Rocket Chainsaw’s E3 2018 Awards

June 26, 2018

There’s still nothing else quite like E3, despite an importance that seems to be waning over time with announcements being spread out through the year and publishers becoming increasingly gun-shy of announcing games years in advance. This year saw the return on Square Enix to the press conference space for the first time since 2015, a continued spreading of conferences to cover more days, a new approach from Sony and the continued madness of Devolver Digital. Big games were spoiled in the lead up to the show, resulting in some fun tongue in cheek moments during conferences, but there were still some surprises left to be found. Not the least of all being Todd Howard’s newfound awareness and prodding of his own company’s past foibles regarding game development. Despite a near-ten minute trailer we’re still none the wiser about what Death Stranding is, and we’re just as surprised as everyone else that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey looks to be closer to a Bioware game than the game actually in development at Bioware.

This year’s awards are a little different than the past, as we have decided to recognise not just our favourite games of the show, but also our favourite conferences. Each staff member was tasked with selecting their six favourite games and three favourite conferences of E3 2018, with the collective results determining our winners. Unlike last year, where two games utterly dominated the votes, this year saw a more even spread between games. Conversely, one conference utterly dominated voting like no other.

Without further ado, here are the official Rocket Chainsaw’s E3 2018 Awards.

 

ROCKET CHAINSAW’S CONFERENCE OF E3 2018

XBOX E3 2018 BRIEFING

In a year where other companies focused on extended showings of a small handful of games or already announced ones, Microsoft kept us excited with a bevy of announcements and excitement that was unmatched. While the first party showings were relatively sparse, Forza Horizon 4, Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Gears 5 all look like they’re going to be fantastic games. Couple those with some fantastic reveals for Devil May Cry 5, Dying Light 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and you can understand why every staff member here had the conference in their top 3. Microsoft brought the noise at E3 2018 and we definitely appreciated it.

 

BEST NEW IP, BEST RETURNING GAME

DEATH STRANDING

This is the second time we’ve seen Kojima’s new game at an E3 press conference and we’re still non the wiser as to what the game actually is, despite a lengthy gameplay showing. Weird shadow monsters connected to the sky by umbilical cords, the return of Throat Baby and Jar Baby (who may in fact be the same baby) and the reveal of more confusing characters. It isn’t often that a game can go through multiple trailers and still remain a mystery, but Kojima is the master of the tease and his style of announcement is keeping the game interesting. We’re eagerly awaiting the game, despite our total lack of knowledge regarding it, and hope to hear about a potential release window in the future.

 

ROCKET CHAINSAW’S GAME OF E3 2017 – SECOND RUNNER UP, BEST SURPRISE

ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY

This is the second year in a row that an Assassin’s Creed game has been our second runner up in these awards, showing the quality of the reveals we’ve seen for the franchise over the last two shows. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey looks to continue the transformation of the series that started with Assassin’s Creed Origins – and we love it. Dialogue options are in, giving us more control over the story, the combat looks better, we can finally play as a female lead and the game will contain the most Bioware-esque of features – Romances. It’s a continued departure from the past and an evolution towards the future. A future we’re extremely excited to see when the games releases on October 5 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

 

ROCKET CHAINSAW’S GAME OF E3 2018 – RUNNER UP

SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE

Smash Bros. has been an institution in many Nintendo gamer’s households ever since the Nintendo 64, but recent games have had compromises in their rosters. Fan favourite Snake didn’t return after Brawl, Ice Climbers were cut due to limitations of the 3DS version of the last game, and Ridley was deemed physically “too big”. Cue Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch, containing every single character in the franchise’s history and then some. With over 10,000 tweaks to characters and gameplay, along with a slight visual upgrade, a giant roster and the potential for the best portable Smash experience ever, it’s easy to be excited! We can’t wait to smash our friends when the game launches on December 7 for Nintendo Switch.

 

ROCKET CHAINSAW’S GAME OF E3 2018

CYBERPUNK 2077

Its no secret that we loved The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and both of its expansions, but Cyberpunk 2077 has filled us with an excitement beyond even that. Its been a long time since a cyberpunk world was done well with a AAA budget, but even the relatively short glimpse we got of CD Projekt Red’s world was exhilarating. The world looks colourful, dense and intriguing, its inhabitants are varied, detailed and complex and its story seems dark, complicated and engaging. The buzz coming out of the show validated everything we feel and leaves us even more excited. We know we might be waiting a long time, but Cyberpunk 2077 is our official Game of E3 2018.