E3 came and went this year, bringing with it 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 Square Enix, who was notably present this year without its frequent collaborator for first-party titles, Sony. That said, the developer did not disappoint with its lineup of announcements, presenting one of the most anticipated titles slated for release next year. Likewise, some newer titles also showed strong promise, but there were some that left much to be desired.
That said, let’s take a look at what made Square Enix’s E3 presentation such a strong competitor for who won E3 this year, as well as some underwhelming offerings which could have had more time cooking in the development oven.
The Good
Final Fantasy VII Remake . Whenever I hear someone mention that Sony won E3 this year without even attending, I can usually attest it to this highly anticipated title receiving such a huge and incredible reception. This is the first time we got to see this remake as close to being a complete game as possible, following several teases over the years leading up to it. Square Enix also decided to give everyone what they’re waiting for in terms of the game’s launch date, which is now slated for a March 3, 2020 release.
Let’s get it out of the way. Every Final Fantasy title announced at the Square Enix stage was a clear winner, no matter which angle you look at it from. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is getting a proper remastering for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, which is amazing news for fans of the spinoff titles; the ShadowBringers expansion for Final Fantasy XIV is looking amazing, especially for fans of the MMO; War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius was announced, which is another boon for mobile device users looking for a new Final Fantasy title for their phones; then there’s the surprise drop of a remastering for Final Fantasy VIII, which is my personal favorite in the series. It’s a good E3 for Final Fantasy fans all around.
While the JRPGs dominated the event, there were a few standout titles coming from other developers as well, like Original Fire Games with their top-down racing title Circuit Superstars. As somewhat of a fan of those highly infuriating, yet very addictive perspective-bending racing games, I could see myself playing a title like this, if only to break away from the monotony of realistic racing simulators put out yearly by big companies. It’s stuff like this that made me realize that E3 was absolutely won over by indies.
People Can Fly, the developer behind the severely underrated Bulletstorm, also showed off a new IP called Outriders. It was teased and revealed just before E3, but now we actually learned that it will be a co-op shooting title set on an alien planet, and can be played both single-player and up to 3-person multiplayer. It’s a bit disappointing that only the cinematic was shown, but judging by the theme and look they’re going for, it’s a shoe-in for one of the most interesting shooters of next year.
The Disappointing
In what I could honestly consider to be one of the biggest disappointments for E3 this year, Marvel’s Avengers was underwhelming and looks incredibly rushed. At first, I tried to reserve judgment, based on the fact that I was being partial to what I know of the Avengers, both as movie and comic book characters. After a period of this indecision, I just found it overall to be really bland, ugly and boring.
There’s still some time to fix it, of course, and who knows how well it will play in terms of gameplay; that said, if we’re judging it on the now instead of what it will be later, Crystal Dynamics’ take on the iconic Marvel franchise is shaping up to be a disappointment, even more so when you factor in how successful a title like this could be.
So, who do you think won E3 2019? Share it with us down below in the comments!
