The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of E3 2018
We’re back after an eventful E3. After all the rumors, leaks, and speculation, this year’s show ended up being a little… underwhelming. Companies and publishers that typically show up ready to fight were inexplicably tame by comparison, while developers like Rocksteady and NetherRealm had us buzzing with anticipation only to completely skip the festivities.
While some of this can be attributed to the fact that next-gen hardware like the “PS5” and “Xbox Two” are on the horizon, that doesn’t excuse many of the poorly organized press conferences that kicked off the show. Though I’ll leave the commentary from our writers to break it all down, I think it’s safe to say that E3 2018 wasn’t exactly the flashiest show in recent memory.
That said, there were still plenty of highlights to cover and games to talk about. Let’s dive right in.
Intro
Q: How did this year’s E3 stack up to those of years past?
Augustine: Overall, I enjoyed it. It had its highs with a decent amount of new interesting trailers and many different gameplay trailers, but it also had its lows with really boring moments. It was pretty average and tame compared to more recent years. No big bombshell announcements. The only time I felt excited and almost off my seat were for the Sony’s Death Stranding gameplay, and Kingdom Hearts 3 and Resident Evil 2’s trailers. Sure I’m excited for some of the other titles announced, mainly Starfield and Fallout 76, but overall E3 this year had a much less impact on me than in previous years.
David: Overall? It was definitely disappointing, especially compared to the sheer list of amazing reveals we’ve had from E3 2015 through 2017. Short of a few real megatons—Resident Evil 2 remake, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls VI—there weren’t a ton of moments that measure up to the Last Guardians or Shenmues of past E3s. Still, E3 left me surprisingly optimistic about the future of gaming—particularly next generation and, of course, February 22, 2019.
Kei: It wasn’t exactly disappointing, but this year did lack the sort of bombshell announcements we’ve become accustomed to the past couple of years. I think there are a variety of factors at play. One is a deliberate de-emphasization of E3, specifically for those kinds of announcements—we saw Sony and Nintendo do this by setting expectations low (sending the message to focus on four core exclusives and 2018 releases, respectively). On top of that, you can only continually announce games 3, 4 years in advance before you eventually start to hit a lull in terms of timing—we saw that hit Sony the hardest, I think. Additionally, I think certain expectations were present this year and they didn’t end up panning out, leaving people more disappointed than they should have been (speaking to Rocksteady, NetherRealm, and Final Fantasy VII Remake here). Still, the close of this generation looks like it’s going to be absolutely packed with hard hitters and I’m glad for that.
Sam: Fine, I suppose. Some companies, like Microsoft and Bethesda, had especially strong showings, but everyone else’s felt somewhat lacking. I think a lot of that disappointment has something to do with the impact of social media, leaks, and increased availability of game makers throughout the year. Gamers used to look to E3 for the lion’s share of all major game announcements, but the show now exists mostly to confirm earlier reports or provide details on games we already knew about. Maybe E3 just doesn’t matter as much as it used to?
PJ: I get the disappointing comments. At the same time, Devolver’s press conference directly made fun of the idea that a presser can only be good if it has an unreal amount of drop after drop after new title after resurrected franchise to the point where it really puts the companies at an unfair disadvantage. We did not get a Sony 2016 (to date, my all-time favorite). Instead, we got some promising release dates, a peek at Death Stranding that makes it look like a tangible game, excellent gameplay from Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, and Dreams for anyone patient enough to watch the Sony post show.
Same with Nintendo. It was obviously Smash focused, but we have so much new information on Pokémon Let’s Go that really put the game in context (check out my article on that—shameless plug).
Q: Were you satisfied with the games on display? How about the conferences in general?
Augustine: Overall, I’m pretty satisfied. A decent amount of games were shown and teased and I am very excited for a set few of them. However, some titles—Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Metroid Prime 4, and Days Gone—that I was hoping to get more news on, were completely missing. Conferences, in all, were pretty average. I personally like conferences where they show game after game after game with little talk in between and the only one that did that was Microsoft and towards the end, Sony. The rest were sort of boring to sit the full hour through except Square’s which was only a disappointing 30 minutes.
David: There was a wide, wide range here. The Last of Us Part II and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate impressed, while Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima left me wanting more. All the while, Metroid Prime 4, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and many other hotly anticipated games didn’t even show up. A lot of good and a lot of bad this year.
Conferences were generally weaker in general this year as well. Microsoft and Bethesda were clear standouts, while Sony, Nintendo, and Ubisoft took definite steps back compared to E3 2017. That this generation is on its last legs has never been more apparent than during this week.
Kei: I would say I’m satisfied. I’m never lacking for games to play, and E3 always rekindles my interest in both games released, soon-to-be-released, and the games that are years away.
Sam: All in all, I would say yes. I judge every E3 by the number of can’t-miss games I see, and there were plenty on display here, namely Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Forza Horizon 4, Cyberpunk 2077, Gears 5 and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. There were other titles that certainly piqued my interest (like Anthem, Tunic, Fallout 76, and, yes, Rage 2), but every E3 feels the same in this one regard: I see a bunch of games that look cool for a few minutes before I remember that I buy maybe ten new games a year TOPS.
As far as the conferences themselves go, most of them could have been better, but I’m not discouraged by, say, Nintendo’s lack of new game announcements. I figure we’ll get another direct in a month or two anyway.
PJ: I think I answered this above. Frankly, yeah. It was a fine E3. I wouldn’t say bad. In fact, with how legitimate the industry has become, I doubt we will ever see a “bad” E3 again. This might be the worst we’ll ever get and it’ll be just fine.
Q: What were some notable games you checked out this week? Any cool indies people might have missed?
Augustine: Sea of Solitude and Yakuza Kiwami 2 were probably the biggest standouts for me aside from the obvious bigger games shown. Look like the kind of games I typically enjoy and I am excited to get my hands on them.
David: Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Sea of Solitude, and Dontnod’s Twin Mirror all look incredibly cool. I also think Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland’s Trover Saves the Universe will be an absolute riot. And as evidenced by my brief time with it this week, people need to pick up Hollow Knight on Switch. Long time coming for the port, and it’s really shaped up quite nicely.
Kei: I’m excited to mow down hordes of soldiers with my girl Lara again in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Her character has gone all over the place and I didn’t think they’d be able to set survivor Lara onto the same path as classic Lara after Rise, so I’m glad their doubling down on the killing machine she’s become. I’m also weirdly invested and interested in Square Enix and Platinum Games’ Babylon’s Fall, which was almost enough for me to push Square above EA in terms of conference grades (ultimately, it did not).
Sam: Besides the super big names mentioned, Tunic is probably the most interesting to me, as it looks like a cutesy top-down Zelda game with the hitbox-style combat of Dark Souls. Hopefully it lives up to its incredible trailers.
PJ: My Friend Pedro looks incredible. It’s a Devolver game for Switch. As flashy and stunt oriented as any Kingsmen fight scene with as much excessive violence as you can expect from a company that murdered a dude in the first 13 seconds of their conference. Otherwise, I’ll download Fire Emblem: Three Houses day one and Kei will tell me the many ways it’s complete trash.
