After the initial deflating feeling of IGN’s first showing of the E3 replacement service: ‘Summer of Gaming‘, I was very apprehensive about the ‘Future of Gaming‘ event taking place the following day. Prior to these events, I had sorely missed video game conferences. Staying up extra late just to see tiny snippets of what’s to come has become a long held tradition in every household I’ve occupied.
Whilst the Playstation event failed to sate my cravings for the absolute cringe and ridiculousness that usually accompanies these occasions, what it did deliver was an absolutely devastating crescendo of content.
I want to take some time to spill out my initial thoughts about the full list of game announcements that have ignited my excitement for the next console generation.
I even made a little ‘hype-o-meter‘ for each one, so look out for that.
Little devil inside
This is the game I am now most excited for and I’m still not completely sure why. I don’t want to cheapen this in anyway, but, the trailer gave me major ‘Johnny English and Bough’ vibes – with the game letting you fill the shoes of the far less acknowledged ‘Bough’. Don’t judge me, this resonates with my childhood. Speaking of nostalgia, it increased its hold on me further when it paid homage to the famous ‘floppy arms scene’ from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
The trailer displayed a charming sense of humour, utilising a classic storytelling trope of going back and forward between contrasting characters. The comedy was further enforced when several streamers, upon viewing a series of in-game shop fronts, uttered the phrase: “Hehehe… Schmeat.”
Little Devil Inside looks to be a googly-eyed absurdity in a dark fantasy world, hunting a variety of monsters and beings in a multitude of pretty environments. I cannot make a direct comparison to any other game I’ve played, and I love that. The closest I can get is the Monster Hunter series because, well, you hunt monsters – I’m looking forward to a refreshing experience.
The game has been in development for a little while now, being featured in Steam’s greenlight project and reaching funding goals on kickstarter. But it looks as though Sony have taken the developer under their wing and are showing real belief in an exciting indie project.
Hype-o-meter: stylish Victorian monster hunter 10/10
Kena: Bridge of the Spirits
Kena: Bridge of the Spirits is the answer to the question: What if Studio Ghibli and Pixar collaborated to create a magical action adventure game? The westernised soot sprites had me screaming with their first appearance and I’m already willing to lay down my life to protect them. It looks absolutely stunning and I need to exist in this fantasy world.
From what I can see of the gameplay, the combat looks solid whilst fighting against some very sinister elemental enemies. It also looks as though these brilliant balls of living fluff will be there to assist you as you turn an etheric staff into a bomb-ass bow.
Hopefully, after what has already been an extremely sh*tty year, we’ll get to experience this escapist haven soon. I cannot wait to get lost in this beautifully imagined dreamscape.
hype-o-meter: Spirit me away 9/10
THe console reveal
I mean, I had to mention the Playstation reveal – surely? And what a reveal. After around 30 teasing and digitally entrancing transitions, we finally got to view the TWO iterations of the Playstation 5. If that’s not a way to literally one-up Xbox then I have no idea what is.
Yes. It looks like a router. Yes. When scaling it up, it is absolutely gargantuan. But, look! It’s all modern and looks like an alien craft from an early 2000s science fiction movie. OK maybe that wasn’t the best comparison. Personally, I really like the armour-like panelling and wavy design. I can’t wait to shoehorn this beast very naturally into my tiny living room.
The build up to this reveal has to be admired, with the final result getting an audible response from everyone lined up on my sofa as the PS5 emerged from the darkness. Bravo, Sony.
hype-o-meter: it’s finally here and it’s beautiful 9/10
Spiderman: Miles Morales
My non-radioactive body is ready. Off the back of the success of Insomniac’s amazing first iteration, coupled with the outstanding response from Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, I have been counting down the days until I get a chance to don the black and red suit of Miles Morales. Virtually, at least – my current lockdown bod would not be too flattering in spandex.
It’s been confirmed that this is not a DLC, nor is it a sequel to the Peter Parker fronted original. It is its own stand-alone game within the same universe – or multiverse, eh? wink wink. But no, that probably wouldn’t make sense. More importantly, we get to return to a snow covered New York city on a slated ‘Holiday 2020‘ release date. Who would’ve thought we’d be getting this so soon? There is every reason to be hyped for this game and I am the conductor of the hype train; Choo choo.
