Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes gave players some of the best previews they could give. Visuals, story, gameplay – you name it, they gave us a good whiff of all of them in an early package. In just a few hours, they showed us just how great their final games just might be. They shouldn’t be alone, though. We’ve been anticipating (or dreading) plenty of games for years and here are five of them that deserve the same treatment.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
Out of the five games of this list, Pey’J and Jade’s is probably the least likely to release. Beyond Good and Evil 2 was first announced by Ubisoft in 2008 to most of our surprise when the original sold so poorly and the company hasn’t released any trailers since except for a few video reels and in-engine environmental screens. According to Michel Ancel, the game’s still in development and after its absence at Ubisoft’s E3 conference last year, Beyond Good and Evil 2 was trending on Twitter. What state is this game even in and when’s it going to release? A demo would be the perfect way to appease our angst over the delay, if not confirm that it even exists like Square Enix’s done with Final Fantasy.
Yves Guillemot, the CEO of Ubisoft, previously said to IGN, when discussing Prince of Persia and Beyond Good and Evil, that, “The teams are really looking at what [they] can come up with. I think you will really like what you see in the future. It could take some time to make sure [the team] are really delivering what [they] want.” Hopefully, it’s worth the near seven year wait.
The Last Guardian
Other than the two trailers released at E3 2009 and TGS 2010, Sony’s been next to silent on The Last Guardian. To put it in perspective, since Team ICO’s Shadow of the Colossus in 2005, Naughty Dog’s released Jak X, Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Uncharted 3, and The Last of Us. According to GameSpot, Sony’s confirmed that development’s still moving forward as of last month – that is, after the trademark for game expired for the third time.
If The Last Guardian pops up at Sony’s E3 2015 press conference with a trailer, will that really be enough? It could just disappear into the realm of silence once more. A demo for The Last Guardian, which could be included with a future Sony title, might be a way to regain confidence in the project and simply give the game the attention it deserves, especially if it’s included with the next God of War or Uncharted.
Kingdom Hearts III
It’s been almost nine years since Kingdom Hearts II‘s release and fans have been eagerly waiting, after so many spinoffs, for a Kingdom Hearts III. By the time E3 2015 rolled around, it’ll be two years since the game’s initial reveal, and more than three years since the last Kingdom Hearts release, Dream Drop Distance. Frankly, it’s about time to see something tangible from the Osaka studio.
During the credits from Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, there was a teaser (much like 2.5 in 1.5‘s credits) for a HD remaster of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance as well as a Kingdom Hearts III screenshot from the E3 2013 trailer. What if, due to a lack of games left to remaster, a Kingdom Hearts III demo’s included with a potential Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance HD ReMIX this year? This’d be similar to how Square Enix included Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky seems too good to be true. An indie team of under ten people making a galaxy to explore with such beautiful graphics? Hello Games is promising so much, but can they really deliver? There are so many questions left unanswered. Is there more to the game than just exploring? Is there gunplay from what we can see from the user interface indicating ammo on the top right? Are the worlds you explore truly that much different from each other?
It’ll be difficult to truly explain the game they’re trying to make with just a trailer. To address the concerns of those who question if this is even real, a demo or an early access version of the game would be the perfect way to prove that this is real.
Star Wars Battlefront
After the train wrecks of controversy that were Battlefield 4 and Dungeon Keeper, it’s safe to say that EA’s generally regarded as the villain of the industry. With online crashes and gameplay glitches, Battlefield 4 was a technical mess and Dungeon Keeper’s micro-transactions made gameplay virtually non-existent. EA, in a shocking move, allowed players to jump into Battlefield: Hardline for free straight after their E3 conference last year. For once, the game’s online connection stayed rock solid and its game of cops and robbers impressed a lot of gamers.
It’d be great if EA did this again with Star Wars Battlefront. While many of us still have Battlefield 4’s launch in the back of our minds, this mixed with the cherished Star Wars series could create nerves among the fan base. Star Wars Battlefront was shown earlier at a GameStop employee meeting with “a superb ovation,” but giving us a game to test for ourselves free of the price of admission could do wonders for a company once named the “Worst Company in America.”
What games do you want to see early demos for? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.