E3 2021: Getting an F in the chat, and on your school report
Another year of the world's largest and most AEST unfriendly gaming expo has come and gone. Today's update is going out a bit later than I would like, because I was up until 3am watching Nintendo grant my wishes in real time.
(A remaster of a 20-year old series which last had a release in 2008? Sure, why not?? Thanks Nintendo)
With COVID interrupting every level of production, this year's E3 was never going to be chock full of surprise future classics. But even knowing that, most presentations still felt like rushed homework, with a lack of detail, information or energy. I'm responding the only way which makes sense to me; channeling my inner schoolmarm and awarding grades.
B+ in Art - Wholesome Direct
There's a lot to like about the Wholesome Direct indie game showcase (viewable here). Helping dozens of smaller studios compete in the big leagues, they're also raising money for the International Rescue Committee. Yet strength in numbers also threatens to be the Wholesome Direct's weakness; individually charming, it was difficult to keep track of seemingly endless variations on pastels, talking animals and lofi chill anime hip-hop beats to study to.
C- in Psychology - Life Is Strange: True Colors
Announced back in March, the latest addition in the Life Is Strange series features Alex Chen, a woman with the "psychic power of empathy". She's cursed with feeling too much. Uh oh. I haven't played the other games in the series, so my concern is largely drawn from the trailer's overly obvious internal monologues. A similar emotion-detection mechanic was used in Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, a game I really enjoyed, so who knows? If the full game deploys a bit more nuance it could turn out great. Is there an aura colour for ambivalence?
F in Drama - Square Enix, Stranger of Paradise
Square Enix, baby, where did it all go wrong? Was it something we said? Did we enjoy Kingdom Hearts too much, and now you're so indebted to Disney you have to give half your presentation over to Guardians of the Galaxy? A Marvel-branded Mass Effect isn't the worst idea, but repeating clips during an already protracted premiere might be...
...if it wasn't for something else in the show. The F in the chat here stands for Final Fantasy, and the trailer for action spinoff Stranger of Paradise.
I'm here to kill Chaos. That's my mission.
I only know one thing. I want to kill Chaos.
We're here to kill Chaos.
While I do love guys with ambition and personal goals, it's also healthy to have a variety of interests and hobbies. Maybe SoP's protagonist, speaker of the above quotes, should consider taking an improv class, so he can learn to respond appropriately to what anyone says to him; or an English class, to learn more proper nouns.
The demo plays perfectly well, though I'm not sure it's my thing. You can watch the trailer here, which features an unnamed, disembodied woman's sad lady voice, therefore instantly rendering all concerns about this new game repeating the brofest of FFXV invalid.
Putting the F in WTF - Palworld
I'm cheating slightly here, as Palworld was announced a week before E3. But Content Permanence is dedicated to bringing you the best, most exciting, visionary gaming updates, so I couldn't go past this trailer. What begins as a #wholesome #lowpoly Genshin Impact/Pokémon hybrid takes a turn at precisely the 36 second mark, and only gets more, uh, compelling from there.
The real shock here is only that Palworld is brave enough to show what Pokémon has only ever implied. It's a cataclysmic clash of two schools of gaming thought; cutesy round pastel animals, and unforgiving FPS head clicking. I can't wait.
That's all for now!
Thanks for reading! Next week I'll be looking respectfully at Resident Evil: Village's 9'6" femme fatale, Lady Dimitrescu.