Top 5 Most Wanted Games of E3 2018

All of the major press conferences of E3 2018 have come and gone, and what better time than this to give you my favorite games of the show?

There are some major titles that I'm leaving off of the list on purpose: The Last of Us Part 2 and Spider-Man are missing because we already knew those games were shaping up to be incredible and the new trailers only proved that to be even more true. Those would easily make the list, but I wanted to dispense love on other games.

Also, The Elder Scrolls VI isn't here because all we got was a 30-second aerial zoom and a title for a game that probably won't be out until 2020 at the earliest.

Honorable Mentions

Gears 5

As a huge fan of Gears, I've surprised even myself by having this as an honorable mention. I fell off of Gears 4 faster than I would have expected because of how hard it was to get a game of Horde to go 5 waves without half the team backing out. It was incredibly frustrating. I know that has nothing to do with how the game was designed, but unless something is done to prevent players from ruining the mode that I buy the game for, I don't know how up I can get on this one. I'm cautiously excited.

Side note: please call it Gears of War 5 and not just Gears 5.

Cyberpunk 2077

I've never been a big fan of the futuristic, Blade Runner-esque setting, but Cyberpunk is the next game from CD Project Red, the team behind The Witcher series. Considering how much time I wound up wasting on The Witcher III (and how much more time I'll rack up over the summer), I'm at least willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Rage 2

I'll keep this one succinct. I didn't like Rage. Rage 2 looks better than Rage, I'm interested.

And now, let's delve a little bit deeper into my five favorite games of the show.

5. Anthem

Well, I don't really want to give Electronic Arts any of my money, but I have to admit that Anthem looks pretty darn good. EA has already gone on record saying that there will be no random loot boxes and no microtransactions that will put another player at an advantage. Of course, I'm sure they could add those in later, and I would almost be willing to wager that they will.

Enough about that, though. Anthem looks fantastic. From what I've read, the game plays silky smooth and looks like what I wanted the Destiny games to be. My ears are perked, EA, please don't do something stupid to ruin the hype.

4. Metro Exodus

I never did play Metro 2033, but I did play Last Light and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a great amalgamation of stealth, action, and survival-horror. Metro Exodus looks bigger and badder in every regard. It seems to be taking inspiration from games like Far Cry. Do I want to take the stealthy approach or go in guns-blazing? If you're going to ape something from another game, at least it's from a good one.

There also seems to be a good deal of time spent on upgrading and crafting items, furthering the amount of options available to the player. The world of Metro is very bleak and Exodus seems to be cranking that depression dial up. From the gameplay demo I watched, the pace of the game is going to range from very tactical to "I need to get out of here now!"

The delayed release date is fine by me. Metro Exodus seems to be worth waiting for.

3. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

If you own an Xbox One, Ori and the Blind Forest is one of the games that I would tell you that you need to play. If you're a fan of the "metroidvania" genre and want a game that is stunning both graphically and musically but will also offer up an imposing challenge, Ori and the Blind Forest is the game for you.


Ori and the Will of the Wisps was already highly anticipated, but the E3 trailer during Microsoft's press conference made it the game that I most wish I could have right now. They showed off new abilities for Ori for both combat and traversal, and just from the short trailer we got, the platforming seems to be upping the ante. I'm so ready for this one.

2. Death Stranding

I'm a "Kojima Guy." I think the man does no wrong. If his name is on a game, I'm buying it, no questions asked. I'll even buy games that don't have his name on it, like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. With that said, it shouldn't be a surprise that Death Stranding was on my radar.

We finally got to see some gameplay footage, and the game looks like the exact kind of weird you expect from Hideo Kojima. From the trailer, I get the impression that combat will be minimal, as most of the video montage indicates an emphasis on loneliness and exploration. Of course, that's purely speculation on my part. Knowing Kojima, the game will probably have a dude with no skin who only speaks in haiku about ice cream and Goat Simulator.

I also need to know more about this weird baby.

I'm sure the game is still a long way off, and I'm torn between wanting to know more and wanting to know nothing so I can experience it myself.

1. Resident Evil 2

I was hoping this game would be featured on someone's press conference, and it only makes sense that it was Sony's. Not a whole lot was shown, but as someone who has been obsessed with Resident Evil over the years, I recognized all the key characters. We saw Leon (of course), we saw glimpses of Sherry Birkin and Claire Redfield, an obscured Licker, the daughter of Raccoon City's mayor, what appears to be Mr. X, Ada Wong, and even RPD's own Marvin Branagh.

It appears they opted to make this a modern remake, unlike the Gamecube version of the original. They stuck with the over-the-shoulder camera introduced in RE4 and perfected in the Revelations games. One thing I'll be interested to see is if they incorporate the A/B scenario model from the original RE2. My initial prediction is that they won't, since this trailer focused almost entirely on Leon. January can't get here soon enough!

So there you have it, the 5 games of E3 2018 that I want the most. What games are you most looking forward to?

Thanks for reading.

-TheDustinThomas

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