Games Inbox: Best game of E3 2021, Metroid Dread excitement, and Bayonetta 3 worries

The Thursday Inbox is upset that there was no sign of new DC Comics games at E3, as one reader tries to guess the next Zelda game’s name.

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Unofficial best
I see that the ‘official’ best game of E3, voted on by who knows who, is Forza Horizon 5, which I can understand given it was an important showcase for Xbox. However, I really couldn’t care less about it or any other serious car game so it’s not something I’m interested in, even if I’m also impressed by the graphics.

But what would you say was the best after that? It’s a pretty short list. I can’t really count Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 because so little was shown and it’s not out for so long. Same thing with Starfield and most everything else at the Xbox event.

I’m not convinced at all by Guardians Of The Galaxy, which I didn’t find at all funny (stop talking!) and Final Fantasy Origin demo did not impress me. Instead, I’d say the only two that were really in the running were Battlefield 2042 (the gameplay trailer was at Microsoft’s event, if nothing else) and Elden Ring.

I’d still like to have seen more of Elden Ring but for me that was the clear winner. Especially as it’s out surprisingly early, which was one of the few positive surprises of the whole event.
Preston

Not in-game footage
Nintendo has rescued gaming from the clutches of despair, at least in my opinion. Watching the other conferences during a turgid showing this year, I was beginning to lose the will to live after watching yet another CGI trailer or a shot of ‘four players’ looking sassy, indicating a four-player game short on story or immersion.

In drops Nintendo at the final hour to give me the reassurance needed, with a company that values immersion, single-player experiences, and more importantly a sense of fun. I was delighted with the announcement of a new 2D Metroid that tantalisingly looks to have the strength of its convictions to deliver the Dread from its title.

Add to this the Advance Wars remake and a brief but reassuring glimpse that all is well with Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 and you have a Nintendo conference that saved E3. They’ve had more impressive outings in the past, but it was nice to feel the excitement again. Phew.
Anon

Hard to keep up
The news of a new entry into the 2D/mainline Metroid series definitely has me excited. I’m of the opinion though that I can’t justify buying a console for one game, just as I couldn’t for Samus Returns. I appreciate the fact that Nintendo still invest a lot of time and money into a franchise that is nowhere near being a money-spinner all the same.

I have the Prime trilogy on Wii but hate the motion controls. I prefer the first two of the trilogy on GameCube. I think that Nintendo are deliberately doing this as a dissonance representing the unpredictable nature of the universe that it is set in. We had 1 and 2 on NES and then 3 on SNES, then 4 on Game Boy Advance. Then came Prime 1 and 2 on GameCube and 3 on Wii. Remaster of the original on Game Boy Advance (not sure if that came before Prime 3 at that point) and then the remaster of the second one on 3DS!

It’s dizzying stuff and probably makes it the most awkward series to own as a completist, given the hardware required to play them all. Metroid Dread did look really good but not sure it warrants a Switch purchase though just yet. We have Prime 4 coming at some point too, which could sway things if it is good. It’s one hard series to love on a tech ownership level but I love Metroid with all I have all the same. On a side note, Samus ALWAYS looks cool whatever the armour.
D Dubya

GC: Metroid 2, which Samus Returns was a remake of, was a Game Boy game. Metroid: Zero Mission came out the same year as Metroid Prime 2.

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Mostly ‘Armless
I completely missed that metal arm thing that Link has on in the Breath Of The Wild 2 sequel, I bet that’s what the game’s named after. The Arm Of Time maybe? A Link To the Future? Farewell To Arms? Armed And Dangerous? Who knows.

As we’ve seen predicting Nintendo is pointless and I kind of like that. Not being predictable, even if it goes against all common sense, is much better than the opposite in my book. Although I agree the lack of Donkey Kong game is peculiar. If it’s just late why not at least announce it and if they’re not doing it why not just do something minor like re-releasing the original or something? They could do a 3D upgrade like Advance Wars. Just doing nothing does seem to make any kind of sense.

Overall though I think Nintendo put on a good E3. Not their best, for obvious reasons, but at least as good (at least as average?) as Microsoft. Like you said, if those two hadn’t turned up to E3 the whole thing would’ve been a complete wipe out.
Banshee

Platinum concerns
Glad to see so many people talking up Advance Wars since the surprise announcement of a remake, really made my day to see it so fondly remembered. But I’m getting increasingly worried about Bayonetta 3 and PlatinumGames in general. Babylon’s Fall did not look good, at all, and while I do have faith in them I really don’t see that as being a game that the mass market is going to get on board with.

We still haven’t seen anything of Project G.G., it’s still not known if Sol Cresta is a joke or not, and they’ve presumably talked themselves out of NieR 3 because they say they won’t work on anything they don’t own any more. It was a miracle Platinum lasted this long but I have nasty feeling that they’ve over extended themselves and are going to come crashing down.
Purple Ranger

Legion of superheroes
I’m not convinced at all by that Guardians Of The Galaxy game from Square Enix. I was bored of watching it in the 10 minutes of footage they showed, which does not bode well for the full game. But it made me realise that once again we haven’t heard a word out of Warner Bros. about… anything. Were they even at E3?

