The E3 press conference flurry is full swing. Yesterday brought big news from Microsoft and Bethesda, and fans are still eagerly awaiting Nintendo and Sony’s massive showcases. Today however, an unexpected event took the online spotlight, as Square Enix presented their first showcase since 2015. Strap in for a long article, because in just 30 minutes they covered a lot of games.
They kicked things off with a brand new Trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider that involved Lara trying to land a plane that is very obviously about to crash. The video also included new footage of the updated combat, as well as some images of the new hub world Paititi. I was lucky enough to attend an event where I got to go hands on with demo of the upcoming Crystal Dynamics title, which includes an in depth analysis of the updated features.
Another major title that received some new footage was Just Cause 4 which is hyping a lot of new features for this new game. Solis, the fictional South American country that will serve as the setting for the game is their largest yet. Developers are introducing new driving mechanics, new vehicles, and extreme weather including tornados, lightning storms and sandstorms that will create both challenges and opportunities for players. Just Cause 4 will be available December 4.
Nier Automata got a small trailer for its upcoming release on the Xbox on June 26, which was announced at the Microsoft press conference yesterday. Dragon Quest XI also got a new trailer for its North American release which will be hitting shelves September 4. I also wrote a longer piece about what to expect from that release earlier this month. They also announce new limited special edition of the game available exclusively from Square Enix.
Creative directors at DONTNOD appeared to talk more about their upcoming game The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, taking place in the same universe as their hit series Life Is Strange. The free release of this game on June 26 was also announced ahead of the showcase, along with a full trailer and development video going more in depth on why they created the title.
Turn-based RPG Octopath Traveler even got an additional trailer before its Nintendo Switch release on July 13, showing off its adorable graphics. And while fans hoping for new on a Final Fantasy VII remaster will be disappointed, the showcase did feature Final Fantasy XIV’s new online release, which this summer will cross over with last year’s hit Monster Hunter World.
There were a couple of new title announcements as well. A chilling and gorgeously rendered trailer for The Quiet Man featured a seamless transition from live action to gameplay. It wasn’t accompanied by much information about the game at all, just a promise for more in August. The presentation also included trailer for the new property Babylon’s Fall, a PS4 and PC fantasy title coming next year.
And of course, it wouldn’t have been the Square Enix showcase without some information on Kingdom Hearts 3. The long awaited release date was announced a couple of days ago ahead of the conference, and today fans got to see some of the same footage from Microsoft’s keynote, and some expanded information on the lore of the game.
The 30 minute video presentation is available in its entirety on the Square Enix Presents YouTube channel, in both English and Japanese. This channel will also be posting the individual videos for each game. The English version will be embedded below: