E3 2021 Part 1: Summer Game Fest
Summer Game Fest 2021
Koch Primetime
Guerrilla Collective Day 2
Ubisoft Forward
Devolver Forwarder
Gearbox Entertainment
Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
Square Enix Presents
PC Gaming Show
Future Games Show
Take-Two
Limited Run Games
Capcom
Nintendo Direct
Bandai Namco
It’s not E3 proper yet, but I resisted the urge to call the first few events Pre3 and decided to group them with my E3 coverage along with everything else. Things kicked off today with the start of Summer Game Fest 2021, so let’s take a look!
First up was the new game from Gearbox. As I watched the trailer, I asked myself, “Is this just fantasy Borderlands?” Well… actually, yes. It turned out to be Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, a new Borderlands spin-off.
The next game was Metal Slug Tactics, a tactical spin-off of the Metal Slug series. I’m not too familiar with that series, but it could be interesting (although it also has roguelike elements).
Kojima made an appearance next via video call, and at first it seemed like he was just there to chat about the current situation in Japan and how the pandemic affected game development and stuff. However, then they played a highly confusing Death Stranding trailer, which turned out to be for Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. I never got around to picking up Death Stranding, so I’m intrigued.
The next special guest was Jeff Goldblum to announce Jurassic World Evolution 2, which doesn’t particularly interest me. Then it was time for a break from games for a musical performance of the theme from an upcoming game called Sable.
An MMORPG called Lost Ark was shown next, followed by an update on Call of Duty’s next season. Then Ryan Reynolds came with a joke about Elden Ring. He was actually there to share a movie trailer, for some reason.
Next up was new content coming to Among Us, and then Shuhei Yoshida appeared to talk about indie games, particularly Chicory. I played a demo for Chicory that was pretty cute.
After that, we got an indie game announcement that really caught my attention: Salt and Sacrifice, the sequel to Salt and Sanctuary. I haven’t played Salt and Sanctuary yet, but it’s supposed to be pretty good, and the sequel looks neat.
They showed a new trailer for Solar Ash, details about Chivalry 2, the world’s tiniest teaser for Valorant news, and a new area being added to Escape from Tarkov. The Two Point Hospital devs have a new game coming out called Two Point Campus, and then they teased a Netflix presentation tomorrow.
After that, it was time to announce a new publishing label, Prime Matter, with a montage of games. It’s from Koch Media, so they’ll probably show their games in more depth at tomorrow’s show. I’m familiar with some of them, like Dolmen.
Next up was a multiplayer game called The Anacrusis, which sounded interesting at first but became less and less my thing the more words he said. Anyway, we learned that an online game called New World will get a deep dive tomorrow, and then there was an update on Rocket League.
They also showed a new game in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe, a multiplayer game called Bloodhunt.
We got to see a new trailer for the next game in the Dark Pictures Anthology, House of Ashes. It looks like it could be good, but I haven’t played any of them yet. For that matter, I still need to play Until Dawn.
But then, they showed a new trailer for Tales of Arise! It appears to show some party members they hadn’t revealed until now, so that’s no longer a surprise, but the trailer looks really good! I’m so excited for that game.
The Switch version of Sky: Children of the Light got a release date, and then they showed a cute-looking adventure game called Planet of Lana.
Next up was an update about Overwatch 2 stuff and then another look at Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, and then a new update on Paladins.
We got a story trailer for Monster Hunter Stories 2… but it seemed to me like it was pretty similar to the previous story trailer. Anyway, I’m excited for that game, although I might not play it at launch with all the other games coming out in the next few months.
It was time for another musical break, then a new look at Endless Dungeon. Then they talked about Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which has a live stream later today. Someday I’ll catch up on that series.
The next focus was Far Cry 6, with the actor who plays the villain talking about his character. Then they announced a Nier costume for Fall Guys (specifically, 2B), which was kinda cute… and kinda terrifying. Next was a Genshin Impact trailer, which I’ve never played despite it being recommended to me sometimes.
A new developer was introduced, Deviation Games, but they don’t have a game ready to share yet. They’re partnered with PlayStation, though.
More music (a Sonic Unleashed concert this time), an update on Back4Blood, and then an announcement of an upcoming ID@Xbox demo event. It will include Tunic, which I remember every few months as “that cute game that isn’t out yet.” It’s still cute.
They showed a trailer for a multiplayer action game called Tribes of Midgard, and then another look at Evil Dead: The Game.
Finally… they really did it! The show closed with a trailer for Elden Ring, which will be out on January 21, 2022. I have to admit, while I wasn’t too invested in the Elden Ring hype before, the trailer is really cool.
And that was that! Summer Game Fest 2021 has finished it’s show, but we have plenty more of E3 events coming over the next few days! What did you think of today’s event?
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