6 of the most interesting games from today’s E3

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, best known to avid gamers as E3, is currently underway in Los Angeles, California. At this time, most of the major publishers’ press events have concluded, with Bethesda, Ubisoft, and EA showing off their new games for the coming year. As always, Monday’s presentations are bookended by the two large platform-holders, Microsoft and Sony.

Here’s a look at the most interesting titles coming from Asian studios and creators at E3.

1. The Last Guardian

Fumito Ueda’s troubled magnum opus once bound for the PS3 has been a no-show at recent trade events, leading many to speculate the game would never be completed. Last night’s gameplay presentation served to calm those fears. The game is apparently alive and well, and coming in 2016. That still seems a bit too long for a game that was announced six years ago, but at least Sony has not abandoned the title.

Ueda was in the audience and received a hat-tip from Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida, but did not appear on stage, which would suggest his role on the game’s development might not be so active any more.

2. Dark Souls 3

This is perhaps the most anticipated one among core gamers. The two previous titles in the action role-playing game series carved a particularly bleak and violent niche, best known for the games’ unforgiving difficulty.

The existence of Dark Souls 3 was leaked through a YouTube channel about a week ago, but the game was officially shown today at Microsoft’s press event. The game by Bandai Namco and From Software has original series producer Hidetaka Miyazaki back in the driver’s seat (after he took a less hands-on role in the first sequel), and is expected in early 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

3. Shenmue 3 hits Kickstarter

That was a bit of a weird moment. A major publisher’s stage at a prominent trade event seems a little incongruous as a venue to launch a crowdfunding campaign. A sign of the times in the mainstream gaming industry, perhaps.

Regardless, Shenmue 3 is another title that has long kept fans waiting, after the popularity of the first two games in the series back in the Sega Dreamcast days. Series creator Yu Suzuki took the stage at Sony’s press event to announce the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter campaign to thunderous applause. The campaign has already blown past the US$1.6 million mark of its US$2 million goal at the time of publishing. This shows how excited the audience is to be getting the long awaited sequel to a beloved series.