Electronic Arts
Q: What was your level of expectations going into EA’s conference?
Kei: I remembered this was happening 2 minutes into the conference. That was my level of expectations. Honestly, between EA’s mismanagement of Star Wars and so on, I didn’t think they would have a lot in the tank, and that prediction kind of bore fruit.
David: To be honest, I wasn’t expecting very much out of EA this year. The past few years have been pretty abysmal to say the least. Between overly lengthy developer diaries, a lack of focus on new IPs, and little to no gameplay footage for upcoming titles, EA has been relying upon their sports franchises and Star Wars Battlefront license to stay afloat. Not a great look.
Sam: I had minimal expectations, only because I enjoy an EA game maybe once every 2-3 years.
Q: Did EA Play meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
Kei: I treated this conference like I treated biochemistry—happy to get a C+. Unfortunately, it did a bit worse than that.
Jokes aside, I didn’t think EA had a lot to show going in and they didn’t really impress or disappoint. The inflection point would have been if they actually showed any gameplay from a Star Wars game or announced Skate 4, both of which were long shots anyway. Overall, I’m ambivalent.
David: I came out of EA Play pleasantly surprised. We saw a glimpse into the future of gaming with EA’s commitment to streaming, a promising indie in the form of Sea of Solitude, more focus being placed on the devs and their stories, and a solid showing from Bioware (led once again by Casey Hudson!) and Anthem. Wasn’t perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s certainly a step up from the atrocious showings of the past.
Sam: EA Play was pretty much saved by Anthem looking like it actually works and could realistically launch next February. Other than that, we were told a new Star Wars game actually exists, and that’s all I really cared about.
Q: Positives from the conference?
Kei: Well, they acknowledged their mistakes, which is always the first step in a good apology. Battlefield V looks nice. Anthem is very colorful.
David: Loved EA’s vision of a streaming-based future; unlike loot-boxes and arbitrary monetary systems in today’s games, this actually seems like a sustainable future for gaming. Very smart move for EA to come out, acknowledge their mistakes with Battlefront 2, and reaffirm their commitment to the consumer moving forward. Unravel 2 releasing same-day as its unveiling was also a fantastic little bombshell.
Sam: As I said before, Anthem actually looks decent and we have a new Star Wars game coming. That’s all that matters.
Q: Negatives about the conference?
Kei: Basically everything relating to the actual how-tos of how to run a press conference. Awkward cut-ins, interviewing Vince Zampella in the crowd, a live developer roundtable, interviewing esports athletes on stage… the flow was just terrible.
David: While I enjoyed getting an update on Respawn’s Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, having Vince Zampella just drop tidbits from the audience seemed lazy—even a short 20-second teaser would have been better than that. Anthem developer Q&A, while welcome, went on for far too long; would have loved for more on the game itself. Very little actual new IPs, outside of Sea of Solitude, and even worse representation from established EA franchises.
Sam: I need battle royale games and World War II games to go away forever, so you can bet I won’t be playing Battlefield V.
Q: Biggest surprise?
Kei: I suppose it was the new Star Wars “announcement,” although we knew they were reassessing after the dissolution of Amy Hennig’s game.
David: Unravel 2 being A) announced and B) available the same day.
Sam: Not just that the new Star Wars game has a title, but that it’ll apparently be Jedi-themed.
Q: Most impressive game shown?
Kei: Anthem, I suppose. By process of elimination. And even then the actual conference didn’t show off much.
David: Have to go with Anthem. Definitely EA’s big blockbuster. Not sold on it yet, but I’m cautiously optimistic that Bioware will deliver big with this one.
Sam: Anthem, which I’m cautiously optimistic about.
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
Kei: The vanishing of Skate 4.
David: The vanishing of Mirror’s Edge as a franchise.
Sam: Battlefield V just doesn’t need to exist.
Q: Final thoughts about EA’s E3?
Kei: I’m starting wonder why EA is even doing these things if they have to commit 40% of their time to annualized sports games and have to announce things by interviewing developers in the crowd.
As a final note, shoutout to Andrea Rene for doing what she could with the hand she was dealt—I think she did a great job, relatively speaking.
David: Surprisingly better than what I expected, but still weak overall.
Sam: In general, I just want companies like EA to take as many risks as possible, even if they don’t always work out. Hopefully Jedi Fallen Order and Anthem reflect such risk-taking.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
Kei: C
David: C
Sam: C
Microsoft
Q: What was your level of expectations going into Microsoft’s conference?
Augustine: Did not have any expectations going into it. Was expecting the usual uninteresting stuff from previous years.
Kei: Given all of the rumors swirling around and the general buzz, I actually thought Microsoft was going to have a pretty great conference.
David: Wasn’t expecting much from Microsoft, just given the weak lineup for Xbox One up till now and how often I’ve been burned from past conferences.
Sam: High, but not too high. Microsoft has the most to prove of any major video game company right now, so a big E3 outing could make a big difference for them.
Q: Did Microsoft meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
Augustine: Definitely exceeded my expectations considering they were fairly low. Showing 50 games was huge for me. No downtime between games at all. Was happy to see them expanding and showing support for the smaller game studios having acquired 5 new studios. Looking to see more from those.
Kei: I would say they exceeded my set expectations, for sure. I still feel like their messaging regarding exclusives, console exclusives, and premieres is a bit confusing.
David: Microsoft definitely exceeded my expectations, showing a bunch of impressive and exciting world premieres and, more importantly, re-expressing their interest in first party exclusives for 2019 and beyond.
Sam: I would say it met expectations for the most part, as they hit every note: plenty of trailers, new exclusives, Game Pass expansion, and even revealing that they’re working on a new console. They pretty much gave the people what they wanted.
Q: Positives from the conference?
Augustine: Almost all positives for me. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Metro: Exodus, Captain Spirit, Tomb Raider, and Devil May Cry all look fantastic. Halo: Infinite and Gears 5 were nice to see as well, though I’m not going all in on them at the moment. And as I mentioned above, I am happy to see Microsoft acquiring the five small first party studios.
Kei: From an overall perspective, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice looks fantastic. Fallout 76, Metro: Exodus, and Tales of Vesperia look cool. Microsoft investing in first party studios is a good move, even if 3 felt like they were status quo moves, and I’m not the biggest Hellblade fan.
David: Great third-party showings, especially from Japanese developers. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Jump Force, and Devil May Cry 5 all wowed, while having NieR: Automata on Microsoft’s platform was a great way to inspire confidence in Microsoft and Platinum Game’s relationship moving forward. Halo: Infinite and Gears 5 also looked fantastic from their brief trailers and footage.
Meanwhile, the acquisitions of Playground Games, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Compulsion Games (and forming of new studio The Initiative) shows Microsoft finally committing to first-party growth for Xbox moving forward. Consider that Game Pass could offer a very affordable alternative to purchasing games in the future, and Microsoft made great strides here.
