Here’s our ongoing recap of E3 2021, which breaks down the biggest news and trends of the expo.
The biggest gaming event of the year is in full swing. E3 is back after taking 2020 off due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, it’s an all-digital event featuring several of gaming’s biggest publishers. Things are much more confusing this time around, though. Events like Summer Game Fest have splintered the gaming reveal landscape, turning the entire month of June into something of a mega expo. In fact, some of the biggest announcements of the month came before the event even started. EA chose to reveal Battlefield 2042 on its own time, while Summer Game Fest snagged the coveted Elden Ring trailer reveal. Still, there’s plenty of news left in the tank for E3 proper. Here’s our recap of the event, which we will update every day with new information. It’s not clear how E3 2021 is going to be remembered overall by gaming fans. We’re way too close to the event and emotions are running high. Some days had players thrilled, while others had them declaring the show’s death. One thing’s for sure though: Nintendo delivered one of its best Direct presentations ever during the event. That came as a bit of a shock. Before the show, fans found themselves tanking their expectations. The underwhelming,50-minute Direct that took place earlier this year had finally beaten down many a spirited Nintendo faithful. It was starting to feel like no matter what Nintendo delivered with its streams, it would never be enough to satisfy players. Before the show even started, games like Mario Kart 9 were trending on Twitter, setting the stage for more self-induced disappointment. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Nintendo gave fans the Direct they’ve been craving for years. First and foremost, we finally got a new look at the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it didn’t disappoint. It looks stunning and features some genuinely intriguing new ideas thanks to new abilities and its use of sky to expand Hyrule. You know it’s a good Direct when that wasn’t even the biggest news of the show, though. Nintendo delivered several surprises that felt like a dream. Metroid Fusion is getting a proper sequel in Metroid Dread, the first original 2D Metroid game in 19 years. WarioWare is back from the grave with a new co-op game called WarioWare: Get It Together! Even the entirely dead Advance Wars franchise made a shocking comeback with Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp, which remasters the first two Game Boy Advance games. The bottom line was that there was a little something for every Nintendo fan during the show, which is an increasingly rare occurrence in Directs. With a strong finish to the uneven event, Nintendo may have saved E3 from a seemingly inevitable death… for now, at least. It delivered a genuine water cooler moment that kept the event relevant on its final day. That was crucial after a basically nonexistent day three that left fans out in the cold. Still, E3 isn’t in the clear, and day four reminded us of how much it has fallen compared to previous years. Bandai Namco delivered one last reality check when it pivoted its planned showcase to a deep dive on House of Ashes, the third installment of the Man of Medan series. Many fans assumed we’d see Elden Ring during the show, considering it got a new trailer and release date just days before, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, Summer Game Fest got to walk away with the biggest news of the past week, landing one last slap on the ESA’s face. It’s not really clear where we go from here. E3 and Summer Games Fest came out at a bit of a stalemate.