I know Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad have been delayed till next year but we still haven’t even seen gameplay of Suicide Squad yet, which seems crazy given it’s been in development for something like six years. You’re telling me they couldn’t scrounge up two minutes of footage from all that?

But more importantly, given I have little faith in either project, where are the other DC games? Why is it always just Batman, given that Aquaman has had a $1 billion movie and Wonder Woman one almost as popular? Where is the John Constantine game? The Zatanna one? Green Lantern, Dr Fate, Lobo, and most importantly Superman? Obscure or well known there are literally hundreds of characters that could be turned into great games and all we ever get is Batman and Injustice, and not even that lately.

And before anyone says that they’re not famous enough, who had heard of Ant-Man or Dr Strange, or even Iron Man, before their movies came out? It’s not whether their famous now that’s important but whether they have potential for a good game and that potential is being wasted across the board.
Cranston

GC: Warner Bros. only showed Back 4 Blood at E3.

Too popular
Just a quick message to say I was going to buy the Zelda Game & Watch at the Nintendo UK Store website but they are having issues with their website they have told me problems with payment by card, so if you have enough money in your bank account and it doesn’t accept your card then the problem still isn’t fixed.

My guess, as to why they are having issues, is high demand for the newly announced games and merchandise after E3. Can’t even pay by PayPal at time of writing (Wednesday).
Andrew J.
PS: Hell Is Other Demons and Overcooked 2 is free on the Epic Store from 4pm on Thursday, 17th June.

GC: The site was broken when we checked it just after the announcement, so it was almost certainly because it was being overwhelmed by visitors.

Adding to the list
Microsoft’s E3 disappointed and pleased in equal measure for me. The disappointment was how far away Starfield and all the proper next gen exclusives are. 2022 was a bit of an E3 theme and it was a downer to see so little of Starfield, but I guess if they didn’t show anything the reaction would of been very negative. As it is Microsoft seems to have got away with it as I’ve not really read much in the way of it being a big dud of a reveal which it was to be frank. Maybe the extended showcase on the 17th will show more but personally I’m not expecting it to reverse the trend of slight disappointment.

The pleasing aspect was how good Game Pass gets with each passing month. There’s more than enough on Game Pass going to the year’s end I’m interested in, to keep me more than occupied with Microsoft Flight Simulator (27/7), The Ascent (29/7), Hades (13/8), Twelve Minutes (19/8), Psychonauts 2 (25/8), Sable (23/9) and Forza Horizon 5 (9/11).

Then there’s the games just currently listed for 2021: Halo Infinite, The Gunk, and Scorn. Then beyond that there’s games like Replaced, Atomic Heart, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Somerville, and STALKER 2. The first non-Game Pass game I have on my radar is Elden Ring. But as I’ve been doing Microsoft’s rewards scheme I’ve racked up 65,000 points in 70 days, which is enough to convert to £55 in Xbox vouchers, so Elden Ring is pretty much paid for.

I decided to pick up an Xbox Series X mainly as my nephew games on Xbox, for Game Pass. and lastly because of the studios Microsoft bought. Arkane, MachineGames, Obsidian, id Software, and Bethesda Game Studios have made some of my most favourite games. It’s frustrating we’re a long way out from seeing the fruits of those purchases. But until then an Xbox Series console and Game Pass is for me proving to be a very entertaining system to game on.
Simundo

GC: By normal standards it was a minor disappointment but given the pandemic and the fact that Microsoft aren’t usually very good at E3 we think most people deemed it acceptable, especially compared to most other publishers this year.

Inbox also-rans
GTA 5 is the biggest entertainment product of all time… I’ve never heard it put that way before. It sounds mad but I’m sure it’s true. Wish I actually liked the game!
Trance

Is this new Mario Party collection the first time Nintendo has ever remade a N64 game? I’m struggling to think of any.
Wrangler

GC: We’re not sure what to classify Super Mario 64 DS as but Star Fox 64 3D was definitely a remake. There were the two Zelda games as well, but they were more remasters.

This week’s Hot Topic
With E3 2021 carrying on until Tuesday the obvious subject for this weekend’s Inbox is what you think of it and the various announcements.

Which games have impressed you and which do you feel were a let-down? What has been your favourite surprise and what were you hoping for but never got announced? Which company do you feel put on the best show and who was a disappointment?

How much do you care about E3 and what do you think about this year’s format, forced upon it by the pandemic, compared to previous years? Please make sure to label your emails as either for the Hot Topic or the weekday Inbox.

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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MORE : Games Inbox: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 2022 release date, Switch Pro no-show, and Bloodborne music

MORE : Games Inbox: Starfield vs. Skyrim, Elden Ring at E3 2021, and the true cost of Game Pass Ultimate

MORE : Games Inbox: Xbox E3 2021 conference verdict, Guardian Of The Galaxy doubts, and Halo Infinite

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