Our Favorite Games From E3 2021

Amidst all the bombast of triple-A explosions and CG trailers, Somerville stood out as one of the most interesting games at E3. This indie game was developed by Jumpship, which partnered with Playdead (Inside, Limbo) co-founder and former CEO Dino Patti back in 2017. On its surface, Somerville looks just like a Playdead game. Which isn't a knock against it! If anything, that's what has me interested. Stories that highlight a family up against impossible odds (in this case, what appears to be an alien invasion) is a tried-and-true narrative hook that makes me want to know if/how they survive. On top of that, Somerville has great quasi-3D visuals, a striking art style, and a little dog to boot, so this seems like a sure-fire recipe to capture my interest.

I regularly get asked, “What is your favorite game of all time?” If you’re like me, you probably hem and haw and then rattle off like five games in response. It’s hard to pick a single favorite sometimes, but I’ve noticed that Super Metroid is almost always in that list of five. Nintendo’s haunting exploration-based sci-fi thriller blew my mind as a kid, and it’s one of those rare classics that remains incredibly fun to play even decades after its release. I loved MercurySteam's take on the series with 2017’s Metroid: Samus Returns, so I’m beyond thrilled that it's getting a second bite at the apple with Metroid Dread.

I can’t wait to explore planet ZDR, a whole new alien world, as I slowly acquire new powers. Samus can now use magnetic grapples to climb walls and the new Phantom Cloak renders her temporarily invisible. That last power sounds like it will be incredibly useful as a new enemy type, called E.M.M.I. (Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier), is very hard to kill and will chase Samus relentlessly, like Resident Evil 2's Mr. X. Who knows, maybe after Metroid Dread releases on October 8 it could crack my top five favorites.

Since its 2017 launch, I've made it no secret that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite game. So naturally, when a sequel was announced in 2019, I was beyond excited. While Nintendo has been largely silent since that initial announcement, this week finally gave more glimpses at what to expect when we return to Breath of the Wild's vast version of Hyrule. The footage to date has shown everything from looks at new powers to cryptic teases of what could really be going on in the narrative, and everything in between. Combine that with another excuse to explore that version of Hyrule (complete with new areas to explore in the sky) and 2022 can't come soon enough for my Switch and me.

I want the next Elder Scrolls chapter as much as any other Western RPG fanatic, but Starfield has been living within the dark recesses of my mind since its first E3 tease many years ago. If any team could lead a sprawling sci-fi project that chronicles humankind’s journey to the far reaches of space, then it’s the lovely folks at Bethesda. This game is giving me some serious Interstellar-meets-Fallout vibes. I couldn’t be any more excited/fascinated by its potential gameplay and exploration loop. It also helps that the game releases two days before my birthday in 2022. I mean, it’s almost as if Todd Howard and Co. were developing Starfield with me in mind!