Sony E3 2017 press conference recap

by Daley Wilhelm Sony followed a very similar model to their conference last year, as it presented a with back to back trailers, but very little reflection on all it's released in the past year. PlayStation was all about the future, the future--meaning 2018 game releases, for the most part. Setting the mood with mysterious music and a waterfall display, the conference opened with a trailer for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, featuring mossy ruins, untold fortunes, and two new protagonists now that Nathan Drake has retired. The new game will follow treasure hunter Chloe Frazer and mercenary Nadine Ross who were both featured in previous Uncharted titles. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is slated for an August 22^nd release this year on the PlayStation 4.

Next Sony gave audiences a brand new announcement in the first story DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn entitled The Frozen Wilds. Unlike many of the announcements this evening, this content will be available later this year. The stage changed, got darker, red lights washing over bodies—live, or undead, rather—hanging from the stage. Sony showed off further gameplay of the post-apocalyptic, Pacific Northwest survival horror from Bend Studio, Days Gone. Last year, the game featured action, massive zombie hordes, and explosions. The seven-minute gameplay at this E3 was more stealth-focused, exploring some interesting game mechanics as you play as Deacon St. John and contend with threats both human, zombie, and zombie animal. Speaking of avoiding (or fighting) giant, deadly beasts, Sony revealed that Monster Hunter World would be coming to the PlayStation 4 next year, and later coming to PC and Xbox One. A massive announcement followed in that the 2005 cult hit Shadow of the Colossus will be remade by SCE Japan and released in 2018. The short trailer promised everything the original game excelled at; monumental battles, minimalistic gameplay, and zero dialogue. Along with Monster Hunter World, Capcom will also be releasing Marvel vs Capcom Infinite this September 22^nd, but the story mode demo featuring Thanos, Mega Man, Black Panther, and Chun-Li among other memorable fighters is available now for download. At last, Call of Duty World War II and its considerably graphic multiplayer was mentioned at this year’s E3. Sony gave the stage to a new trailer featuring iconic World War II locations such as the beaches of Normandy, setting a more serious tone than past COD titles. The game will launch this fall on November 3^rd. Sony really set the stage for the future of VR, and the company’s focus on giving new titles to the number one Christmas gift of last year: the PlayStation VR. Starting with yet another rerelease of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but this time entirely in VR. This includes all the DLC content, so players can presumably get married, kill vampires, and ride dragons all in VR. New titles such as colorful, sci-fi game Star Child, the whimsical Moss, first person shooter Bravo Team, and horror game The Inpatient, were introduced, the latter of the two from Supermassive Games, the same studio behind the PlayStation VR hit Until Dawn: A Rush of Blood. Final Fantasy XV is also getting a VR spin-off, but rather than the game remade for VR, Monsters of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is a light-hearted fishing simulator, which is set to release this September. We saw more of the much anticipated Norse mythology-based God of War through a brand new trailer and some of the brutal, bloody gameplay the franchise is famous for. This new incarnation of Kratos is slated for release early next year. From the studio that made Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, comes another title centered around player’s choices, and the effects of those choices. Quantic Dream teased Detroit: Become Human in 2015 during Paris Games Week, and readers might be familiar with the viral Kara video wherein a newly created android questioned how far she was from being truly human. The new trailer further explores a world wherein people and androids are the same in appearance, but not in status. With no release date just yet, the game teases an android revolution, piloted by either pacifism or violence. Player’s choice. Gamers have already been in a frenzy over Destiny 2, but tonight’s conference sneaked in new details including the revelation of Dominus Ghaul, the game’s antagonist. Along with this, Sony promised some exclusive items, weapons, and armor available to PS4 players first. For all platforms, the game will be available two days sooner than previously thought. Destiny 2 will launch September 6^th.

Sony wrapped up with the web-slinger himself, Spider-Man. The self-titled game is the first Spider-man game for over a decade and was showcased in a nine-minute trailer featuring strategic combat gameplay and acrobatic cinematic. Unrelated to this summer’s release of Spider-man: Homecoming, Peter Parker is in true, smart-talking form as he swings through the city, takes down super-powered gangsters called “Demons,” and FaceTimes Wilson Fisk. At the very end, much to the theatre’s delight, the fan-favorite character and future friendly neighborhood Spider-man Miles Morales was teased. Spider-Man is scheduled for release sometime in 2018. Overall, Sony said nothing about it's hardware and gave the whole of it’s stage to games to come, some soon, and some in the uncertain later.