The great thing about E3 are all the trailers gamers are given. There’s an insane amount, but I think these stand out among the crowd.
I love trailers. Movie trailers, video game trailers, I just enjoy watching them. They feel like an art entirely on their own and E3 is a great time because just about all the major companies want to deliver the best trailers they can. While E3 was a bit different this year, and featured a few notable company absences, there were still tons of great trailers that were hard to choose from.
Quick note on these, I limited this to only trailers and how effective they were. So even if a game got some extra gameplay footage/demo that was shown later and made me excited, that doesn’t count towards the primary trailer shown. Make sense? Okay, let’s do this.
Redfall
I’m not exactly big on shooters, but there’s no denying the appeal from Arkane’s next upcoming game: Redfall. The trailer works on a number of levels. It manages to show off the badass action elements while laying the groundwork for how the world within the gameworks (Vampires?!). Couple that with a fun setup for the “story” in the trailer itself, working both backwards and forward, and it’s just a damn fun trailer to watch.
Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life
This was just a fun reveal and a big part of that fun was how unexpected it was. While we were expecting to see what the next season of Sea of Thieves would bring, seeing Jack Sparrow and the villainous Davey Jones was a surprise. I remember thinking how the music at the beginning of the trailer sounded so familiar, and then the surprise and joy as the clues fell into place right before Sparrow popped up.
It’s just a fun trailer and has me REALLY eager to get my hands on the game. To be honest, I haven’t really gotten into Sea of Thieves, despite how awesome it looks. That said, this trailer has me absolutely itching to hop on there.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Yes, I am very much a sucker for the Avatar movie. I know, I know, it’s become something fairly popular to hate on, but I unabashedly enjoy the film and have been looking forward to the sequels and this game. This was actually something I was crossing my fingers we’d see during the Ubisoft presentation. After all, the title was initially announced back in 2017 (and even made my list of titles stuck in Development Hell).
So imagine my delight when Ubisoft delivered this GORGEOUS looking trailer. While it doesn’t offer much in terms of what the story (which is an original tale) will be, there’s no denying how wonderfully they’ve captured the feeling of being on Pandora. The action elements look insane and on that blockbuster scale. Considering this is the same development team who will be making Ubisoft’s Star Wars game, I’m even more excited.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
This trailer serves as an excellent example of one so well done it hooks you regardless of your familiarity with the franchise. I haven’t played A Plague Tale: Innocence, but the trailer for this sequel has completely captured my attention.
You’ve got knights flailing at each other, people getting crossed/stabbed, and one lone badass stranding strong against a terrifying tide (literally) of plague infested rats. What’s not to love? Throw in the familial connection via the narration and there’s a lot of interesting story bits teased in a very short amount of time. Guess it’s time to put Plague Tale on the top of the backlog!
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel
Nintendo closed out their E3 presentation with the game so many were hoping to see, Breath of the Wild 2 (I know that’s not the official name) and it absolutely blew the roof off. It looks gorgeous, utilizing the same art style as the previous game, though a little more refined and polished. The hints and teases about the story this time around are in abundance, but don’t seem to give away too much. It feels like the perfect teaser to get the hype, and speculation, going as we wait for it to launch at some point next year (hopefully).
Honorable Mentions: Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Guardians of the Galaxy, Atomic Heart, Metroid Dread
There were tons of great trailers at E3 this year, but these five definitely caught my attention the best and have kept me thinking about them even as other things were revealed. Which trailers from E3 were your favorites?
