The Top Games of E3 2021

Every year, gamers look forward to E3, a multi-day expo featuring the biggest video game developers and other gaming brands. Most years, presenters like Nintendo, Xbox, and Ubisoft reveal the biggest games of the future or provide anticipated details on games in the making (Sony did not present this year). E3 2021, which wrapped up on June 15th, was no different, as we saw presentations featuring games that will likely define the year (or years to come). While countless games were shown off at E3 2021, some developers stole the show with the top games after an unprecedented year for the gaming community.

Top Games from the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase

Expectations were high for Microsoft and Bethesda’s joint-E3 2021 showcase following Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda Softworks earlier this year. After much anticipation, Xbox fans walked away from the showcase as the true winners of E3 2021.

For years, the narrative around Xbox centered around its lack of exclusive games, a well trod pattern by their biggest competition Sony and PlayStation. E3 2021 was the turning point in that narrative. The Xbox Bethesda showcase was filled with exclusives, new additions to the Xbox Game Pass, and some much needed updates to highly anticipated titles.

Fans received an update on Bethesda’s open-world space adventure game Starfield, which will launch exclusively on the Xbox Series X and Windows PC on November 11, 2022. While the game is still in development, the E3 trailer provided an initial glimpse of the Starfield universe, which conveyed a rugged, space exploration game. While no gameplay was revealed, the beautiful graphics and space opera-esque soundtrack will keep fans hungry for more. And while players are excited about Starfield, anticipation is highest for Elder Scrolls VI which isn’t scheduled until after Starfield drops, making this release date extra exciting.

Starfield. Image from Bethesda.

Xbox’s magnum opus — the star franchise Halo — came out big with a much needed multiplayer showcase for Halo Infinite. 343 Industries proved to fans that the delay of Halo Infinite to fall 2021 was a great move. The multiplayer looks like a hybrid between the slower paced, methodical classic Halo blended with elements of advanced mobility mechanics for a newer generation of gamers.

343 also unveiled robust Spartan customization for the new Halo, a slew of new weapons and abilities, which will all come in a free package. Xbox’s decision to have Halo Infinite’s multiplayer free-to-play will help keep multiplayer populations thriving for years, while bringing in new players who don’t need to put money forward to play. In Microsoft’s vision, the success of Halo Infinite will propel Game Pass subscriptions, which provides gamers hundreds of games for a monthly subscription.

A batch of new games will also be available on Game Pass Day 1 of release. This includes anticipated titles like STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl, BACK 4 BLOOD (a zombie game within the Left 4 Dead universe), Psychonauts 2, and Hades which will soon be on Xbox. 

Microsoft Flight Simulator, a popular PC game, will also be available on the Xbox Series X. The game is notoriously graphically intensive, so it will be interesting to see how the Xbox handles the title. Forza Horizon 5, largely considered the pinnacle racing game franchise, will also be available on Game Pass when it releases on November 9, 2021.

Showcasing the value of Game Pass and exclusive titles was the game plan for Microsoft leading into the event and it likely paid off for the Xbox. This holiday season will be the real test for Microsoft, and the Bethesda partnership will bring new, hyped titles to Game Pass.

Top Games from Nintendo Direct at E3 2021

The last official day of E3 2021 was a memorable day for gamers thanks to Nintendo. Leading up to the event, speculation was rampant on what games the company would announce and what potential updates to the Nintendo Switch would be revealed. While Nintendo Switch news was virtually nonexistent at the showcase, new titles on the horizon will keep Switch fans entertained this holiday season.

The biggest announcement at the Nintendo showcase was the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The short trailer did more to heighten speculation than provide any concrete details on the game, though. No release date was announced, and the gameplay seemed to indicate some portions of the open world map will be played on islands in the sky. While the trailer was compelling, it left more questions than answers. But rest assured a sequel is coming in 2022.

It was exciting to learn more about The Legend of Zelda: Bread of the Wild 2, the sequel to the original (pictured above).

There was some good and bad news around the highly anticipated Metroid 4. The bad news is Nintendo confirmed the game is still in production, a whopping four years after the initial announcement. Gameplay wasn’t even shown, adding to more frustration around the game’s release.

The good news is Nintendo is giving fans a new game in the franchise titled Metroid Dread. The game is the first new story in the series in 19 years, and a return to form for the Metroid series as a 2D game. The game centers around Samus navigating levels while avoiding the EMMI research robots. Metroid Dread looks like a fun return to the Metroid formula, and while it means fans still have to wait for Metroid 4, at least a new game in the franchise will ease some frustrations.

