E3 came and went last week and we were live in Los Angeles, California for the iconic gaming event. We met with many great publishers and developers and had the opportunity to play a lot of promising games in closed door appointments and on the show floor. A lot gets packed in to this week, so we have put together a recap for the event to give the Fextralife community a behind the scenes look at what went down.

Sony Press Conference

Our week began with Sony’s press conference, a limited invite only engagement. We mingled in the sun outside the theater and we entered to find a full orchestra warming up in the pit. Confusion gave way to revelation as the conference began with a thunderous introduction to God of War. The energy did not let up, as the orchestra proceeded to accompany every single trailer presented to the audience! They were impeccable and so spot on that we at times forgot the music was live. It was a brilliant performance overlaid on a presentation that was light on chit chat and heavy on games. Horizon Zero Dawn was shown at length here and fans were blown away by the progression of Guerilla’s new RPG.

Some other highlights of the Sony conference were the unveiling of the new Kojima game, Death Stranding, a new Spider Man game from Insomniac, Days Gone, a new zombie survival game, and a remaster of the Crash Bandicoot series. All in all it was a sensory assault and we left the show very impressed.

The Games

Our first day of meetings began with Paradox Interactive and Obsidian Entertainment where we got our first look at Tyranny, the twisted sequel to Pillars of Eternity. From there we visited with our friends CD Projekt Red and their impressively themed booth (complete with spot-on Geralt cosplay!) for a first hand playthrough of their new full release of the popular Witcher card game Gwent, followed by a wonderful interview with director Ben Lee and animator Brad Auty. Gwent was not to be outdone this week as they put up a HUGE banner on the side of a building.

We finished the day with a lengthy look at the impressive Kingdom Come: Deliverance with the exuberant Warhorse Studios followed by well earned beverages and grub!

Day 2  began at Perfect World, where we got a look at some long standing MMOs Star Trek Online and Neverwinter, and the fun cooperative top down shooter, Livelock. Next we had a lengthy look at the promising Elex from Nordic Games and were able to give it a go ourselves. Maybe we got a heal boost from a compassionate dev, maybe we didn’t…

We made our way afterwards to Focus Home Interactive and were given a tour de force of The Surge, The Technomancer and Vampyr. After checking those games out, we had an opportunity to sit with Spiders’ CEO, Jehanne Rousseau and chat at length about the development of The Technomancer. It was an insightful interview and we really enjoyed Focus’ presentation.

We finished the day out at Neocore to try out Warhammer and we then made our way to Bethesda’s mega-booth and had some hands on time with The Elder Scrolls Legends after we checked out some of the larger than life displays!

On the last day of E3 we got a long look at Nioh and Attack on Titan, but not before we had an amazing interview with director Fumihiko Yasuda. We came away with some great answers about Nioh, one of our most wanted games! Thanks to everyone in the community who submitted so many great questions!

Afterwards we stopped by Bandai Namco’s booth and got a look at the soon to release Necropolis, and passed an old friend along the way in Dark Souls 3. Ah, memories!

We finished the day at Devolver Digital’s rebellious parking lot installation across the street from the convention center where we had an opportunity to play Absolver, the new Souls inspired combat RPG from developer Sloclap.

The Show Floor

In between our game showings, we took some time to cruise around the main show floors and they were packed! All the heavy hitters were present with epic displays, like Bethesda, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom and more.

Publishers really go all out on the show floor, with multi-level displays and set pieces designed to draw gamers to their stations like moths to flame. It works.

Fextralife’s E3 Coverage

We spent every free moment pumping out the content for the community, bringing looks at some of the brightest upcoming RPGs. Take a look at some of the previews and interviews we put together for your viewing pleasure:

• Mass Effect Andromeda Trailer
• Skyrim Special Edition Announced
• Elder Scrolls Online Bethesda Showcase Updates
• Nioh E3 2016 Trailer
• Fextralife’s Most Wanted: Gwent E3 2016
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance E3 Demo Details
• Gwent Interview with CD Projekt Red
• Elex: When Sci-Fi Meets Fantasy
• The Surge: Mech-Borne
• Nioh Interview with Fumihiko Yasuda
• Vampyr: Shades of Red Preview
• Absolver: Unforgiving by Design
• The Technomancer Revealed: Interview with Spiders
• The Elder Scrolls Legends: Forging a Deal
• Necropolis: Dungeon Souls
• Tyranny: When Evil Wins

Fextralife’s Best of E3 Awards

No retrospective is complete without some high points, so we took a look back and selected some of the bright spots. We will say this: we didn’t see a single bad game. RPGs are hitting a golden age and fans of the genre which many in the community are should be excited for the future. There will not be any immediate shortage of great RPGs for players to dig into (and wiki makers to make wikis for). What follows are some of the torch bearers for the next crop of games.

Best Action: Nioh

Nioh really stole the show here. It was a bit of a readjustment having gone some time between playing the alpha demo, but once we got our sea legs we were hooked all over again. The game is challenging but addicting and after every death we couldn’t wait to come back for more. The modification of durability made the game that much more addicting as you could really focus on your attacks and mastering your weapon. This game is going to be a gem. Absolver earns an honorable mention here, as in its early stages it has shown the potential to be another layered action RPG.

Best Visuals: The Surge

The Surge is gorgeous. In addition to boasting fluid action, the colors and lighting are the vibrant winners of the show for us. Every piece of mech gear popped with color, shadows looked hyper real and the up close finishing dismemberment were visceral and satisfying. Deck 13 is quickly becoming a visual standard bearer in gaming. Horizon Zero Dawn also delivered on some amazing vistas and is receiving some much deserved attention as well.

Most Immersive: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes this one in a runaway. This is going to be one of those games where 8 hours have gone by before you’ve realized it. The attention to detail at every level is mind-blowing, and every decision requires a ton of thought. We were constantly amazed with the ramifications of our choices, and just how much freedom we have to alter the landscape of the world. We want this game yesterday.

Most Intriguing: Vampyr

Vampyr had flown under our radar, but no longer. We caught a glimpse of it on one of the screens in Focus Interactive’s booth while waiting for our demos to begin. When the presentation for it began, we were immediately drawn in to its unique gameplay and setting. It features a slow sense of pace that instantly become a frenetic and fluid Bloodborne like combat system and the freedom of choice lets you create as challenging an experience as you want. Tyranny and its limitless possibilities was a close consideration here as well.

Most Fun: Gwent

Games are fundamentally about having a fun time, right? As basic a premise as that is, so often that element is lost in design. Gwent brought us back to what games are all about and gave us a pure sense of enjoyment for the entire play session. This game is going to be always near the top of our currently playing list. Fun need not be shallow either, as the game’s redesigned mechanics give plenty of room for complexity of approach. Plan on it featuring as much depth as any RPG. Games like Gwent and the Elder Scrolls Legends are showing that games can be approachable for everyone at once, without having to make concessions or “casualizing”. We can’t wait for the beta.

Closing Thoughts

That’s a wrap for another great week at E3. The show continues to grow year after year as the entire industry comes into its own. We left encouraged for the future of gaming and excited for the wealth of games coming in the next couple of years as development for the current gen hits its stride. We may have to lobby for an 8 day week to play them all! We’ll continue to monitor the progress of all of these games and more as we head into the second half of 2016 and a jam packed first half of 2017. Check back with us for all the latest, and keep getting your voices heard on the blog, forums and wikis as we continue to deliver the best community driven content in gaming!

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