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E3 2018 recap and reflection: Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda’s theme at E3 this year was “create”. They wanted to create something unique and new that nobody was expecting them to do. And while some things like Rage 2 had been leaked beforehand, there were still plenty of huge surprises Bethesda had yet to show off. I, for one, can’t wait to play Skyrim on my Etch a Sketch.

The summary

  • Rage 2 will allow players to drive any vehicle they see and will have a big open world.
  • Bethesda will be relaunching Elder Scrolls Legends on all consoles.
    • Can transfer data from PC version to console versions.
  • Elder Scrolls Online is rolling out with new Murkmire and Wolfhunter DLC.
  • Doom Eternal is a sequel to the 2016 DOOM
    • It was teased to be “Hell on Earth” indicating that the game will take place on Earth.
    • More will be announced at Quake Con this August.
  • Quake Champions will be holding a trial this week for free.
  • A new Prey update will include Mooncrash and Typhon Hunter DLC.
  • Prey VR will feature the Typhon Hunter DLC in VR.
    • Players can play as Mimics.
  • Wolfenstein Youngblood will be set in the 1980’s in Paris and will feature BJ’s twin daughters as playable characters.
    • Can be played either solo or co-op.
  • Wolfenstein Cyberpilot will be a VR game where you can hack Nazi machinery.
  • Fallout 76 will be a prequel to all other Fallout games and will be set in West Virginia.
    • Will be four times the size of Fallout 4.
    • The games will be entirely online and will have dedicated servers. Only a dozen or so players will be in the world with you at the same time however.
    • Progression will follow the player even if they die in game.
    • Can build wherever you like and then move it elsewhere.
    • Multiple nukes will be in the world. Players can work together to gain access to them.
    • A Beta for Fallout 76 will be playable later.
    • The game will be released November 14, 2018.
  • Fallout Shelter will be on the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch, available now for free.
  • Elder Scrolls Blades will release later this year on mobile phones for free. Different modes will be available such as a story mode and an endless dungeon mode.
    • The game will be coming to “as many platforms as possible,” including mobile, PC, consoles, and VR.
  • Starfield is a new single player IP from Bethesda that is being developed for next generation consoles.
  • Elder Scrolls IV will be the highly anticipated next entry into the Elder Scrolls 
    • The game is slated to come out after Starfield, indicating that it is also in development for next generation consoles.

The hype

There were so many amazing moments during Bethesda’s conference. The announcement of Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein Youngblood, and Elder Scrolls VI were amazing, and of course Bethesda spent a great deal of time with Fallout 76. They began their conference with some titles nobody really seemed to respond to, and it was clear that they were building the hype up until Fallout 76. A smart move on their part was waiting until the very end to tease Elder Scrolls VI. Plus, Bethesda is finally branching out into brand new territories with Starfield, although next to nothing is known about that game.

 Also, everything about this trailer for Skyrim: Very Special Edition. 

The meh

Certain titles stood out during Bethesda’s conference, and other titles didn’t really resonate. The crowd didn’t seem to care about any of the Elder Scrolls games except for ES6. Not to mention Quake Champions, Starfield, and the VR games had very little buzz surrounding them. Various people came out on stage to talk about games that had come out in the past or had just released. They even played a trailer for Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset which just released last month. But fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) that wasn’t the worst thing to come out of this presentation.

The cringe

Does everyone remember Jesse Wellens from EA’s Need for Speed portion of E3 last year? Well Bethesda saw that and said, “We could do better”. The first game to be shown off at Bethesda’s conference this year was Rage 2. Pete Hines was on stage talking about Wal-Mart Canada leaking the game, and then segued into showing the trailer. But no, it wasn’t the trailer. It was an awful song by Andrew W.K. Then the trailers. Several other reps from Bethesda’s various studios came out on stage to talk about their respective games. And pretty much all but Todd Howard was cringey in some form. Whether it was long pauses of unnecessary silence, corny jokes that no one laughed at, or even pity applause at some games, Bethesda had a rather cringey presentation.

Overall Bethesda’s conference will definitely be remembered fondly, as so many highly demanded games were announced tonight. While most of the speakers were cringey in some form, the games were far from that. It will be exciting to see where Bethesda takes some of the games they barely teased tonight like Doom Eternal and Elder Scrolls VI.


Source: YouTube

Image: YouTube

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