E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is an event held in Los Angeles where hardware manufacturers and software developers and publishers from the video game industry present new and upcoming products. Our own GameWarp has the coverage. Next up: PC Gaming.
For the third year in a row, the PC Gaming Show makes an appearance with the support of Intel. Their show smaller in scale than the main conferences, it is located at an external location in downtown LA at the Ace Hotel Theatre. The show this year focused on the new hardware by Intel as well as a lot of trailers mostly targeted to the independent game fans. Here’s the highlights.
X-Com 2: War of the Chosen
Then X-Com games are certainly one of our favourite franchises (even if we’re not especially good at them) with X-Com 2 continuing this love onto the latest generation of consoles alongside the traditional PC platform. This latest expansion is being touted as being twice the size of any of the previous expansions as the forces of XCOM find themselves pitted against “The Chosen” a trio of alien champions The Assassin, The Hunter and The Warlock whose sole goal is to eliminate XCOM. At the same time, players can win over the services of three resistance factions which include the gas mask clad “Reapers”, the alien defectors “The Reapers” and the energy sword wielding “Templars”. The game will also see you facing off against “The Lost” who are mutated humans from the original alien invasion and who equally hate the Aliens as much as the human forces bringing a whole new dimension to gameplay. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen will launch on August 29, 2017.
Ooblets by Glumberland
A full trailer for Ooblets shows off its inspiration, and remind us of Harvest Moon, yet again featuring a very family friendly and relaxing game. There isn’t much more than that to go off of however. It is expected to launch on PC and Xbox One in 2018.
Battletech
A modern turn based game set in the Mechwarrior world with multiple modes of play including a single player campaign set during a civil war. While it was a development build that was showcased during the presentation, there was still a lot to be excited here with gameplay similar to XCOM and which will be familiar to fans of the tabletop game. Battletech has entered Beta phase and you can sign up at battletechgame.com.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
One of the most popular games of the conference. Sadly, all we got was a trailer and very little details about the game which many fans eagerly awaiting the game chose to voice their displeasure about on social media platforms. Yes, we got a lot of bloody and hectic combat but hardly anything to get too excited about compared to what else we have seen at the show.
Total War: Warhammer 2
Games Workshop have a long history of success adapting their games for the video game market and this only looks set to continue with this sequel to the Warhammer: Total War, which will feature four factions comprised of High Elves, Dark Elves, Lizardmen and a still to be announced fourth faction which we are hoping will be the orc hordes. The game is currently set for a launch on September 28th.
Shadowverse: Wonderland Dreams Expansion
Yes folks, it is another card game and easily one of the quickest growing gaming sub-genres with Wonderland Dreams looking to add to the already popular Shadowverse game. Of course, being a cinematic trailer, it was hard to see exactly what this add-on will bring to the game. However, the wait won’t be long as the Wonderland Dreams expansion will release on June 29, 2017.
Tunic
Playing like a stylised version of The Legend of Zelda with Link replaced by a tiny fox, this little indie game previously known as Secret Legend, developed solely by Andrew Shouldice, looked absolutely charming with a pixelated world which we can’t wait to dive into and explore ourselves.
Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds
Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds had a brief reveal at the Microsoft conference however here, they have much more with a more extensive gameplay. During the interview, their gamer turned developer, Brendan Greene tells us what is in store for Battlegrounds for their early access other than creating a stable environment. Some of those upcoming features are 2D & 3D replays, weather settings (rain, sunset, etc) and two new maps set in the Adriatic Sea and Peru.
Killing Floor 2 The Summer SideShow
Tripwire Interactive recently released Rising Storm 2. Also, they talked about their Killing Floor VR game, Killing Floor Incursion, which looks like a scary experience. However, their main goal of being there is to announce their seasonal event for Killing Floor 2 called The Summer Sideshow. The Summer Sideshow starts this week with a new map, new collectible, new cosmetic, and a myriad of new monsters and a biohazard suit. Killing Floor 2 is a fun team shooter set in waves and this event shows a trailer full of all out fun gruesome horror bits. Killing Floor 2 is a the Playstation Plus Free game for June 2017 making this perfect time for this announcement.