Sam: A new Halo is always welcome in my mind, though I was particularly encouraged by two things: more Game Pass support and more Gears games. Even though I don’t love Gear of War 4 as much as the previous games, I think the world built in the franchise lends itself to plenty of spin-offs, and I was pleased to see that Microsoft feels the same way (even the weird Funko Pop one).
Q: Negatives about the conference?
Augustine: Nothing negative for me aside from the small amount of games coming out in 2018, but early 2019 is looking great. That being said, nothing really to make me go and get an Xbox One at the moment. Will probably get most of them on PS4. Will wait and see how Halo: Infinite and Gears 5 turn out.
Kei: This isn’t so much a negative, but as good as many of games shown were, I’m buying all of them on PS4. And Microsoft has nothing big for the rest of 2018.
David: Very, very few exclusives for the rest of 2018. Despite Phil Spencer boasting about the conference having “18 exclusives,” the reality is that most of those are either 2019 games or timed indies launching first on Microsoft’s platforms. An unfortunate byproduct of Microsoft essentially ripping the band-aid off, admitting they have a lackluster end of 2018, and pushing forward into 2019 and starting fresh.
Sam: Lack of exclusives, though I actually think many of Microsoft’s exclusives are very good (except, well, State of Decay 2).
Q: Biggest surprise?
Kei: From Software’s being published by Activision was actually the biggest surprise for me. I’m not exactly sure what it means, though…
David: The acquisition of Ninja Theory. Came out of nowhere, considering Hellblade having launched exclusively on PS4. Interested to see how Microsoft makes use of their talent.
Sam: How is Gears Pop not the weirdest, most surprising game shown at all of E3? How come nobody is talking about the strangest collaboration imaginable? I NEED ANSWERS!
Q: Most impressive game shown?
Augustine: Most impressive was probably Shadow of the Tomb Raider with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at a close second. I am probably most excited for Devil May Cry though with it being one of my most favorite series.
Kei: Again, Sekiro. It just looked sick.
David: If we’re talking just games that had actual gameplay, I’ll have to go with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Absolutely loved Bloodborne, and a samurai game with the same fluidity (plus a grappling hook!) seems like a match made in heaven. Gears 5 is a close second, as that gameplay trailer looks slick as hell. Can’t wait to fight those new creepy crawlers!
Sam: I liked what I saw from Gears 5 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but I’m probably most excited about Forza Horizon 4, because that’s the kind of person I am. I’m also looking forward to Tunic and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
Augustine: Going with The Division 2. It honestly looked the exact same as the first but in a different setting. The trailers and the gameplay looked exciting but that’s what I thought about the first one. Hopefully there’s something to set it apart from the first one.
Kei: Nothing was really disappointing, I have to say, other than the number of things that were multiplat and not in 2018.
David: I’m going to go with Cyberpunk 2077, incredibly. As much as that new trailer kicked ass, I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see any gameplay. Fingers crossed we get to see more soon!
Sam: I’m disappointed that we only got a tease for the next Battletoads game, and not even a real trailer.
Q: Final thoughts about Microsoft’s E3?
Augustine: Loved it. Best Microsoft conference I’ve watched. Could’ve done more for exclusives but was great overall.
Kei: Great for gamers, maybe not so great for Microsoft? But definitely good steps forward.
David: A potential turning point for a publisher that has for too long been playing catch-up.
Sam: Even though I can’t play God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn, I’m happier with my life as an Xbox One owner after that conference.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
Augustine: A-
Kei: B+
David: B+
Sam: A-
Bethesda
Q: What was your level of expectations going into Bethesda’s conference?
Augustine: Bethesda is usually one of the better conferences at E3 so going into it I expected the same. After giving Microsoft part of Fallout 76, I was expecting Bethesda to have something to top it so that got me pretty excited.
David: I would say that I was extremely optimistic going into Bethesda Sunday evening. There’s an excellent history here of Bethesda delivering on their numerous IPs. Plus, with the rumored Starfield floating around for several years now, it seemed like the right time for Bethesda to go all out.
Kei: I was somewhat optimistic, considering Bethesda seemed fairly confident in what they had to show even with the Rage 2 leak and teasing Fallout 76 way too early. But I have a love-hate-hate relationship with Bethesda Softworks games, so I can’t say I was that excited.
Sam: I entered this conference with measured expectations, especially since I wouldn’t say I love a lot of their games. I do like, however, that they are often willing to take risks on single-player games.
Q: Did Bethesda meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
Augustine: I didn’t really see the hype behind Bethesda this year to be honest. Yeah we got a title shot of both Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6, but that’s it. Being a Final Fantasy Fan, I know better than to get to excited for just a title shot. If you’re going to reveal a new title, at least put some more effort into a small teaser video than just a logo. They did announce some new stuff including Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Doom Eternal, but that’s about it. ESO and Elder Scrolls: Legends just doesn’t catch my interest. Fallout 76 was great. Excited for that one.
David: Bethesda absolutely met my expectations. Throughout the evening, we got numerous reveals, from Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Doom Eternal to Prey DLC and Elder Scrolls: Legends on consoles (including Switch). Rage 2 looked surprisingly solid based on the gameplay footage we got at the beginning of the show, while Todd Howard absolutely sold me on Fallout 76. Plus, of course, we got the back-to-back megatons of Starfield and TES VI.
Kei: I would say they exceeded my expectations slightly. Rage 2 looked great, Doom Eternal… exists, but hey—it’s more Doom, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is more Wolfenstein but female-centric, which is even better. Prey’s multiplayer expansion and Quake Champions didn’t really move the needle for me, but I’m actually down to play Elder Scrolls on my phone (even though I hate Skyrim… and have played 300+ hours of it).
As for Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI… they were so unsubstantial that I can’t really care. The master of the years-away tease, Sony, at least puts together a 90 second CGI trailer—just seeing logos and landscapes doesn’t do it for me.
Sam: Exceeded! I probably saw a solid five or six games at this conference I’m legitimately interested in playing, in particular Rage 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Doom Eternal, Elder Scrolls: Blades, and Quake Champions. Hell, I might even give Elder Scrolls Online a try, even though MMOs are a scam and a plague on gaming as a whole! #jokebutserious
Q: Positives from the conference?
Augustine: The Fallout 76 section was probably the only thing I was interested in if I’m being honest. As well as the good jokes placed throughout, in particular, Bethesda recognizing the meme of having Skyrim on everything possible device and the “Fuck Nazis” part were great.
David: Phenomenal showings from the majority of Bethesda and id’s franchises. I thought the gameplay reveals were all relatively well-paced, and that Skyrim meme nod, complete with a great performance from Keegan-Michael Key, was an absolutely fantastic way to keep things lively heading into the latter half of the conference. Todd Howard in general was an absolute stud on stage; his energy was palpable, and he did a really great job in selling me on Fallout 76. The Elder Scrolls: Blades was a nice surprise reveal, while Starfield and TES VI give us much to look forward to for the next generation of consoles.
Kei: Skyrim on Alexa and “fuck Nazis” were the best parts of this conference, to be honest. That and Todd Howard, who is actually a good presenter.
