In no particular order
That’s another E3 in the books. After months of speculation as to what gaming’s most important convention might hold, four quick days clear everything up. In a way, it almost feels criminally short given everything that’s on display at the show.
While it’s impossible to personally see everything at E3, publishers always put their best foot forward by releasing new trailers for almost the entirety of their portfolio. It’s a handy practice, as it’s a nice marketing tactic to give the world a controlled glimpse of their games.
It’s important to remember that trailers need to be taken with a grain of salt. They might accurately portray the title. Rather, they may eventually completely misrepresent the game entirely. Regardless of what the future holds for each, these were the trailers that best captured our attention last week.
Dead Island 2 has followed in its predecessor’s footsteps with a highly memorable trailer, albeit with a severely different tone. Many would argue that the caliber of Dead Island‘s cinematic trailer outshone the actual game. Only time will tell what the legacy of this one is.
Cuphead took a lot of people by surprise when its trailer was showed on Monday morning. “What the hell is this, and why do I want it now?,” many probably correctly thought. It’s gorgeous, it’s wacky, and it doesn’t look like else out there. It’s Cuphead.
Maybe the most intriguing of all E3 trailers was the one for From Software’s Bloodborne. It’s dark and creepy, and because it’s From Software, we can expect it’s good stuff. While a fine trailer in its own right, it didn’t do anything to let us know how Bloodborne plays. Luckily, Dale was around to do that for us.
If this trailer is any indication, Far Cry 4 will thrive partially because of a strong and insanely evil villain. That was part of the charm of Far Cry 3, and it wouldn’t be particularly surprising if Ubisoft went that route again. However, it probably would be particularly enjoyable. This trailer showed Pagan Min doing what he does best, and it made for fine entertainment.
Nintendo had a few interesting things to show at its E3 Digital Event. One of the definite standouts was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, which was inspired by levels from Super Mario 3D World. That’s right, an entire game based on those intermission-style sections. No running, no jumping, just puzzle-solving and collectible-collecting. And it looks truly wonderful.
Sony capped off its press conference with the reveal of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Its accompanying trailer did exactly what trailers are supposed to do — get people excited for the game. One more adventure, you say? Sure, we’ll happily go along with you, Drake.
Lara Croft had a rough time in Tomb Raider. It’s not surprising that she needs some psychiatric care to work through her trauma. Conveniently for us, that directly translates to getting a glimpse at our next experience with her in Rise of the Tomb Raider.
What can you say about this trailer for Dead Rising 3‘s DLC? It was Capcom having fun with things, and that alone is worthy of a mention. Oh yeah, and apparently the DLC was pretty good, too.
Sunset Overdrive made good use of its time in the limelight. Its trailer managed to act as an FAQ of sorts, show off some gameplay, and even make fun of conventional game mechanics. It’s hard to imagine someone watching this and not thinking that all of that bouncing and sliding around looks really fun.
Valiant Hearts kind of went the other way with its E3 trailer. Rather than get the crowd all excited, it brought the room down. Armed with a puppy and a voiceover, Valiant Hearts made sure everyone knows that this one’s going to be a real tear-jerker.
The world’s a big place. The trailer for Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky makes sure to point that out. Starting in a dinosaur-laden swampland, it’s not long before it jettisons off into space. It really drives home that No Man’s Sky is a game of infinite exploration and endless possibilities.
We said that these trailers are in no particular order, but that was a half lie. The truth is, we saved the best for last — Metal Gear Solid V. Anything said here won’t do it justice, so just watch it yourself.
