The wait is finally over. E3 2019 is happening right now and it kicked off with a breathtaking Microsoft Conference. Second-in-line comes the Bethesda Conference which started on June 10 at 6 AM (Indian Standard Time) and it too had some good news for us. A lot of things were revealed and showcased at the conference and we’re going to discuss the main highlights of the event.
Doom Eternal
“There is so much to see and discover. But Doom is first and foremost about gameplay and Doom Eternal promises to be the ultimate power fantasy.” – Hugo Martin, Creative Director of Doom Eternal.
Doom Eternal was first announced at E3 2018 and it’s very first gameplay video was shown at QuakeCon 2018. We have been waiting for more details for over an year and our demands were finally addressed at E3 2019 Bethesda Conference with an all new Doom Eternal gameplay video.
The video shed more light on Doom Eternal’s gameplay mechanics, it’s fluid combat, and various weapons accessible to the player. In the video, the Doom Slayer tore through his enemies using various weapons in his arsenal combined with his melee combat skills while trying to avoid damage by navigating the current level. The player’s weapon arsenal includes shotguns, plasma guns, rifles, and rocket launchers. In addition to these, the game features an all new “Meat Hook”, a grappling hook which is attached to the “Super Shotgun” and can be used both during combat to slingshot towards enemies as well as for navigating hard-to-reach environments. The Doom Slayer’s armor can be upgraded with attachments such as flamethrowers, grenade launchers, and missiles to even further help deal with demons. According to Marty Stratton, Executive Producer of Doom Eternal, the game will feature locations that we’ve never seen before in a Doom game and will take players across various dimensions of the universe.
In addition to all the above features, the game will let players experience a brand new multiplayer mode named “Battlemode” where one player controlling the Doom Slayer will take on two players controlling Demons. The players controlling the Demons can also summon other AI controlled Demons to help them take down the Doom Slayer. They need to rely on strategy as the Slayer will be heavily equipped with weapons and suit armaments. The Slayer on the other hand need to rely on their skills and make use of their weapons to take down any player controlled or AI Demons as they’ll be fierce and will try to flank the Slayer from various angles. He must make use of his maneuverability to avoid damage and take full advantage of the weapon arsenal to take down his enemies.
We finally have a release date for Doom Eternal which was revealed today at the end of E3 2019 Bethesda Conference. Doom Eternal will be out on November 22, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Google Stadia, and Nintendo Switch. Apart from the Switch version which is developed by Panic Button, the game is developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks.
Wolfenstein: Young Blood and Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot
Wolfenstein: Young Blood was announced at E3 2018 as a spin-off of the Wolfenstein series. It is a first-person shooter where the player takes control of either Jess or Soph Blazkowicz, twin daughters of William “B.J” Blazkowicz, as they head to Paris in search of their father. The game can be played with a friend who takes control of the other sister, or alone in which case the other sister will be controlled by AI. The Deluxe Edition of the game comes with a Buddy Pass through which you can share your game with someone who doesn’t own it and play with them, similar to the share system in A Way Out.
We got to see a gameplay video of Wolfenstein: Young Blood at E3 2019 Bethesda Conference along with more details about the game including a release date. The video showcased gameplay from both of the protagonist’s perspective as they were making their way through Paris battling Nazis and their robots. The twin sisters were wearing exo-suits just like the one B.J wore in The New Colossus which gave them an edge during melee combat. Jerk Gustafsson, Executive Producer at MachineGames said that Wolfenstein: Young Blood will have more weapons and attachments than previous games in the franchise as well as new character customization options.
The game is developed by MachineGames and Arkane Studios, and published by Bethesda Softworks for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia. The Nintendo Switch version is developed by Panic Button similar to Doom Eternal. Following the gameplay video, Gustafsson announced the release date for the game which is July 26, 2019.
Along with Young Blood, Gustafsson also revealed a brand new unexpected VR Wolfenstein game titled Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is a virtual reality game set in the same narrative time period as Young Blood where the player plays as a French Resistance computer hacker who takes control of Nazi War Machines to destroy Nazis and their mechs. The game will be released in July 2019.
The Elder Scrolls Online
Developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, The Elder Scrolls Online attracted millions of MMORPG fans to play it and always had a tremendously huge player count. The E3 2019 Bethesda Conference had quite a few number of announcements with regard to the game.
Matt Firor, Studio Director at ZeniMax Online Studios showcased a video for the brand new chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online named Elsweyr. The chapter will let players explore the homeland of the Khajiit and let them control the dead as the Necromancer class, a new addition to the game. Just like previous chapters, Elsweyr too will end with a cliffhanger to make way for the addition of further chapters to the game. Firor also announced two new DLCs for the game titled Scalebreaker and Dragonhold which will put the season of the dragons to a conclusion. Scalebreaker is set to release in August 2019 whereas Dragonhold will be released sometime in Q4 2019.
In addition to these, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, a digital card game belonging to The Elder Scrolls franchise is getting a brand new expansion titled Moons of Elsweyr which will be released on June 27, 2019. As for the Mobile game The Elder Scrolls: Blade, which is still in early-access, it’s getting the biggest update yet which will add a solo arena battle, custom jewelery system, and a new dragon questline. The game was also announced to be launched for Nintendo Switch this year and will feature cross-play and cross-progression with the Mobile version.
Fallout 76
Fallout 76, developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, was released in November 2018 to mixed reviews drawing criticism because of it’s technical issues, quality of content, and the absence of human NPCs.
E3 2019 Bethesda Conference revealed Fallout 76’s biggest update yet and it will hopefully change fans’ perception of the game. The new update is named Wastelanders and it will add human NPCs to the game, along with new quests for the main storyline, in addition to new weapons and gear for players. With the addition of human NPCs, the game will feature complete dialogue trees and it is upto the players to choose the approach they are going to take while interacting with an NPC as their choices will have consequences in the game. A video for the Wastelanders update showed how the survivors are trying stay alive as the world is filled with mutants and human enemies, and showcased all the features mentioned above. The update will arrive in Fall 2019 and will be available completely free for Fallout 76 players.
Fallout 76 is also getting a complete new game mode called Nuclear Winter. In this mode, players must go through and survive a trial in order to become the Overseer of Vault 51. The trial is actually a 52 player battle-royale mode where a player must be the last person to stay alive by either eliminating or avoiding other players. Other players aren’t the only enemies to be encountered in the map, the battle royale mode will have AI controlled mutant enemies too. The mode will also let players set up camps and automated defenses. Players will be able to use weapons and power armors in order to defend themselves. Nukes will be dropped in random areas of the map which the players must avoid. A nuclear Storm surrounding the map will slowly start decreasing eventually forcing players to come out of hiding and fight each other. The Nuclear Winter mode is also free for all Fallout 76 players.
Fallout 76 along with the Nuclear Winter mode is on a free trial between June 10 to June 17 for all platforms.
There’s way more to the E3 2019 Bethesda Conference than the above four major announcements. Rage 2 comes with an all new expansion titled Rise of the Ghosts featuring new main missions, weapons and vehicles, new enemies, as well as a new game mode. Tango Gameworks announced a new horror game titled GhostWire: Tokyo. Arkane Studios announced a first-person action adventure game titled Deathloop. Zenimax Online Studios is developing Commander Keen, a cartoon video game set to be released this summer. Most of the games and updates revealed at E3 2019 Bethesda Conference are set to be released pretty soon so that’s something we should all be happy about as we’ll get to try them at home this year. E3 2019 is not over yet and it’s only a matter of hours till we get to see even more titles.
You can watch the complete VOD for E3 2019 Bethesda Conference here –
