E3 continues its slew of announcements with Square Enix Presents. We know we'll see Babylon's Fall, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Marvel's Avengers, but there's certainly some surprises as well.
Guardians of the Galaxy Game Revealed
After the stream countdown begins, we hear the unmistakable voice of Matt Mercer kicking off the show with a new world premiere, a new game from Eidos Montreal: Guardians of the Galaxy.
The trailer of showed off the iconic Marvel characters in a full CG world, all backed by the famous song "Holding out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler. Much of the humor of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies is actually intact in this adaptation, as is some pretty good third person action. Though clearly based on the Marvel films versions of the character, but re-imagined as a fresh take by Eidos Interactive.
All of Guardians is from the lens of Peter Quill, known as Star-Lord. Players will only play as Star-Lord, but will have some interactivity with the rest of the Guardians in the process. Players can try to control their teammates, including Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax, but they often can do their own things, completely ignoring Star-Lord in the process.
The team also showcases some of their top picks for villains to face the Guardians, from well-known to unusual choices going back into the lore of the comic books. We see several potential enemies in the trailer.
Several members of the development team actually are shown discussing their designs on the game, including Bill Rosemann and Dan Abnett, a veteran comic book writer who worked on the Guardians of the Galaxy comics. They are purposefully making the game fit the mold of its own path, and not just replicating the film 100%.
We see some combat examples in this section, where Star-Lord can both attack and jump around while ordering the rest of the Guardians to use special moves to attack, trap, or blow up these aliens. We then also see a special move by Star-Lord that powers up the entire Guardians team, and even throws in some Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers "Bad Reputation" into the soundtrack.
The gameplay loops seem to follow a mix of cutscenes, dialogue with a binary choice, and combat.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be released on October 26th, 2021.
Check out the reveal trailer here. And here's a trailer with some behind the scenes work on the game. Finally, here's an over 10 minute gameplay trailer.
Final Fanasy I - VI Getting Pixel Remasters
After the extended showcase of Guardians of the Galaxy, Square shifts gears for a moment by talking about some new remasters coming out.
The first is Final Fantasy, which combines Final Fantasy I - VI in one giant remaster. No real gameplay is shown but it is named a Pixel Remaster and will be out on Steam and Mobile devices in the future.
Marvel's Avengers Black Panther Highlighted
We then go back to Marvel with Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers, showing off a new update titled the cosmic cube for June. The enemies of the Avengers are hoping to use the cosmic cube to bend the world to their will and destroy the Avengers in the process. The next event for the summer adds a more apocalyptic environment, randomized, playable boss fights, exploration and rewards, and more.
It is really the third event that catches a new trailer, with Black Panther taking center stage as we travel to Wakanda once more in an all-new expansion, The War for Wakanda. We see Black Panther taking on Klawe, robotic spiders, and more.
The War for Wakanda will be available for no additional cost to Marvel's Avenger players. Check out the trailer here.
Square Enix Mobile Games Updates
Square Enix then goes rapid-fire with several mobile titles to major games, including Neir Reincarnation, Hitman Sniper, limited collaboration with Final Fantasy and Veil of Visions, and a quick plug for Final Fantasy Brave Nexus. The last reveal was for Final Fantasy VII: First Soldier, a mobile game based in the FF VII universe.
Babylon's Fall Gameplay Shown Off
Babylon's Fall from Platinum Games is up next, with a first look that focuses heavily on the game’s scenery and atmosphere. We then see a party of adventurers fighting in varied locations, from volcanic holes to blue-crystalized caverns, all accompanied by an operatic soundtrack.
Babylon’s Fall shows off a lot of action-styled combat with a party of fighters against monsters and other foes. We also get some hints at the games lore, with the major focus being on the Babylon tower itself.
We finally get a confirmation that Babylon's Fall will be out for the PS4, PS5 and PC.
After the Babylon's Fall trailer, we get some interviews with Platinum Games on Babylon's Fall, where they reveal that the game’s focus is all about climbing the Tower of Babylon, collecting loot and upgrading your character, using special abilities to destroy your foes, and that Babylon's Fall will follow a live service model.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection and Life is Strange: True Colors
Life is Strange: True Colors is given a new trailer, along with a quick new trailer for Life is Strange: Remastered, replacing the greatest hits of Life is Strange.
Life is Strange: True Colors, which follows a new adventure with Alex Chen, who has the power to see the colors around people based on her psychic empathy powers. Alex is able to see and hear the fear, sadness, and anger of others to understand their emotions. This provides insights to the different characters which can add new dialogue options for the player to follow.
Stronger auras allow Alex to deeply connect with a person, seeing fragments of their old thoughts and memories that will be harder to get through. It is even hinted that Alex can remove emotions from different characters.
Mxmtoon, a singer and songwriter, is also revealed to be the singing voice of Alex Chen.
Players can pre-order Life is Strange: True Colors now, ahead of its release on September 10th. Those who pre-order the ultimate edition also get a copy of Life is Strange Remastered.
Check out the True Colors trailer here.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Announced
Square Enix Japan then unveils a brand new title from Tetsuya Nomura, Team Ninja, and Koei Tecmo, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin.
Gameplay is all about destroying Chaos with a team of three characters, with one of them obsessed with the destruction of Chaos. The trio reveals at the end of the trailer come across Chaos, revealed to be Garland, the original boss in Final Fantasy I. Garland, now calling himself Chaos, begins fighting the protagonist and his team in full force, which played like a blend of Nioh and Final Fantasy.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is also given a tentative release of 2022, with a playable demo coming to the PlayStation 5 soon.
Check out the reveal trailer here.
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