Today marks the beginning of PAX South 2017, so excuse me if this is a bit truncated. Trust me, however, when I say it is in service of something greater, and by that, I meant previews of some fantastic upcoming games and interviews with fascinating developers. Or at least I hope that’s the case. Sweet fuck please let that be the case.
I also stumbled across the secret Twitch partners hangout spot last night when all I really wanted to do was indulge in my pre-PAX ritual of drinking alone while I pondered how to overcome my fair to moderate amount of social anxiety in crowds. Not a bad way to do it, though, basically walking into a pit of loud and buzzed streamers. Felt a lot like jumping into the deep end of a lava pit to see if I still remember how to swim.
But right, we’re here for trailers, not dumb stories. Let’s go!
The Avengers Project — Announcement Trailer
My goodness is this interesting. The gist is that Square Enix and Marvel are partnering together to put together several video games across several years, starting with The Avengers Project. There’s not much else to say about it other than it’ll be led by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal.
Yeah, that’s right, the studios behind the tremendous Tomb Raider reboot and the recent Deus Ex games respectively (mostly). That seems like a rather promising blend of strengths, ambitions, and design philosophies. I honestly can’t wait to see how this ends up.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire — Campaign Launch Trailer
Surprise! There’s going to be a sequel to Pillars of Eternity, just in case you don’t remember the tepid announcement from May. Double surprise: it’s going to be crowdfunded on Fig. I guess it’s not that unexpected given Fig has Obsidian’s CEO Feargus Urquhart on its advisory board, but perhaps it’s still a bit jarring whenever you hear that someone first remembers that Fig exists and then decides to use it.
It sounds like director Josh Sawyer has a pretty good grasp on what he wants to do with it, though. The biggest thing that stands out to me is that they’ll be removing a bunch of the filler battles that plagued the first game. Based on that point alone, I’m sold. Get me in there.
Mass Effect: Andromeda — Cinematic Trailer #2
Any sci-fi story that has a place called New Earth is probably going to be pretty dope because calling something New Earth is a pretty baller move. This trailer does a solid job of establishing the stakes for why we’re there, too. We’re on a deadline and we’ve got to get a new home or we’re all dead. Sounds simple enough to me.
Oh, also, there’s a bad guy telling you he wants you dead, so you’re really just getting it from both ends. But you’ve got friends! They look like the same after school special diverse cast of the original trilogy, but they’ve got different names, so it’s okay. Actually, the slot-filling strategy of the cast is hilariously apparent now. Black dude, white girl, Krogan enforcer, Asari lady, etc. (Well, I guess they’re all Asari ladies and Krogan enforcers.) It comes to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 21.
House of Cards — Season 5 Date Announcement
There’s not a single doubt in my mind I’d prefer Frank Underwood to what we’ve got going on now.
Season 5 hits Netflix on May 30.
Minit — Teaser Trailer
What a curious thing this is. It’s described as a “peculiar little adventure game played sixty seconds at a time.” Based on that and the trailer, I have almost no idea what that means. It appears that you die every minute and respawn in your tiny hut but with all of your gear in tact, so I assume you’ll accrue things that shuttle you around a larger world that 60 seconds of walking couldn’t cover.
I’m rather interested in finding out more. It’s apparently at PAX South, so I’ll definitely be scoping it out. It’s coming to PC and maybe consoles this year.
