Here are the nine biggest new game announcements from E3 2018
This year's E3 conference in Los Angeles ushered in some fresh announcements alongside a raft of previously revealed games. As the show draws to a close, here's a selection of the biggest trailers from E3 2018.
CyberPunk 2077
Release date: 2019 on PS4, XBO and PC
Polish studio CD Projekt Red is best known for The Witcher games, an open-world RPG in which you swordfight with elves and get oiled up in magic brothels with forest nymphs. Just as sexy (but far less fantasy) is the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, a first-person roleplaying game in which you, a bionically enhanced undercover merc, can muck about an incredibly detailed and reactive city.
Everything about your character can be customised, from gender and attributes to appearance and clothing, even their backstory is up for your consideration. Fans of Blade Runner, Deus Ex and anything generally neon should take note.
Halo Infinite
Release date TBC
The latest entry in 343’s epic science-fiction shooter series was teased at the Microsoftconference, revealing precisely diddly-squit of Halo Infinite’s gameplay, but giving us a grand old glimpse at the technology that will power the next game
It runs on the new Slipspace engine, capable of rendering vast, open environments, weird alien rhinoceroses and the iconic, shiny copper visor of the series’ returning hero. The trailer (and the game’s current name) suggests Halo Infinite will be an open world adventure unlike previous games in the series. The visuals suggest it might even be destined to launch on whatever next-generation console follows the Xbox One X.
Just Cause 4
Release date: 4 December on PS4, XBO and PC
Just like how you can’t say the word “explosion” without your lips making a nice little exploding shape, you can’t think of the Just Cause games without imagining giant fireballs and mangled bits of charred jeep zipping around in the sky like a Catherine wheel at a bad birthday.
The fourth game was announced at E3, and does extremely little to mess with the winning formula. You are an Italian James Bond with Spider-Man abilities, parachuting and ziplining through jungles and cities, wreaking unspeakable havoc and liberating a fictional world from the clutches of a tinpot dictatorship. New to this entry is extreme weather such as blizzards and tornadoes, as well as some new vehicles, like wrecking balls.
Forza Horizon 4
Release date: 2 October on XBO and PC
A cheap alternative to a plane ticket, the Forza Horizon series has introduced racers to such exotic lands as Australia’s Gold Coast and the south of France. But the fourth game in the racing series will be something of a staycation for British players, offering a huge online map that covers vast swathes of Great Britain from the bleak and foreboding moors of the rugged southwest, to the bleak and foreboding valleys of the highlands.
The addition of tractors, black cabs, hovercrafts and an unpredictable weather system double down on the Britishness of it all.
The Last of Us Part 2
Release date: 2019 on PS4
The highlight of Sony’s busy calendar of upcoming exclusives, The Last of Us Part 2 follows on from the events of the previous game and finds a new protagonist in the form of erstwhile co-star Ellie. The threat from the infected population gives way to a new conflict between factions of human survivors in the post-apocalyptic ruins of America. Moments of action and mega-violence are intercut with serious, emotive and character-driven scenes. It’s all terribly grown up.
Death Stranding
Release date: 2019 on PS4
A game that – as far as anyone can surmise – is about a post-apocalyptic postman who carries a foetus around in a jar on his back to protect himself from time-ghosts, Death Stranding is the latest and strangest project yet from the legendary Hideo Kojima.
The Metal Gear director has created a third-person walking simulator that encompasses sprawling chunks of mountainous countryside, and has you hiking huge distances to deliver parcels and people. At one point in the trailer, the protagonist peels off his toenail. So watch out for that.
Rage 2
Release date: 2019 on PS4, XBO and PC
2011’s Rage was an ambitious and underrated FPS developed by the genre’s steward, and creator of Doom, id Software. The sequel introduces a new co-developer (Avalanche Studios, the Just Cause peeps) and a new punk aesthetic, but retains all the Mad Max style open world vehicular gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Release date: 5 October on PS4, XBO and PC
Approximately the seven hundredth game in the Assassin’s Creed series, Odyssey is set way back in Ancient Greece and, like a lot of other games announced at this year’s conference, will allow you to have full sex with the characters you encounter. Exactly why there are so many thirsty games in the pipeline is a mystery to everybody concerned.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Release date: 25 Jan on PS4, XBO and PC
While the game has been mooted since 2015, attendees of Sony’s press conference were treated to the best look yet at this careful restoration of a beloved PS1 classic.
Resident Evil 2’s refurbished zombies will now enjoy the fidelity of the latest Resident Evil 7 engine. They look good enough to eat.