Give me those electric spider powers.
hype-o-meter: What’s up, Danger? 10/10
Solar Ash
Yes. Yes. Everything about this. Yes. The colour palette, the aesthetic, the rollerblading, the void. FEED ME MORE. Honestly, this was a visual feast for me and I’ve missed virtual gliding ever since Jet Set Radio Future. The design of Solar Ash has ticked every box for me so far.
- Neon lights? Check.
- Futuristic ninja? Check.
- Cyber high-tops? Check.
- Capes? Transparent check.
- Gameplay? …Well. About 10 seconds.
There wasn’t a lot of gameplay shown, but what I saw I liked. So please allow me to overhype this for myself. This gave me so many cravings I went and purchased Heart Machine’s well-loved first title: Hyper Light Drifter. I need this – I don’t have a problem.
I just need to wait until some point in 2021 to play it…
Hype-o-meter: the void is whispering back 9/10
So those are my personal most hype-worthy moments out of the Future of Gaming event. If you’ve enjoyed reading through my uneducated opinions so far then here are a couple of lines on absolutely everything else:
deathloop
Oh the dishonored-ness of it all – It looks like so much FUN. The grindhouse art style matched with the charismatic leads looks to be good enough. When you add in the premise of being stuck in very extreme version of groundhog day whilst fighting off rival assassins – even better. Oh, and using telekinetic powers to casually swipe limp bodies through windows looks even more satisfying than it is in Control.
Hype-o-meter: escape. that. loop. 8/10
Grand THeft Auto V
Again? Really? I will say – I cannot believe that a GTA title has managed to span three different console generations. That is actually quite impressive. I’m also a little intrigued to see if there are many improvements made.
Hype-o-meter: Aw Sh*t. here we go again. 2/10
Gran TUrismo 7
Every year I find it harder and harder to gain any excitement about racing games, and I actually enjoy fast vehicles. I feel like there needs to be some sort of innovation to make any of it exciting again. Also, I’m a Forza fanboy at heart.
Hype-o-meter: *Vrrrm screeech bang* 3/10
Ratchet & CLank: Rift apart
Cards on the table – I have never played a Ratchet & Clank game. I know, I know – boo, hiss, traitor etc. However! This dimension jumping iteration managed to make me curious about the series for the first time ever, so, it must be doing something right.
Hype-o-meter: portal, but without the gun 5/10
Project Athia
With Square Enix getting an entire new universe to play with, there is every reason to get very excited. However, there wasn’t a lot to go on in this teaser. The naturistic magic is cool, the creatures look badass (especially that angry dragon) – but I have no idea what the actual game is. It’s most likely a long way off, especially with this working title.
Hype-o-meter: Penultimate fantasy 5/10
Stray
Again, I have no real idea what this game is, but you get to play as a cat wearing a backpack in a futuristic city populated by robots with CRT monitor heads. Sign me up.
Hype-o-meter: Cat game. cat game. game played as a cat. 7/10
Returnal
“The Crash. The Attack. My Death.” Who would’ve thought we’d have two different games about death loops in one presentation? Not me. Returnal seems to go about it in a more serious and scary tone, as you blast your way through an alien planet whilst tackling an ever-creeping psychosis. Spookems.
Hype-o-meter: this planet explains the repetitive star wars SEQUELS 7/10
Sackboy: A big adventure
I’m not sure why this reveal sent me into such a rage… It’s just repackaged Little Big Planet, right? Am I missing something? I don’t care for his smug little smile anymore. Sackboy has lived long enough for me to see him become the villain.
Hype-o-meter: It’s little big planet four 1/10
Goodbye volcano high
I understand the appeal of this pastel-tinted, dino-converted high school sim, but it’s not likely a game I’ll play. Also I’m not yet entirely sure what you do in it? It’ll most likely be a beautiful and brooding narrative driven mechanic – that’s my guess. Also the foreshadowing of the meteor in the logo makes me uncomfortable.
