Biggest E3 2018 Surprises

June 16, 2018

This year’s E3 was preceded by the biggest deluge of leaks and early reveals we’ve ever seen, and frankly it left us wondering if we’d see anything new this week at all. Fortunately, the big players did not disappoint and there were still plenty of great surprises that left our jaws slack and our minds aflame with speculation. A new Halo and co-op Wolfenstein were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to unexpected reveals, both good and bad. Here are the biggest surprises to come from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and more at E3 2018.

Halo Infinite

Microsoft’s once flagship Halo series has been fairly quiet in recent years. With the last major entry arriving in 2015, we’d begun to wonder what 343 Studios had been up to. The answer, it seems, is Infinite. We don’t know too many details as of yet, but the game is arriving on a brand new Slipspace engine and will take the series in brand new directions. Don’t let that put you off too much though, as we’ll be experiencing it from the familiar green boots of Master Chief. Just listen to that Finish The Fight riff towards the end and try not to get excited, we dare you.

Wolfenstein Youngblood

Wolfenstein’s revival of the old-school FPS has been nothing short of a joy, and we’re always up for a fresh round of Nazi-slaying. What we didn’t expect, however, was for Bethesda to reveal a co-op shooter in which we’ll play as B.J. Blazkowicz’s badass daughters. We don’t know yet if this is a full new Wolfenstein title or a smaller, standalone release like The Old Blood. What we do know is that we can’t wait to start gunning through a Nazi-occupied Oktoberfest with a pal.

Jump Force

We knew the new Super Smash Bros. title was due to be announced this E3, but who would have thought Bandai Namco was about to reveal their own ultimate mashup of Shonen Jump’s hottest characters? Goku, Naruto, Luffy, Light and more square off in this 3D superhero brawler. Jump Force is a 3-on-3 action fighter which lets heroes and villains from a range of popular manga and anime series beat the everloving daylights out of each other. Yes, that does mean you can make Goku Kamehameha Naruto into oblivion.

Gears POP!

A surprise certainly, but not one of the good kind. Microsoft teased everyone watching their conference with the Gears of War logo only to reveal a tie-in with POP! Action figures. On the off chance you’ve been waiting for this combo your whole life, you’ll be pleased to know that Gears POP! is a mobile game on the way in 2019. Fortunately they then went on to show Gears Tactics and Gears of War 5, both of which look much better.

Star Fox joins Starlink

Ubisoft and Nintendo have had a close connection for several years now, culminating in the excellent Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. We’d just about come to terms with seeing DK and Co. outside of Nintendo’s official Direct when Ubisoft decided to drop another bombshell on us. The Switch version of Starfield: Battle for Atlas would include Nintendo’s own Star Fox, fully voiced and bringing their Arwings to the fore. In an emotional moment Ubisoft even brought Mr Miyamoto to the stage to give him a special Arwing model prototype for the game.

Starfield

If this year’s E3 was proof of anything, it’s that Bethesda has upped their publishing game recently. When it comes to in-house development though, the studio is famous for their Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. New information on both those fronts was welcome but expected fare. However, out of the blue we were also treated to teasing CGI clip for a brand new Bethesda-produced title. Starfield is all but an unknown entity right now, but Bethesda has referred to it as a space opera, so there’s every chance we could be getting a game in the Mass Effect vein. Big news from a studio that hasn’t published a new IP in many, many years.

Déraciné

Mention the name FromSoftware and you’ll likely conjure images of bonfires, death and rock-hard combat. Déraciné is anything but that. A new VR experience from the famous Souls/Bloodborne creator, in Déraciné you take control of a spirit who must prove their existence to children in a boarding school, forming a bond with them and influencing their lives. Unexpected to say the least, but coming from this developer we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on it.

Skyrim Alexa is actually a thing

“Please don’t announce a new release of Skyrim,” is something many of us were justifiably wishing in the run up to Bethesda’s conference, and oh boy did they ever hear us. Announce a new Skyrim they did, only this time it was one of the highlights from the show. The short bit starring Keegan-Michael Key announcing Skyrim for Alexa gave us a good chuckle, but the real surprise came upon finding out that the app is an real thing you can download right now. Next you’ll be telling us they’re actually releasing Skyrim: Fridge Door Edition.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has every fighter ever

The latest Super Smash Bros. game certainly isn’t taking its title lightly. Ultimate really is the only fitting word for the game which will bring back every single combatant who’s stepped foot in Nintendo’s arena before. Far beyond Mario and Pikachu, that’s a staggering 65 characters so far, with the inclusion of Ridley sure to delight Smash diehards. Nintendo were clearly quite proud of their efforts, dedicating a good half of their Direct to the game.

Jade, are you okay?

Beyond Good & Evil 2 got its second full-blown CGI trailer this year, which itself wasn’t much of a surprise. What caught us off-guard was the ending. If you haven’t watched it yet, what are you doing? Watch it now! The trailer finally gave us what we’ve been waiting for with a glimpse of Pey’j and Jade, though things are hardly looking good. Appearing in menacing attire after a deadly attack on Pey’j’s ship, Jade is looking a lot less like the earnest reporter we knew, and much, much more like a villain. Ooh er.

Resident Evil 2 Remake

It’s finally happening! News of a Resi 2 remaster had popped up in a potential leak back in January but we hardly dared believe the details were true. As it turns out, the news was all real. Resident Evil 2 is getting a full on makeover, swapping fixed cameras for Resi 4-style over-the-shoulder action. Leon and Claire may look at little different, but the horror focus is still at the forefront. There’s plenty of gameplay footage available online and the graphical fidelity is looking gruesomely crisp. The good news it it’s arriving fairly soon on January 25, 2019.

Turtle Beach Introduces The Recon 200 w/Dr. DisRespect

Of course we couldn’t leave out the announcements of a few very awesome products of our own! First up – a surprise video from the 2-time champ himself, Dr. DisRespect, introducing the new Recon 200 gaming headset!