Here's a Rundown of Everything At Square Enix Presents E3 2021 [13/06/2021]

Square Enix recently showed its latest and upcoming games at its 2021 E3 presentation, and there were a few surprise announcements alongside the expected Marvel’s Avengers and Final Fantasy news. Let’s dive into them, shall we?

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

First of all, we got a very extensive look at the Guardians of the Galaxy on their own adventure instead of simply being added to Marvel’s Avengers. However this is not a live-game, Eidos-Montréal described it in the presentation as “a single-player, story-driven, third-person action-adventure game”.

It the Guardians like you’ve never seen them before… Unless you watched the movie… or read the comics…

In this story, the Guardians have only been together for less than a year, and their relationship is what you would expect; insults aplenty and passive-aggressive comments routinely being thrown at each other. Visually, the game looks quite impressive. The environments look as outlandish and cartoony as they do in the comic books. The characters themselves also seem to follow this more comic book inspired design style, thankfully not suffering the same fate as the Avengers in their recent game where they looked like they belong at 4th place at an MCU cosplay competition.

The dialogue looks like it will be taking a more humorous approach than 2020’s Avengers as well, which will certainly fit the overall tone of the Guardians as a group. The main worry in regards to the dialogue was how chatty the members were in the demo. They seemed to comment on the current situation at every possible moment, and there’s a big change this will stray away from the fun quips of Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) and towards the painful petulance of Activision’s Deadpool (2013).

What in the name of Telltale is going on here?

In terms of the gameplay, Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) is the only fully playable character while the rest of the Guardians are there to take orders in combat and interact with the narrative independent of the player’s control. During combat, Quill relies on flying and shooting, and he can call on the other Guardians to attack specific enemies which he can finish off. However, these interactions aren’t just limited to combat. As the leader of the Guardians, Quill (and by extension, the player) will have to make decisions in certain conversations, such as having the final say on a plan of action, or how the group will get past certain obstacles. The game makes it clear that these actions will have consequences, possibly including how the other Guardians will interact with Quill in future scenes. Which seems strangely reminiscent of Telltale’s Guardians game from a few years back.

The game is releasing on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S and Nintendo Switch (via cloud streaming) on the 26th of October 2021. 

Where in this roadmap is the “Dox streamers by showing their IP addresses in the game” update?

Marvel’s Avengers

Speaking of Marvel, the latest expansions for Marvel’s Avengers were also unveiled: Cosmic Cube, Wasteland Patrol, and War for Wakanda. Cosmic Cube is coming out in June, whilst Wasteland Patrol and War for Wakanda are scheduled for “Summer and Beyond”. Cosmic Cube shows us what has become of the main game’s secondary antagonist, Monica Rappaccini (now the Scientist Supreme), who is seemingly able to warp reality for her own means.

Wasteland Patrol will see players searching for clues to stop an approaching apocalypse, with a focus on randomised, replayable boss fights and exploration-based rewards.

Oh hey, Klaue you’re looking great. You doing something new with your hair? Lost a bit of weight? Grew 50-feet?

Despite being the furthest away, War for Wakanda got the most amount of screen time, probably because it seemed to be the largest of the bunch. In this storyline, Ulysses Klaue seems to be attempting to steal Wakanda’s supply of vibranium, and it’s up to Black Panther and the Avengers to stop him. Wakanda itself looks beautiful, but it is unknown what direction Square Enix has gone with for the character of T’Challa or even what his face looks like, since it was never shown in the cutscenes. Due to the passing of Chadwick Boseman, it is possible that they have taken steps to avoid a similar likeness, or they are simply not ready to unveil it at this moment.

While Black Panther, Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Kate Bishop (also Hawkeye) have all been added to the game as playable characters, Spider-Man, who was promised as a PlayStation exclusive before launch, is still MIA. 

As someone who doesn’t have a nostalgia for these games… I don’t actually know why I’m meant to be angry.

Image credit: RPG Site

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (…made everyone angry)

Square Enix also delved into their back catalogue with a couple of remasters of their classic JRPGs. The first of which was Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, which will be a collection of the first six Final Fantasy games. This collection will be coming to Steam and mobile platforms (although no release date was given during the presentation). Many FF fans were instantly upset that the games wouldn’t be coming to consoles and things only got worse when they realised that some of the classic sprite work had been changed… Oh Square, you were so close.

Legend of Mana

The second update of a classic was a remake of the 1999 PS1 title, Legend of Mana. The remake is part of Square’s celebration of the Mana series turning 30 years old this year and will update music, UI and other quality of life features. Fans seem much less mad about this one and it will be available on June 24th of this year for Switch, PS4 and Steam. 

I think this looks nice… Does it? Will Mana fans be angry if I say this looks nice?

Mobile games

This quick section focused on some of Square Enix’s mobile games. First was Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, which seems to be following on from the events of Hitman 3 from earlier this year. This is somewhat surprising as IO Interactive held onto the Hitman rights when they bought themselves out of Square Enix’s ownership, but it appears that IOI owns the IP and Square have been licensing out the franchise for non-numbered spinoffs sequels. This means that Square Enix will still likely be making games in the franchise for years to come. Hitman Sniper is still said to be coming out this year, although gameplay and details were extremely sparse at the show and the actual date is yet to be confirmed.

Damnit is Yoko Taro going to make me play a mobile game?

Next was NieR Reincarnation, the very first mobile Nier game in the series which was released in Japan in February. The game which is apparently being overseen by Yoko Taro is available for pre-register in the west now, but again, there is no official release date.

If you asked me out of context what game this screenshot was from, I don’t I would ever figure out that it is a Final Fantasy game.

