Remember when we all called E3 Summer’s equivalent of Christmas for gamers? Well, Geoff Keighley went ahead and made the equivalent for the actual festive season. Last night’s awards show saw its fair share of video game celebrations, but we also got a peak at plenty of new and upcoming games. Here are our favourite world premiere that were announced at The Game Awards 2021.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Senua’s Sacrifice wowed us all with its depiction of psychosis in a mythological setting when it released. Ninja Theory is stepping up the game even further with its sequel.
A gameplay trailer has us scarcely believing that what we’re seeing is in real-time, but we’re assured it is. A stunning soundtrack and 3D audio effect heightens the experience, making it a little terrifying even to just watch. It’s certainly on the top of our most anticipated games that were shown off last night.
Star Wars: Eclipse
I’m a little sceptical about this one given Quantic Dream’s track record, but the High Republic setting is giving me hope. Set 200 years before the events of the Star Wars movies, Eclipse gives its developers plenty of room to get creative with its story. It’s no longer bogged down by the weight of lore established in the original movies.
We don’t know too much about what this story will explore, but it certainly looks unique enough so far. There’s no release date yet, but it’s certainly on our radar.
Alan Wake II
After over a decade of waiting, we’re finally getting a sequel to the cult-classic Alan Wake game. Remedy Entertainment is returning to the game series that cemented its fame as a game developer. 2010’s psychological thriller set the bar for narrative titles, and few games have lived up to the expectations since.
Remedy last saw huge success with Control, another mind-bending experience that bent the rules of narrative games. This time, the studio is returning to Alan Wake with a survival-horror approach. It certainly looks far more spooky than the first instalment. We’ve only seen a CG trailer so far, but lead developer Sam Lake promises that we’ll see more next Summer. Alan Wake II currently has a release window of 2023.
Sonic Frontiers
While I don’t believe that there’s never been a good Sonic game, I can’t say there’s been many of them. Sonic Team’s last outing with Sonic Forces was properly dire, and its previous endeavours haven’t instilled much confidence either. However, Sonic Frontiers looks like it might be the first game in a while to buck that trend.
This early CG trailer mostly gives us a glimpse at the world we’ll be exploring as Sonic. It seems as though the game is going for an open-world structure with lush environments to sprint on through. What’s really intriguing is the inclusion of some sort of colossus character at the end. Will we be fighting these creatres? I sure hope so.
Sonic Frontiers looks like Shadow of the Colossus meets Breath of the Wild, and I’m extremely here for it. It currently has a release window of Holiday 2022.
ARC Raiders
The last big title to catch my eye last night came from the team at Embark Studios. It’s a new start-up based in Sweden that consists mostly of ex-veteran developers at DICE. Called ‘ARC Raiders’, it’s a third person PvE shooter that looks to take place in some sort of apocalyptic world where robot creatures are invading.
It’s all presented with delightful set dressing as Swedish cult-pop singer Robyn plays in the background. Gameplay seems to revolve around players working together to take down these alien invaders, all with unique movement and weapon abilities. You can wishlist the game on Steam now, and it’s slated to release some time in 2022.
What were your favourite world premiere announced at The Game Awards last night? Let us know across our social channels!
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[Featured Image Credit: The Game Awards]