E3 Report - Microsoft Conference

My God, so much to catch up on! I'm changing my reporting format for now, so this post will cover the Microsoft conference with only the RPG games due to the sheer number of games they showed in total. It's still a pretty big list and I will be covering the other major news from this conference in the future so stay tuned!

Quick spoiler alert: this was a serious step up from the lackluster EA conference. Here is what you need to know about the Microsoft conference as an RPG gamer in a nutshell:

A new title by From Software (developers of Dark Souls) was revealed with a trailer showing their classic combat style. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is based on Japanese styles and features Samurai imagery and styles heavily. Stealth gameplay isn't confirmed but was implied by the trailer.

Todd Howard decided to pop along to the surprise of everyone! He casually sauntered in and gave us our first look at the world of Fallout 76, as well as throwing in the fact that Fallout 4 is now on Xbox GamePass as of today (Sunday 10th of June). The game showed a largely single player view and featured some beautiful scenery including both green and autumnal scenes, which is a new sight in a Fallout game, as well as what looks to be an enemy or boss based on the Mothman legend. A bold claim that it is four times larger than Fallout 4 also turned heads.

Nier Automata: Become As Gods Edition was revealed and will include all previously released DLC. A definitive edition will sound tempting to those like myself that never got around to picking it up before but still wanted to play.

Metro Exodus showed off a gameplay trailer and confirmed a released date of February 22nd 2019. The game will feature an open world environment and possibly hinted at weapon customisation. There was a significant emphasis on equipment/gear in the trailer which might indicate a variety of playstyles will be viable.

Kingdom Hearts 3 got its first gameplay trailer here, which is also the first time a Kingdom Hearts game will be making its way onto an Xbox console. Minigames seem to play a role but the third person action combat looks like it will remain the core gameplay mechanic.

We Happy Few had a new story trailer showcased, as well as the studio being acquired by Microsoft for their Microsoft Studios endeavor. A release is planned for the 10th of August; the game hasn't had the best reception based on previous feedback so it will be a case of waiting to see how the official finished product ends up.

A definitive edition of Tales of Vesperia was shown, with this being the first time the game has come to the West in any form. The Tales of series is a big player in the JRPG scene so this may be worth picking up if you're into them.

A quick MMO feature showed a new expansion being teased for Black Desert Online in a typically flashy and beautifully rendered cinematic.

Finally and for me most excitingly, CD Projeckt Red hijacked the close of the conference to give us a look at the long-awaited and much anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. A gorgeous cinematic trailer showed off what promises to be a fascinating world. They even managed to sneak in a fantastic little easter egg for eagle eyed viewers, which has now done the rounds across gaming media. A message from the studio was hidden in plain sight during the hacking cinematic; this message explained the delay in the reveal of Cyberpunk and promised gamers that in the same fashion as the magnificent Witcher 3, this would be a huge, single player, story-driven traditional RPG with large scale expansions and no microtransactions or DLC shenanigans. With their history, I fully believe them.

And that wraps up (ONLY) the RPG news from the Microsoft conference! Apologies for the change in format and the delay in publishing this, suffice to say it's been a long week and taking on E3 single-handedly wasn't the best idea. The format for my coverage will shift over to a blog post each for all of the major conferences, except for Nintendo and Square Enix since their shorter shows require less bulk.

I will also be publishing two final write-ups, one containing the most important and relevant RPG focused news and one being my 'verdict' on the event as a whole. The second post will also include a cursory look at any other major non-RPG-specific gaming news that came out from E3. Look out for the Bethesda conference write up next!

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