It’s that time of year again – E3! What was once an industry-exclusive trade show has become North America’s biggest source of video game announcements and other game-related news for fans and professionals alike. We’ve condensed the best announcements into a daily highlight reel to really feature what we believe are the best games to come.
Today is another full one, with loads of smaller events instead of a handful of larger ones; the Indie Showcase, Freedom Games’ Showcase, and Capcom’s Showcase are arguably the most interesting. There are also presentations by the likes of Intellivision, Verizon, and VENN. The indie showcase was sadly lacking in variety (lots of shooting stuff in space), but then Freedom Games comes in and basically knocks it out of the park with the indie titles it will be publishing.
Put in a hard day’s work at this lifelike dog shelter management sim
When I say To The Rescue is lifelike, I don’t mean the graphics; those are cute, undoubtedly, but cartoon-like. Instead, I mean the experience. This isn’t an ideal dog rescue. It’s not just playing with puppies and grooming and sending the pups on their merry way with a new family. Instead, it’s dirty, it’s overcrowded, some dogs are sick, and most importantly (and unfortunately), not all dogs are seen as equally adoptable in the eyes of future owners. Players will be upgrading the shelter, managing disease outbreaks, learning the dogs’ individual preferences, and making really difficult decisions.
20% of profits from To The Rescue will be donated to The Petfinder Foundation, so if you needed an extra push to buy it, there it is! The Petfinder Foundation is a North American non-profit that gives grants to shelters/rescues to increase their adoption program effectiveness and prevent the need for euthanasia; I’m literally crying just thinking about how many dogs have been saved, and how many still need saving. I’m in an adopt-don’t-buy family (literally the only time we don’t adopt from a rescue is when we find a stray animal ourselves) and the game’s content and the cause it supports mean so much to everyone I love the most.
Monster-tamer plus JRPG Coromon coming to Nintendo Switch
I’ve been following along with Coromon’s development for awhile now, so you can imagine my excitement to see it pop up during Freedom Games’ Showcase as a title that the publisher will be bringing to Nintendo Switch. Coromon is a charming monster taming game that brings JRPG elements to the formula – so think, say, Final Fantasy plus Pokémon. Originally planned only for a PC release, partnering with Freedom Games has allowed Coromon’s developer (TRAGsoft) not only the ability to launch on a console, but also the resources required to add online battles, cross-platform cloud saves, more monsters, more side quests, and more areas. Because of these additions, the launch timeline has moved from Q3 2021 to Q1 2022, but I’m pretty certain the wait will be worth it.
To view the entire Freedom Games Showcase on YouTube, click here.
No objections here, your honour
Capcom makes quite a variety of games: its Showcase included Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Ace Attorney. This isn’t the Phoenix Wright we have all grown to love; The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles comprises of two games featuring a 19th century relative of Wright’s. Ryunosuke Naruhodo. The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve have both been released only in Japan, and this is the first time each is making its way West – the fact it’s a bundle with both is just a bonus!
Taking place in Japan and London, Ryunosuke works with his legal aid (Susato Mikatoba) to defend alleged criminals being convicted of heinous crimes. In London, they team up with none other than Herlock Sholmes (I’ll never stop laughing at this) who is a bit more of a menace than one would hope. He’ll try to use his flawed power of deduction, and the defense duo will have to use Dance of Deduction to see through Sholme’s over-enthusiastic assumptions. The game also features another new tool, Summation Examination. Ryunosuke can quiz individual jury members about their logic and pit jurors against other jurors to force the trial to continue. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles features ten new cases, eight “mini-escapades,” and a good amount of bonus content. It will launch next month, on July 27, for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
To view the entire Capcom Showcase on YouTube, click here.
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