The Last Night
The Last Night had its first quick look over at the Microsoft showcase. Here, we see a much longer trailer along with an interview with Odd Tales developer who is teamed up with Raw Fury Games (the team behind Kathy Rain). This cinematic platformer is reminiscent of Odd World and it asks us to imagine a world where machines are both intellectually and emotionally superior to humans. We play a young idealist who cannot enjoy the same things as others because of an accident however he strives to change the world. In order to do that, he needs to meet some questionable characters. The Last Night will have real-time puzzles along with point and click mechanics. Your actions in any situation will affect how the world reacts in later events.
The Last Night has a unique art style that shines in a beautiful dystopian futuristic world. There seems to be a great story and world built from the trailer. The world seems to have ab Asian influence as well. Unfortunately, The Last Night does not have a release date attached as all this is just pre-alpha footage.
YLands
YLands (pronounced I-Lands) is a sandbox survival and exploration game where you essentially play a person stranded on an island and needs to build their home. This game is about creating your own adventure but with both “Sea of Thieves” and “Skull and Bones” on the horizon it remains to be seen how this will fare. YLands will be landing on Steam Early Access soon.
GriftLands
Who knew that a cartoonish survival game like Don’t Starve would become what it is today, making Klei Entertainment an independent game developer to look out for. Oxygen Not Included was released just a few months ago and they already have a new game in the works that steers away from their normal formula and we mean that in the best way. GriftLands is a sci-fi RPG with a unique art style. With simply a cinematic trailer and the ending words of “Charm, Fight, Negotiate, Cheat, Explore, Steal, Profit” definitely makes this game seem like a game that requires some strategy. GriftLands will be released somewhere between late 2017 and early 2018.
Lone Echo (VR)
It is almost expected that at least one VR game was in the horizon and this show highlights Lone Echo. One of its biggest achievements is getting Troy Baker, the voice behind many popular games in roles like Batman, The Joker, Samuel Drake, and the list goes on and on. Lone Echo is a game where you play as an AI (voiced by Baker) who is on a mining station on the rings of Saturn. The character can move in zero-G space and can interact with essentially everything. There is a single player experience and also a multiplayer mode called Echo Arena where ten people can play together. Lone Echo will be released on July 20, 2017.
LawBreakers
LawBreakers was briefly announced last year and in the past few months, they have been in their Beta phase. Showcasing this time around, they introduce it with a trailer of players who have tried this game and their impressions. This is a multiplayer gravity-manipulating game which seems like a fast-paced action-packed adrenaline rush and also adds on the additional challenge of having to maneuver through zero gravity and changing up tactics with the different characters’ capabilities. LawBreakers will enter their Rise Up Beta on June 20th, 2017 and will release on August 8th, 2017 boasting a lower multiplayer price of $29.99.
War Groove
Chucklefish Games, the developers behind Stardew Valley and Starbound, are here with their upcoming game, War Groove. A cute strategy game with the ability to create maps. That’s all we’ve got.
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
PC Gaming Show ends with a final announcement reveal of a secret game or rather remaster of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It will be available for multiplayer on Xbox Live. The game also has new zoom levels and improved gameplay along with a fully orchestrated soundtrack. Multiplayer beta sign-up is open now at ageofempires.com.
Other games showcased:
- Forza Motorsport 7
- Sea of Thieves
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (October 10, 2017)
PC Gaming Show 2017 showcased a good amount of new games with many of them getting a much more in-depth coverage than their snippet in the game reel in ID@Xbox, for example. They had more developers on stage to talk about their game and walkthrough gameplay footage while having some games just showing off their trailer. The highlight will be the news that Destiny 2 will be ported to PC and equally competent than its console version.
While it might not have been one of the most high profile conferences, there were actually a surprisingly high number of things to get into here especially for a show we wrongly predicted would be focused mostly on e-sports,
What are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments section below.