by mento
Even more trailer reviews! I know, it's crazy. Pathological, you might even say. This block of fifty starts with the Square Enix E3 Disappointment Zone and proceeds to encompass a whole bunch of Indies and VR games from Day of the Devs and other low-key events; the "meat" of the expo between all the big conferences. Shout outs to @marino once again for all his hard work uploading every trailer ever made to Giant Bomb in the span of a week. Before the end of June, we'll come back one last time for Part Four and all the Nintendo goodies from their E3-adjacent Direct.
If you're just joining us, consult the table below for the previous lists for E3 2021 including a rundown of everything I chose to leave out this year (mostly for the sake of my own sanity). We have other Trailer Blazers going as far back as 2016 too; I haven't checked in a while, but I wonder if there's anything in that list that still hasn't come out...?
| Trailer Blazers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| E3 2016 | E3 2017 | E3 2018 (Part One) | E3 2018 (Part Two) |
| E3 2019 (Part One) | E3 2019 (Part Two) | E3 2019 (Part Three) | E3 2019 (Part Four) |
| E3 2021 (Part One) | E3 2021 (Part Two) | E3 2021 (Part Three) | E3 2021 (Part Four) |
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The... Fridge: It's the Xbox Series X/S Fridge, the one console guaranteed not to overheat. The Trailer(s): What's important is that Microsoft's having fun in the midst of this console component shortage, eagerly anticipating the number of kids who'll receive a familiar looking rectangular prism for Christmas only for dad to come along and open it up for a quick Coors Lite before dinner. "Really cool, eh?" he'll dadjoke to the unresponsive child, whom has suddenly been forced to countenance the harsh truths of reality versus expectation. A new Xbox is not forthcoming. Perhaps they can find succor in their father's alcohol instead? The Response: Maybe. It's a pretty neat mini-fridge. Think I'd rather have a Series X though.
The Game: A single-player action-RPG that only looks like a four-player co-operative shooter from Eidos Montreal (Thief). The Trailer(s): It would've taken longer to watch all of Guardians of the Galaxy's videos than to complete some of the Indie games shown off this E3, such was Square Enix's lack of anything else to show. As a somehow douchier Peter Quill, the player guides the rest of the Guardians through one misadventure to the next, growing closer or more distant with each of them determinant on Telltale-style binary choices in the story. The Response: Maybe. I like the Guardians movies, but with everything I'd heard about the Avengers game - which also uses the same team seen in the MCU, but completely different character models like we don't know what's going on - there's reason to be skeptical about it. It'll be a wait and see for sure.
The Game: A stealth FPS from Square Enix Montreal (Hitman Go). The Trailer(s): I guess we're doing the sniper thing because that's like the most straightforward and expected way to kill someone in the core Hitman series, but from all the Giant Bomb Hitman streams I've watched I think the actual most common cause of death is that duck grenade. I suppose you can't have a game called Hitman Duck Grenadiers: A Quack Team of Assassins but at least it would be a little more honest. The Response: Maybe. I like that Agent 47's "disappeared" rather than "no longer available because we don't own that studio any more" but I'm not so attached to this universe to care too much about a smaller spin-off. If I can watch Dan Ryckert shoot an evil rich jerk in the balls though, that's good enough for me.
The Game: A four-player live service co-operative action RPG from PlatinumGames (Star Fox Zero). The Trailer(s): Much like the Tower of Babel itself, my hopes for Babylon's Fall continued to build up to the heavens only to be dashed to the ground by an act of God. God, in this case, is this new trailer for Babylon's Fall which makes it clear that this will be some odious live service thing built for multiplayer rather than Platinum getting their Dark Souls gothic fantasy on with NieR Automata's combat system. At least the character voices are funny. The Response: Maybe. Big maybe. They could still pivot again before this thing's out.
The Game: An adventure game from Deck Nine Games (Life is Strange: Before the Storm). The Trailer(s): Something a little on the nose about a Life is Strange sequel where weaponizing emotions is now part of the core gameplay as well as the franchise mission statement. As empath Alex Chen, the player investigates her brother's sudden demise by reading people's auras and digging into their psychological trauma. Sounds like a hoot. There was a True Colors reveal trailer a few months back, so for a bit of fun they brought in a contributing musician to introduce this refresher. The Response: Sure. I've been meaning to try Life is Strange 2 now that it's fully released, so maybe once that's done I'll find my way to Haven Springs to find out if amber really is the color of her energy.
The Game: An action-RPG from Team Ninja (Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball). The Trailer(s): You know what? When the blond guy from Crazy Town says he's going to kill Chaos I believe it. Not just because he says it about five times in this trailer, but because of the sheer determination in his voice. Since this is a Final Fantasy 1 prequel it seems unlikely he'll actually do so, but he'll get closer than most I'm sure. We all love the "killing Chaos" line but my favorite part is right at the end when Garland!Chaos leaps right at the heroes and lands a little early, with a slightly irritated grunt suggesting that he overestimated how far he could jump in solid plate armor. The Response: Sure. I love Nioh and early reports from those who played the FFO demo suggest that while the story is some rough edgelord shit right now they have most of the gameplay fundamentals in place and... well, it's Final Fantasy Nioh. I'm down for that.
The Game: A four-player co-operative shooter (but VR!) from Vertigo Games (Adam's Venture). The Trailer(s): I'm not sure what's more inconceivable - that we have our twenty-seventh co-op shooter trailer this E3 or that these devs expect anyone who owns a VR headset to have three friends that also own a VR headset. Generally, if you have VR you are known in your circle of friends as "the one of us that has VR" or alternatively "the one of us that maybe should be more careful with their money". I dunno, this is more zombie shooting, who could possibly care at this point with all the options available. The Response: Nah. I mean, of course, first day purchase. (And I wish the devs the best, no VR game can be all that easy to make.)
The Game: A rhythm action game from Joy Way (Stride). The Trailer(s): Looking at the vast library of VR games and seeing only shooting galleries and Beat Saber, a bold voice rang out: "What if we did both of those at the same time?" And so that has led, inextricably, to this point. A point we are all fortunate to be alive to see. The advent of That Thing I Just Said. (D'aww, it's a cute idea for a VR game, I'm just cranky because it's super humid today.) The Response: Nah. I have a million things I'd spend money on before a VR headset. Like any of the new consoles, for instance.
The Game: A VRMMORPG from Alta (new studio). The Trailer(s): Now this is a little more intriguing - it's like a Fantasy Life (or any MMO that has crafting professions) but all in VR. I love how all the villagers are disembodied VR avatars, that way no-one has to feel self-conscious about being some hovering wraith, though I do a little feel bad for anyone who wastes their character building points on becoming a cobbler. The graphics could use some work, though I recognize there are limitations in a VR game where the framerate has to stay super high. Hell, didn't hurt Minecraft any. The Response: Nah. But only because of the VR snag discussed above. And also that I don't care for MMOs. Otherwise, sign me up.
The Game: A skeet-skiing game from nDreams (The Assembly). The Trailer(s): I wasn't sure about this one until the protagonist said "we've got company" at which point I was 100% on board. We need more innovative dialogue in our shooter games and I was happy to see this one step up to the plate and knock it out of the park. Now if only they told someone that they could do this the hard way or the easy way, and then inform them that "you just don't get it, do you" if they answered wrong. Cover me, I'm going in for The Response. The Response: Nah. I'm just having some fun with yet another VR game I shall never play. Seems more ambitious than that VR zombie stuff earlier at least.