Hype-o-meter: Dino High 6/10
oddworld Soulstorm
I’m not overly fussed about another Oddworld game. Maybe it’s because the series scorned me as a child when I couldn’t figure out what to do apart from make Abe repeatedly exclaim “hello” and “follow me” before accidentally murdering the protagonist and all his friends. Maybe I’m just bitter. The music in the trailer was pretty hype though.
HYPE-O-METER: weird creature terminator 4/10
ghostwire tokyo
A first-person Control-esque supernatural martial arts game set in Tokyo? Yes please. I’d like to see a bit more gameplay though, as I saw that kamehameha fireball pose a few too many times in such a short period.
HYPE-O-METER: who you gonna call? cool masked ghost fighters 8/10
Jett: the far shore
I just don’t know what this is. All I could work out was a tiny craft side-scrolling above a rough sea and occasionally dipping in. This did nothing for me. Now that I’ve dissed it – wait for the 10/10 reviews to fly out as this becomes the next Journey.
HYPE-O-METER: Nope. 0/10
Godfall
I was a little underwhelmed by the ‘looter-stabber‘. Everything seems to visually blur together, and not in a pleasing way. Perhaps it’s because I feel like I’ve already seen everything the game has to offer – but i’m not too thrilled. Again, the music was pretty hype.
HYPE-O-METER: I hope the loot is worth it 4/10
hitman 3
It will be great, we all know it will be great. The problem is: I suck so hard at hitman games. But, I LOVE to watch let’s players either absolutely boss it or also suck ass and f*ck up in a multitude of ways. Cannot wait to repeat the cycle.
HYPE-O-METER: bald badass is back 7/10
astro’s playroom
Looks like the popular VR platformer but without the VR this time? It’s cute, but ultimately seems a little pointless. Don’t quote me on the VR-less aspect, that’s just a random guess from the way the trailer has been promoted. Instead it looks to be trying to utilise the aspects of the new Dualsense controller.
HYPE-O-METER: another 3d platformer 2/10
NBA2K21
So, so, so sweaty.
HYPE-O-METER: I don’t understand b-ball 3/10
bugsnacks
I err.. I don’t know what’s happening here. From the creators of Octodad – a game where your body parts become whatever you eat? and what you eat are living food creatures. OK show me more.
HYPE-O-METER: cloudy with a chance of meatballs 7/10
demon’s souls
I understand this remake is big, but I have no point of reference for it having never played it. I understand the excitement, so I’m splitting it down the middle.
HYPE-O-METER: i’m bad at these. 5/10
Resident evil village / viiI
An interesting twist on the horror franchise as it looks to bring in some fantasy vibes. These games terrify me, but I am nonetheless excited. Also the introduction of Chris made me chuckle.
HYPE-O-METER: it’s a full moon. 6/10
Pragmata
Spacemen. Children. See-through cats. I could’ve sworn it was a Kojima title. However, the trailer left me more confused than excited.
HYPE-O-METER: it’s on the moon? 3/10
Horizon Forbidden West
I’m obviously very hyped for this one. For some reason I always forget just how good Zero Dawn was, so I cannot wait to be shown just how good a AAA game can be when it launches. Also, the end scene from the trailer is giving me major Legolas Vs Oliphaunts feels.
HYPE-O-METER: ride those robo-dinos bae-bee! 8/10
Destruction all stars
This just looks stupid fun. It’s giving me Sunset Overdrive x Rocket League vibes and I’m all for it. I want to be a giant toddler smashing virtual cars together.
HYPE-O-METER: just stupid smashy fun 8/10
If you’ve managed to make it this far – well done and thank you, that was a lot of reading. Turns out playstation revealed a lot of different games. Overall I am insanely hyped and as a community of gamers we are extremely lucky right now, there is just so much to get hyped about!
By all means, share your thoughts with me! I always want to talk about video games and any reason to do so is massively appreciated. In the meantime, keep safe and stay tuned!
NostalgiaCore 