The Impact Factor

E32015: Synthesis, Reflection and Game of the Show

Article, Part 3 of 3

In honor of E3, I wrote a special three-part article for you all in which I reflect upon what was shown and identify the narratives that emerged from the biggest players in gaming hardware: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. What do these takeaways mean for each company, and what do they mean for the next year in gaming? Check out below for all this and more, including my Game of the Show! Click here for PART 1 and PART 2.

E3 2015 Game of the Show

 

Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games

This was a tough one. E3 2015 had a bevy of exceptional games. Just to name a few that were vying for this spot: The Last Guardian, Fallout 4, Uncharted 4, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, Cuphead, and Enter the Gungeon. For the longest time it was clear to me that I would give this honor to The Last Guardian. Ueda’s game has been one of my most anticipated games since I first learned about it in 2008. Each and every E3 leading up to this one, my one wish was to see The Last Guardian again. And I did. And I was floored. And I was excited that it was finally given a release year. And I was excited that I could finally get to play it. This makes the feat pulled off by Horizon Zero Dawn all the more impressive. Now that I’ve had nearly a week to reflect upon E3 and synthesize my thoughts into this article, the one game I’m thinking about more than any other is Horizon Zero Dawn. Perhaps this is because what was shown seems tailor made to press every single one of my buttons. This new and bold IP from Guerrilla games is a third person open world RPG with shooter and exploration gameplay, set in a world that is so post-apocalypse it feels primeval. Oh, and it has robot dinosaurs. Win-buttons aside, everything about the Horizon Zero Dawn reveal worked. It felt fresh and new, the lore introduction instantly sold me on this fascinating world, and the gameplay they showed was riveting. The creative ambition on display in Horizon Zero Dawn’s first showing cannot be understated. Nothing I’ve seen looks like this game. Guerrilla’s new title has me by the nose—I have an insatiable hunger to learn more about Aloy, the badass protagonist, and her place in this beautiful and terrifying world. E3 has always been about surprises, and no announcement was as surprising, and as powerful, as Horizon Zero Dawn. This was a close competition: I wanted to give it to Fallout 4 for how amazing it looked and that it out soon, or The Last Guardian as I described above. It was my excitement that was the determining factor here. I’m so, so excited for Horizon Zero Dawn and it is now, officially, The Impact Factor’s E3 2015 Game of the Show. Congrats!

Thank you everyone for reading through my E3 2015 breakdowns, reflection, and synthesis. I hope to do even more coverage next year, bring my unique training and perspectives as a biomedical Ph.D. scientist to bear. I’ll see you all then, and hopefully see you all here again very soon for more game reviews, articles and episodes of the podcast!