After taking last year off, gaming’s biggest event made its triumphant return this week, albeit in a none-more-socially-distant form. 2021’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (as precisely no one calls it) may have been an entirely virtual event but it still came with a few surprises, from Square-Enix’s new Final Fantasy Soulslike, to the arch announcement of a follow-up to 2019’s The Outer Worlds.
Here, for your convenience, are all the most exciting trailers and gameplay clips to emerge from this year’s event.
Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2
Nintendo's Switch has had its share of great titles since launch but none have come close to the sheer majesty of Breath Of The Wild. We had confirmation that not only will the sequel finally arrive next year, but the older (and possibly wiser) Link will be sporting an all-new haircut to mark the occasion. You can watch said locks flapping freely in the trailer below.
Elden Ring
If you've been holding out for a Dark Souls 4, then the trailer for FromSoftware’s latest will be a welcome one indeed. With the same moody, dark fantasy aesthetic, an all-but-impenetrable plot (aided this time around by the narrative contributions of George R. R. Martin) and the the addition of a trusty steed, this looks like exactly what Souls fans have been pining for.
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
While it seems unlikely anyone’s forgotten about Avatar over the past 12 years, Ubisoft’s Na’vi adventure sets out to put Pandora front and centre in time for James Cameron’s string of upcoming sequels.
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Following on from Square-Enix’s Avengers (which itself has an impending Black Panther expansion), the developer’s next Marvel property puts players in the boots of Peter Quill for a single-player Guardians adventure. Due out later this year, the game is loaded with the gang’s trademark banter, comes with a healthy dose of Bonnie Tyler, and should help ease the wait until the arrival of Guardians 3.
Halo Infinite
The Master Chief has been away far too long, but John-117 took a step closer at this year’s E3. We still don’t know quite when Halo Infinite will actually arrive but if this multiplayer reveal is anything to go by, it’ll definitely be worth the wait.
Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
We might have gone in to the Square-Enix presentation hoping for news of Final Fantasy VII Remake Part II, but instead we got was Team Ninja’s take on a FF Soulslike. It looks like… well, chaos.
Forza Horizon 5
Mexico is the location for the next Horizon Festival as Microsoft’s perennial racer gets a next-gen glow-up. Petrolheads rejoice!
The Outer Worlds 2
Tongue-in-cheek trailer trope fun notwithstanding, the announcement that Obsidian’s retro future RPG is getting a sequel is cause for genuine celebration.
Starfield
We're still largely clueless as to what Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi title is actually about, but we do know it’s out next year and looks very pretty indeed.
Metroid Dread
A completely 2D Metroid might not have been the most obvious pitch for game in 2021 (not least because the last one was nearly two decades ago), but Nintendo are rarely ones to do what people expect (See: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which itself had a sequel announced).
Redfall
Left 4 Dead with vampires, magic and a cute robot? Yes please! Coming to Xbox and PC in Summer 2022.
Far Cry 6
Ubisoft's latest instalment in the Far Cry franchise has a secret weapon: Giancarlo Esposito. And if the below gameplay trailer doesn’t make that sufficiently clear, then this magnificently over-the-top cut scene will.