E3 2018 In Retrospect: PlayStation

Talk about strange. PlayStation’s E3 showcase wasn’t bad to be honest, just odd. It’s disappointing that they focused so heavily on games that we already knew about Sony tends to tease games years in advance before finally releasing them, sometimes to the point that these teasers becoming memes in a way.

This year, they played their cards pretty safe, showing off many of the same things we’ve seen before. However, they managed to slip in some new stuff anyway!

The Old News

Obviously, The Last of Us II, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, and Hideo Kojima’s hilariously incomprehensible title in development Death Stranding all came back to the stage.

Of these, The Last of Us II probably turned heads the most, given the nature of the trailer they showed (spoiler: Ellie kisses a girl while thinking about violently killing about a dozen people). It looks interesting to say the least, but I’d venture a guess that this sequel will focus less on zombies and more on the nature of humanity in the aftermath of the apocalypse. My reasoning? Ellie is immune to the mushroom madness, so while the terrifying walking toadstools will still pose a physical threat to her, they won’t be able to infect her. Besides, the trailer seems to hint at Ellie’s struggle to reconcile the horrors of her survival with the relative mundane nature of ordinary life. I’d also guess that Ellie’s new girlfriend is likely an enemy too, or she likely bites the dust at some point.

Naughty Dog likes to rip out your heart strings after all.

Ghost of Tsushima looks phenomenal; downright stunning. In it, you’ll be fighting a Mongol invasion, though because you’re at a serious disadvantage, so you’ll need to use stealth to make up the difference. It’s awesome to see another game hit the market that appears to be focused on period realism, even if it’s just in the depiction of the world and fighting mechanics. Given my love for Kingdom Come: Deliverance, I might find a love here too.

And it’d be impossible to talk about a Sony E3 event without at least mentioning in passing the Death Stranding trailer, which showed some very minor gameplay, if you can call it that. Again, I’m probably not the target demographic for this title, but I can’t help but feel like it’s just weird for the sake of being weird. I honestly have no clue why people love it so much considering how little we know about it. It must just be a Hideo Kojima cult fandom thing.

Last but certainly not least though, is Spider-Man, which looks like it may follow in stride with the movie counterpart to the land of Not Sucking. The combat looks incredibly fluid, while not giving the impression of making failure impossible. It’s also worth noting that there will be a ton of different villains to fight too!

Oh, and Square Enix showed Kingdom Hearts 3… AGAIN.

Different Stuff

Sony didn’t only show off the usual stuff though, they brought in third-party developers and showed off some first-party projects too.

Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly?) Capcom stole the show with their trailer for Resident Evil 2‘s remaster (or remake?). I can understand, given the plethora of nightmares that game gave me as a kid. I’m interested to see the approach they take with it.

Remedy came out with the announcement of Control, which looks incredibly like Quantum Break, though I’m not entirely sure if it’s meant to be similar in any way to their previous game. All signs point to “no”, but you can’t know for sure these days. I love these types of games nonetheless, the kind that include physics-based powers, that is.

Then came Trover Saves the Universe, which… I really doubt you’ll have trouble determining whose brainchild that is. The people who make the show Rick & Morty. So chances are, if you like that show, you might like their game.

That extra stuff is actually interesting; even the teaser for From Software and Japan Studio’s new game. You know, the game that pissed people off because it wasn’t Bloodborne 2. Instead, it’s a VR title called Deracine. It remains to be seen if you need to prepare to die, or prepare for tears. Maybe both?

Getting Weird

I wouldn’t be able to talk about Sony’s E3 2018 showcase without daring to mention that they made some exceedingly strange choices when structuring their event. They decided to change venues repeatedly throughout the event, which would be fine if it didn’t mean the stream for everyone at home would be interrupted with talking heads. The music wasn’t terrible though, despite people’s complaints. I just feel like they could’ve cut some of the dead time by not shuffling the attendees to and fro, and maybe not having multiple music performances.

Also, am I the only one that isn’t completely blown away by Death Stranding? Am I supposed to be worshiping the ground Hideo Kojima walks on? Does that game make any sense to anyone, or does it not matter that it makes zero sense? Am I the only one who wants to know more than vague and confusing trailers before going head-over-heels for a game?

What are your musings about Sony’s event? Anything really stick out to you? Do you know what the hell is going on with Death Stranding, or is it basically just the Norman Reedus’ fetus simulator that I think it is?

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