Fearless readers, it is time.
It’s the 2019 E3 Xbox briefing, and in less than 2 minutes we’ll be getting our first glimpses of what this years show holds in store for us.
With no Sony presence this year, it’s Xbox and Nintendo’s show with a smattering of developers joining in, and with all of the leaks, are there any other surprises left to unveil?
Let’s find out!
First up – We’re seeing Obsidian’s newest – The Outer Worlds – with a Bioshock meets Borderlands vibe – creepy, overwhelming, outer space government control with cel shaded styling.
Second is Ninja Theory, one of Xbox’s newest acquisitions, showing off Bleeding Edge. A very Overwatch-esque 4v4 3rd person shooter. Check out our write up about the leak from yesterday here.
We then dive right Ori – Will of the Wisps! One of the games I’ve been most interested in since the last announcement. We’re shown more of Ori’s beautiful art style with a significant upgrade in actions and weapons – including what seems to be a powered whip and something that acts like a bow and arrow – dropping Feb 11th, 2020.
Next up is a new game from Mojang, the creators of Minecraft – Minecraft Dungeons – a 4 player online and local co-op game that looks almost Diablo meets Minecraft. Dropping Spring 2020. I guarantee both of my kids will make me play this nonstop when it drops.
Next is Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order – which if you’ve been watching the EA coverage, you’ve seen the 15 minute gameplay video. Respawn’s first jump into the Star Wars world looks pretty solid, with awesome combat – just ignore the janky looking Wookies until it’s out of alpha on 11/15/19.
Next we get a very creepy first person horror game, with a dog named Bullet, set in 1996. Holy hell it’s a Blair Witch video game!!!
CD PROJEKT RED IS UP. GET HYPED.
Cyberpunk 2077 looks insane. Our protagonist is meeting a contact for a business deal at a No Tell Motel – and in flashback we see our buddy Jackie Wells bleeding out in the back of a combat ready cab. The deal, as expected, goes south and our protagonist is forced to used his cybernetic enhancements to take down some backstabbing punks.
OH MY GOD KEANU REEVES IS A CHARACTER IN THE GAME AND HE’S ONSTAGE AT E3! I’M OFFICIALLY FREAKING THE HELL OUT.
everyone @ keanu reeves#XboxE3 pic.twitter.com/ZJh3twHHd8
— Peter Hayes (@ThatPeterHayes) June 9, 2019
Keanu is telling the audience about Cyberpunk 2077. My worlds are colliding, and I’m loving this. This is the best replacement that they could have ever found for Reggie.
RELEASE DATE: 4/16/2020 – CAN I ORDER THE COLLECTORS EDITION NOW? SOMEONE HELP ME.
I can’t even imagine what the last game of this show is going to be after they dropped Keanu fucking Reeves on us half way through.
BATTLETOADS ARE BACK – A super cartoony beat-up up, with all three toads – with 3 player couch co-op. Includes the must have jetcycle level. This actually feels a little disappointing to me, as I was hoping for more of a big AAA title with Battletoads.
The Legend of Write is next – a game that loos to be based on someone’s notebook – with pencils coming in and drawing treasure boxes, and tabletop like elements mixed in as the UI – seeming like someone is playing the game at their kitchen table while drawing the entire adventure. Quirky and interested – drops in 2020.
Looks like we’re about to get a speed-round of ID@Xbox titles – Tabs (Totally Accurate Battle Simulator), The GoodLife, CrossCode, Creature in the Well(this one looks cool), Riverbond, Unto the End, Blazing Chrome, a Lord of the Rings card game, and Felix the Reaper, all available at launch on Gamepass.
New Gamepass titles announced that drop today include Arkham Knight, Metro Exodus, Hollow Knight, and Borderlands The Handsome Collection. I literally just re-bought Hollow Knight to replay it on Xbox, but I don’t care because Team Cherry is the best and they deserve all my money.
Also, Xbox Game Pass for PC launched today in open beta.
Next up, another world premier – lots of shots of cities, airports, and planes – Some sort of flight simulator? Looks insanely gorgeous in 4k. Microsoft Flight Simulator – must be the biggest open world game yet – with all the crazy cities across the globe they showed.
Age of Empires II – Definitive Edition is up next – in 4K. Looks absolutely gorgeous, and gives me a chance to replay a game I first played on a creaky old PC, in a much more intense
Next is something that looks like a isometric strategy post apocalyptic game set in Colorado, with a drunken bearded narrator…Wasteland 3!
HOLY SHIT – DOUBLE FINE JUST GOT ACQUIRED BY XBOX!
Tim Schafer has all the money and power he now needs to create more amazing and hilarious games, and he’s onstage with a new trailer for PsychoNauts 2!
