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Biggest positive surprise of E3

Has to be God of War and Spider-Man for me. Both looked gorgeous. Also the new "The Surge" trailer. I really liked Lords of the Fallen and this is looking good.
 
All of my pleasant surprises from E3 were cited already... But in case anyone is interested in creating some sort of statistics/analysis out of this conversation:

1) Persona 5 gameplay -- finally seeing a stage presentation of this game felt great. We'd seen in-engine footage before but it was all fleeting, and this felt like a strong sense of assurance that the long wait for Persona 5 is definitely going to pay off

2) Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - it's easy to be down on Nintendo for me right now, and I went into E3 with very low expectations, despite Legend of Zelda being one of my favorite gaming franchises. I was more than pleasantly surprised -- I was absolutely astounded by the way Breath of the Wild appears to be shaping up, from its art style to its gameplay systems. Game of the show for me!

3) God of War - even after the reveal of Kratos, and even my entire full first viewing of the trailer without any sort of commentary whatsoever, I didn't think this was going to be all that interesting. I then watched Giant Bomb's footage of it and Austin pointed out that the new over-the-shoulder gameplay appeared somewhat reminiscent to Dark Souls. I recall David Jaffe, with the first God of War, citing the original Devil May Cry as a huge influence on the game's design -- so kind of cross-referencing that bit of trivia with the speculation that this might be Sony Santa Monica taking inspiration from (though not quite directly following) Dark Souls has me intrigued. It helps that I feel Kratos is written so much better as a character in the trailer as well, and I hope Santa Monica is committed to keeping that sense of character alive throughout the entire game

4) Resident Evil VII - I was sitting through the initial paces of the trailer ecstatic, under the belief that Sony had somehow acquired the rights to continue work on Silent Hills. My mind began to run wild with the possibility that they even got Kojima back to direct. I was wrong, but finding out it was RE7 was still super exciting. It might not have the impeccable polish to its atmosphere and assets that I felt PT had at this stage, but it's still exciting as a new entry in the RE franchise and a mainstream survival-horror game. Can't wait to play the full product. Additionally surprising were its relatively close release date and the immediate availability of a demo.

5) Spider-Man PS4. With Spidey being one of my favorite and most influential superheroes, and being a fan of Insomniac Studios, I was legit shocked to see they've been handed the keys to take on the license. Something of a historical precedent makes me assume that the classic costume will be unlockable and playable in the final game, as I don't quite like the new costume as much. I really hope this is the Arkham of Spidey games -- hoping for fluid controls in both traversal and combat, spot-on characterization of Spidey, and a solid storyline that incorporates a large, fan-pleasing slice of the Spider-Man mythos.
 
EmCeeGramr said:
The surprise over Zelda is because it's very easy to imagine an alternate world where Nintendo unveiled the game and it was just Ocarina of Time with a big wide open overworld and a climbing mechanic.

The fact that Nintendo actually went back and reevaluated nearly every convention (from the design of the map to the way you heal yourself) of the series like they promised, incorporated modern mechanics (many of which past Zelda games had lightly touched on in very limited fashion), and still made it an undeniably Zelda experience with the series identity intact, and not a generic bloated me-too, is a pretty momentous accomplishment.
Click to expand...

And tbh, they could've done this and still had a game of the show candidate if everything looked and felt good. So it speaks even more to the risk/accomplishment.
here's hoping the final product is as good.
 
Zelda breaking up the far too formulaic nature of the previous games, at least of Zelda's own aged formula, was my personal and very pleasant surprise.

I can live with the 2005 visuals, so long as any potentially choppy framerate on the WiiU and sub-HD resolution is fixed by the NX port (the explosions are among the most beautifully designed ones I've seen, regardless of system or year though - see the .gif in the OP. ;) ). But breaking up the formula for good, including voice acted NPCs, more elaborate and involving weapons and combat, the open world with more freedom of traversing it instead of over-reliance on item-triggers, a lot more physics related shenanigans rather than just item triggered events whille still remaining the more light hearted Zelda at the core of its mechanics, is what makes me excited for the game. I hope the NX will also have gyro aiming! Best thing about the Wii U gamepad for me.

And I can't stop watching this .gif of course:

fqum4lT.gif


As lighthearted as this Zelda looks, the mounted Bokobling being bombed from the horse in the beginning is absolutely brutal. :p The horse seems to be magically unaffected, but it would be more brutal if it crumpled under the explosion as well. Somehow I don't think Nintendo will chose to go for that kind of consistency instead of opting to not harm animals, at least in such a cruel way. Hunting and shooting animals with bows for some reason is in after all. And bomb fishing! ;)
 
That Zelda still felt so empty and lifeless and that was Nintendo's showing. Come on.