Sam: I just like that they have a pool of solid franchises that they’re willing to support with new content or even flat-out new releases so frequently. Fans of just about every major Bethesda franchise saw something they wanted to see. Plus, ES on your phone!
Q: Negatives about the conference?
Augustine: Not sold on ending a conference on not one but two title shots over a nice background with Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI. Like, I’m excited to see them, but for all we know they are still 10 years down the line. At least put some effort into the grand reveal of the games.
David: Bethesda could definitely learn to tighten the pace a bit for its conferences. As good as the things on display were, the first half—led by Pete Hines—was a bit of a slog. The fact that Dishonored as a franchise is essentially shelved for the time being is also somewhat disappointing. In general, though, can’t fault Bethesda, as they delivered the goods here.
Kei: Personally, the Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI reveals didn’t do a lot for me. They were just so vague that they failed to drum up any excitement for me. I need something more than just landscape shots. That and the non-Todd-Howard presenters, who need some work.
Sam: HOT TAKE TIME…
I’m not totally sold on Fallout 76. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t look bad at all. It just reflects an industry-wide shift away from deep, traditional single-player games in favor of goofy online play, hackneyed survival mechanics, and shared worlds that maybe shouldn’t be shared. If it works, Fallout 76 could be the best game of the year. But I fear that it’ll join The Division, Destiny, and Sea of Thieves as games that people either love or hate. So, as of now, I’m okay with the move in a new direction for the series, but I’ve always felt Fallout works best with the player as a lone wanderer trying to understand the politics and social dynamics of an obliterated hellscape, not a playground where you can launch nukes with your friends.
Q: Biggest surprise?
Augustine: Though I dig on Bethesda for their poor reveals of Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI, I can’t say I expected both of them.
David: Following up the Starfield reveal with an Elder Scrolls VI teaser. Definitely didn’t expect Bethesda to announce both simultaneously, and while both are likely still far off, it’s certainly nice to have some piece of mind surrounding the two.
Kei: Biggest surprise was actually Elder Scrolls: Blades, I suppose, by virtue of me not actually think it would be a thing. I figured we would hit on every Bethesda franchise except Dishonored, but a mobile Elder Scrolls game was actually surprising. That, or barely mentioning Legends at all.
Sam: I was actually surprised by Elder Scrolls: Blades, mostly because I thought that they would just port Skyrim to your phone instead of making something new. I particularly like how excited Todd Howard was to reveal that you could play the game in portrait mode.
Q: Most impressive game shown?
Augustine: Going to default to Fallout 76, both because I’m really interested in playing it after seeing the in-depth look at it, and because it was the only thing I enjoyed about the conference.
David: Fallout 76. I came in skeptical, and now I’m leaving fairly excited for what’s to come. Though the game has been confirmed to be playable in online-mode only, I appreciated Howard’s reassurance that there’d be plenty of single-player content to partake in. Color me intrigued.
Kei: Rage 2 actually had one of the best on-stage game demos at E3, if you discount the Sony Big 4. The general aesthetic/vibe/atmosphere of it is strange and a bit off-putting, but the gameplay was impressive.
Sam: I don’t know if any single game stood out to me, but I think Rage 2 is the most intriguing, mainly due to the aesthetic and attitude around it.
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
David: Though it’s not exactly my type of game to begin with, Quake Champions isn’t really doing it for me. Glad to see it’s already seeing competitive support, however.
Sam: I said what I said about Fallout 76.
Q: Final thoughts about Bethesda’s E3?
Augustine: Pretty tame for a Bethesda conference. Nothing really got me excited. Fallout 76 was its saving grace, and though I didn’t like the delivery, having a new title in Starfield and a sequel to a beloved game in Elder Scrolls VI does have its merits.
David: Great conference, all around. People have wondered in the past why Bethesda considers to have an E3 conference? Well, let this be their answer.
Kei: Todd Howard legit gave them a half-letter-grade boost. A good job even though I wished for more from Starfield, at the very least.
Sam: Overall, great job by Bethesda.
Side note: Is Bethesda the most videogamey publisher out there? Like, if you took someone who doesn’t know much about games and asked them to describe a handful of the most cliched games possible, they’d probably describe Bethesda’s conference: guns, demons, aliens, space travel, swords, wizards, Nazis, and explosions.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
Augustine: C+
David: A
Kei: B
Sam: A-
Square Enix
Q: What was your level of expectations going into Square Enix’s conference?
Augustine: I love Square Enix. I love every single one of the games they release. This and Sony are usually my most looked forward to conferences every year. Going into this year I expected that they would deliver.
David: I had no idea what to expect, frankly. At first, I’d assumed this was SE’s normally scheduled “Square Enix Presents” series of livestreams. Picture my surprise when I learned that they were actually doing a Nintendo Direct-like video presentation this E3. My expectations sort of shot through the roof after that.
Kei: I thought it would be like their hokey E3 2015 conference, which was kind of full of re-runs, awkward moments, nervous live translators, and so on.
PJ: None at all. I viewed this as a blank slate to check out what ambitious RPGs these guys are gonna churn out in the next couple of years.
Q: Did Square meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
Augustine: It wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t good. You know people were expecting a lot more than what was presented when Twitch sets aside an hour to an hour and a half only to get a 30 minute conference filled with mostly recaps of the previous conferences. Captain Spirit, Just Cause 4, Kingdom Hearts, and Shadows of the Tomb Raider had the almost the exact same trailers as in Microsoft’s. The Quiet Man looked interesting at best and Babylon’s Fall looked great. Always excited for a new Dragon Quest as well.
David: Shame on me for getting excited. They absolutely failed to show up here, both in terms of their content and their clarity in what the hell exactly this thing was supposed to be. Look, I get that there hadn’t been much expectations going in for most here. However, Square Enix has held E3 pressers in years past; you’d think they’d be able to scrounge up enough games for a 45-60 minute presentation. Instead, we were left with an underwhelming half-hour showcase of things we’d mostly already known about. Again, shame on me.
Kei: I honestly didn’t think it was that bad, at first. I’m really intrigued by Babylon’s Fall, another Platinum-developed PS4 console exclusive that will eventually crawl its way towards Microsoft. The Quiet Man was also intriguing, although I’m not sure if Square thought through the optics of a (deaf) white man just randomly going up and beating the shit out of what looked like two homeless minorities. The Shadow of the Tomb Raider stuff was new, even if KH3 wasn’t. This is Square; they usually alternate good decisions with baffling ones.
PJ: Indifferent. I’m not going to be mad at them for not teasing the FFVII Remake again. The constant repetition of Kingdom Hearts 3 and Octopath was a little odd, but I don’t find too much fault in that. Hopefully they’re working hard on the inevitable FFXV DLC which we may see in the coming months.
Q: Positives from the conference?
Augustine: Babylon’s Fall looks amazing. Can’t wait to see more from this new IP. Dragon Quest XI looks fun as well; being a pretty big Dragon Quest fan and I can’t wait to get my hands on it this September.
