This is a ranking of The Young Folks’ top most hype games of the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017.
#10 Kirby Switch
This title being developed for the Nintendo Switch looks to be like a marriage of Kirby 64’s ability combining mechanic and superstar’s buddy-mechanic, times 4 players! Because we’re in sore need of cooperative first party games on the Switch in its launch year. Kirby games are always solid in their simplicity and creativity, and the combining of abilities is a wonderful mechanic that has been missed since the 64 era (with a little callback to it in Squeak Squad). From the bad-ass, classic abilities and weapons like light saber Kirby, to the more silly abilities like the curling stone, most known now for it’s appearance in Super Smash Bros., made its return in this trailer (maybe refrigerator Kirby will make a return as well?). We still have a lot to find out about this game, as with a lot of games shown by Nintendo at this E3, but it still stirs our excitement.
- Alex Taubert
#9 Metroid Samus Returns
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Metroid has thrived and died as one of the Nintendo franchises that has notably struggled in sales, yet always bounces back thanks to critical acclaim and consistently stellar design. The last two games in the series, Metroid Other M (2010) and Metroid Prime Federation Force (2016) were both regarded as missing the mark on what made the series good in the first place. Metroid has generally been silent from Nintendo’s end apart from these, and since 2010, the indie and PC gaming scene has EXPLODED. Tons of new developers have released some wonderful exploration based, atmospheric platformers (in the industry referred to as MetroidVania games) and a lot of them to great acclaim before and beyond release, including the likes of Axiom Verge, Sundered, and Owlboy to name a few. Combine this with the only celebration of Metroid’s 30th anniversary last summer being met with a solid fan remake of Metroid II (also known as AM2R) being shut down by Nintendo with a cease and desist, and we have a fanbase salivating for a traditional Metroid experience. Metroid Samus Returns has a big legacy to live up to, arguably with it’s thrown overtaken by the new kids on the block, and yet Metroid Samus Returns (the OFFICIAL remake of Metroid II Return of Samus for the GameBoy) has fans excited the world over. This 3DS title will reinvent a benchmark moment of the franchise for the 3DS to make something so dated feel fresh and iconic, in many similar aspects to what A Link Between Worlds did for the Zelda franchise. Let’s hope it reinvigorates the tired old design in the same way.
- Evan Griffin
#8 Kingdom Hearts 3
Now, this wasn’t exactly a part of any E3 presentation, but getting a vastly more detailed look than ever at this long awaited game was a treat, nonetheless. This time, we get a proper look at some of the Disney characters making a return; and while they aren’t surprising, it is a boon to see some progress being made. Most notably, the UI for the English trailer was in English-the first time that’s happened yet for this title. And the gameplay shown looks familiar but oddly confusing, and we’ll need to play more wait-and-see to determine how it will play out. I still don’t expect to see this one until 2019, but with another peek coming at D23 this year, KH3 might be further along than anyone originally thought.
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- Travis Hymas
#7 God of War
Kratos is back and beardier than ever! Having left ancient Greece behind him, Kratos is now using a magic axe to hack away at all the various monsters of Norse mythology. That condescending snarky voiceover in the E3 trailer is no doubt that of the trickster god, Loki, so you can bet Thor and Odin are set to make appearances as well. Also making appearances seem to be the great wolf Fenrir and the world serpent Jormungandr – the creatures that kill Odin and Thor in Norse mythology. Given that the trailer ends with Jormungandr offering our hero help, you can bet that the game series’ tradition of gloriously killing gods is going to continue.
The game also seems to be taking steps to humanize Kratos by making his relationship with his son a focal point of the story. It’s an interesting choice given that gratuitous machismo and wanton destruction used to be Kratos’ only defining features, but it’s probably a smart choice given that games today are often better for having nuance and character growth, as seen with the likes of The Last of Us. Also, the takedown animations still look beautifully brutal and viscerally satisfying to pull off, which has always been a good chunk of the series’ appeal on its own. Santa Monica Studios just knows how to make you feel mighty enough to take on the world, one deity at a time.
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- Alex Suffolk
#6 Shadow of the Colossus Remastered
What are the most memorable moments you’ve had in a game? Chances are, most of them are with boss battles – those bombastic encounters with intimidating foes that test your skill at every second. And in 2005, Team Ico apparently took this in mind and delivered Shadow of the Colossus: a game that consists almost entirely of a series of perfectly designed boss battles, and vast empty wilderness in between them. Enhanced with a magnificent score by Koh Otani and emotional story, Shadow of the Colossus is now widely regarded as one of the best video games to ever arrive on the PS2, if ever, and is the blueprint for cases in showing that games can be art.
