e3 2018: PC Games To Look Forward To
The Electronic Entertainment Expo is coming at us and with it some of the hottest games of the next year will be announced. Over the course of a week filled with press conferences, interviews, and show floor drops, some huge games are announced every year. Past years have seen such surprises as the release of the Beyond Good and Evil 2 cinematic, the announcement of Fallout 4 mere months before the game's release, and the announcement of the Final Fantasy VII remaster.
I’ve researched a list of the top PC games that will be at the show. To be clear, this is a small list of just what we know will be at the show. Most companies have been playing very close to the chest on this one. One of the games is only here because Walmart accidentally leaked the title. Ubisoft are keeping a AAA title in their back pocket for their press conference. And Microsoft is calling for an Epic Reveal on Sunday. What those could be are anyone’s best guess and speculation flows across the internet like water.
What we do know for sure is that these games will absolutely be there. In no particular order.
*Note* In between this article being finished and going live several new games have been announced. This includes Fallout 76, Vampyr, and Skull and Bones. Sorry.
Confirmed
Adventure Time: Pirates of Enchiridion
Finn, Jake, and the gang set out on the high seas of adventure.
From Climax games and Outright Studios comes the next adventure of Finn and Jake. This open world adventure game has the pair of friends sailing around a flooded Land of Ooo while battling pirates in a quest to learn what happened to raise the water level. With help from BMO and Marceline you sail around the world, exploring the different kingdoms, and progressing your characters in this RPG. A big draw for me is the game is voiced by the show's original cast.
Anthem
Anthem, BioWare's new looter shooter, debuted last year. Let's hope they can keep the good vibes going.
From BioWare and EA is a sentence that probably excites and scares most of us. I know it does me. Anthem is a looter shooter multiplayer game that focuses on flying around in battle suits and fighting creatures in a hostile world. The reveal trailer last year was a huge hit. It had exciting visuals, enough cues to indicate some of the systems, and left the audience with questions about the world.
From BioWare, the wonderful people who brought us Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Knights of the Old Republic we could be getting an amazing experience. One that could mimic Destiny but have the characterization and charm of the world building that BioWare is known for. That’s something to be excited about. However, EA is a part of this equation. They recently gave us the disastrous Star Wars: Battlefront II which caused one cash grab related problem after another. Also, EA taking people from the Mass Effect: Andromeda project to put them on Anthem is reportedly why it ended as badly as it did. We can hope that EA learned from its past mistakes and just let BioWare do its job. Unfortunately, there are a lot of good developers crushed on the rocks behind EA. I’ll be hopeful for this, just not optimistic.
Battlefield 5
Battlefield has always been a huge presence in the gaming world.
EA has promised a reveal for the next battlefield game on May 24th. While they’ve kept the details quite up to this point the game will be at E3. Battlefield is one of the top tier FPS games. Based around squad combat, Battlefield has commanded a lion’s share of the FPS audience with more than 50 million people playing worldwide at one point. They haven’t said what platforms the new edition of the game will be on. Battlefield has been played on PC since the beginning so it’s a pretty good bet the new one will be too.
It will also be interesting to see if EA goes with the popular Battle Royale trend. Battlefield tends to focus on squad combat so a single player Battle Royale mode would be a departure for the series but they could justify a team based variant. Whether they do or pass, it’s going to be an interesting conversation going forward.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Getting ready for the new Black Out Mode with all of your favorite specialists.
From Treyarch and Activision, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a multiplayer FPS with a long history behind it. This addition is coming with some big changes. They are losing the single player campaign in favor of sprinkling the multiplayer modes with story beats for the individual classes. This will allow you to discover the story behind your character while playing the game. Additionally, they have a more expansive Zombie mode. The game will feature 3 full campaigns at launch feature unique settings that range from a coliseum in ancient Rome to the Titanic.
The biggest new addition is the Blackout Mode. Basically, it’s a Battle Royale. We don’t know yet how many players there will be on a map. We do know you will have access to fan favorites from across the series to play with. The map is the biggest one designed for the series. It also features several locations that are iconic to the game. With the addition of a Battle Royale mode Activision is slamming its foot into the PUBG and Fortnite arenas with a built in audience and history to back it up. Whether it works out or not is going to come down to how much effort they put into the mode. I’m looking forward to hearing how well it plays from the show floor this year.
For Honor
Let the war begin.
From Ubisoft comes For Honor. That’s right For Honor. It took me a minute too. For those of you who don’t know, For Honor is a third person medieval dueling game. You take on the role of a Knight, Viking, or Samurai. Each faction comes with multiple sub-classes with unique weapons and move sets. For Honor was released last year to positive reviews and fun battles. However, since then its player base has slowly been dropping off.
