E3 2019 Report

Not many new announcements this year. Might just feel that way because nearly everything gets leaked these days of course. Microsoft showed lots of games, but none of them would convince me to purchase an X-Box. I doubt the new console can really display native 4K-HD 120FPS, and even if it could the "wow-effect" would be lost after a couple of hours anyways and games would play much like they did on 7th and 8th gen consoles. So I'm all "whatever" on all things Microsoft this time (but that's my usual reaction there).

Final Fantasy VII Remake

The combat looks decent so far. Much better than Final Fantasy XV, but that's not hard to top. Glad to see characters have multiple skills now. The slowdown mechanic is redundant and runs counter to the original ATB system where the game didn't stop while it waited for inputs (unless so checked in the config, at least it was optional). The ATB gauge seems like a god risk-reward mechanic, but I'm worried about summons and/or limit breaks ruining the balancing similar to the attraction attacks in Kingdom Hearts III. Not a fan of the restriction to Midgar. In the original that part of the game only took 4 to 7 hours, so I expect there to be lots of filler content to pad out the average playtime. I remain skeptical of this project. Aside: I'm vehemently against censorship in all sorts of media, but vastly prefer Tifa's new outfit. People blame current politics for the new design, but I feel it was necessary anyways to make the character look less bland in HD.

Elden Ring

Still disappointed From's not doing a Record of Lodoss War game. Looking forward to this anyways. Just hoping it will be less streamlined than Dark Souls III and put a heavier focus on strategy and preparation instead of the dodge or die action gameplay that From adopted for its latest titles (meaning everything they made since Bloodborne).

Tales of Arise

Berseria had great characters but that aside I haven't been fond of the series lately. Missing the times of Symphonia, Abyss and Vesperia and this one looks to be straying from the formula even further.

Super Smash Bros. DLC

I'm not too excited about either of the new additions, but they are sound choices all things considered. Nothing to complain about. Wondering if all DLC characters are going to be third party, and if yes whether it's true there will be a second DLC pass next year.

Breath of the Wild 2

Was expecting Nintendo to reuse at least the engine of BotW for the next Zelda game. That they're doing a direct sequel is a bit surprising. Looking forward to what direction they're taking with this. Supposedly they're aiming for a more sinister atmosphere - the one thing I've been missing in the last couple of Zelda games. Bummer that they're reusing the overworld from the first game because I was looking forward to a new world to explore.

Link's Awakening Remake

Usually I'm all for creative and imaginative games, but this art style really doesn't do it for me. Might totally skip this and replay the original on Gameboy instead. Wondering if there are going to be rewards for solving the panel dungeons.

Odds and ends

Daemon X Machina and Astral Chain are still really cool and potential day 1 purchases. The later looks pretty exciting, but I'm worried the game might end up feeling unfinished because Platinum games seems to be handling many projects at once right now. Not interested in the new X-Box. Don't even have a 4K display and don't see the need for one. SSDs are long overdue on consoles though - load times on PS4 are a nightmare. Biggest disappointment is the ongoing lack of F-Zero. Maybe next year. Panzer Dragoon was a nice surprise, but I need to play the first one on Saturn first. No idea what they were thinking with the new Yooka-Laylee game. You'd think the devs learned from working on the first game and followed up with a proper sequel, instead they're making a Donkey Kong Country Returns ripoff. Uh...
I hope there will be more exciting announcements next year. This one was really underwhelming to be honest. Maybe Nintendo will have more new announcements this coming fall or winter. Very likely they didn't want to distract too much from all the new games coming out this fall and summer (and we still haven't heard of a late fall/early winter release from them). Sony can honestly fuck off with their politically-correct-movies-station lmao.