In other big news from the showcase, Kazuya from Tekken is joining the Smash Bros. roster. Nintendo is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the beloved Monkey Ball series with Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, which will include an HD remaster of the first three games in one package.

A new Warioware game will launch in September, and Nintendo announced a release date of November 12 for Shin Megami Tensei V, a popular JRP franchise. Mario Party Superstars will feature five boards from previous Mario Party games, around 100 minigames, online play, and updated graphics and textures to the classic editions.

The icing on the cake for the event was the announcement of the Legend of Zelda Game & Watch handheld. The small Game & Watch console celebrates the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda with built-in games. Launching in December, the system will include the OG titles The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Vermin (an original Game & Watch title that will include Link as a character), and an interactive digital clock and timer. If you missed out on the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., be sure to keep an eye out for pre-orders on this Zelda edition

While Nintendo’s showcase didn’t include any new Switch-related news or Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates leaving many confused, fans got a good glimpse of some great titles coming this holiday season.

Looking to the future, the Breath of the Wild sequel and Metroid Dread will be two powerhouse titles for Nintendo. If you were considering copping a Switch Lite, now is the best time.

Other Big Games from E3 2021

While the Xbox / Bethesda partnership and Nintendo both put on incredible shows, there was plenty of heat featured in other E3 events. In fact, one of the most discussed games of the week was shown to viewers before E3’s official start on Thursday, June 10th during Summer Game Fest: Kickoff Live! As the show came to a close, the gaming community lost its mind when it got a sneak peek at Elden Ring. The game, which is set to release in January of 2022, is the work of FromSoftware, the studio behind the Souls series, and George R.R. Martin, author of A Song of Fire and Ice (the Game of Thrones story). This means we can expect incredible, and potentially very challenging, gameplay and a riveting narrative to go with it. The game will likely impress fans of The Elder Scrolls as they continue to wait even longer for updates on the next installment of the acclaimed series.

One of the other top games showed off at Summer Game Fest: Kickoff Live! actually got the show rolling. The first game that host Jeff Keighly covered at the event was Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Coming from Gearbox Software, the studio behind Borderlands, this shooter enters the universe of Borderlands character Tiny Tina. Although Tiny Tina is the game’s titular character, gamers are sure to be enchanted by its other cast members who will be voiced by stars including Andy Samberg and Wanda Sykes. Like Elden Ring, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands drops at the top of 2022.

On the Saturday of E3, Ubisoft came with some serious games. Aside from updates on Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Extraction, they announced the sequel to one of gaming’s unexpected crossovers: Mario and Rabbids. In 2022’s Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, our favorite characters from the Mushroom Kingdom join forces with the goofy Rabbids of the Rayman series to save the galaxy. While it is an unlikely collab, the gameplay is also different from the classic run-and-jump Mario that we are used to as Sparks of Hope is a strategy game like its predecessor Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Ubisoft also closed their E3 2021 presentation strong with a trailer for the upcoming Avatar game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The action game was initially announced in 2017, so it has been years in the making just like the Avatar film sequels. With all of the time Ubisoft is putting into the game, perhaps it will deserve similar acclaim to the 2009 movie.

The week’s top games were featured in plenty of other shows as well. The Upload VR Showcase presented games geared towards VR systems like the Oculus Quest 2. One standout was Unplugged, coming out this fall. In this music game, similar to Guitar Hero but without the guitar controller, VR and finger-tracking technology allow players to air guitar to their favorite rock music in the game. Nerf blasters also went virtual at the showcase, as it premiered a Nerf Ultimate Championship, a multiplayer game that will be coming to Oculus next year.

Sunday and Monday of E3 gave us a double whammy of announcements not only from the Xbox / Bethesda partnership and Nintendo, but Square Enix and Capcom as well. On Sunday, Square Enix gave us a Guardians of the Galaxy game, which is releasing this fall, as well as Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, which is dropping next year across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, and is sure to excite any FF fan. Capcom came through for Nintendo Switch players when they continued to build the hype around Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin which will be releasing in July of this year alongside three amiibo figures. This Monster Hunter release comes on the heels of Monster Hunter Rise which just released in March for the Switch.

Even though we didn’t get an E3 in 2020, the past year has given us so many games to be excited about and play for hours and hours. Whether you play Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, VR, or PC, E3’s 2021 showcases gave us a whole new lineup of the top games to look forward to this year and even further into the future. While some games are close on the horizon, we still might be a few years out from some of the heavy hitters that were covered at the expo. It might be a while until we play these masterpieces, but now is the perfect time to get your pre-orders in and upgrade your game systems to be ready for what’s to come.