All the E3 2017 press conferences have now been wrapped up, with Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft showing off all the games we can expect to get our hands on over the course of the next two years or so.
This E3 was relatively tame compared to previous years, with there only being a few truly surprising new announcements made over the course of its opening days. With various leaks having already spoiled a selection of the big reveals, we were mostly treated to extended footage of games that had already been unveiled, or trailers for games that we had already anticipated would be announced.
Also: Sony vs Microsoft vs Nintendo: Who Had the Best E3 2017?
However, while E3 2017 didn’t exactly provide the megaton of news we’ve come to expect from the annual expo, there were still various games debuted that captured our attention. Cutting down on internet-breaking reveals in the vein of Final Fantasy VII: Remake and Shenmue III may have led to an overall less interesting E3, but it did mean that we got to see plenty more of games that don’t feel like distant pipe dream. One thing’s for sure: 2018 is shaping up to be a great year for video games.
The following slideshow contains our rundown of the very best fresh announcements that were made during the expo, from unexpected new entries in iconic series through to brand new IPs:
E3 2017's Top 10 Most Exciting Announcements
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10. The Evil Within 2
The Evil Within wasn't exactly the success we were hoping for from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, but for many its excellent combat made up for the glaring issues with its poorly paced story.
The Evil Within 2's reveal during the Bethesda conference suggests that the sequel will be looking to deliver a more compelling plot this time around, with its creepy visuals (complete with a Westworld-esque milky substance) contributing to what look to be one of the more unique big-budget survival horror games we've seen in a while.
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9. The Last Night
The Last Night was an unexpected source of controversy following Microsoft's E3 press conference, with it being revealed that the game's creative director Tim Soret had previously posted a series of anti-feminist and pro-GamerGate messages on Twitter. He later apologized onstage during E3's PC Gaming show, saying that the tweets no longer represented his views.
It's disappointing that Soret's previous comments had placed him in the eye of an online storm, because The Last Night was the most interesting indie game Microsoft had to show during its presentation. Though the game's politics are still up for debate, it's difficult to not be intrigued by its whole Bladerunner-for-millennials vibe.
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8. Metro Exodus
The bleak, claustrophobic environments of Metro 2035 and Metro: Last Light are replaced by overgrown foliage and sunlight in Metro Exodus, a new direction for the series that presents a more diversified post-apocalyptic wasteland to cautiously wander through.
Metro Exodus will feature both linear and open levels, with it not adopting the open-world format as was suggested by its trailer. We're still burned out on open-world games at this point, so we're glad to hear that 4A Games will be keeping with the structured missions of the series' previous entries, only this time with added exploration.
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7. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Despite racists' attempts to paint the game's Nazi-killing exploits as "anti-white," Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus won over just about everybody else at Bethesda's conference, transporting the series to the US of A in which a resistance team is fighting against the Nazi army in an alternative timeline in which the German army won World War II.
Wolfenstein: The New Order was an unexpected hit back in 2014, exceeding expectations for a story-focused, single-player FPS by raking in plenty of sales and becoming one of the top-selling games in the UK, where it proved to be exceptionally popular. Bethesda will be hoping that its sequel will replicate this success.
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6. Forza Motorsport 7
The game used to advertise the power of the newly revealed Xbox One X, Forza Motorsport 7 continues the series' tradition of being the best-looking game among Microsoft's upcoming releases. Featuring dynamic weather effects such as puddles realistically forming on the ground during storms, dark skies changing as the sun emerges from the clouds, and car parts individually vibrating and reacting to the terrain around them, it was certainly the best in show when it came to graphics.
Though it's questionable if Forza Motorsport 7 will be the game that convinces a substantial amount of people to spend their cash on the Xbox One X, it was still one of the highlights from Microsoft's E3 conference, and the most technically impressive game of the expo.
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5. Pokemon Switch RPG
The Pokemon Company announced that a core Pokemon RPG would be making its way to the Switch in the future, and though the game is but a twinkle in developer Game Freak's eye at this point (there wasn't so much as a logo or title for it), this is still huge news for fans of the series.
We've been requesting a mainline Pokemon RPG to release on a Nintendo home console for a while now, though Game Freak has persisted with only creating these titles for Nintendo's handheld consoles. However, now that Nintendo has created a handheld/home console hybrid, it seems that they've managed to convince the first-party developer to support it, which is great news for those who want to Catch 'Em All on their Switch.
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4. Monster Hunter World
The Monster Hunter series has attracted an increasingly large audience in the West, and Capcom have responded to its growing number of fans with Monster Hunter World, a game specifically tailored towards these players.
Monster Hunter World was one of the biggest surprises from Sony's conference, with the series having mostly remained a Nintendo property since 2012. However, it will now skip the Switch, instead releasing on the PS4 and Xbox One sometime in 2018.
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3. Anthem
BioWare's action RPG closed Microsoft's press conference, showing off its shared-world multiplayer action and pristine 4K visuals.
Arming players with fully customizable exosuits which grant them superhuman abilities, Anthem looks to be another MMO-lite in the vein of Destiny and The Division, only with the added benefit of being developed by Mass Effect's creators. These folks know their way around an RPG, and after the controversial Mass Effect: Andromeda we hope that Anthem will be a return to form.
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2. Metroid Prime 4
The Metroid Prime 4 announcement may have just been a shot of its logo and the confirmation that it's in development, but in an E3 mostly devoid of shocking announcements, Nintendo choosing to not continue neglecting one of its most critically acclaimed franchises was a "spit your drink at your laptop screen in shock" kind of moment.
Metroid Prime 4 won't be developed by Retro Studios, which is a bit worrying, but it will instead be created by a new team led by the series' longtime producer Kensuke Tanabe. Though Nintendo hasn't treated Metroid kindly in recent years *cough* Federation Force *another cough* Other M *cough cough* we're looking forward to seeing what they'll pull out the bag for the series' first venture onto the Switch.
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1. Beyond Good & Evil 2
Ubisoft had one of the strongest E3 2017 presentations this year, and closing their show with Beyond Good & Evil 2 was a large contributing factor in its success. Though the non-stop f-bombs felt a little forced, Ubisoft are clearly trying to establish that the sequel will feature a more mature tone, presenting a surprising deviation from its family-friendly cult classic predecessor.
It's a little disappointing to learn that it will be a prequel, and no gameplay footage was shown during the event, but with Ubisoft proudly positioning its diverse, multi-ethnic cast of characters at the forefront of its presentation, this was certainly one of the stand-out announcements from E3 this year. Revealed by a tearful Michel Ancel, the man responsible for the incredible Rayman Legends, this long-awaited sequel is certainly in good hands.
