New Games

 

I just finished the Bethesda and Xbox showcase at E3 2021 and as always it was a massive overload to the senses.

I also watched the Summer Game Fest the other day, but the only game that grabbed my attention there was Elden Ring. This incredibly anticipated game by From Software (Dark Souls, Demon Soul, Bloodborne etc.) in collaboration with George R R Martin finally has a release date: January 21, 2022. I am interested in finally coming to grips with one of these games, but I'm far from committed to playing. I will at the very least enjoy watching lets plays.

So, back to the Bethesda/Xbox thing.

The first thing that struck me is that this truly is the season of the sequel. There was a small handful of original games, but I can't even remember them anymore, with one exception. We'll get to that later.

Another thing that struck me is how popular snarky, cutesy and quirky has become. Between the Summer Fest and the Xbox presentation, there was a ridiculous amount of games what lean heavily on one or more of those three. I guess it is a change from the ever present gray and brown military shooters with their overly dramatic machismo, but it grates on the nerves after a while. Does everyone have to have a quippy comeback? Does every team need someone to trip and pratfall in an exaggerated way? Well, no. But it has become pretty common and as with all forced comedy, it's rarely funny. I hope they pull it back a bit going forward.

I'm not going to list all the games, there were 27 of them, but some of them were Stalker 2, Psychonauts 2, Age of Empires... sequel, the new Halo game, The Outer Worlds 2, a Pirates of the Caribbean add on to Sea of Thieves, Far Cry 6... the list goes on and on and on.

They cleverly started off with presenting a small teaser for Starfield, Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG. It is the first original setting they've done in over 20 years but I still have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Seriously, no clue except you are in space and you seem to be an astronaut of some kind. Apparently it launches next year so hopefully we'll find out more before then.

They also showed a pretty little movie for RedFall by Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey). This was the original mentioned above. It shows a colorful group of vampire hunters in a sci-fi near future. But again I have no clue of the game play. They did say that you can play solo or in co-op which is nice. So many games insist on multiplayer only, probably in order to sell micro-transactions.

The absolute stand out however, was Forza Horizon 5. Set in Mexico this time, the game is near photo realistic. The skybox is in fact photographed and it all looks incredible. No, scratch that, it looks impossible. I'm saying that as a dude who doesn't even care that much about cars or motor sports. I really urge you to watch that trailer/showcase as it is just that beautiful.

So far, this is the first E3 in years that haven't shown me a single game that has made me sit up an go “Whoah, I need to play that”. That's alright though, as a patient gamer I have no shortage of games to play in the near future.

 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!