And now, in 2018, we’ll be able to relive this classic with a full, HD remake by BluePoint studios. Rather than just giving us the same game with a few graphical polishes (something already done in 2011), the game is being built again entirely from the ground up with new assets and updated controls. The control change is an interesting, but welcome addition, given that playing the original can feel like you’re strangling the controller. And of course, the trailer footage looked stunning, with the water and grass popping with color, and all the stone and fur on the colossi brimming with detail. After all that Shadow of the Colossus has done to influence modern gaming, it’ll be good to return to this masterpiece and once again be blown away by its scope, thrill and beauty.
- Alex Suffolk
#5 Spider-Man
One of my favorite reveals of last year’s E3 was the announcement that Insomniac Games was developing a new Spider-Man game for the Playstation 4. Insomniac is an independent studio with one of the best track records in the business creating the Spyro, and Ratchet & Clank series. After developing Sunset Overdrive for the Xbox One, they seemed like a perfect match to develope a new game for everyone’s favorite web slinger. Last year’s announcement was a short trailer with no real gameplay. The gameplay demo shown during Sony’s press conference this year finally gave us an idea of what the game will be like and it looks great. The easy comparison to make is to the Batman: Arkham series but while there are similarities in the stealth and combat this seems very much like a Spider-Man flavored version of those systems. Spidey moves faster, uses more of the environment during combat, and it doesn’t seem like breaking out of stealth will be a bad thing like it is in the Batman games. There also seems to be a splash of Uncharted style set-pieces sprinkled throughout the game. The overall combination is promising and makes me confident that this could be the best Spider-Man game since Spider-Man 2 a couple of generations ago.
- Jose Cordova
#4 Metroid Prime 4
Metroid fans are so starving that this is enough to excite all fans of the series, and with only a title card reveal and a musical motif, the game screwattacks it’s way up to the #4 spot on our list. I frankly think it may not be very fair considering how little there is to go on, but I know Nintendo doesn’t show gameplay unless they’re confident the product is nearly done. No need to fool people. All we can determine from this year’s E3 regarding Metroid Prime 4 is that it is not being developed by Retro Studios, but rather one studio in Europe, and one in house at Nintendo of Japan. I’m just ecstatic to know that I have, not one, but TWO Metroid games to officially look forward to. This is something that hasn’t happened since 2002 with the release of Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion (my first two completed games in the series).
- Evan Griffin
#3 Wolfenstein II The New Colossus
When Bethesda announced they were developing a reboot to the series in The New Order, I almost couldn’t believe it. It was a calling for me to return to the series after skipping out on Activision Blizzard’s final entry in 2009. The New Order brought with it a return to the frenetic and fast paced action that I hadn’t seen since Return to Castle Wolfenstein. MachineGames threw everything they could at B.J. Blazkowicz, while also placing him in a unique storyline by asking the question: what if the Nazi’s won the war?
The answers to those questions brought some of the most compelling villains to the forefront and it seems like MachineGames is continuing that trend for The New Colossus by bring back Frau Engel. She was so deliciously easy to hate in The New Order and I’m excited to see what tricks she has up her sleeves this time around.
Everything Bethesda put up to show at this year’s E3 makes this game look like The New Order was put on steroids. Bringing the story to a re-envisioned United States and bolstering the cast of characters that surround B.J. Blazkowicz already looks and feels like a great move. Here’s hoping that the game hits its October 27th release date, as Wolfenstein: The New Colossus has become my most anticipated game of the year. – Grant Jonsson
#2 Star Wars Battlefront II
So let’s be honest, Star Wars: Battlefront 2015 was a wash. We all got duped by the hype from The Force Awakens and the gorgeous graphics, costing us $60 or even $100 for the season pass. Regardless, let’s keep a tiny amount of hope that EA DICE have learned their lesson and actually loaded up the sequel with actual investing content rather than three multiplayer stages. To be fair, the sequel does seem to fill that requirement by including the universes of the original trilogy, the Clone Wars, and The Force Awakens. There also seems to be something of a campaign as you play the leader of an Imperial Special Forces unit after the Death Star goes kaput in Return of the Jedi, which could be interesting to see how it all plays out. On top of that are a wider range of heroes and villains to play in more stages (Yoda vs. Darth Maul in Naboo, woohoo!) and even clearer graphics this time around. It’s right to be hesitant about Battlefront II, but there’s always the fear of the dark side.
- Jon Winkler
#1 Super Mario Odyssey
The first Mario sandbox in 15 years was already at the top of my watchlist for this year’s E3, but I don’t think I was ready for what exactly Nintendo had to show off. Odyssey feels reminiscent of a age where throwing every idea one had into a vat actually could stir together into a cohesive and fun game-just like the best Mario games. That isn’t to say recent games have been bad, but have been a little less bold. In walks Super Mario Odyssey, cutting through the hype of just about every other group at E3 and looking like an absolute blast. It’s games like this that remind us why Nintendo is Nintendo and everyone else looks like they come up short.
- Travis Hymas
Do you agree with out list, do you think we missed something? Sound off in our comments here, or our twitter handle @TYFOfficial, because we’d love to hear what your most hype games are out of this year’s E3!
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