David: Babylon’s Fall, Platinum Games’ new IP, looks really promising based on its CG trailer. The Quiet Man also looked really intriguing based on its premise of playing as a deaf protagonist. It was also great to get an update from the devs at Dontnod regarding Life is Strange 2.
Kei: Babylon’s Fall looks sick, though Square’s always been good at CGI. The Platinum/Square/Sony partnership worked out great for NieR: Automata and I hope we see similar levels of success here.
PJ: Babylon’s Fall definitely looks good, though vague. But, in essence, it’s a new IP tease. You can’t reasonably expect much more than that.
Q: Negatives about the conference?
Augustine: No new news on Final Fantasy VII, nothing on updates for Final Fantasy XV DLC (which I can’t believe I want now), nothing new to bring to the table for Kingdom Hearts. Seems like this was put together at the very last second.
David: Uh…. literally Babylon’s Fall and The Quiet Man were the only new things shown here. No new teases about Kingdom Hearts III. No updates from Tabata on Final Fantasy XV patches or DLC. Absolutely nothing to make sense for Square Enix to hold a 30-minute presser that could have been literally 5 minutes long.
Kei: No Avengers news, no Guardians of the Galaxy news, no FFVII Remake news. All 3 would have been amazing, but not even confirmation on one of those things is a little painful.
PJ: This conference wasn’t great. I hope they (or other developers) don’t take this as a litmus test telling them to never do this again. I’d hope to see them next year.
Q: Biggest surprise?
Augustine: The Quiet Man. Did not expect a new IP. Maybe this is where all their effort is going instead of in Final Fantasy VII or VIII 🙂 And Monster Hunter going to FFXIV.
David: The Quiet Man, if only because it sounds interesting and I love getting weird new IPs from Square Enix.
Kei: I’ll go with The Quiet Man as well. Square has a history of publishing random and interesting random new IPs of varying quality (Mindjack, NieR, Sleeping Dogs, Murdered: Soul Suspect, etc) so I’d like to at least check this out.
Q: Most impressive game shown?
David: By default, I’ll have to go with Rise of the Tomb Raider (it was the only game here that got extended gameplay footage and not just a trailer).
Kei: Yeah, I’ll just go with the above.
Augustine: Same.
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
Augustine: Let’s just say, it would’ve been better if they didn’t do a conference.
David: I’ll broaden this and just say their entire press conference.
Kei: Can’t really disappoint when you don’t show shit. I guess not having a unique KH3 trailer is pretty pathetic.
PJ: I’d narrow it down to Octopath. I cannot wait to play it this Summer. But the sketch and rehashing each character felt so unnecessary, I would have perfect if they let Nintendo talk it up instead.
Q: Final thoughts about Square Enix’s E3?
Augustine: Maybe it would’ve been better if I had sound playing while I was watching. Who knows.
David: Two promising new games salvaged what was otherwise a disappointing showcase for SE’s upcoming lineup.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
Augustine: D
David: D
Kei: C-
PJ: D+
Ubisoft
Q: What was your level of expectations going into Ubisoft’s conference?
David: Ubisoft won E3 last year, in my opinion, followed closely behind by Nintendo. As the third-party publisher most likely to take risks developing new IPs, not to mention support existing games like Rainbow Six: Siege, The Division, and For Honor, Ubisoft has been a favorite of mine for many years now. Add Beyond Good & Evil 2 to the mix, and my expectations were pretty high for this bad boy.
Kei: I feel like Ubisoft has really stepped into the good graces of gamers recently, so I expected, if not something amazing, at least updates on everything and no duds. Which was kind of what we got.
Sam: Not especially high, considering Ubisoft might be the most hit-or-miss publisher out there. For me, every Ubisoft game I play is either very impressive or a complete waste of my time.
PJ: I expected a dance number, Mario characters, and Odyssey. I was right.
Q: Did Ubi meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
David: I would say that Ubisoft definitely failed to meet the high bar they’ve set over the years, but not by a whole lot. We’re at a point in gaming, and this generation in particular, where Ubisoft is committed to a lot of different IPs at once, including long lost ones like BG&E that was finally announced last year. It was perhaps a bit naive of me to expect another huge megaton from Ubi, but a lot of the things we got here were solid. Sure wish we had a new Rayman game, though.
Kei: They met my expectations on just about every point of note.
Sam: It exceeded my expectations, even if I didn’t love everything on display. I agree with David though, we need more Rayman.
PJ: I just said I was right, didn’t I? Jokes aside, I put a heavy emphasis on Watch Dogs 3 and Fractured But Whole DLC. We got no mention of either (the latter is particularly odd to me with the release of Infinity War). Granted, I’m not bummed out by any of this. I still won my bingo sheet. But I would have preferred something a little more my speed than a new Division (that barely looked any different from its predecessor).
Q: Positives from the conference?
David: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey looked absolutely stellar. The graphics were fantastic, I loved the new protagonists and their dialogue trees, and combat looks as ferocious as Origins had been a short year ago. An easy pickup for me later this year.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 also had a great showing, laying off the ridiculous cursing from the first CGI trailer and bringing us tons of charm and new characters. The reveal that Pey’j and Jade would be back, presumably as foes, made me giddy. Can’t wait to see how vast this world may be, especially given the crowd-sourced help that Ubisoft and Joseph Gordon Levitt are enlisting for the game.
Kei: Odyssey looks great, although we’re solely in historical action game/simulator and not an assassin game. I’m not sold on BGE2 at all, and their pitch to fans to create content for the game seems a little skeevy even if they are providing some form of financial compensation (but I’m no artist). I can’t help but feel Starlink is going to fail, but I’m glad Ubi is taking risks overall.
Sam: Skull & Bones looks like the pirate game everyone has been looking for (again, Sea of Thieves is actually good), Trials Rising looks interesting, and Starlink seems intriguing as well. Most importantly, though, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey looks incredible, and I appreciate the option to choose to play as a woman.
Also of note: Kassandra is a Spartan woman, which matters a great deal for historical context. As a classics major, this pleases me.
PJ: I keep going back and forth with Odyssey. I hate the idea of leveled and rare weapons, but the world looked interesting enough. I understand that calling it an Assassin’s Creed game would undoubtedly move more copies than “Odyssey Creed,” but we are in no way playing an Assassin’s Creed game anymore. It’s a distant relative of the Ezio days at best.
Q: Negatives about the conference?
David: I’m still extremely confused about how Starlink: Battle for Atlas works. Is the toy-buying part necessary for the game? How will the figurines link up with my Switch? How much will these additional components cost? As good and as smart as that Star Fox collab was with Starlink, I’m finding myself as in the dark for this thing as I was a year ago.
Skull & Bones also kind of worries me, mainly because I don’t think a pirate game that doesn’t let you board ships and engage in hand-to-hand combat can ever be as engaging as other like-minded games like Black Flag or Sea of Thieves. Will we be able to explore islands? How can you be a pirate if you’re confined to your ship?
And again, no big megaton announcement. No Watch Dogs 3 either, which could have taken the place of some major new IP.
