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While this article is going to be about what I enjoyed most from E3 2021, I first gotta start with some negativity. E3 has getting more and more pointless each year and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have kicked that into overdrive. There wasn't a single massive reveal or surprise release date given this E3. 15 months into having to work from home and the games industry still doesn't seem to have figured out how to collaborate remotely. I would bet serious cash that the majority of games shown at E3 2021 aren't coming out until 2022 or beyond. It's bonkers!

But whatever, there were still some very cool things shown even if we already knew about their existence.

Back 4 Blood

We've known about Back 4 Blood for a long time but it is good to finally see it get a concrete release date. I am really looking forward to this spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead and cannot wait to play it in October.

Shin Megami Tensei V

Anyone whose read this blog regularly knowns I absolutely love the Persona video games. What you may not know is that they are actually a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei games, of which I have never played a single one. I intend to change that with Shin Megami Tensei V.

12 Minutes

While this may be the third straight game that we've known existed before E3, I am still very excited about 12 Minutes. I am a sucker for story based games and the unique concept of you repeating the same twelve minutes of time over and over again has me intrigued.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

Finally something that was announced at this E3! Surprisingly I never played the original Advance Wars which is quite odd since I am such a fan of turn-based tactics games. I intend to rectify that mistake this December.

Age of Empires IV

It's been a while since I played a real-time strategy game so I'm sure Age of Empires IV will scratch that itch this October.

Orcs Must Die! 3

These are the sort of weird announcements we're getting at this E3. One of the more exciting things is simply confirmation that a Stadia exclusive game is coming to other platforms. I love tower defence and will be playing Orcs Must Die! 3 in July but this being one of the "best in show" is pretty depressing.

Babylon's Fall

I am very concerned about Babylon's Fall. On one hand it is made by PlatinumGames (who I absolute love) which immediately makes me interested in the combat. But on the other hand I am very worried about it being a live service game. Generally speaking I think I've outgrown the constant grind for new cosmetics or whatever. But this is PlatinumGames so maybe they'll surprise me.

Battlefield 2042

The Battlefield series holds a very special place in my heart. So when I see a Battlefield 2042 trailer using a cover of Mötley Crüe's Kickstart My Heart, I just can't help but get excited. We'll see if I'm in the mood for a multiplayer shooter this October.

Somerville

Somerville is from one of the co-founders who made Limbo which immediately puts it on my radar.

Metroid Dread

I am not a huge fan of games like Resident Evil 3: Nemesis where an indestructible monster constantly chases the player around. Fingers crossed that Metroid Dread makes use of this trope sparingly because otherwise it is great to see a 2D side-scrolling Metroid game again.

WarioWare: Get It Together!

Either you'll love WarioWare: Get It Together! or you won't. There will be no middle ground.

Two Point Campus

Two Point Hospital was a really fun game for about 20 hours before it became stale and repetitive. I can only hope that Two Point Campus has learned from its predecessor.

Slime Rancher 2

I have written about my experiences with Slime Rancher and so my feeling about this announcement is mixed. I loved the first 10 hours of the game but then it became tedious. I'll be interested to see what sort of improvements they've made to the sequel.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

This is undoubtedly my dark horse. While we weren't expecting a Guardians of the Galaxy game what was announced was really weird. It seems like every member of the Guardians will be on screen at all times and yet this isn't a co-op game, it's single-player and not a live-service game. There is potential for the story if they nail the comedy of the films. But the design is fairly bland and the combat didn't look very inspiring either. But even after saying all that I am still holding out hope that someone it is all going to come together and make a fun game.

Halo Infinite

I really just need Halo Infinite to come out so I can stop holding out hope that it is going to be good.

Elden Ring

I really do enjoy the combat and world design of From Software games but their lack of respect for a player's time just grates on my more and more as I get other. I'm still interested in Elden Ring but I suspect that if it doesn't come out during a slow release period I'm sure it will lose my interest to another game.