Edit: Ah, positive: Nier looks absolutely incredible to play!
 
Spider Man, God of War: Norse, Call of Duty: Infinite not actually looking that bad but fun.

If we count stuff that looked good but weren't "surprises" in the same way: Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Nier: Automata, For Honor, Absolver, the new Zelda, and much more. Was a good E3 overall.
 
Considering all the leaks and rumors, Crash. There were signs that pointed to something happening with the property, aside from the Skylanders thing, but there weren't any actual rumors or leaks about it. None that I knew of, anyway.

Otherwise, if I didn't read about any of the rumors and leaks from before, then it would have been God of War and Spider-Man for me. On one hand, the former underwent incredibly significant change, while the latter being developed by a studio like Insomniac just feels too good to be true, along with being an exclusive.
 
Zelda...abit of a detour to the usual Zelda's,as it was a positive direction there taking it in.

Also the new Resident Evil,looked utterly terrifying,which they haven't been in a long time...how horror should be
 
MS releasing all their stuff on PC, saving me some money.

And probably God of War, in that they made their clown central character into well, a character and seem to be addressing most of the issues with the series as it went on (Kratos' rage shtick getting old, Greek pantheon being wiped clean, etc).
 
Steep, surprised me good. Was waiting for a "normal" snowboard game for years now. Not these deadly ssx stuff. Fingers crossed. Biggest concern the input system and trick system. Please do it like amped, more points if you do the trick slow (turn speed) and have the perfect timing. Oh god they will not get it together will they?
 
Skyrim Remastered being a free update on PC if you already have all the DLC.

I haven't been paying much attention to Zelda and only just watched the trailer. Honestly I'm not really feeling it. I liked how much more mobility Link has exploring the world, but it felt really empty to me.
 
For me:
-Xbox play anywhere, will be awesome to buy games on Xbox One with family sharing being able to play it on my gaming PC too with best graphics and frame rate available
-Resident Evil 7 couldn't play the demo yet cause it's PS4 exclusive, though what i saw looks good and i'm surpriced and happy Capcom had the courage to do something like that on its main game
-Dead Rising 4 it was leaked a few hours before Microsoft conference though i'm so happy they're gonna do a sequel to DR3, i played all of them and always enjoyed them, can't wait for this too
 
- God of War, with its new camera, new setting and overall new approach
- Farpoint, which might be a bit too intense and motion sickness inducing for some, but is just a blast to play.
- Gnog, which is as stunning mixture of weird and cool. It's gonna look sick in VR.
- Strafe, the next big hit from Devolver Digital. Watch out for that, trust me.
- Flinthook, my biggest surprise of E3. Adorable art direction, amazing gameplay, perfect controls, tight mechanics... can't wait to play that.

EDIT: I knew it was stunning (I had played it before), but the run'n gun segments in Cuphead are as astonishing as the rest, so that could be mentioned here as well.
 
biggest surprise was resident evil 7:biohazard.

No leaks before the show. Trailer preceded by PSVR text which put people off, then referencing Kitchen to further confuse. No Capcom logo so people were kept guessing. First person. Very different style of game from recent REs.

Basically the entire trailer was perfectly presented to surprise people.
 
J_ToSaveTheDay said:
All of my pleasant surprises from E3 were cited already... But in case anyone is interested in creating some sort of statistics/analysis out of this conversation:

1) Persona 5 gameplay -- finally seeing a stage presentation of this game felt great. We'd seen in-engine footage before but it was all fleeting, and this felt like a strong sense of assurance that the long wait for Persona 5 is definitely going to pay off

2) Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - it's easy to be down on Nintendo for me right now, and I went into E3 with very low expectations, despite Legend of Zelda being one of my favorite gaming franchises. I was more than pleasantly surprised -- I was absolutely astounded by the way Breath of the Wild appears to be shaping up, from its art style to its gameplay systems. Game of the show for me!

3) God of War - even after the reveal of Kratos, and even my entire full first viewing of the trailer without any sort of commentary whatsoever, I didn't think this was going to be all that interesting. I then watched Giant Bomb's footage of it and Austin pointed out that the new over-the-shoulder gameplay appeared somewhat reminiscent to Dark Souls. I recall David Jaffe, with the first God of War, citing the original Devil May Cry as a huge influence on the game's design -- so kind of cross-referencing that bit of trivia with the speculation that this might be Sony Santa Monica taking inspiration from (though not quite directly following) Dark Souls has me intrigued. It helps that I feel Kratos is written so much better as a character in the trailer as well, and I hope Santa Monica is committed to keeping that sense of character alive throughout the entire game

4) Resident Evil VII - I was sitting through the initial paces of the trailer ecstatic, under the belief that Sony had somehow acquired the rights to continue work on Silent Hills. My mind began to run wild with the possibility that they even got Kojima back to direct. I was wrong, but finding out it was RE7 was still super exciting. It might not have the impeccable polish to its atmosphere and assets that I felt PT had at this stage, but it's still exciting as a new entry in the RE franchise and a mainstream survival-horror game. Can't wait to play the full product. Additionally surprising were its relatively close release date and the immediate availability of a demo.