Finally, there were two mobile Final Fantasy games during this mobile spotlight. The first was the announcement of an update for War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (damn it Square Enix) which will see characters from the original Final Fantasy added, lasting from June 16th until July 13th. The second was a trailer for Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, the somewhat baffling battle royale set in the world of Final Fantasy VII. The next release in the ever-expanding continuity comes out later this year for iOS and Android, although no release date was confirmed.

Babylon’s Fall

Kicking off the second half of the presentation was a look at Babylon’s Fall, the new joint venture between Square Enix and PlatinumGames. This trailer started off with a healthy dose of world-building explaining the game’s title refers to “the Babylon Tower”, which was built over 1000 years, but was then seen as a “tower of ruin” for a further thousand years. There was a lot more very heavy lore that was pretty hard to follow, not helped by some of the ridiculously over the top anime-fake-British voice acting.

I’m trying to thing of a diplomatic way to say this but… Babylon’s Fall looks kinda rough…

Following this lore dump was a small interview with the developers of Square Enix and PlatinumGames revealing that the gameplay of Babylon’s Fall harkens back to the hack and slash style of NieR: Automata. However, instead of solely being a single-player narrative, like many of Platinum’s best games, Babylon’s Fall is designed as a live-service where players complete dungeons, either solo or in a group of up to four people.

This image just makes me think about if we will ever see Bayonetta 3 and now I’m super bummed.

This trailer instantly proved divisive among stylish-action game fans, with some even proclaiming the return of “Bad Platinum” – as in the developer that made the awful Legend of Korra and Star Fox: Zero, rather than NieR: Automata, Bayonetta and Vanquish. Babylon’s Fall is currently scheduled to come out on PS4, PS5 and Steam, and players can now sign up for a closed beta through these platforms. However, no actual release date for the game has been announced yet.

Always nice to catch up with old friends, eh?

Life is Strange 3 and Remastered Collection

We then got some news regarding the Life is Strange series. First, Life is Strange Remastered Collection will be coming out this year on September 30th. This bundles all episodes of the first LiS game with the Before the Storm storyline that takes place just prior to the first game. Both games have been given a graphical overhaul, and it’s a pretty significant improvement. Pre-orders for the collection are available now as well.

Square Enix then spent a few minutes talking about Life is Strange: True Colours, the next entry in the franchise. Both the numbered naming convention and the episodic structure have been dropped. We got to know a bit about the protagonist, Alex Chen, as well as a brief mention of her backstory and a glimpse into how her powers will work. In this game, empathy powers are going to be the main mechanic. For a long time, Alex has been able to psychically sense the emotions of others and has tried to shut it out, seeing it as a curse. However, due to the mysterious death of Gabe, her brother, Alex decides to see if she can use her powers to figure out what happened, and also how she may be able to help others.

In terms of gameplay mechanics, Alex will be able to sense people’s feelings based on that person’s aura, and can interact with certain people. The example we were shown depicted a man named Mac hiding a secret from his girlfriend, Riley, and Alex was able to sense his feeling of fear. Alex had the choice to either reveal this secret to Riley or keep it to herself. When it comes to people with particularly strong auras, Alex can try to directly connect with that person’s emotions. This causes that person’s surroundings to become a reflection of how they feel, an event known in-game as a “nova”. Alex will seemingly be able to “cure” these people of their emotional strife, but it’s not clear to her (or us) just how that will affect her or the person she is trying to help. And since unforeseen consequences are a staple of the Life is Strange games, it will be interesting to see how far-reaching some of these will extend.

Every time they mentioned that Alex has, “the psychic power of empathy” I had to try really hard to stifle a laugh,

The game itself will take place in Haven Springs, with Deck Nine deciding to go back to a small town for the setting like in the first game, rather than the cross-country journey of Life is Strange 2. Given that one of the highlights of the first game was how Arcadia Bay became its own character, this will surely please the LiS fans who missed that aspect in 2. Life is Strange: True Colours comes out this year on September 10th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia, PC and Switch via cloud streaming. 

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Square Enix presentation without some big Final Fantasy news getting the spotlight. In addition to the mobile games and Pixel Remaster collection mentioned above, we got a look at Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins (which is actually somewhat tame considering most Square Enix game names). This new game seems to focus around three protagonists, the leader of which is determined to “kill Chaos”, and he says this A LOT (and by the end of the trailer we weren’t sure if he was trying to convince us or himself). Stranger of Paradise is being developed by Team Ninja, who is normally known for the Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive and Nioh series, with the combat style of the latter serving as the inspiration for this game’s playstyle.

Editor’s note: I am very offended that multiple people compared me to the character on the left… They’re completely right, but I am still offended.

The protagonists are certainly amongst the most edgy of Square’s host of edgy Final Fantasy characters, which can be a tad jarring when you consider the game is somewhat based on the very traditional JRPG story of the first Final Fantasy and how fantastical the enemies and bosses are in the game, including Garland (from that first game). The story that was shown culminated in a battle between the protagonists and Garland himself, but little else could be gleaned from the trailer.

The trailer, the demo, the voice acting, the writing and a lot of other things about this game have been clowned on recently… But hey, at least they have a cool logo.

The reaction to the reveal was not helped by how early in development this build appears to be, with some even claiming it looked more like a PS3 game than a next-gen title. However, there is a lot of development still to be done with Stranger of Paradise said to release in 2022 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4 and PS5, with a PS5 demo currently available now for people to try… After just being a bunch of corrupted files for the first two days it was on PSN… Oh Square…

Overall, the presentation was fairly meaty in terms of trailers, but fairly light on actual gameplay bar Guardians. Much like the other presentations of E3 this year, we certainly got a glimpse into just how much the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted game development over the past couple of years. As such, it is likely that some of the release dates will be subject to change, as well as some of the games themselves, for which we will simply have to wait.