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Hey now everybody, hope you're all doing well and welcome to my look back at the Best Of E3 2019! This is always an exciting time of year for video game fans all around the world. We get to see what the biggest developers are working on and what new titles we can expect in the near future. You never know what might happen, or what games will be announced, but there's always something to get hyped for. Now, to be honest, this year's event was a little underwhelming for me at first, then it started to pick up steam in the last couple days. One of the biggest influences in gaming right now, Sony, decided not to show up at all and their presence was definitely missed. But there were still plenty of amazing games shown off and I'm going to rundown my Top 5 . So let's kick things off with........
#5 - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
This one really surprised me because I had all but given up on the idea of a new Star Wars game that was actually good. Ever since EA got the rights to this franchise all they've done is put out mediocre multiplayer titles like the last two Battlefront games. This company has a horrible track record and are well known for their shady business practices, so I have a hard time giving them the benefit of the doubt anymore. But during their press conference this year we got a closer look at this new Star Wars game and I couldn't help but get a little excited. It looks very promising, as long as they don't screw it up somehow before it releases and I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye on this one.
Star Wars - Jedi: Fallen Order is a single player action-adventure game developed by Respawn Entertainment. Not much was known about this new project until we got to see a lengthy gameplay demo at this year's E3. It showed protagonist, Cal Kestis, as he made his way through enemy territory to free some imprisoned Wookies that were helping the resistance. We got a look at how we'll be exploring the game's environments and how the combat works. Cal uses a lightsaber and various force powers to take on a variety of enemies in what appears to be a linear, story driven experience. This is exactly what I want in a Star Wars game and I really hope this turns out to be as solid as it looks. Jedi: Fallen Order comes out later this year on November 15, 2019, so we'll have to wait and see until then.
#4 - Elden Ring
One of my favorite developers of the modern era has to be FromSoftware. I absolutely love their signature style of punishing difficulty, mixed with excellent gameplay and incredible worlds to explore. Their track record has been impeccable, from the Dark Souls series, to Bloodborne and with the recent release of Sekiro, they have proven themselves time and time again. So when rumors started to swirl about FromSoftware teaming up with George R. R. Martin, the creator of Game Of Thrones, I couldn't wait to see more about what this might be. During the Xbox conference at this year's E3 we finally got confirmation about this project, but not much to go on besides a short cinematic trailer.
From what we got to see in the E3 trailer it appears to be another action RPG similar to Dark Souls. Since no actual gameplay was shown it's still unclear what the mechanics will be like, but the aesthetics of knights in armor and strange creatures seemed very familiar. Apparently, George R. R. Martin will be creating the mythology and backstory for the world of Elden Ring, while the FromSoftware team builds the actual world around all of that. I wish there was more information about this new title and I'm sure it's still a long ways away, but Elden Ring was definitely one of the biggest game announcements for me personally and I'm very much looking forward to this epic collaboration.
#3 - Cyberpunk 2077 - Release Date and Keanu
For the past few years now at each E3 we've received more and more information about Cyberpunk 2077 and at this point I couldn't be more excited for this game. Developers, CD Projekt Red, have been taking their time with this one, making it into the best possible game it could be and it looks like they've done an amazing job. I was already on board even before this year's E3, but at the Xbox press conference, after a short CG trailer, Keanu Reeves stepped onto the stage and everybody went nuts. It turns out that he will be playing a character in Cyberpunk 2077 and gave a little speech about his involvement in the game. If people weren't hyped for this before I think they certainly are now.
Cyberpunk 2077 is an upcoming RPG developed by CD Projekt Red that's based on the 1988 tabletop game, Cyberpunk 2020. It's an open world game comprised of six distinct regions in the Blade Runner esque Night City, California. You play as a mercenary named V, who gets caught up in the dangerous business of black market dealings and the criminal underground. Your character is fully customisable, with branching classes, perk trees and narrative decisions that will result in different endings. CD Projekt Red have created an incredible, living, breathing world for us to explore. One that's full of interesting stories and characters, with some truly amazing gameplay elements that I can't wait to see more of. This is shaping up to be their most ambitious game yet and we finally get to play it on April 16, 2020.
#2 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake
One of the first games I ever played on the original PlayStation was the phenomenal RPG classic, Final Fantasy 7. That experience introduced me to the world of JRPGs and I've been a huge fan of the genre ever since. I had never seen anything quite like it before on such a large scale. The game went on forever and took you on an epic, sprawling journey, with some excellent characters, making a huge impact on a lot of people. This Remake was first announced years ago and it's been pretty quiet for awhile now, leading many to believe the game was in development trouble. But at the Squre Enix conference this year we got an in depth look at the game, it's stunning visuals, gameplay mechanics and even a release date.
The Remake will retell the story of the original game, following Cloud Strife and a whole cast of characters, as they join together to take down the Shinra corporation who are responsible for draining the planet's life energy. Combat has been updated from the old turn based system to a more modern real time battle system. Visuals have obviously been completely overhauled as well, going from the blocky mess of the original, to the amazing, cutting edge graphics of today. This massive game will be released in multiple episodes, much like Final Fantasy 13, that will all go together to complete the story. We've been waiting a long time for this, but we wont have to wait much longer for the first episode which will come out on March 3, 2020.
#1 - Zelda Breath Of The Wild 2
Nintendo held the final conference of this year's E3 and they came out swinging. From beginning to end almost everything they presented was of high quality, but they were saving the best for last. The main reason I bought a Nintendo Switch in the first place was so I could play Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and the game did not disappoint. It quickly went on to become one of my favorite titles in the entire series. So when Nintendo closed out their conference with the announcement of a sequel I lost my mind a little bit. It's really great to see so many new games heading to the Switch and it's just amazing that they're already showing us Breath Of The Wild 2. Zelda fans all over the world let out a collective cheer at that moment, which was a fantastic way to end E3.
We didn't get a ton of information about the game, only a brief cinematic trailer, so I'm sure we won't be seeing it's release any time soon. There's no official name for it yet and all Nintendo said is that it's in development right now. From the trailer it looks like it will take place in the same world as the original, so I'd assume that will cut development times down by a lot. Most of the assets will be shared between games and are already built, just like Ocarina Of Time and Majora's Mask. The tone of this sequel appears to be much darker than Breath Of The Wild. We got to see Link and Zelda traveling through a creepy cave, while some ominous music plays, when they suddenly come across some kind of zombie creature that comes to life with red, glowing eyes. It was such an awesome surprise and definitely my favorite moment from this year's E3.
These were my Top 5 Games/Moments from E3 2019, but there were lots of other great announcements as well. Watch Dogs: Legion looked interesting, Luigi's Mansion 3, Outer Worlds, Doom Eternal and a big one for me, Final Fantasy 8 Remastered. Feel free to write your favorite moments from E3 2019 down in the comments and thank you for reading my Top 5 List, I hope you enjoyed it!