5) Spider-Man PS4. With Spidey being one of my favorite and most influential superheroes, and being a fan of Insomniac Studios, I was legit shocked to see they've been handed the keys to take on the license. Something of a historical precedent makes me assume that the classic costume will be unlockable and playable in the final game, as I don't quite like the new costume as much. I really hope this is the Arkham of Spidey games -- hoping for fluid controls in both traversal and combat, spot-on characterization of Spidey, and a solid storyline that incorporates a large, fan-pleasing slice of the Spider-Man mythos.
Click to expand...

Nice write-up.

If we'd add Nier: Automata and the Natsume Wild Guns remaster using actual new pixel art, you'd have my list as well.
 
Zelda, Resident Evil 7, in that order.

Both are giving me something different then the status quo for each series, especially Zelda.
 
State of Decay 2 - Loved the original, and this has 4 Player Coop and is using UE4. Yes Please!
God of War - The changes shown so far are mostly all positives for me, and being written from the same people as Lost Planet 3 is a plus in my books.
Resident Evil 7 - I've missed the puzzles and horror, and to see both are coming back makes me really happy. Not sure exactly how I feel about first person, but I'll be keeping an open mind.
Spider-Man - Not being rushed out with the movie, and being developed by Insomniac. Sign me up!
 
God of War. When rumours were circulating that another God of War was in the works, I was really flat on it. The formula felt like it had run it's course, and I wasn't looking forward to it at all. Big surprise when it was unveiled. Couldn't be happier with the change in direction for the series.

Zelda would be the next contender. I sort of knew what to expect, but Nintendo blew me away with what they revealed. That's a day one purchase for me, with an NX!
 
Resident Evil for sure. I want the game from the trailer/demo and I don't think we'll ever actually get it, but man I want a PT/RE7 type game so bad. The trailer and music were both fantastic.

Also Spider Man could be great if it's actually fun.
 
God of War - after playing ascension, i completely lost interest in the series. This, however, blew me away

Spiderman - i like insomniac Games...

Edit: completely forgot Resident Evil 7, i kind of like the first person perspective in this one...could be great
 
Spider-man exclusivity deal is the largest megaton of the year and the biggest surprise. 'Positive surprise' depends on where you fall on the graph between 1st party quality effort/budget for beloved IP vs exclusivity lock-down.

God of War: I thought I had this one figured out prior to E3 due to various leaks so I had no hype but the new camera perspective, tone & overall gameplay redesign are all delicious.
 
Zelda as well. After having seen the incredibly lacklustre and basically far from finished build from the Games Award in December 2014, you could say my confidence and hype were rather low. But I've done a complete 180 and the flame was lit again. Can't wait!
 
God of War.

Was expecting Norse Kratos in the same old angry vein as the previous games. Got what looks like one of the best games of E3. I'm actually real interested in playing a GoW game after dropping the series after finding it kind of boring and stale.
 
Zelda.

Nintendo actually learning from their mistakes with SS is incredible to me. They show that old dogs can indeed renew themselves.
 
I always knew Zelda would be great, so it wasn't really a surprise. I could say Crash Bandicoot remakes, but they didn't really show anything, and I don't know getting PS4 for such a title is worth it, especially as I have grown sour of Sony as a whole lately.

I gotta go with Xbox One & Windows 10 crossbuy system. Altough I really have to upgrade my PC in order to really use it for gaming.
 
I expected Zelda to be good, and there were enough Spider-man rumors that I wasn't surprised by that either (though Insomniac instead of Sucker Punch was a surprise).

I think God of War being interesting is a huge shock. Also, I never expected a remaster of Wild Guns, especially maintaining basically the same art while adding new content. I wish more classic remasters were done in this way.
 
The direction that God of War is going in, since I didn't care much for the old stuff.

A good looking Spiderman game!
 
Kawngi said:
The direction that God of War is going in, since I didn't care much for the old stuff.

A good looking Spiderman game!
Click to expand...

Are light RPG elements confirmed? If so I'm even more hyped then I was for GoW.
Also, yeah, Spiderman looks awesome, definitely gonna buy it, and I'm not even a superheroes games/movies kind of guy.
 
If you had asked me if I would ever care about a god of war game before this E3, i would have said no. But the new title blew me away, and makes a strong argument for my favorite game that was shown at any press conference
 
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