E3 2021 is in full swing, with players waiting to see what’s next from their favourite developers and publishers. Soon it was the turn of the PC Gaming Show, with hosts Sean “Day 9” Plott, Frankie Ward and Mica Burton on hand with DevBot to take gamers through the latest selection of trailers and interviews.
The opening selection of previews included:
- A new look at the battle royale Naraka: Bladepoint and the impressive roster of weapons players will be able to use when the game launches on August 12.
- Dodgeball Academia is a 2D school-based comedy adventure,
- A new trailer for the food-themed Rawmen arena shooter coming later in 2021,
Next was an interview with the dev team behind Chivalry II. Speaking on the show, Torn Banner’s Steve Piggott discussed how the game will expand post-launch, with new maps, armours, weapons and experience to enjoy in this medieval battle epic.
Back to the previews, and there was the announcement that players will be able to take on Frankie Ward herself in the upcoming Humankind beta, with a peek at how the host was added to the game as an avatar. There was also a look at They Always Run, an upcoming 2D side-scroller from Sega featuring a mutant bounty hunter.
Fans of Dying Light 2 got a preview of the upcoming game’s story courtesy of the game’s Narrative Director Piotr Szymanek. Speaking via video, Syzmanek set the scene for Aiden’s story. Set in the aftermath of “Black Monday”, Dying Light 2 is set in a world overrun by zombie-like creatures who have taken over the street. With the living now settling on rooftops, few venture below. An exception is the protagonist Aiden, who is trying to piece together his past and find his lost sister, Mia.
Those looking for a different kind of action got a look at Orcs Must Die 3. This tower defence, which was a timed Stadia exclusive, will be coming to PC, Xbox, and PlayStation on July 23. The game’s Lead Designer, Jerome Jones, took players through the setting of the story and where it fits into the Orcs Must Die universe along with teasing new game modes and challenges player will be able to try out at release.
The next round of previews included:
- A new trailer for Vampire The Masquerade: Swansong featured a mother searching for their child,
- Kaiju-inspired arena brawler Gigabash will feature destructible cities for up to four players to wreak havoc in,
- Next Space Rebels is a rocket building title where the prize is more about likes and subscribers rather than exploration,
- Medieval RPG Wartales will have players lead their own band of mercenaries in a plague-ridden world,
- Ixion is a space settlement/management sim where the titular company is hailing themselves as the saviours of humanity,
- The sequel to Far: Lone Sails will be releasing in late 2021 and is titled Far: Changing Tides,
- Lakeburg Legacies is “The Sims meets Crusader Kings” where players can build family dynasties and villages for them to live and work in,
- The next update to Killing Floor 2, subtitled Interstellar Insanity, will be launching on June 22.
Launching on August 3, Lemnis Gate is a turn-based, first-person shooter with a difference. Each turn or “loop” is only 25 seconds and players will be able to use their loop as they choose – work towards the objective, take out opponents or even to counter, or even counter-counter, attacks. There will be a host of games modes to explore on the game, which will have an open Beta in July.
Up next on the show was a chat with the team behind MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Daeron Katz from Piranha Games was on hand to talk about the new features, mechs and story in the game and how it pays homage to the history of the MechWarrior franchise. There was also a look at the upcoming Heroes of the Innersphere DLC, which will add new career paths, equipment and weapons for players to add to their mechs.
The next round of previews included a look at the atmospheric, monochromatic diving adventure Silt, new gameplay from the Victorian-horror inspired Gloomwood, a supercut of projects currently in development at New Blood Interactive, the reveal of Hello Neighbour 2, another look at Jurassic World: Evolution 2, alpha gameplay footage from RPG Soulstice and the announcement that Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate – Demonhunters will be coming in 2022.
It wouldn’t be a PC show without an appearance from Gabe Newell of Valve and he was there, via video, to talk about the upcoming Steam Next Fest. Running from June 16-22, this event will allow players to try out demos from hundreds of upcoming games for free and from the comfort of their own homes.
There was a quick break from the game trailers and previews to talk about some hardware on the horizon that were of note to the editing team at PC Gamer:
- First up was the Impulse Neuro Controller, which would allow for better response times when gaming,
- For those looking to upgrade their driving rigs, the CSL DD Wheelbase is not the smallest piece of kit available but it one of the most powerful,
- The OneXPlayer boasts an 8.4-inch screen and allows for PC gaming on the go,
- The Asus PG32UQX monitor comes with its own backlight system fully integrated into the monitor.
Rounding out the show was the final selection of announcements and previews:
- Pioner is a shooter inspired by the S.T.A.L.K.E.R franchise,
- The EVE Online Academy will allow players old and new to explore new content and play styles,
- Lumberhill takes the skill of being a lumberjack and turns it into a multiplayer party game,
- Arboria is a procedurally generated dungeon crawler launching on Steam on August 31,
- Playing as a tiny alien named Milo, Tinykin is a puzzle platformer where players use sprites to help them along the way,
- Chernobylite is an atmospheric FPS set to release later in the summer,
- With hints of a fusion between real-time and turn-based combat, SacriFire is an RPG adventure being funded by Kickstarter donations,
- Icarus is a survival title that will pit players against the elements (and a bear or two) when it launches on August 11,
- The new cyberpunk style RPG Mechajammer features turn-based combat and stealth mechanics as players work together,
- The Wandering Village features just that – a rural style island which just so happens to be on the back of a giant dinosaur-like creature,
- Coming to Steam Early Access in August, Death Trash fuses dungeon crawler style maps with the customisations and dialogue trees of an RPG,
- Kingdom management and medieval battle title Songs of Conquest is set to launch sometime in 2022.
Two final titles rounded out the presentation. Life gets a new twist in Citizen Sleeper, in which the player must be very careful with the decisions they make while awake, as the next time they go to sleep might be their last. Closing out the show was a look at the lo-fi magic and mayhem sequel Project Warlock 2. With a Kickstarter campaign launching in July, this doomlike title’s trailer showcases some of the maps, spells and enemies that await players.
Watch the PC Gaming Show in full below.
Words by Megan Roxburgh
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