Los Angeles, US, June 12 — This year, Sony’s E3 conference was a quiet one. Not much of the announcements seemed to get past the screen; on the contrary, they remained on the stage as mere trailers and updates, and very few truly caught the audience’s attention. If you expected any news about The Last of Us 2 or Bloodborne 2, for example…well, sorry. Nothing of that was shown. Shrouded in mystery they are, shrouded in mystery they’ll remain for the time being.
However, did Sony stay truly this silent during their own conference? Well, no. Not exactly. In fact, despite its apparent lackluster performance, this year, some titles are worth the mention.
So, what happened at Sony’s conference this year? Not much, yes, but at least something did happen at all. This is the summary of the key games that you ought to expect this and next year for the PlayStation 4 console.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Accompanied by Indian music, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy opened the show at Sony’s E3 2017 conference. Nothing new was shown, and certainly, it didn’t add anything but more impatience to the people’s anxious feelings. The good thing is, it is coming out on August 22, 2017, so more information is not needed (at the moment, at least).
Horizon Zero Dawn (The Frozen Wilds DLC)
Uncharted was followed by the highly anticipated Horizon Zero Dawn DLC, titled The Frozen Wilds, which ought to place Aloy in a new snowy world. Not much was said about this DLC either, however, so, once again, it’s just a matter of waiting for it to be available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5xsS1WZA54
Days Gone
Days Gone was one of the few games with actual gameplay footage shown during the conference, and what appeared on the screen seemed, so far, interesting.
I can’t say it’s 100% original, but this new post-apocalyptic themed game, in where zombies and human rivalry abound, contains an interesting premise thanks to its atmosphere, stealth elements, and overall graphics. Now, will it be fun? Time will tell.
Monster Hunter: World
One of the beloved games of the host Shawn Layden, Monster Hunter World, is coming out in 2018. What the on-stage special effects failed to deliver (…seriously, you used fire just to announce the date on the screen?) was compensated by the footage of this new installment of the Monster Hunter series. The graphics and features entertained many in the audience.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
One of the conference’s major surprises was the announcement of Shadow of the Colossus’s remake – no, not an HD remaster, but a remake. Don’t take me wrong: the surprise was mostly because of its significantly improved graphics and audio, as shown during the conference, and the surprise wasn’t negative at all (…at least for those who weren’t expecting something else, that is). Indeed, it is an odd thing to see this game again after its PlayStation 3 port, but as an enduring classic, I highly doubt anyone will ever get tired of this game.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
New characters and the free downloadable story demo were Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s major announcements during this event. The story demo is available from June 13, if you’re interested in getting a bite of what’s coming from this new installment.
Call of Duty: WWII
This year’s conference shed some light on Call of Duty: WWII multiplayer features, which seemed so far impressing, visually speaking. This is the franchise’s return to the WWII setting after Call of Duty: World at War, by the way, so let’s see how well it aged after these years of absence in this historical setting.
God of War
The only time in where the public truly lost it (…mildly; it was such a composed and educated crowd) was with the appearance of God of War’s new footage. They finally delved further into the story (Kratos and his son embark on a trip in a Nordic land) and some elements of its upcoming gameplay, still pumped with hack and slash action features.
It’s coming out in early 2018, and it kinda alleviated the audience’s apparent impatience during Sony’s conference, so far. Such a sad thing that it didn’t last that long, though…
Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV goes fishing in this new game about…fishing…in VR…
Yeah.
Detroit: Become Human
Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human finally showed its new trailer this year. Aside from expanding on its story – an android, Marcus, leads a rebellion to attain civil rights –, it also showed some pieces of its gameplay, which revolves in decision-making once more, in the same vein of Until Dawn and Heavy Rain – another game from Quantic Dream. Once again, graphics are outstanding and incredibly detailed; however, because not much gameplay footage was shown, it’s hard to tell whether this game will be as enjoyable as other Quantic Dream’s games or not. One thing is certain, though: expect the wide arrange of decisions available to turn this into an incredibly complex game.
Destiny 2
Once again, not much was shown with Destiny 2’s new trailer. However, it did reveal that the game would be released two days before than previously announced – September 6, instead of September 8 –, so take note of this new date so you can get your PS4-exclusive gear!
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man closed the show in a rather friendly tone, thanks in large part to its lively gameplay footage. Borrowing some ideas from Batman’s Arkham series, and adding some quick time events (QTE) every now and then (…during most of the video, better said), Spider-Man was a good advertisement for Sony’s conference, despite not holding up with some other expectations of the fans. Certainly, the game looks fast-paced and fun, but I am pretty sure I wasn’t the only one to notice the abundance of QTEs (oh, the horror…), so only time will tell if this is a game or an interactive movie once again. Still, Spider-Man left a rather pleasant aftertaste with its quirks and details (Miles Morales at the end, anyone?) which kinda compensates the lack of heavyweights, such as The Last of Us 2 and Bloodborne 2, during the conference.
YouTube: Insights on the Sony E3 Conference 2017
Photo credit: Sony
Source: Video stream of event