E3 2021’s virtual galaxy was a lot to take in with presentations from Capcom, WB, Xbox, Nintendo, and many more showing off our near gaming future. Now the hard part, staring at our PCs and consoles waiting for all the games announced and seen over the past few days. My favorite part… the awards. I miss giving foam board ribbons and badges, seeing them double-sided taped to the booths of the best games from the show. The next best thing, here’s a list of the best things we got to play, see, or be announced during E3. (Note: Only games announced or demoed between May30-June15 were eligible according to my non-binding totally legit rules). Thank you to everyone on this list and at the virtual expo for your time and effort in making E3 2021 something to remember.
BACK 4 BLOOD (WB Games)
Those who long for Valve’s Left 4 Dead games can finally rejoice. The developers of the original zombie co-op survival shooter have reformed under the name Turtle Rock Studios and WB has wasted no time putting them back in the genre they put on the map. In BACK 4 BLOOD you’ll play as one of four “cleaners” trying to survive zombie hordes. There are lots of standard L4D play and strategies here that will feel nostalgic. Yet Back 4 Blood has its own evolution that makes it something you’ve never seen. The game’s “AI Director” is a new system that creates challenges as it adapts to the way you play. If you keep chucking bombs or use specific traps too much it creates different enemy patterns to adapt to your strategy. This is will be a game that will truly be relentless.
During E3 the new player vs player mode swarm debuted highlighting a new beat-the-clock way to take on teams of others online. You’ll start on the human side or zombie side and the goal is to last the longest while playing the human side. Each side has its own unique combat and advantages. Though you’ll be in direct combat, the object is to survive longer than your opposition when it’s your turn to play as the human characters. It’s an interesting take on competitive multiplayer and if any game was going to pave the way for something like this it would be the bloodline of Left 4 Dead. Back 4 Blood launches on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on October 8, 2021.
DREAMSCAPER (Freedom Games)
I often lay in bed at night and wonder what if Life Is Strange was an action game? Freedom Games is giving me my answer…Dreamscaper. You play as a young girl named Cassidy on a journey to unravel the secret of her town by exploring surreal dream versions of it. We played a small slice of the game and it’s addicting. Starting from a straightforward exploration of her real world room gives you some story-driven vibes then when you leap into her dream state you’re dropped in a Diablo/Souls-like action RPG experience. While the visual is surreal, the experience felt through combat controls is full of substance. Button hold and press commands to use weapons, shields, and powers feel intuitive without making my character feel too overpowered. Though there was lots to explore, when things felt repetitive I could easily jump into grand boss battles that were engaging and the right level of frustration. The procedurally generated dungeons in the dream state will be interesting to see how they are pulled off in the final version but for a game that’s been in early access for months, Dreamscaper is feeling all kinds of sharpened. The game comes out of early access PC and onto Nintendo Switch on August 12.
ARCADE 1UP
Tastemakers offshoot brand has built itself on expanding the arcade experience through more than just plugging in a plastic box to a television. Building 3/4 scale cabinets complete with licensed artwork and wi-fi connected versions of games that bring millennials and boomers nostalgic feelings of being embarrassed out of quarters shows no signs of slowing down. E3 2021 showcased something that really needed to happen for the brand, Arcade 1UP could go beyond Street Fighter and Pac-Man. Yes, they are releasing more versions of games they’ve already put out but the brand is diving deeper into the multiplayer arcade experience with their new Simpsons arcade machine and the highly anticipated 4-player X-Men cabinet.
The Arcade 1UP cabinets have been steadily growing in popularity as the company has taken more chances on licensing cabinets beyond the most popular arcade games of the generation. What they’re also seeing is once a consumer finds a machine that they purchase because of the fond memories they have, that consumer is more likely to buy another cabinet that licenses a game they were on the fence about before. My own Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam machines are proof of that. The X-Men cabinet will be my third machine and first doing a live build video for.
All their E3 showings will support Wi-Fi (1981 collection cabinet will only support leaderboard functionality). Preorders for Big Blue Street Fighter II, 1981 Collection Cabinet, TMNT Turtles In Time, X-Men, and The Simpsons cabinets all open in early July. You’ll need to go to Arcade1up.com to see all the retailers you’ll be able to order from and their pricing.
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy (Square Enix)
The team behind the Deus Ex series, Eidos Montreal, is stepping out of their comfort zone and into the elemental guns of Peter Quill. Though the game is a GOTG proper title, this is a single-player adventure focused on Starlord. You will be able to issue commands to the rest of the guardians as if they were your squad in a similar experience to games like Republic Commando. From the in-depth presentations we saw, there’s a big Marvel adventure feel to the game that’s layered with those touches that separate this team from the Avengers. The voices of these characters scream misfit and there’s a levity even in combat when Peter’s soundtrack takes over the action. We can’t wait to see just how much Marvel was packed into this game and if there’s any chance a cohesive games universe exists this is going to be the place to see it. Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy comes to Switch, Xbox, PlayStation systems, and PC on October 26, 2021.
The Xbox Series X Mini Fridge
It’s usually when the joke tries to get in on the joke that the humor is gone. At the end of the Xbox/Bethesda showcase Microsoft announced not only were they getting in on the jokes and memes but they were going to make money on it. We got a look at the Xbox Series X mini-fridge complete with dramatic trailer and tech hype. For the first time in a long time of E3 conferences, Xbox delivered the biggest headlines and if they wanted to close with the world’s most expensive mini-fridge… why not. We can expect to have all our sodas and waters cooled to the touch while the outside case probably overheats this holiday.
That’s a wrap on E3 2021. As we begin to get the world back to a new normal, video games in general pulled off miracles every day of the last 18 months launching hardware alongside new games while teams adapted to working the most collaborative medium from a distance and E3 was not only the first step in transitioning back but also the celebration games needed.
