Entertainment

Sony Announces New 'God of War', 'Days Gone' and 'Death Stranding' at E3 Conference

Sony's E3 conference reminded us that it's all about the video games. 

by Nicholas Bashore
YouTube.com

Sony ended the second day of E3 2016 with a conference filled to the brim with what gamers care about: video games. Without a major focus on hardware like Microsoft, it gave developers room to dive straight into a ton of new titles from the get go, and showcase each offering to the audience with live gameplay demos. Opening with the massive reveal of God of War’s gameplay reveal via a live gameplay demo and continuing on with games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Star Wars: Battlefront VR, Resident Evil 7 and The Last Guardian. Every title in the new lineup carried weight during the conference – and continued to deliver until the very end.

Here’s the best from Sony E3:

5. God of War

Opening up with the new God of War project from Santa Monica was an absolutely breathtaking move, showcasing the evolution of one of the most popular game franchises as it steps into this generation. The game itself looked beautiful (as we expected), filled with smooth combat and the signature brutal style we’ve come to expect. While it doesn’t look directly connected to the previous titles in the franchise and looks more like a reboot than a sequel, it was great to see Kratos displaying many of the same characteristics we know and love. Boy, I’d hate to be his kid and mess up the hunt.

4. Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn has been one of the most interesting new IPs on the market. Set in a post-apocalyptic land ruled by mechanical creatures, players take control of Aloy as she searches for answers about the past of her people and the machines. During the conference we got an extended look at the game through a live demo which focuses on combat, dialogue and exploring the open world (to a limited degree). The game seems to have a crafting system, quest system and optional dialogue system similar to what you might find in Mass Effect, too – which was quite the surprise. Hopefully more details will come out of E3 throughout the week to flesh out all of these new concepts though.

3. Hideo Kojima’s Return and Death Stranding

Despite the setbacks Hideo Kojima faced surrounding the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Hideo Kojima has been going strong with his new studio Kojima Productions. During the conference Kojima took the stage towards the end of the show to debut his new game Death Stranding, featuring a naked Norman Reedus holding his child while staring at an ocean. While we have absolutely no idea what the game is about or the premise behind the trailer, it was just extremely satisfying to see Kojima take the stage, smile and say, “I’m back.”

2. PlayStation VR

As we expected, Sony brought PlayStation VR to their conference and confirmed a release date of October 13 with a price point of $399 in the US. Alongside the announcement they also debuted a full lineup of virtual reality titles coming to PS VR by the end of this year, including the massive announcement that Resident Evil 7 will be entirely playable in VR with a demo releasing tonight. Sony also confirmed the existence of a Star Wars: Battlefront PS VR mission that puts you in the cockpit of an X-Wing, with additional VR experiences coming from the Batman Arkham series and Final Fantasy XV.

1. Days Gone

Days Gone was a pleasant change of pace from the rest of Sony’s conference. Revealed early in the show, Days Gone is a post-apocalyptic experience from Bend Studio that follows Deacon St. John and his fellow bikers as they work to survive the zombie outbreak. Later in the conference we also got a look at a section of gameplay from the title, featuring plenty of running and gunning with hundreds of zombies on screen at once. It looks impressive, but still has plenty left to prove down the road.

Honorable Mentions

  • Lego Star Wars has a demo available now on PlayStation 4.
  • Detroit Become Human is bringing back criminal investigation with androids and an intricate web of choices that alter your story.
  • Crash Bandicoot is coming back with a complete series of remastered titles.