More crazy platforming, with that Double Fine aesthetic we all love – and the brain symbol is what I think Phil Spenser was rocking on his t-shirt.
Lego Star Wars is up next – with a collected edition of all nine films – The Skywalker Saga, coming in 2020.
Annapurna games’ latest is up, 12 minutes, a very interesting and unsettling, top down view game that seems to be about time-loops, a married couple, a past murder, and a odd mystery.
Way to the Woods – a game seeming set in Japan, with a pair of deer roaming through a seemingly uninhabited city (nuclear fall-out?) and trying to get home.
Gears of War 5 time! We’re watching Kait – this edition’s protagonist – go through a very creepy range of emotions and what seems to be a slight transformation into the Swarm as she stares at us through the screen. Rod Ferguson is now on stage, rocking a skull scorpion t-shirt.
July 17th – A tech test drops with a new Arcade mode
August – new Horde mode.
New footage of the Escape mode – a 3 player co-op mode – which looks like a heavy objective based mode – get in, drop a bomb, and get out. Looks like either highly customizable multiplayer charactesr or Gears’ usual quirky options. I’m usually more of a Gears singleplayer guy, but this looks pretty insane, even if it is just a trailer. You can also
Release date – September 10th 2019, and you can play 4 days early if you join Gamepass Ultimate. If you pre-order or play within the first week, looks like you can play the Terminator: Dark Fate character pack – a skin for multiplayer.
New hardware time – Elite controller V2 – with adjustable tension thumbsticks, new triggers, with 3 short settings for quick fire, three custom profiles, bluetooth connectivity, internal recharging battery, and a charge dock. This is a day one purchase for me.
Dying Light 2 – more zombie parkour goodness, with i think Troy Baker as our protagonist. Drops Spring 2020.
Forza Horizon 4 time, with a Lego Speed Champoins pack, Lego cars, Lego crowds, and my kids are screaming and I can’t hear anything else that’s happening anymore. This looks adorable, and if the controls are a little more forgiving, I can see my kids suddenly interesting in playing Forza. There’s a Maclaren, made entirely out of Lego on the E3 stage right now. That’s kind of unreal.
Lego Speed Champions launches this week!
Gears Pop – a mobile game for iOS and Android that mixes Funko with brutally murdering the Swarm, is up next. This feels weird to me, as this is not something I want my kids to be associated with at all, until they’re older.
State of Decay 2 – Heartland – an expansion that is available now from Gamepass has two fully independent stories with lots of branching paths.
Sega is adding cross-play enabled Phantasy Star Online 2 to Xbox One, bringing Japan’s biggest online RPG to the states – Free to Play in 2020.
Next is Crossfire X – a new release from Smilegate. Looks like a military flavored shooter, with special forces vs corporate operatives. The trailer has a jet fighter blowing up an entire city building to kill the operatives inside, and then dives into a massive battle scene with tanks, mortars, aircraft, and what seems to be huge player numbers.
Bandai Namco is up next, with a very colorful game that screams JRPG. Fire demons, Knights, Female warriors releasing swords from their chests, this is the game that leaked over the weekend – Tales of Arise.
2K and Gearbox are dropping some Borderlands 3 trailer goodness, with character names, mech combat, fire breathing t-rexes, and all the guns you can shake a loot box at. There’s a new DLC called Commander Lilith that is out today, that sets the stage for Borderlands 3. Drops 9/13/19.
Next – Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin’s new game- Elden Ring – very souls-esque disturbing imagery, a blacksmith crafting a weapon that is breaking their own body apart, massive boss enemies, and very little else to go on. With the ominous music, odd characters, and strange plot pieces, this feels like a jump back from the straightforward plot of Sekiro, and more of a Souls game series.
Phil is back on stage, talking about Project XCloud – the hybrid game cloud option, and new console news – designed for only one thing – gaming. They’re talking about reducing load times – SSD console?
New release is going to be 4X more powerful than the Xbox One X, with framerates up to 120 frames per second and 8K resolution. Yep – SSD!
Halo Infinite footage – granted, it’s in the context of the new console…launch title?
Project Scarlett – Holiday 2020. HALO LAUNCH TITLE!
Halo Infinite Trailer – showing a human desperately trying to contain a breach in his spaceship. A father watches a holographic recording of his daughter as he’s adrift in a cold and dying ship, when a friendly signal is detected – and it’s Master Chief, adrift in space, in his newest iteration of the Mjolnir armor. He looks like the classic Halo 2 Chief, with no Cortana available.
Next we’re shown a destroyed Halo ring, and Chief does his usual – jump out of space ship to destroy something, and ends up inside a Halo ring with Cortana speaking. Is he going back to the original ring to find a copy of his partner in crime?
That’s a wrap everyone – my wallet is already wincing at the beating it’s going to be taking over the next few years. Bring on Nintendo!
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