Sony wraps up this 2016’s E3 conferences with a presentation distinct in tone from the others. There weren’t any dancing clowns, comedy bits, or ten minute speeches. Heck, the in-game dialogue outweighed the presenters by a significant margin, I’d wager. Sony put its full focus on the latest blockbuster experiences and showcased them without fluff.
Game Announcements and Trailers
- The show opened up with a full-on five minute orchestral production, complete with Latin chanting. That segued into a live demo for…God of War. A bearded Kratos mentored a young hunter boy (his son?) on his journey through a forest before encountering some monsters. These were promptly disposed of by the more seasoned hunter before the boy eventually made his first kill.
- A game from Bend Studio called Days Gone was featured. A bounty hunter/biker reminisced over his lost love. A live demo later aired, which showed off motorcycle-riding gameplay and the presence of zombie-hunting gameplay.
- A trailer for a horror game resembling the canned P.T. aired. It turned out to be a first-person Resident Evil VII! A renewed emphasis on quiet, more atmospheric storytelling, it looks like. The game will be playable from start to finish on VR. That’s a new level of terror. It launches on January 24, 2017.
- Hideo Kojima appeared on stage and the crowd went into a frenzy. He showed real-time footage of a handcuffed naked man on a beach cradling a child and staring out at the horizon. It’s all very enigmatic and cryptic at this point, but we do know it’s called Death Stranding.
- Insomniac Games is in charge of the latest Spider-Man game. No name was given besides the hashtag #SPIDERMANPS4
- Sony is working with Activision to remaster the first few Crash Bandicoot games (namely the first, second, and Crash Warped) “from the ground up”. The orange dude will finally appear in Skylanders alongside buddy Spyro.
- A new trailer for The Last Guardian aired. It’s been a decade, but it’s finally coming out this October 25.
- Fresh footage of Horizon Zero Dawn aired. It showed its protagonist utilising explosive traps and taking down corrupted machines in the forest. She eventually tamed some sort of mechanical goat-looking creature and galloped along until it came time to show off the game’s combat system.
- Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human was shown. A persecuted android named Conor failed to save a child from a hostage situation in the first scenario. The game is heavily based on choice making and consequences, though, so he eventually saved her. The game is VR compatible.
- The latest Lego Star Wars, The Force Awakens, looks better than ever. The demo is available right now.
PlayStation VR
- PlayStation VR launches this year for $399 USD. 50 games will be compatible by the end of the year, some of which will be brand new titles specifically designed to utilise it.
- Impulse Gear’s latest game, FarPoint made its debut. Not much was shown but it took place in a desert environment and looked fairly mysterious.
- The recently announced Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission appeared. Looks like that 1993 game re-imagined.
- Joker’s beautifully chilling voice narrated the trailer for the latest Batman game. It’ll be out in October 2016 exclusively on VR.
- A positively gorgeous trailer of a Final Fantasy XV VR spin-off game aired. Don’t mistake those extra letter for roman numerals. You’ll play as Prompto in this one instead of Noctis. There better be VR Chocobo rides. Gear up for September 30.
Sony seems to be taking the world of VR seriously. What are your thoughts on the new peripheral and the company’s announcements?
– Clark A.
Anime Editor
