Not Much New, but Plenty of Old
Square-Enix just wrapped up their short but sweet press conference for E3. We didn’t learn much about new titles, but received a few added details regarding some upcoming games. Square also showcased two new titles: Platinum Games’ medieval-esque Babylon’s Fall, and a mysterious new entry: The Quiet Man. Both games are PS4 and Steam exclusives with very little details provided. Babylon’s Fall showed two knights in very stylish and colorful armor battling. The Quiet Man appears to be a narrative driven martial arts game about urban-underground crime. Hopefully, more details will surface soon.
Tomb Raider Gameplay
The most detailed feature came from the soon-to-be-released Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The third title in the fantastic reboot series takes place in the Mayan Jungle of Central America where Lara will have to partner with the jungle to survive. The game hints at added survival mechanics, enhanced combat maneuvers, and a camouflaging system. They also hinted at deeper and more frequent Tombs and an entire underwater ecosystem to explore.
Big Updates for Final Fantasy XIV
Fans will be excited to hear that a brand new expansion is coming to the beloved MMORPG titled Under the Moonlight. Additionally, Square-Enix is collaborating with Capcom to bring a series of Monster Hunter World crossovers to the game. The trailer showed a Palico teaming up with a hero to fight a Rathian.
Just Cause 4 Expanded and Promising
Just Cause 3 felt a decline in the series’ standard for most players, and 4 appears to outdo all its predecessors in the best ways. They revealed Gabriella, Rico’s prime antagonist who leads an insurgent militia. But for Just Cause, gameplay is what truly matters. They promised more intelligent AI functionality, enhanced draw distances across the vast island, and many other functions. The game also looks gorgeous. It will release on December 4th of this year, a favored time-slot for the series.
Everything Else
Several more games were shown, but not much can be said. Dontnod showed another look at The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, which will be releasing for free on June 26th and serves as a precursor to Life is Strange 2.
A wonderous trailer was given for the upcoming Western release of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. A good look was provided at the protagonist and the main companions. Dragon Quest XI releases in the West on September 4th.
Octopath Traveler, the Switch exclusive JRPG from the makers of Bravely Default shows off its gorgeous 16-bit aesthetic. Octopath Traveler follows the branching and interwoven stories of eight heroes and releases on July 13th.
Square-Enix closed the show by providing an extended cut of the Kingdom Hearts III trailer shown at Microsoft’s conference. Kingdom Hearts III will feature many new Disney worlds, including Pixar for the first time and releases on January 29th, 2019.
