This year's E3 is was as much of a spectacle as always; slightly less cringe compared to previous years but enough to give the internet a giggle here and there. What it did have was plenty of games and all the chatter that goes with the event. Here is my list of the best and most exciting news for RPG gamers to take away from E3!
Bethesda announces The Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield
Both of these are extremely exciting. To date, Skyrim remains my favourite game ever so the next iteration has me properly buzzed! So far we know very little except that it isn't in full development so won't be around for a long while yet, a few guesses on the location based on the beautiful rendered screenshot you see above (Hammerfell and High Rock are being tossed around as contenders) and the fact that it will definitely be a single player only game. Fallout 76 sounds fun but it's a relief to know that this will be more of a traditional entry into this franchise.
Starfield is also lacking in solid information but we do know that it will also be a fairly traditional style single player RPG. This will be the first new IP that Bethesda Games Studios have taken on for over 20 years so although they don't have much experience with brand new titles as opposed to series entries, I feel that they will produce something special. A sci-fi RPG made by BGS is certainly an intriguing prospect and this will be a game to watch out for in future.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was certainly the biggest hitter in the RPG space for E3 this year. The excitement that the trailer generated was amazing but the discussions around the hour-long demo that was shown in private have been staggering. Many claim it was the best demo for a game they've ever seen which is certainly promising! It's since been confirmed that the full game is in a pre-alpha state so this will again not be seeing the light of day any time soon but when it does, I have no doubt that it will take the gaming world by storm.
Kingdom Hearts 3
All sorts of news was revealed about KH3. We knew about the Monsters Inc. world already but we can now add Frozen, Toy Story and Pirates of the Caribbean to the roster. The trailers showed plenty of snippets of gameplay that showed a hearty helping of minigames. The initial reveal was shown at the Microsoft conference which also confirmed that KH will be on Xbox for the first time with this iteration. Most importantly, we got a release date of the 25th of January 2019. I've not played one before but its showing at E3 definitely piqued my interest and I might be tempted to go back to play the other entries. Maybe not all four thousand nine hundred and seven of them, but maybe the first two.
Fallout 76
We've talked a lot about Fallout 76 on this blog so I won't go into huge detail here, but we did find out a fair amount at E3 about the upcoming multiplayer survival RPG. We know it will be online only (playing alone/on a private server will be possible but still requiring an online connection), that no NPC's will exist except for robots (meaning all human characters are player controlled) and that players will be able to compete for and use nukes on each other.
There was some gameplay shown as well which helped build excitement. The engine looks nice, particularly with the lighting so I expect a visually impressive game, though that's almost to be expected in the modern graphics era. The nukes are certainly an interesting addition that will encourage both co-operation to find codes and competition with other player groups. Finally, we had a release date of the 14th of November this year confirmed. Though less traditional, this Fallout has grown on me over time and I'm cautiously hoping it will be a fun new spin on the franchise and online RPG's in general.
Others
There was a plethora of other games announced in the RPG space, though those listed above are my pick for the most exciting. Here are the others that missed out on my list of dedicated spotlights:
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (5th October 2018), Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Spring 2019), Maneater (TBC), Star Control: Origins (20th September 2018), The Crew 2 (Out now), Dragon Quest XI (4th September 2018), Metro: Exodus (22nd February 2019), Ghost of Tsushima (TBC) and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019). Although there are others, this rounds out my list of those games revealed or confirmed at E3. One honourable mention has to go to Octopath Traveller for the Switch which wasn't announced but did feature briefly in the Nintendo showcase; definitely excited for that!
This list isn't utterly exhaustive but that covers the RPG games that got my attention the most at E3 2018. As much of an Elder Scrolls nerd as I am, I have to say that Cyberpunk was the one that really had me jumping for joy. Until TES 6 gets some solid information, CD Projekt Red have my full long-term attention. Microsoft didn't show much that was Xbox exclusive, but their approach to their conference (show a new game every 4 seconds) was a breath of fresh air for me.
Covering this has been tough and I will likely change my tactics for the next big games industry event I cover. Do you disagree or think I missed any? Which games had you most excited from E3? Let me know in the comments or send a message through the front page!