(Edit: Since the time of this writing, Starlink has popped up on Amazon. It’ll be $75 for a starter kit. The Switch version includes the R-Wing and Fox out the gate, while the PS4 and XB1 versions launch with a base hero and ship. Other parts are purchased separately. Should have had this information in the conference itself. Game itself looks really cool though.)
Kei: Skull and Bones and Starlink will probably do poorly, which sucks because I don’t want Ubisoft to stick to what they’re familiar and good at. Diversity in genre is always great.
Sam: I just don’t really care about The Division 2, so the less of that, the better.
Q: Biggest surprise?
David: Definitely Pey’j and Jade’s return to Beyond Good & Evil with the sequel. The Star Fox collab was also a nice treat.
Kei: Probably the fact that Ubisoft somehow got the highest profile celebrity at their conference, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Sam: How the hell is Ubisoft still making Just Dance games for the Wii? Most people didn’t even have a Facebook account when that console launched!
Q: Most impressive game shown?
David: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, hands down. I’m excited to see more.
Kei: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (it’s going to be the better Odyssey).
Sam: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, by far.
PJ: Gotta say, not sold on this new AC. I’d say Starlink truthfully. Toys-to-life hasn’t proven particularly successful, but this seems like the No Man’s Sky we never got (until a year or so after launch).
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
David: Skull & Bones just isn’t selling me on the idea of sailing the open seas. Hopefully that’ll change, but it seems to lack the soul that made Black Flag so good.
Kei: Starlink, which still makes no sense to me.
Sam: In a weird way Starlink, though only because it makes me wish Nintendo just made a new Star Fox game (you know, a good one).
Q: Final thoughts about Ubisoft’s E3?
David: A solid, albeit safe, conference. I would have liked a lot more, but I appreciate Ubisoft delivering on its continued support for games like For Honor and Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle while learning from past mistakes to bring us The Division 2 and The Crew 2. Definitely won’t be winning E3 this year, but other publishers can learn a thing or two from Ubisoft moving forward.
Kei: The equivalent of getting a B+ in every class in a semester, which actually ends up feeling like you averaged a B. Safe, no risks, no bombshells—maybe we’re seeing Ubisoft start to prep for the next generation—but it was a good conference.
Sam: I think Ubisoft did a very good job of showing a solid slate of games, most of which have realistic release windows. No cryptic trailers (looking at you, Bethesda) or games that we still don’t really understand (are we supposed to know what Death Stranding is?). Pretty safe, but well done.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
David: B-
Kei: B
Sam: B+
PJ: C+
Sony
Q: What was your level of expectations going into Sony’s conference?
Augustine: It’s come to the point that I expect this to be the best conference every year, so it’s safe to say my expectations were high. Always love the effort they put into their conferences each year both in games shown and in stage production.
Kei: Between everything that Sony said, among the relative lack of leaks and teases from game journalist Twitter and the like, I actually had leveled out my expectations a little. There was always that small hope that Sony would go back on their word and shock us all, though.
David: Honestly, I took what SIEA’s Shawn Layden outlined weeks before at face value: this wasn’t going to be a conference full of new first-party announcements. Rather, this was going to be a showcase of Sony’s immediate first-party content, with some third-party and indie sprinkles peppered in throughout for good measure. That all I was expecting, perfectly well.
At the same time, I definitely went in expecting Sony to rely heavily on their partners to bridge the gaps between their first-party titles. Sony’s past E3s have always been packed 90-minute presentations filled with little bits and nuggets here or there, to the extent that they even had a friggin’ pre-show in 2017 to catch all the stray announcements.
PJ: I expected this to be, hands down, the best show of E3.
Jack: It was literally the only conference I remotely cared about.
Q: Did Sony meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
Augustine: The first 20 minutes were looking pretty grim, but once they finally decided to stay put in one room, it got so much better. I loved the little jokes they did with Dreams and that they decided not to show it as it is just going into beta later this year. I loved the change in pace, going more into detail on their biggest games. They teased us with Resident Evil 2 and gameplay of Ghost of Tsushima. The presentation was the only thing to bring it down.
Kei: I would say that the games they showed, overall, met my (lowered) expectations in terms of surprises and new reveals. The games they did show honestly looked fantastic to me. But their overall presentation and showmanship was a big step down from what it was in the past—honestly the first mishandled E3 in the PlayStation 4 era.
David: Even in spite of my lowered expectations, this was a slightly disappointing presser by Sony. The “Big Four” themselves looked absolutely fantastic, and I cannot wait to play each and every one of them. However, a lack of proper context for what we were seeing hurt the experience, especially for Ghost of Tsushima and Death Stranding, while truly lackluster pacing and an odd finale threatened to really kill the vibe.
PJ: Fell hard. With all the killer franchises these guys have lined up, it was shocking to see how unprofessional (and completely unnecessary) the stage swap was, the weird Dreams teases only to be forgotten in the conference proper, and the relatively underwhelming Spider-Man footage we saw.
Jack: Impressed. Granted I’m the furthest thing from an E3 expert, but I thought the games Sony showed were very impressive, even if the ‘show’ itself wasn’t much to write home (or on a website) about.
Q: Positives from the conference?
Augustine: Sony’s Big 4, The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, and Spider-Man, all look excellent. Pretty much all of the games shown looked amazing.
Kei: I thought that The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, and Spider-Man all looked great (or in Death Stranding’s case, still confusing). I’m excited for Nioh 2, and the Resident Evil 2 remake looks amazing as well.
David: The Last of Us Part II looked absolutely outstanding. Ghost of Tsushima seems promising and visually vibrant (even if a bit janky in the animations department). Death Stranding was breathtaking, even if I still have no idea what’s going on, and Spider-Man was cool as a cucumber, as usual. Remedy’s Control and the Resident Evil 2 remake were incredible third-party additions, especially considering I was tricked twice into thinking they were gameplay trailers for Death Stranding.
PJ: It turns out Death Stranding is actually a game and not a series of artistic vignettes and empty promises. RE2 looked really special, though I felt immense remorse for that rat. TLOU2 seems promising in all the right ways.
Jack: The Last of Us Part II looks breathtaking, Resident Evil 2 looks wild, and Death Stranding is apparently not an animated short film starring Norman Reedus.
Q: Negatives about the conference?
Augustine: The venue switch just took me out of the mood, though once they their location situated, they brought it back. Could’ve used that time to announce the VR game, Déraciné, that they announced after the entire conference was over. I guess they wanted to accommodate for the in-house audience more than the online viewers. The pacing just felt really off.
Kei: The whole venue-switch-intermission thing really killed all the momentum. And when you factor that in this was basically a 45-60 minute conference—really quite short compared to their competitors.
David: That “intermission” between The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima was absolutely horrible. It boggles my mind how Sony went from near-perfect pacing in 2016 and 2017 to padding their 2018 conference with round-table commentary. Couldn’t they have shortened the conference and just announced Trevor Saves the Universe (which, as a Rick and Morty fan, looks awesome by the way) and Déraciné (which was relegated to a bizarre post-conference segment) during that break? This conference seemed designed more to “wow” in-attendance media than anyone else. For the thousands watching from home, not a great move.
