E3 2018: Sony keeps focus on gameplay
After Microsoft and Bethesda's press conferences gave reveal after announcement after teaser, Sony has focused almost entirely on gameplay. They unveiled numerous gameplay demos and trailers that gave the audience exactly what they had come to see. These include huge first-party titles like The Last of Us 2, Spider-Man and Death Stranding. Here's a full list of the game announcements at press conference.
- The Last of Us 2
- Destiny 2: Forsaken
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Control
- Resident Evil 2 (Remake)
- Trover Saves The Universe
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Death Stranding
- Nioh 2
- Spider-Man
- Déraciné
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III (yes, that's Black Ops III)
The Last of Us 2
Sony opened their press conference with the strongest first party title in development. The follow up to 2013's critical masterpiece, The Last of Us, TLoU2 has kept gameplay details limited. Today, Sony gave fans and twelve minute gameplay video that highlights some story details and a stealth section. The demo opens up with a cutscene of Ellie at a party with her girlfriend, then cuts to a stealth sequence. In the gameplay, the polish of NaughtyDog games is on full display, as every interaction is incredibly detailed, from dodging suddenly towards a wall causing Ellie to smack into it, to a missed hammer swing knocking empty cans off a shelf. There are still no details on a release date.
Destiny 2: Forsaken
The next expansion for Destiny looks to completely reinvigorate and innovate the Destiny formula. Bungie have released an eight minute vidoc, detailing their goals and aims to learn from the community's feedback. The new expansion will pit players against Prince Aldrin and the Forsaken, with the reveal trailer taking on a darker tone than other expansions. Destiny: Forsaken is available on September 4 and players can receive Cayde’s Exotic Stash as a preorder bonus.
Ghost of Tsushima
Developed by Sucker Punch Studios, this PS4 exclusive follows the revenge story of a Samurai who survives the sacking of Tsushima. The gameplay trailer Sony unveiled is incredible. The graphics on display are stunning, which gamers are hopefully a bit skeptical of. The open world is filled with beautiful fields of gentle swaying grass, autumn leaves blowing down in the wind, and the shine of the Japanese sun on muddy battlefields. The closest comparison is to the graphics in Witcher 3's original E3 trailers. The gameplay is very similar, with swordplay revolving around controlling masses and engaging targets in a precise manner. However, as the trailer shows a stealth section, the gameplay becomes very reminiscent of the older Assassins Creed games and the Batman Arkham series.
Control
Revealing a brand new IP, Sony announced Control, a third person shooter with time manipulation mechanics. The game looks like Sony's equivalent to Xbox's Quantum Break. The trailer reveals some gameplay, with corridors shifting and gravity changing as the player controls time. Players are Jesse Faden, the new Director of the Bureau of Control, which is the frontline in researching and fighting against supernatural enemies, like one of the game's enemies, the Hiss.
Resident Evil II - Remake
Sony announced the long overdue remake of Resident Evil II. The reveal trailer shows the complete graphics overhaul of the current generation consoles. The trailer also looks like Capcom are going back to Resident Evil II's distinct horror tones, with a Resident Evil 4 gameplay style. Leon and Clark are back as Raccoon City falls.
Trover Saves the Universe
From Squanch Games and the creators of Rick and Morty, this goofy 3D platformer brings all the absurd creativity that Justin Roland is known for. With the same cartoonish design and goofy humour of Rick and Morty, Trover Saves the Universe is perfect for fans of the show. Trover Saves the Universe is exclusive to PS4 and Playstation VR.
Kingdom Hearts III
Like Microsoft yesterday, Sony revealed a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer with some new gameplay details. The big takeaway from this trailer is the Pirates of the Caribbean world and new naval battle gameplay. This Pirates world is set in the third movie, following Jack Sparrow when he was abandoned in the desert at The World's End.
Death Stranding
The highly anticipated Death Stranding is Hideo Kojima's first solo project since splitting with Konami. Today, Sony finally revealed some gameplay for the enigmatic title. The game looks stunning, with beautiful environments and detailed actors, including the Walking Dead's Norman Reedus. Unfortunately, it is a weird and mysterious as one would expect from Death Stranding. With invisible monsters, time manipulation, vast explorable lands and babies, there's no doubt this is a Hideo Kojima title.
Nioh 2
The action packed Nioh (2017) is getting a sequel. While the announcement trailer was light on details, the first Nioh was a quality game and a good alternative to FromSoftware's Dark Souls series.
Spider-Man
The Playstation 4 exclusive, Spider-Man, got some more details today as Sony showed off a short gameplay demo. The demo starts with Electro, Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture and Mr.Negative breaking out of prison as Spiderman comes in to save the day. The graphics are stunning but the most impressive thing on display is how smooth the gameplay is. Combat is seamless, with animations tying together fluidly, and exploration is intense, with swinging from the webs acting perfectly. Fans will notice the charm and humour of Peter Parker, but also the seriousness of an older and more experienced Spiderman. This game is looking to Spiderman like what Arkham City was to Batman.
Déraciné
Dark Souls and Bloodborne developers, From Software, are making a PSVR game. Déraciné is a story adventure game in which players control a spirit summoned to a secluded boarding schools. The player can interact with the world in various ways in order to unravel the mystery of the game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC
What was a strange final announcement from Sony, they announced a new DLC for 2015's Black Ops III. Players who preorder Black Ops 4 on PS4 will receive access to four new remade classics from the first Black Ops, playable in Black Ops 3 on PS4. The Back in Black map pack contains Jungle, Summit, Slums and Firing Range, which is honestly a pretty good map pack. The maps are available now through Black Ops 4 preorders on the Playstation Store and on September 4 for purchase.
It was quite an interesting E3 this year in terms of press conferences. Both Microsoft and Sony took a different approach to their show.
Microsofts was like a buffet. You get loads to eat and even though you are already full, you keep eating and in the end are so stuffed that you feel sick. That is how felt after their press conference. There was game reveal after game reveal and after a while I couldn't keep up any more (I know that is a luxurious problem to have). As I was digesting Halo Infinite they had already showed 10 more games. Don't get me wrong, they had an amazing conference and there were some knock-out reveals, but it was a bit too much.
Sony on the other hand, to keep the food analogy going, was like a posh 5-star restaurant. You get only a few small dishes, but what they serve tastes so good that you chew it a 100 times before letting it slip into your tummy. Yes, unlike Microsoft they could have shown more games (like Red Dead 2 or save the Days Gone-Blowout for this), but they took their time and went deep into the titles they were showing. For me, theirs was slightly better. But only slightly ;)!
PS: Was anyone else surprised that "Shadows Die Twice" and "Devil May Cry 5" made their debut at Microsofts stage and not at Sonys?
It certainly was a whirlwind of announcements thats for sure! Sony's one hit home harder for me since alot more of their titles are down my alley. Very nice write up! Thanks for dropping by.