Best of E3 2017 From the Showfloor

Published: June 16, 2017 9:00 AM /

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Best of E3 2017

We saw many great games while we were at E3 this year, so it made the decisions for who we were going to give our six Best of E3 awards a little difficult. With five of us attending, we figured we'd each choose a game to give an award to and collectively come together on the sixth. Without further ado, here are the six games we are calling TechRaptor's Best of E3.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

By James Galizio

Dragon Ball FighterZ has been a VERY popular game at this year’s E3, and for good reason. Between a striking artstyle made possible by the Guilty Gear Xrd lighting engine (now ported to Unreal Engine 4), a fantastic and fast-paced 3v3 combat system, and an absurd attention to detail; I guess you could say that Dragon Ball might’ve stolen the show, at least as far as fighting games are concerned. During our Bandai Namco appointment this year, I got a chance to really test the game out, and even behind the closed doors of a press-only meeting area, there were noticeable lines waiting to play. The desire to play it has been absolutely ravenous across the show floor, and I can say with confidence that the hype is very much well-deserved.

Dragon Ball’s combat is fast, frantic, but also not needlessly complex. The most you need to input for a special is a quarter-circle. Despite that, the game has a good amount of depth, with assists, teleportation, launchers, air-combos, and more. Heck, there’s even a button dedicated to charging your power level! Although Dragon Ball’s combat is definitely a strong part of its package, that really is only half the reason why it was my game of the show. The other reason is the attention to detail. Whether it’s the animations seemingly pulled straight from the source material, the reactions in the arena to your fighter's attacks, or more —Dragon Ball isn’t just a fantastic fighting game, but a love letter to Dragon Ball as a series in general.

Check out more of James' impressions here.

https://twitter.com/Theswweet/status/875416904512315392

Gundam Versus

By Perry Ruhland

When it came to picking a game of the show for E3 2017, I only had one criteria in mind. Which game was I most upset to walk away from? Which one blew my mind and rocked my world so thoroughly that it made me want to just sit down and play the full thing already? While I played many a great game this week, including hefty runners-up like Archangel, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, only one managed to tick this box for me: Bandai Namco’s upcoming Gundam Versus.

As someone who considers himself quite a fan of all things mecha, Gundam Versus was an absolute joy to play, letting me control some of the Gundam franchises' greatest mobile suits, from the lowly Guntank to the imposing DeathScythe (yes, real name for a mecha). While at Bandai’s booth, I got the chance to play about 25 minutes of the title, more than enough time for me to realize that the speedy, combo-friendly combat was right up my alley, and the amazing graphics and sheer roster size didn’t hurt it any. Plus, it got me humming Gundam music on the showfloor for the rest of the day, and that deserves an award of its own.

Our hands-on impressions of Gundam Versus will be coming soon, so make sure to check it out!

https://twitter.com/Xl9Gaming/status/875435175328366592

Hunt: Showdown

By Nick Maillet

I'm by no stretch of the imagination someone you would consider a "PC gamer." To take that even further, the idea of survival co-op games has always bored me to death and the thought of talking to strangers or friends as a "tactical advantage" never really appealed to me either.

That changed when I saw Hunt: Showdown at E3 2017. It was an extremely early build, but I knew within the first few seconds of gameplay footage that this game was going to be something entirely different. The visual aesthetic, dirty art direction and permadeath gameplay really stuck out to me in the best way possible, and once the demo was over I couldn't wait to see more. Hunt: Showdown might be the game that makes me decide to build a PC.

Be sure to check out our interview about Hunt: Showdown here!

https://twitter.com/NickMeteorain/status/875439427891462144

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

By Andrew Otton

Kingdom Come: Deliverance was always going to be a game that catered to my interests. It's medieval, it has a focus on history, and it's an RPG. Few things tick more boxes of things I like than that.

What I was not prepared for, however, was the incredible attention to detail and incredible gameplay. Consequences are key, and in at least the demo I played, that is more than just a buzzword for video game media to flock to. I saw the consequences of choice immediately, with some options opening and closing in the game's simple opening. Dialogue, stat, armor, and more all have consequences in their sometimes seemingly insignificant choices, creating a really interesting experience.

And that's to say nothing of the combat.

Check out the full impressions here to see why Kingdom Come: Deliverance received one of our Best of E3 awards.

https://twitter.com/OttAndrew/status/875395514828603394

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Consensus Pick)

By Alex Santa Maria

There are so many reasons why Ubisoft's Mario game shouldn't work. Giving the Italian plumber a hand cannon seems against Nintendo's highly cultivated image. Throwing the slapstick comedy of the Rabbids into a tactics game feels like a recipe for disaster. This doesn't even go into the Peach Rabbid, whose #selfie antics are straight out of Overwatch rather than the Mushroom Kingdom.

Somehow, all these disparate parts combine to create an engaging experience that feels true to both franchises. The Rabbids goofy movements lead to jump mechanics that allow you to flank foes and get great shots off. The Rabbid versions of Mario enemies are off the wall but don't feel out of place at all. Finally, thanks to the Switch, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle fits right into that Fire Emblem/Advance Wars niche and offers bite-sized battles on the go. It may seem insane, but that's just what a Rabbids game should be, and that deserves to be recognized.

Keep an eye out for Alex's hands-on impressions of the game!

https://twitter.com/NeedlerFanPudge/status/875417466612076544

Moonlighter

By Alex Santa Maria

Keeping popular items in stock, reading the minds of your customers, balancing between profit and popularity, these are just some of the tasks of the lowly shopkeeper. Add all that into a fantasy world filled with monsters and dungeons, and you've got a recipe for stress overload. Thankfully, playing Moonlighter is anything but stressful. Deftly combining strategy and top-down randomized dungeon crawls, Moonlighter strikes upon a formula that has been tried in the past but never truly mastered.

Spend your nights pushing around slimes with a broom (or using actually effective weapons) and gathering loot! Just don't stay up too long, because you'll have to tend to your customers during the day in order to gather gold and grow your character. Charming touches like customers getting annoyed if you don't tend to them and Pokemon-style NPCs in town complete the package. This upcoming Digital Sun Games release impresses instantly, and we look forward to the full release!

Keep an eye out for an interview on Moonlighter in the near future!

https://twitter.com/NeedlerFanPudge/status/875382011568963584

If you want to know more about this and other announcements happening at E3 then be sure to check out our E3 2017 Coverage Hub.

What did you see this year that deserves an award? Were you at the show? Let us know in the comments below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Andrew Otton
| Editor in Chief

Andrew is the Editor in Chief at TechRaptor. Conned into a love of gaming by Nintendo at a young age, Andrew has been chasing the dragon spawned by Super… More about Andrew