So... E3, hey? Yeah.... E3.
First, the good.
Devolver Digital
A-
Devolver Digital's 2021 showcase ditched the long-running narrative structure in an "it was all a dream" retcon, which... boo! Boo, Devolver, boo! I wanted to learn what was next for fictional Nina Struthers, and now I won't because apparently 2020 killed that joke, too. Boo!
Their satirical take on e-showcase presentations was pretty well done, though, if a little gonzo for my personal taste, and it left me with a deep, burning desire to know what the hell was up with all the chili dogs? Seriously, Devolver, WTF was that about? The free subscription service, with monetization to be added later, was spot on, though.
Also, all of their games looked great (except for one), and all of them (except for the one) are now living on my Steam Wishlist. The one, incidentally, is a physical-only "joke" product, which won't be for sale on any digital platform. On balance, this is an easy tie for my favourite showcase of E3, along with...
The PC Gaming Show
A-
Yes, the PC Gaming Show is always slightly cheesy, but it's always cheesy the most charming possible way. PCGS also picked up the long-running narrative gag torch that Devolver dropped this year, and I can't wait to see what happens next year, after the Devbot apocalypse. Very entertaining stuff!
Day[9] looked healthier and happier than he did last time I saw him in anything, which also made me happy; hopefully we've seen the last of his insufferably shallow "Power Hot" persona, which drove me nuts. Frankie Ward and her terrific smile were as game as ever, and Mica Burton (who also has a teriffic smile) made a great addition to the cast; I haven't seen Mica in much of anything since Geek & Sundry were sold to the soulless corporate overlords that have since cut every single interesting show except for RPG livestreams (great as Critical Role is, I preferred the variety that G&S used to offer), and it was great to see her again.
And the games on display were also great; again, many of them have since become new additions to my Steam Wishlist, and destined for my list of shame thereafter.
Bethesda/Microsoft/XBox
B
In case you had any doubt as to why Microsoft spent 7.5 billion freedom dollars to acquire Zenimax last year, this year's E3 should have laid them to rest. Yes, long-suffering XBox fans, your console is finally getting some exclusives... that will all be coming to PC as well, so you won't really need an XBox to play them, but whatever. Oh, and most of them aren't coming out until late 2022 at the earliest. But, still... exclusives!
The corporate strategy was very much on display, too, with every single XBox "exclusive" coming "day one to XBox Game Pass," for people to are subscribing to Game Pass, which you probably still shouldn't. Still, in a world where we now know for certain that Microsoft have never turned a profit on XBox hardware, the shift to a service-based model makes solid strategic sense.
Bethesda, for their part, did their best to build some hype for the upcoming Starfield, which is being described as Skyrim In Space -- very high concept, but given what a hot mess Bethesda Game Studios have been for quite a few years now, I think I'll wait for reviews before I let myself get excited about this one. Always remember, kids, that better studios have failed to deliver before on games that looked great in earlier "vertical slide" presentations... and Starfield doesn't really look any better than Skyrim did (nearly ten years ago now? fuck me).
Forza Horizon 5 won "best in show" type honours from the a selection of people whose taste in games may or may not be anything like yours, though, so... there's that. In fairness, FH5 is very pretty... but then so was Godfall, and we all know how that turned out. Plus, mini-fridge! Yes, really.
Overall, though, I was... bored, mostly, while watching this showcase. The games either didn't hook me, or are just too early in development to show much, or are too far out to get excited over. The heavy-handed sell job for Game Pass rubbed me the wrong way every single time; and ending with a mini-fridge in a "one more thing" meme moment just felt desperate. XBox fans seem to be excited, though, and I'm happy for them.
Summer Game Fest
C+
I don't know if Geoff Keighley's event counts as an E3 event, but it basically kicked off the season of E3 coverage this year so I'm counting it. Basically a decent showing, and Keighley's enthusiasm was infectious, but I didn't see too much that blew my hair back.
Everybody has been losing their shit over the Elden Ring presentation, and I don't know why. If you're a huge fan of From Software's earlier games, then I guess any details about a new From Software game would be very exciting for you, but the Soulsborne games haven't grabbed hold of me yet, so all I saw was a pretty looking game in an E3 which was full of those, and very little that would give me any sense of why I should jump on the From Software bandwagon for this game.
More impressive was Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, which basically Borderlands... In Space! Unlike Bethesda's high concept "X... In Space!" project, though, this one actually looks pretty good already. I might have added a couple of other games to my Steam Wishlist after this show, too, though, so... mission accomplished.
Aaaaaaannnnd.... that's it for the good.
The bad: Everyone else
D
Nothing else looked even slightly interesting to me this year. Nintendo did a thing, which I'm sure Nintendo stans will be cumming all over right about now, but I don't stan Nintendo, so I passed. Everyone seems to be in agreement that Square Enix's showcase was entirely skippable. Sony skipped E3 entirely; they have their own e-showcase planned for later in the month. Was anyone else even there?
Overall Grade
C-
In a year when E3 desperately needed to convince everyone that they were still relevant, they mostly failed. There were no outright F's this year, but that's probably more down to the fact that I stopped watching. Overall, E3 2021 wasn't bad, exactly -- it was just underwhelming, at a time when the ESA really needed to knock one all the way out of the park.
Does E3 still matter? I don't know the answer to that, but I seriously doubt it; individual showcases generated all the buzz, and they can be held anywhere and any time, no ESA required.
UPDATED 06/17/2021
SkillUp posted his own E3 roundup, which I have to admit is both better and more thorough than mine; it looks like the man actually watched all the showcases, rather than getting bored and switching off partway through. It also looks like I didn't actually miss that much as a result of getting bored and switching off halfway through.
Spoiler Alert: It seems some F grades might have been in order, after all.