Five Things You Need to Know From EA Play

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EA’s press conference might not have blown our socks off, but it certainly had a few stand out moments, including an in-depth look at Battlefield 5, a sequel to sidescroller Unravel, new EA Original Sea of Solitude, as well as the usual EA sports updates. Here are just a few highlights.

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by Helen Broutsos

​@pass_controller

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Battlefield 5 looks both intense and vast
​Battlefield 5 reimagines World War 2, giving players the biggest and most expansive Battlefield yet, with destroyable houses, better equipment and upgraded weaponry. The element of surprise is being rewritten, since tanks can now level buildings, so we're excited to see environments evolve and necessitate switching up tactics on the fly throughout the course of a multiplayer match.

The single player mode sees War Stories return, though little was revealed in the trailer, which debuted at the Xbox conference, besides a cinematic tone and the series’ usual gritty presentation. You can roll out (even as a girl...) from 19 October 2018.

Unravel Two is THE most adorable game of 2018 (so far)

Unravel Two is an adorable  (did we mention it's adorable??) co-op puzzle platformer. The story follows Yarny - a small, lost red creature made of wool - who, in this follow-up, has lost his spark, but gained a co-op companion.

​Following a dramatic shipwreck, the Yarnys are connected and must collaborate to navigate their way through dangerous situations, solve puzzles and evade enemies in a fast paced, highly detailed environment. Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of playing with others, as it works perfectly well solo too. The biggest surprise for this one is that Unravel Two is already available on PS4 and Xbox One.

Command & Conquer returns! But wait...

Legendary RTS series Command & Conquer made an appearance, but (disappointingly) as a mobile game for iOS and Android. Command & Conquer Rivals allows players to jump into competitive matches, select a commander, choose six different unit types and customise their forces.

Familiar GDI and NOD logos are thrown liberally about the place, and even the forces themselves are familiar, divided into four different types: inventory, vehicles, air units, specialised tech forces, and structures. Android users can pre-register now for early access on the Google Play store.   

Anthem is the upgrade we’ve all been waiting for​

Next up is BioWare’s multiplayer action RPG, Anthem. While rumours and first impressions pointed to this being EA’s answer to Destiny, Anthem apparently concentrates on single player experience. (From BioWare?! Madness!)

BioWare’s Casey Hudson, Cathleen Rootsaert and Mark Darrah explained that although Anthem is a multiplayer game, once players come back to base, Anthem follows a linear single player experience.

​This was deliberate as they noticed that other multiplayer games dilute narrative and expect players to go out on mission after mission with no real goal in mind. Additionally, when out and about on missions, players can expect to be met with “breathing” environments, with drastic changes in weather.

​While weather is nothing new, it could add an interesting layer of immersion if used effectively. If that wasn’t enough, players will also get a pick of four different exo-skeleton suits called Javelins, that all feature their own special skill sets.

​Depending on what suit you chose, players can expect to devastate arenas and enemies. Lastly, BioWare confirmed that they’ve said goodbye to loot boxes, and that microtransactions in-game will be “strictly cosmetic”.

Anthem launches on on 22 February 2019.

​Sea of Solitude has something to say about mental health

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Last of our highlights is Sea of Solitude, not because it deserves to be at the bottom of the list, but because it's bold enough to take on something a bit more serious - mental health. Sea of Solitude is a hauntingly beautiful indie game that confronts uncomfortable human emotion and enables an open dialogue on a difficult topic.

​The game's about a young woman named Kay, whose mental health has disintegrated beyond hope and transformed her into a literal monster. From here, Kay’s journey is a harrowing exploration of the devastation that human isolation can bring. You can explore Kay’s mind in early 2019. ​

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Those were just some of the games featured in this year’s EA Play event. What did you think of event, and what was your favourite game? Comment below and follow Pass the Controller on Twitter for more coverage of E3 2018. 

In case you missed EA’s conference, you can catch up now by clicking the embedded video and skipping to the 58 minute mark.

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