E3 came and went this year, bringing with it a load of announcements, trailers and surprises like no other. Of course, while it’s always amazing to see promising AAA titles, or the allure of a minty fresh and creative new indie title, there will be some mishaps along the way, which is how it always goes with the industry as a whole.
That said, it would be wrong to not shine a spotlight on both the good and bad, so here are some of the best and the worst parts of the various E3 presentations this 2019.
For this piece, we’re looking at Microsoft, who announced quite the lineup of titles, numbering up to 60 games. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see some misses along with the hits, so let’s take a closer look at what made Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2019 Briefing shine through, along with what dragged its quality down as well.
The Good
Two words: indie games! A lot of the games shown in the Xbox E3 2019 Briefing were home-brew titles from Xbox Game Studios and were part of the ID @ Xbox program. It speaks so much when most of what was announced at the E3 stage this year that I am most excited for are independent titles, and not those big AAA releases.
Here are some of the independent titles that caught my eye during the Xbox E3 2019 Briefing.
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps – this is a no-brainer, and as a big fan of Metroidvanias I’m thrilled to finally get a release date for this Ori sequel.
- RPG Time: The Legend of Wright – there’s something so personal and incredibly refreshing about the way this game plays that really compelled me. Developed by Desk Works, this handcrafted and peak-creative artistic title will be released sometime in 2020.
- Unto the End – it was only until very recently when developer 2 Ton Studios released an updated gameplay trailer for this one, seeing as it was lost in the ID @ Xbox Sizzle Reel along with many independent titles. That said, it did not fully escape my gaze, and I am personally looking forward to the game’s release.
- Way to the Woods – Anthony Tan’s deer simulator gets an update trailer, which shows off more of the game to those already familiar with it, while giving first-time eyes a closer look at how relaxing and creative it is.
While I’m not the type of guy to really go all out for hardware and peripherals, I did find myself longing for one of those new Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controllers. It’s massively upgraded over the previous Elite controllers, which also came with several launch problems in terms of poor quality control. I might just pick one of these bad boys up a while after it’s been on sale, just after they iron out any launch issues.
I may be one of the very few to say this, but I really don't feel as hyped as anyone else for Cyberpunk 2077. That said, their presentation, even though mostly cinematic, was on point - even bringing the big guns with that surprise reveal featuring Keanu Reeves. Here's hoping that CD Prokekt RED lives up to this amazing level of hype being generated by their fans.
Call me biased, and I’ll acknowledge it – this much I can admit when it comes to FromSoftware. It won’t be surprising when I call the Elden Ring reveal a highlight of sorts for me, and I can’t personally wait to see more of it teased in the next weeks or months. I don’t even care much for GRRM's invovlement, but I do want to see how the Souls developer will follow up Sekiro, which is currently my game of the year.
Xbox Game Pass was also severely underrated, and quite a steal. The PC version is currently the best deal you can get for a subscription-based game model right now, and the fact that with the upcoming Xbox Game Pass Ultimate you can get both the PC and console versions is just a literal icing on this green-tinged cake.
The Disappointing
I’m very careful not to name this one as ‘The Bad,’ as it’s really not – just more on the disappointing side. Project Scarlett, while very impressive (if we’re taking the engineers’ word for it) feels more like a reaction to Mark Cerny and the PS5. This chase for the title of the ‘most powerful console’ is absolutely a moot point when it comes to the game library, but I’m sure people are still falling for it, so why stop now?
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Microsoft actually making a cinematic video for this next-gen console, whereas Sony’s was just an interview, but some of the specs felt like they were thrown there just to say that they’re capable of it. Also, 120 frames per second for AAA titles on this next-gen console? Possible, yes, but maybe if the system is on par with $2,000+ high-end gaming PC.
I think what would’ve worked out best was if Microsoft focused on what it could offer in the market in terms of exclusives, rather than this somewhat pointless flex of their next-gen console. But that’s just me.
So, who do you think won E3 2019? Share it with us down below in the comments!