Just now entering season six in their massive campaign system, they are going to have a major presence at E3 this year, according to Ubisoft. A couple of reasons for this could be they want to invigorate the player base and build up more goodwill. They did something similar with Rainbow Six Siege and it’s doing great right now. It’s also possible that they have a new expansion coming. Pirates were a popular want during the game's initial release. Or there could be some other new feature being added to the game. At any rate we should get to see Jason Vandenberghe onstage again and that’s always a win.
Fortnite
Battle Royal or Save the World there are big things coming to Fortnite.
From Epic Games and People Can Fly comes Fortnite. The extremely popular Battle Royale game with the massively entertaining PVE survival mode Fortnite is a joy to be played. One of my favorite games and probably my most played. The funny and challenging Save the World survival mode was the games original focus. Last year they expanded into the free to play Battle Royale market. Both modes are great, though I do prefer Save the World for the humor, challenge, and the fact that I’m good at it. The game was in Alpha for a long time and last year went into early access Beta. Sometime after that Epic added the Battle Royale mode and its popularity took off.
We don’t know what they’ll be announcing at E3 but we do know there’s going to be a party. A massive celebrity pro-am match feature 50 celebrities and 50 streamers going head to head in squads. Who will win, which team will come out on top, and how will the bragging rights be applied? We can only wait and see.
One other thing I learned today is that People Can Fly made one of my favorite games, Bulletstorm. This is going to come up again in just a second.
Rage 2
Rage 2 because we just need a little bit of crazy.
From Id Software and Bethesda, Rage 2 is coming to E3. It’s entirely possible we shouldn’t know about this one. However, a Walmart leak forced their hand and Bethesda decided to drop the trailer and announcement for this last week. After a comet strikes the Earth most of the population is killed. This leaves mutants, tribes, roving gangs, and various other problems wandering the landscape. Giving off amazing vibes of Bulletstorm, see I told you, Rage 2 looks to be the high energy creative murder simulator I’ve been missing in my life.
From the gameplay trailer we get to see the player using a number of interesting weapons, abilities, and jumping around and sliding across the combat area. There is a moment in the trailer where someone is shot with an assault rifle and they are then juggled into the air from the impacts. That made up 40% of Bulletstorm. I am so excited by this my hands are shaking.
Beyond that, the game features some great visuals. It promises an open world, unique environments, a vast array of interesting weapons, fascinating enemies, and a whole lot more. Combine that with Bethesda saying the game would contain zero loot boxes and I am totally on board.
Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass
It's hard not to look awesome with a shotgun and motorbike.
Devolver Digital and Croteam are going to be bringing us Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass. Part send up, part actual shooter, Serious Sam is a beloved franchise held in the hearts of many. Hefting a massive 21 games in its back catalogue Serious Sam 4 is most certainly a welcome addition to the family. Featuring, massive guns, huge crowds, and unique enemies this game is certain to be the center piece of the Devolver Digital press conference.
Tom Clancy’s The Division II
It looks like a harsh winter in the mountains for the Division 2
From Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft, and Red Storm Entertainment comes the Division 2. Not a lot has been revealed about the new sequel in the lead up to E3. The original game involves players running around a nearly complete recreation of Manhattan during a winter where a massive plague has broken out. Players travel into the quarantined zone and fight criminals, gangs, and rogue government agents in an attempt to restore order.
The Division was a very popular game that broke tons of records. Though the player base has dropped off from its initial release there are still tons of folks playing it. Two is supposed to be the next chapter in the story. At E3 we should get to see a trailer and hopefully some gameplay. With the original game focused on the aftermath of the outbreak on Black Friday it has been perpetually winter. With the new expansion, we may move to a new season and different problems associate with it. Or perhaps a new outbreak in a different city. With Manhattan being ground zero for the first game, maybe a new outbreak in Paris, London, or Tokyo is the setting for the second. We can only wait and see what they bring us during the show.
Probable
Beyond Good and Evil 2
A wild crew of pirates look to be at the forefront of Beyond Good and Evil 2.
After an epic reveal at last year’s press conference Ubisoft is bringing Beyond Good and Evil 2 back to the show. The fantastic looking sci-fi adventure game has an amazing cinematic and I’m hoping they can expand on it with some gameplay this year. The BGE2 website has some interesting vlogs and other bits of information to go over and I’m excited to see what E3 brings with it this year.