PJ: It was wildly unprofessional and not at all what I’ve come to expect from Sony. The intermission felt unrehearsed; they pulled a Treehouse which made me feel cheated. How come our first look at Dreams was effectively a Marvel credits scene?
Jack: Resident Evil 2 isn’t played from the rat’s perspective.
Q: Biggest surprise?
Augustine: Resident Evil 2 was totally unexpected for me. Looks like a completely different game, on a similar level to what we have seen from the Final Fantasy VII remake.
Kei: The biggest surprise was almost Sony not having more surprises. But I’ll go with Nioh 2, which was genuinely a surprise.
David: Death Stranding’s focus on mountaineering truly was breathtaking. While I wish we had more context (and I suspect we will receive more in the coming days), this was a nice showing from Kojima’s latest. In terms of new games, Control looked absolutely insane. The Resident Evil 2 remake looked gorgeous as well from that modern behind-the-back POV.
PJ: That someone thought the church setting was vital to understand a trailer.
Jack: I mistook Lea Seydoux for Mia Wasikowska.
Q: Most impressive game shown?
Augustine: We argued about the smoothness and whether the gameplay was scripted or not between The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima, but honestly, Spider-Man probably looked the best in terms of gameplay and smoothness. Was never a really big fan of the Batman Arkham series, but this looked on a new level.
Kei: A tie between TLOU Part II and Ghost of Tsushima for me. I liked TLOU Part II’s demo but it was so good it was almost hard to believe it was all “natural” and unscripted.
David: The Last of Us Part II, easy. Tense, heart-pounding gameplay bookended by a beautifully acted performance from Ellie’s Ashley Johnson and newly revealed character Dina’s Shannon Woodward. I winced at that hanging/gutting execution, while the core Last of Us gameplay seems grittier and more engaging than ever. Just wish we had a date.
Jack: The Last of Us Part II and it isn’t even close. Ellie brought us through an absolute journey and even got a kiss out of it too!
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
Augustine: From the little gameplay I saw, Control looked pretty clunky. The idea is intriguing with the telekinesis to make shields and weapons from your surroundings, I’m just not sure if they pulled it off. Will have to look more into it.
Kei: The constant Dream teases were frustrating, if not really… disappointing?
David: If I were to single one game out, it’d be Ghost of Tsushima, honestly. As hyped as I am for Sucker Punch’s new IP, the game seemed a little clunky in terms of the actual sword-fighting/parkour gameplay. Didn’t help that there was no developer commentary to run us through the game’s structure (How far into the campaign is this? How open-ended is this scenario? How does the grappling hook work? Who the hell are these characters?)
Again, I’m confident the game will be good, but aside from the lush, gorgeous vistas on horseback, I was left wanting more.
Q: Final thoughts about Sony’s E3?
Augustine: Like I said before, the games were the highlight of this conference, as they should be. However, pacing and presentation also play a big role in moving the conference forward, and in that aspect I think they failed.
Kei: Sony deliberately tried to lower expectations and basically did exactly what they said they would do. The games they showed did look incredible and showcased Sony’s wealth of first party content. At the same time, this was probably their worst showing in terms of how they handled their conference itself. Of course, in the end, it is all about the games, not how they were shown or who was on stage. Overall I think I’ll give Microsoft the slightest of edges, but both conferences were, I think, pretty good.
David: This conference had the highest of highs and lowest of lows. The “Big Four” look extremely promising, and I’m glad Sony gave us an early look at Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima, even if I thought the two needed more context as to how the gameplay worked. The conference also had quality reveals with Control, the RE2 remake, and Nioh 2. At the same time, the pacing slugged along, and Sony really did a poor job filling the space with informative content. Though Microsoft had a weaker first-party showing, it edges past Sony with its clearer messaging and more consistent stream of content.
Jack: It was literally the only one I watched but I definitely made a good choice.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
Augustine: B
Kei: B
David: B
PJ: C+
Jack: A-
Nintendo
Q: What was your level of expectations going into Nintendo’s conference?
David: Coming from the relatively weak showings from Ubisoft and Sony this year, I really was expecting Nintendo to hit it out the park with their Direct. This E3 has been a bit of a transition year for most publishers, but with exclusives like Metroid Prime 4, Fire Emblem (Switch), and Smash Bros., I came in expecting Nintendo to distance itself from the competition with a truly outstanding showcase.
Kei: I had high expectations, but in a “I don’t believe you, Nintendo!” way after they said they were focusing on 2018 games.
Sam: I admittedly had very high hopes for this conference, based mostly on the Big N’s previous two E3 showings. Nintendo was the talk of the town in each the last two E3s, so it made sense to me that it would win the week once again.
PJ: Thought we’d see Metroid Prime 4. That makes me wonder if a 2019 release is plausible. For Nintendo, maybe, but for any other dev, probably not. I would have sooner guessed Animal Crossing over Mario Party, but this iteration looks like a return to the excellent GameCube days.
Q: Did Nintendo meet, exceed, or fail to meet your expectations? Overall thoughts?
David: You know… they definitely fell short, but not by as much as their conference content would suggest. Sure, there was no Metroid, no Animal Crossing, no confirmation of the rumored Star Fox racing game, and only the briefest of looks at Fire Emblem (pushed to 2019, as well). However, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate truly shined here. Bringing back every. single. fighter was an incredible announcement from Sakurai, and my heart skipped a beat when they reintroduced Snake. All the minor changes they’ve made to characters like Shulk and Ryu—as well as all the fan-favorite stages returning to the fray—really makes this look like the definitive version of Smash Bros. That alone made this conference worth watching for me.
Kei: Definitely failed to meet my expectations. After the temporary dopamine rush of seeing Snake back in Smash settled down, I was actually left really wanting. Very little to show for 2018, nothing to show for 2019 or beyond, and while I’ll probably get into my thoughts on “Smush” later or in another article, it wasn’t the nuclear strike I thought it could have been. And Fire Emblem is basically dead to me anyway—I’ll need to wait on reviews from similar-minded people to get back into it.
Sam: I would say the overall show fell short, especially since there are so many games they’ve announced over the past year that I would like to know more about, in particular Metroid Prime 4 and the next Yoshi game. I was very pleased with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (it looks legitimately incredible) and I’m glad they showed new Mario Party and Fire Emblem games. Still, it felt like they spent so much time on Smash that could have been used to at the very least tease some new titles on the way.
PJ: I consider the Treehouse as valid a part of the conference as the actual presentation. This may be hypocritical as I just accosted Sony for the same thing, but frankly I don’t think Nintendo needs E3 the way Sony does. We get a direct every other month. Those directs tend to be pretty good too. Luigi’s Mansion on 3DS was a bigger announcement for me than anything at E3 (Nintendo’s first, real GameCube port). Let’s Go looked good. Smash looked good. The Smash invitational (according to Kei) looked a bit worrisome, but a welcomed entry for our casual play. I took a swing and a miss on what games would be revealed, but I wasn’t disappointed. We knew we weren’t getting an Odyssey or Breath-sized reveal like the last two years. I’m fine with what they did.
