by Chris SelogyWe recap Bethesda’s quick E3 press conference, share SmashPad staff reactions, and give you some viewing material if you missed it.
Going into E3, it didn’t seem like Bethesda would have much to show, as far as the rest of 2017 is concerned. We had a good idea of which games they would focus on with the Bethesdaland teaser image they release and successfully nailed the two surprise reveals they were teasing. The show itself was quite a speedy show with everything being condensed into 45 minutes due to Devolver Digital hosting their own press conference the following hour, which give this show a great pace with little filler.
Let’s move onto the recap:
- Bethesda wasted no time with getting into VR, as they revealed both Doom VFR and Fallout 4 VR for a Fall 2017 release. Both are releasing on HTC Vive and Doom will also be appearing on PlayStation VR.
- They touched on the recent release of The Elder Scrolls Online’s Morrowind expansion to remind fans that they can return to the fan favorite area now. They did tease two new DLC packs for later this year called Horns of the Reach and Clockwork City.
- The Elder Scrolls Legends collectible card game had an update announced, which is called Heroes of Skyrim. This is adding over 150 cards to the game based on the mechanics, characters, and world of Skyrim. It will release on 6/29.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch got its first big trailer that showed it to be the full Skyrim experience with a number of special additions for Nintendo fans. They’re adding outfits and gear from The Legend of Zelda along with Amiibo support for Legend of Zelda and Smash Bros amiibo. The game also lets you use the Joy Cons for motion controls, which probably isn’t the ideal way to play it. Skyrim will be out on Switch later this year.
- To go along with the recent additions of mods to Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, they unveiled the Creation Club, a new program for mod creators to work with Bethesda to actually offer curated mods for sale in-game with their own special currency. That program launches this Summer.
- Quake Champions received some new features in the most recent update that happened just before the show that also added BJ Blazkowicz to the Champion roster. Along with that, they’re keeping the closed beta servers up 24/7 besides maintenance periods, so they encourage people to sign up for the beta on the game’s site to get a key and join the fun.
- For Dishonored, they revealed a new standalone expansion called Dishonored: Death of the Outsider that will be out 9/15 on PS4/XB1/PC. It features Billie Lurk reuniting with her mentor in the hopes of taking down the Outsider.
- One of the two big reveals in this show is the long-awaited The Evil Within 2 from Tango Gameworks and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil 4) that will be out on 10/13. It looks like they’re very much focusing on how far Sebastian’s willing to go to risk his sanity and rescue his daughter that is apparently still alive.
- The other big reveal during the show is Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus releasing on 10/27, which had a great trailer showing that BJ has awoken from a coma after the Nazis have taken over America. He forms a resistance with other groups to try to take back the country from the Nazis and the whole atmosphere that seems to be a commentary on modern day social politics in this country. Despite the seemingly grim story, the game seems to have plenty of humor to it and that peaked right at the end as one of the characters decided to take a hit of acid and interacts with a tiny cartoon creature as he’s tripping hard.
Staff Reactions
“Bethesda had a very tight presentation. They had to to keep the 1 hour time limit intact. There wasn’t anything there that we hadn’t heard of, but what was shows was quite good. For me Wolfenstein II was the hit of the show. It looks completely insane and I loved every minute of it.” – Filippo Dinolfo
“Bethesda’s show was mercifully short for the ungodly hour it took place, but you can’t say they didn’t get a lot done with it. They had the easiest path to VR presence with Doom and Fallout ready to go, and they once again have an early frontrunner for trailer of the show with The Evil Within II, but the real star was Wolfenstein II. This is exactly the game we need on a cultural level in 2017.” – Patrick Mifflin
“Bethesda’s entire presentation was clean with no unnecessary down time or nonsense fillers. The amusement park theme was a nice touch showing each game. Wolfenstein 2 was the only game of three conferences that got me excited. Every game that was announced will be shipping this year and not many companies can say that during E3.” – Joe Rosa
“As someone that was actually there at the press conference, in person… Oh my fucking god. Doors opened at 6:30 pm, and the event didn’t even start until 9 pm… like why? Awesome shit that’s why. The amusement park thing was beyond legit. There were caricature stations, turkey legs, popcorn, ice cream, In-N-Out Burger, beef ribs, champagne, beer (in steel steins you could keep), shots (in skull shot glasses you could keep), and I don’t regret a single thing. Oh yeah, the press conference. It was awesome. Link is gonna be in Skyrim. Sick.” – Danreb Victorio