After the failed launch of Fallout 76, Bethesda had to make up for their mistakes with the fans. The E3 Showcase proved to be the right stage to do so but luckily, it wasn’t all about fans. Bethesda is still making exciting games and they certainly showed the love, although
Playing it safe with iconic franchises
Bethesda is known for its iconic franchises such as Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, and more. It’s no surprise that a big part of the showcase went to these franchises. Unlike Xbox, Bethesda decided to start things slowly, playing it safe rather than demonstrating innovation. What was missing during this first half of the showcase was pacing and big reveals. Sure, free Nintendo Switch games are fun but that’s not why we’re here, not even Fallout 76 Battle Royale could convince us. Bethesda learned from its previous mistakes but it also looks like it forced the once bold publisher to play it a lot safer. Where is the Bethesda that showcased innovating projects with their heads held high?
Today, a lot of their time went to DLC expansions for their iconic franchise, a lot of that DLC being offered for free. Bethesda stated multiple times that their games wouldn’t be possible without the fans and it’s clear that they wanted to please the fanbase of their current games. I’m guessing those gamers will be more than pleased with how Bethesda handled its main franchises but on the other hand, I was expecting a bit more. Sure, most entries in those franchises are relatively new games so having the continuous support of the developers is something to be grateful for, but is it enough to justify an E3 showcase? Luckily, there were a couple of world premieres to elevate the overall quality of the show.
Two new IPs to save them all?
Ghostwire Tokyo, from the team that brought us The Evil Within showcased some needed innovation during the event. We haven’t seen a lot from the game but from what we’ve seen, it looks extremely promising, especially if you take a look at the track record of the developers. The only thing that wasn’t as good to look at was the cringy presentation of the game on the big stage. By far one of the most inspiring games on the stage but it still wasn’t enough to turn the tides since we only saw GCI footage and not actual gameplay. The same goes for the second new IP.
Yes, Deathloop looked good in CGI and we saw a glimpse of the flashy style, fast action, and fierce gunfights but aside from that trailer, we didn’t see any actual gameplay, which was worrisome. It’s hard to really get excited about games with as few details that we got now. Don’t get me wrong, both games dit elevate the general feeling of the showcase but in the end, it seemed like Bethesda did continue to play it too safe.
Take their mobile section, for example: Commander Keen and updates on existing games. The decision to bring Commander Keen to mobile is a weird one if you ask me. It’s is a fan-favorite game that a lot of older gamers were waiting on to return on the gaming screen, having it on mobile does quench this thirst but it’s far from what we’ve wanted to see from the franchise. Decisions like these didn’t really make sense and they certainly lack the bang you would expect from a Bethesda show. Again, giving the spotlight to your fans over and over again is heartwarming but I wished we could see some more new games in action, with the emphasis on new.
And then, there was ORION
And then, out of nowhere, the old Bethesda is back, revealing ORION, their answer for streaming games. This service will enable games to stream a lot faster while using less bandwidth, making it cheaper for both gamer as developer to play the game. There isn’t a lot known as we speak and it’s hard to test out right now but this service might be one of those typical Bethesda innovations that become the standard in a couple of years. The company is known for pulling that kind of things off but at this point, it’s a bit too soon to say that ORION stole the entire show. It’s a promising service without a doubt but that’s about it.
Conclusion:
We can only conclude that Bethesda played it way too safe during their showcase. In a show filled with DLC expansions, mobile games, and sequels even two entirely new IPs couldn’t change things around for the better. Certainly, both games looked incredible but I think we can all agree that we were hoping for a bit more when it comes to Bethesda. It’s nice to see their continuous support towards the communities of their games but we could have used at least one other big announcement to really get hyped. It’s not a bad showcase at all, just way too safe.
