What are your E3 2021 highlights? | Team Talk

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Here we are, the (pixelated) dust has settled and we have lots of new games to look forward to. You might have seen our biggest E3 2021 takeaways, but now it’s time for our personal top picks.

Do you agree? Is there something else which took your personal top spot? Let us know in the comments.

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by James Michael Parry

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@James_Parry

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by Team PTC

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@pass_controller

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James | Back 4 Blood and Redfall

A bit of a cheat, but it’s a tie for me between two squad-based shooters – Back 4 Blood and Redfall.

Back 4 Blood shares a lot in common with co-op classic Left 4 Dead, which isn’t surprising, with the same studio being responsible for both games. This time it’s not zombies but the Ridden, humans infected with a parasite, though given there’s mutation and super-human abilities involved the game is clearly riffing on the same vibe.

Redfall looks a little more unique, presenting a ragtag group of badasses taking on vampires from the minds behind Dishonored and Prey. The character shown in the trailer alone probably edges it above Back 4 Blood, while the added twist of vampires rather than zombie-like creatures also feels like a breath of fresh air.

A very close runner-up is the return of Mario + Rabbids with sequel Sparks of Hope. The first game combined the strategy of XCOM with the fun and games of the Mushroom Kingdom and proved to be a perfect pairing with the flexibility of the Nintendo Switch. The continued escapades of Rabbid Peach are definitely top of the Switch games release list.

Sam | WarioWare: Get it Together

While it was great to see Game Pass get more support during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, plus Elden Ring appear during Summer Games Fest, I thought both events were ultimately underwhelming.

Square Enix wasn’t the best either, though I am excited about the upcoming Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. I’ve been hoping for a dedicated GotG game for a while now, and, at the very least, this looks set to right the wrongs perpetrated by Marvel’s Avengers.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin received an embarrassing debut trailer, though the playable PS5 demo went a long way towards setting minds at ease. It’s a nice mix of Nioh and Final Fantasy VII Remake (no surprise, considering the talent behind it), with gameplay that’s already rewarding ahead of its 2022 release.

Thus, it fell to Nintendo to save E3 2021. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Metroid Dread, and WarioWare: Get it Together were my personal highlights. The latter, in particular, will be right at home on Switch. Adding simultaneous cooperative play is a no-brainer, especially with the ease of access owning to the system’s detachable Joy-Con controllers.

Chris | Rainbow Six Extraction

I'd say my real highlight was the surprise trailer for The Outer Worlds 2, though, as said trailer made abundantly clear, it's still a long way off. Let's just celebrate me being right for the first time ever.

Of course, Rainbow Six Extraction will be here much sooner and Ubisoft already had my interest before showing off a fairly sizable chunk of gameplay. Rather than a highly-choreographed slice of a mission, the footage was presented as more of a beginner’s guide, also serving as a further reminder that this is a different beast to Rainbow Six Siege. A very different beast. Even if it's not too dissimilar to Back 4 Blood, or even Gears 5's Escape mode, it remains distinctly Rainbow Six.

Yes, the possibility of losing all of your progress with an Operator (if they get captured) could feel like a series of rapid kicks should one experience a streak of bad luck, though, done correctly, it could add to the tension. Operators will need to be extracted before they can be used again and all of your progress will be lost. Ubisoft  completely ditching the PvP element is unexpected, but welcome.

Another small highlight was Halo Infinite. Halo peaked with Reach, as anyone who is Liam will tell you, but what little was revealed about Infinite's story is certainly intriguing.

Liam | Battlefield 2042

Unlike Chris, none of my pre-E3 predictions came through - even the Super New Nintendo Switch Pro, which I thought was a certainty. Still, this year’s event was an exciting one for me as a fan of multiplayer shooters.

Whilst I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t hear anything regarding Star Wars Battlefront 3 or Titanfall 3 (though there’s still EA Play next month, so fingers crossed) a Battlefield 2042 gameplay reveal was enough to keep me satisfied.

The promise of 128 players, huge maps that have multiple zones and destructible environments and two all-new mystery modes (one that’s believed by many to be a Battlefield take on Escape from Tarkov) sounds absolutely excellent and has me scouring the internet in search of an Xbox Series X to be ready once the October release rolls around.

Elsewhere, Elden Ring caught my eye despite me not being a huge fan of FromSoftware’s back catalogue. I am, however, a big fan of George R. R. Martin’s work, including his fantasy stuff outside of A Song of Ice and Fire. Hopefully the game itself isn’t too difficult, as I really like the look of the world/lore and it would be good to be able to explore the entirety of it without wanting to lob my controller at the TV.

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What was your E3 highlight?