.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
With Nathan Drake’s saga concluded, Naughty Dog is looking elsewhere to continue its series of Playstation-exclusive action-adventures. The Lost Legacy stars Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross as a devil-may-care treasure-hunting duo, standing up to less charismatic people who are after the same treasure. It’s due out August 22nd.
Days Gone
First teased at last year’s E3, this year we got a longer gameplay look at Days Gone and its sadder, dad rock zombie apocalypse. In addition to genre mainstays of “killing zombies” and “killing rival human factions,” Days Gone will allow you to manipulate zombie crowds into doing your dirty work for you. You monster. Also, friggin ZOMBIE BEARS.
Monster Hunter World
Gotta love a game that tells you everything about it from the name: Monster Hunter is a series where you hunt monsters, and in Monster Hunter World you’ll be using every available resource, including the environment, to accomplish that. It’s set for console release in early 2018 with a PC release to follow.
Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
I don’t know who out there takes fighting game lore seriously, but I know they exist in some form or another and goddammit, I respect that, even if I can’t understand it. MvCI’s story demo is available for download right now, as we speak.
God of War
We got a meaty first look at this fifth God of War installment at last E3, including a lengthy gameplay demo. This year’s conference didn’t show us much new in terms of gameplay, but we did get a few more glimpses into the world and lives of the new cast. Dad God of War is due out in early 2018.
Detroit: Become Human
Every time David Cage (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls) comes out with another trailer for this thing, it somehow looks even worse than the last one. In theory there should be a bottom somewhere, a minimum acceptability threshold below which even Sony’s patience wears thin, but we don’t seem to have reached it yet.
Destiny 2
Obviously, Destiny 2 is a multi-platform title, but Sony pushed the “Playstation exclusives” angle hard with this trailer. It’s out this September.
Call of Duty: World War II
First teased in April of this year, the return to a classical World War II setting is ostensibly meant to signal a clean slate for publisher Activision. It arrives this November.
Spider-Man
This year, we got an extended gameplay demo for this Playstation 4 exclusive, full of Spidey’s remarkably intuitive and versatile webslinging. Boo on the QTEs, but it looks like the heart of the game invites a lot of creative free-play, knocking enemies into each other and so forth. Oh, and Miles Morales shows up.
What’s in VR
Sony appears committed to making VR work on Playstation, showing off six titles tailored for the PSVR headset.
Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may be starting to show its age graphically, but we heard from Bethesda last night that it’s headed to the Nintendo Switch, and it appears bound for virtual reality as well. Now those weird bugs where a character’s eyelashes appear in their eyeballs can happen up close and personal.
Star Child
This Tron-esque side-view platformer is an interesting fit for VR, and to be honest the trailer we were shown had so little footage it’s hard to tell exactly how it plays. But it’s pretty.
The Inpatient
This all-original first-person horror game comes to us via the developer behind Until Dawn. Much as I find the mental hospital setting extremely played out in horror stories, I’m always in favor of the kind of VR that will make grown men wet the bed, so this is looking promising.
Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV VR
Another Final Fantasy XV VR spin-off? How could we be so blessed? Now you can join Prince Sadboy and his loyal retainers in reeling in everything from mundane trout to giant Square Enix-style beasties. Nice.
Bravo Team
VR fireteam urban warfare. I mean, I’d be surprised if there weren’t some titles like this, after last year’s E3.
Moss
This heckin’ cute VR platformer promises some interesting controls to complement its Despereaux-esque mouse protagonist. We’ll see, I guess.
The Rest
We also heard in conjunction with the Sony conference that celebrated indie RPG Undertale would be coming to Playstation 4 and Vita. Also, if you didn’t happen to catch the new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer at the recent concert here in Los Angeles, here’s what you missed:
E3’s show floor opens tomorrow, and you can bet we’ll be bringing you hands-on impressions on many of the games shown of in each press conference. So stay tuned!