Sadly, they haven’t announced platforms for the game just yet but I’m hoping we get to see that in June. We’re not certain that this will be released on PC but there’s a possibility since the original was on PC and it seems unlikely that this won’t follow suit. Stranger things have happened. It’s been fifteen years since the original was released and things can change. However it shakes loose, hopefully we’ll get to see something amazing.
Rumored
Below
A stark and striking graphic style sets Below apart from the field.
Originally announced during the Microsoft/X Box show of 2013, Below is a rogue-like exploration game. Below boasts a unique visual style with angular features and a deep perspective. The top down view of the game keeps you at arm’s length with a camera hovering high above the action. The only trailer I’ve been able to find shows a nice look and has decently chilling music.
This may be a long shot. With five years in the design bay, Team Capybara has wanted to get the game just right before moving forward. They must be doing something right to have survived the purge of upcoming games Microsoft launched a few years ago. The rumor right now is that it’s going to be at E3 this year. Sadly, no one on Team Capybara or Microsoft has confirmed this. Fingers crossed on this one.
Cyberpunk 2077
We've been waiting a while for this one. let's hope it's at the show.
CD Projekt Red is stepping away from the Witcher series to bring us Cyberpunk 2077. Based on the popular tabletop RPG and books. Set 50 years from now the teaser shows some pretty icon imagery. It boasts a huge world, multiple classes, and deep character customization in an immersive RPG. I’m a big fan of Cyberpunk and am looking forward to how Projekt Red will handle the property. Witcher is a wonderful game with tons of options, story, and choice. Cyberpunk could certainly benefit from these things.
There’s been no confirmation that they will be at the show. There’s only been a teaser so far, a good one too. They have the release date officially listed as 2019. There’s not a lot to go on that says it’ll be at E3. However, if they want to get it in front of vendors they’ll want to be on hand. Since the teaser has already been released, they probably won’t have much beyond that. Though, any information we do get will be welcome.
Metro Exodus
Set in a world all its own Metro looks to make the harsh world something to face,
4A Games showed off the gameplay trailer for Metro Exodus at last year’s E3. With stunning visuals and beautiful vistas the game looks like it should be a fun time. A new story trailer has dropped and it gives a little more definition to the world. Traveling around Russia during a winter apocalypse with only a train for shelter and mobility. You play the hero who leaves the train in search of supplies, survivors, and any sign of winter letting up.
Metro Exodus is listed for release in Q1 of 2019 and they’re taking pre-orders. That can change but if it remains constant then they’ll want it in people’s hands to build buzz. I’m looking forward to seeing more about the game in hopes of getting a clearer look at the story for this one.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Lara leaps into action with a style all her own.
Billed as the end of the beginning, Shadow of the Tomb Raider should lead us through the last steps of seeing Lara’s story. We should get to see her grow from untested archeologist to the world traveling adventurer we’ve known in the past. The new story the Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have taken us on has been a welcome update for the hero. I’m looking forward to what comes next.
Since we’ve already gotten a trailer for her and there’s been some game play from various media sources I’m looking forward to some new footage. Lara will hit shelves in September so most of the job at E3 will be to build more buzz for the game moving forward. I expect to see some representation with the major consoles and the PC conference. Beyond that, even though it’s not been confirmed I’d be very surprised if we don’t see Lara there in some form.
Life is Strange 2
Please, just please be there.
Real talk folks. This is a dream. This is hope. This is my pie in the sky entry of what I want to see at E3. There are enough things I’m hoping for this year but this one tops the list. The first Life is Strange and all of its additional story telling are easily in my top 3 games of all time. I want this to be at E3 so bad I can taste it.
It’s been slightly past a year since Square Enix and Dontnod Entertainment announced a sequel to Life is Strange 2. The fun, gripping story of Max and Chloe that focused on how two friends with access to a tiny bit of time travel can affect the world around them was one of my most memorable moments in gaming. I cannot begin to explain how gripping and moving this story was on so many levels. There have been few details about the game other than its existence. I’m hoping to learn more about it this year. Ideally we’ll have a release date but I want to know a bit of the story and some of the characters. Also, as much as I love Max and Chloe, I want this story to be about someone else. It doesn’t have to be a new character, but give me a different focus. As much as I love Max and Chloe I think they deserve a break. If they must focus on old characters give us Warren, Victoria, or Kate as new principals. Add in a bit of the supernatural and a chunk of mystery and let’s have at it. Ideally, I’d like a whole new setting but I’ll take what I get and smile the whole time. At least until the first major gut punch.
That’s it folks. Those are the top 15 games I’d like to see at E3 this year. From the confirmed to the fever dream. It’s what I’m looking forward too. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. What are you looking to see? What games do you want to know more about? What’s your wildest wish game? Drop a comment below.