Q: Positives from the conference?
Augustine: Loved seeing a new installment in the Fire Emblem series with Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Interested to see how the “armies” play affect the gameplay. After closely looking into it, it didn’t really seem to have an effect other than a more in-depth backdrop, but at other times the formation actually mattered. Interesting step forward for the series.
David: Smash Bros. looked stellar, I’m glad it’s still releasing in 2018, and we’re finally getting Ridley, y’all. Fire Emblem also wowed with its large-scale combat, and I love that you can walk around when navigating your hub. Hollow Knight and Fortnite both launching TODAY!
Kei: Smash Ultimate wasn’t a Brawl-level step down. The latest Fire Emblem trailer wasn’t downright embarrassing like Fates’ was. Mario Party doesn’t suck anymore.
Sam: I’m glad Nintendo is finally on the Fortnite train. I don’t even like the game; I just think it’s a good sign of things to come. Most importantly, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is pretty much exactly what I want from the series, namely EVERYONE.
PJ: I know exactly what I’ll be playing for the next six months. I love my Switch but feel the library is a little weak. This E3 amended that problem.
Q: Negatives about the conference?
Augustine: Interestingly enough, also Fire Emblem: Three Houses depending on how the new gameplay mechanic plays out. That and, probably more importantly, having no Metroid Prime 4, but it was as expected considering it was just a title shown last year.
David: Bummed there weren’t more character reveals for Ultimate. No Metroid Prime 4, Animal Crossing, or even Yoshi was disappointing. Where the heck is the rest of the 2018 lineup? Is Smash and Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee! really it?
Kei: No third party reveals for Smush, not a lot of meat on the bone left for 2018, nothing for 2019 communicated, nothing on the online, nothing on our Virtual Console replacement.
Sam: I was hoping Nintendo would come through with more Nintendo-y releases, like another 2D Mario game or Donkey Kong Country. Also, Nintendo is still poorly communicating more details around its upcoming online service.
PJ: Get ready for this: Smash. We wondered if it was a port or a new release. It’s neither. To me, this feels like a missed opportunity. A port would leave the doors open for a new Smash proper. A new Smash would be exactly that. This seems like a cop out, and one that will severely limit the new characters we can expect to see down the line. “Every Character is Back.” Basically, aside from Ice Climbers and Snake, every character was already back. Should we congratulate them on not losing deals with Namco and Square? I certainly won’t.
Q: Biggest surprise?
David: Snake coming back to Smash Bros., as well as Hollow Knight releasing today.
Kei: Snake coming back, I thought he was in rights purgatory to be honest.
Sam: Ridley in Smash!
PJ: Mario Party. We’re seeing two Switches interact with each other in a literal, dual-screen approach. I don’t know if it caught the near chessboard set-up of that tank mini-game, but designing a map based on literal proximity of the two screens is something massively surprising and potentially huge in upcoming titles.
Q: Most impressive game shown?
David: Smash Ultimate.
Kei: Smush, I guess.
Sam: There is only one answer.
PJ: Nothing made me explode with excitement. I’m tempted to say Fire Emblem and that interesting “literally command and army” feature just to not say Smash.
Q: Most disappointing game shown (if applicable)?
David: We miss you, Metroid.
Kei: Somehow also Smush, if that makes any sense.
Sam: As far as games actually shown, I’d like to have seen more of Octopath Traveler, which I think has a lot of potential.
PJ: If my worst fears are confirmed, Pokémon Let’s Go.
Q: Final thoughts about Nintendo’s E3?
David: Kept the great flair of Microsoft’s conference while providing a Sony-esque deep-dive into Smash Bros. The lack of other content was a shame, but Nintendo did enough with what they had to solidify themselves right in the middle of the pack.
Kei: It was as decent as a conference that spends 60% of its time on one game can be.
Sam: If not for Smash, I’d say this was the least impressive showing outside of Square Enix. Because of Smash, however, it made my day.
PJ: I love Nintendo. I still do. Happy to have another reason to bring my Switch to the bars.
Q: Letter grade (F, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+)?
David: B
Kei: B-
Sam: B
PJ: B
Wrap-Up
Q: Best conference of E3?
Augustine: Microsoft, with Sony coming in close.
David: Bethesda.
Kei: Microsoft, but by a hair’s edge. Sony, Bethesda, and Ubisoft are right behind them.
Sam: Bethesda, but Microsoft was a close second.
Q: Worst conference of E3?
Augustine: Square Enix
David: Square Enix.
Kei: I have to try to be objective and say Square, although I predict that I’ll play more games that were shown at Square’s conference than EA’s.
Sam: I guess Square Enix, even though I didn’t really watch much of it.
PJ: I’d barely call Square a conference. Give it to the PC Gaming Show.
Q: Biggest surprise of E3?
David: Microsoft somehow, miraculously, turning a crappy rest of 2018 into an impressive pitch for the future of Xbox.
Kei: Sony massively fumbling their presentation and pacing of their conference. Of all the conferences to have that problem, I never would have picked Sony.
Sam: That almost every single major game company is going the route of pseudo-MMO/shared-world type games. Basically everyone except Nintendo had some game like that on display.
PJ: Probably the sheer amount of stuff Bethesda brought out. It’s not all great, but it was literally all there.
Q: Biggest disappointment of E3?
Augustine: No news for Final Fantasy VII Remake or anything coming from Square Enix.
David: Cyberpunk 2077. While journalists attending E3 received a behind-closed-doors look at the game, I think CD Projekt Red missed an important opportunity to show off the game to everyone for the very first time, at the same time, with a gameplay trailer at Microsoft’s conference.
I get that CDPR wanted to control the narrative of the game at E3 2018—even just the news of it being first-person was enough to piss some fans off. Initial impressions have also been positive, and I’m positive that Cyberpunk is shaping up nicely, despite the exclusive nature of its hands-off demo for members of the press. Still, not having at least a snippet of gameplay for those who’ve waited years for this reveal is disappointing, no matter how you slice it.
Kei: My biggest surprise kind of doubles as my biggest disappointment, but just to take a different tack: no Bloodborne 2.
Sam: I really want to know more about this Yoshi game.
PJ: Sony. It wasn’t the worst conference. But relatively speaking, it was a complete shocker and not in the way we want from E3.
Q: Game of the Show?
Augustine: Death Stranding, again.
David: The Last of Us Part II
Kei: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sam: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
PJ: Cyberpunk 2077
Q: How was Devolver this year?
Augustine: Skipped it.
David: As wild as ever (appreciated that they actually showed some games this time around).
Kei: Great. By cutting it down into a manageable 15 minutes it was just the right length.
Sam: Didn’t watch it, don’t plan to.
PJ: Exactly what it needed to be. Look forward to the two games they announce next year.
That’s it for our general E3 coverage! Check back soon for more on Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us Part II, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and all the other games covered at this year’s show.
