I would like to say hello to everyone out there with the first blog post of Roof Games. In our first article, we will talk to you about the E3 period, which is called the gamers’ fest. E3, which normally progresses with the participation of gamers and conferences organized by various game companies in front of the audience, was canceled last year due to the coronavirus epidemic. Although game companies tried to fill this gap with online events they organized by themselves, they could not keep up with E3.




This year, E3 returned as an online-only event, and many video game companies gathered under the same roof and started to announce the conference days. Not taking part in the event in the previous years, Sony continued to be absent once again, making the players upset. The most anticipated event at E3 2021 was Xbox-Bethesda event. Holding conferences by itself for years and having games from great to masterpiece; Bathesda was going to be present at Microsoft's presentation for the first time after being acquired by Microsoft and joining Xbox.

Officially taking place from June 12 to June 15, E3 kicked off on June 10 with the Summer Game Fest organized by Geoff Keighley. Notorious for showing too many advertisements and update news in his presentations, Mr. Keighley was quite ambitious this year. Although the presentation did not have great games from start to finish, it proved why Geoff is ambitious when the most anticipated game of recent times, Elden Ring, was shown to the players at the end of the presentation.




E3 2021 opened with Elden Ring trailer, whetting the appetite of the gamers and increasing the expectations for the games to be announced at other conferences. I can already say this: Although we have watched good presentations by Xbox-Bethesda and Nintendo, unfortunately, the expectations of the gamers were not met. While Ubisoft did not show any game in its presentation that is of any interest, with the exception of the new Avatar game, Capcom did not even talked about a new game at its conference. 

Disappointing the fans with the Marvel Avengers game, Square Enix was extremely criticized because of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. The game was slammed for both its archaic PS3-era graphics and its trailer with the screams of "Chaos". After the presentation of this game and Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection which was criticized as being utterly meaningless, Square Enix was able to attract a little bit of attention with Guardians of the Galaxy game. Unlike Marvel's Avengers, the game will focus on the story of one person and the gamers will be in control of the Star Lord character in the game, which will be released on October 26, 2021.

As I mentioned before, the Xbox-Bethesda conference, one of the better events in E3 2021, had little talk and plenty of announcements. Microsoft, which kicked off with the Starfield trailer, presented both big-budget games and independent productions without ever slowing down. Showcasing intriguing independent games such as Twelve Minutes, Sommerville and Replaced, as well as riveting AAA games such as Forza Horizon 5, Stalker 2 and Halo Infinite, the hero of the conference was Xbox: Game Pass. The news that 27 of the 30 games featured on the show will be available for Xbox Game Pass users from day one; probably made the gamers happier than in most conferences.



Excitement for Metroid Dread

I want to finish with a company that has very strong brands. With Pokemon, Mario, Legend of Zelda and Metroid, Nintendo, which has had a big effect in the gaming industry for years, made the best presentation of E3 2021 alongside with Microsoft. Nintendo, which modernizes its old series and never hesitates to give them the value they deserve, included legendary names in this presentation. The company, which started the conference with the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which managed to become the most popular game exclusive to Nintendo Switch with its first game, continued its nostalgic attitude with the announcements of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania and Metroid Dread. Metroid Dread, the new member of the Metroid series, which is one of the creators of the Metroidvania genre, which we have not heard from especially after the announcement of Metroid Prime 4, created great excitement. The modernization of cult games to today's standards and them continue being inspiration for newer games has always been tempting. Therefore, even though it will not take place in the main series, it is still a mystery where the series, which is the ancestor of the Metroidvania genre, will raise the bar with the new game.

E3 2021 was a big relief after last year’s absence for us gamers. The conference, where the impact of the coronavirus epidemic was felt and most of the games were announced after 2022, was at least a signal for a return to normal before E3 2022.



Ertuğrul Burak Emanet