The 30-minute long E3 Expo 2021 Square Enix Presents event streamed today, and was heavily focused on new games by Square Enix.
There was a lot of talk around the Square Enix subsidiary, Eidos Montreal studio, and the games they were involved in. Here are all the announcements.
Announcements
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
The first game to feature was the world premiere of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos Montreal. It features Peter Quill aka Star-Lord as the main character, equipped with his signature jet boots and elemental blasters. Eidos Montreal has put a lot of emphasis on realistic graphics, exploration, combat and decision making. The game is set to be released on October 26th, 2021 on PS4, PS5, XBOX Series X/S, Xbox ONE and PC.
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series
The show also announced the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series. This series includes remasters of all the Final Fantasy titles from 1 through 6 planned to be released on mobile and Steam. They are not a set, but rather individual games that must be purchased separately.
Legend of Mana Remastered
Another remaster that was presented is Legend of Mana, the 1999 RPG and the fourth entry of the Mana franchise that was released on PS1. The remaster will release on June 24, 2021, on Ps4, and Steam.
Marvel’s Avengers: War for Wakanda
Marvel’s Avengers, developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, is getting the Black Panther expansion pack dubbedWar for Wakanda. The DLC is set to be released in August on PS4, PS5, XBOX One, XBOX Series X/S and PC. Players who already own the original game will be able to download the expansion for free.
You can check out our full review of Marvel’s Avengers here.
Babylon’s Fall
The new live-service game Babylon’s Fall is a Bible-inspired action RPG with mainly hack-and-slash combat developed by PlatinumGames and Square Enix. The game will be released on PS4, PS5 and Steam. While there is no release date yet, the beta is open on the website.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection
The Life is Strange ‘‘remastered’’ collection is to be released on September 30th and Life is Strange: True Colors on the 10th of the same month. This announcement was already made during the Square Enix presents on March 19th. That said, some of True Colors’ mechanics are reminiscent of Persona 5.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Yet another entry to the Final Fantasy franchise, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin comes as a new vision and a departure from RPG to an action-heavy slasher game developed by Team Ninja (Ninja Gaiden and Nioh). The story follows the Warriors of Light determined to purge Chaos with much of the game design resembling Capcom’s Devil May Cry.
The game is scheduled to launch in 2022 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X with a trial version already available on the Playstation Store for PS4. It will be available for the PS5 on June 24th. This game is not to be confused with Final Fantasy Origins, which was a remastered version of the first two games in the franchise released in October 2002.
Mobile Games
Hitman Sniper: The Shadows
Hitman Sniper: The Shadows comes as a follow-up to Hitman Sniper, a 2015 Square Enix mobile shooting-gallery game. In the new entry, the plot follows the new main character, Agent 426, after the disappearance of Agent 47. The new game is to be released later this year on iOS and Android.
Nier Reincarnation
Nier arrives on mobile under Nier Reincarnation, an action-RPG game developed by Applibot. The story takes place in the same universe as Nier and Nier: Automata. It released on Android and iOS in Japan on February 18th, 2021, with a localised version release date still to be announced.
War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and Final Fantasy will hold a collaboration event from June 16th to July 13th.
Rapid Fire Round
At the end of the presentation, Square Enix also showcased some of their current popular works and some upcoming ones:
- Final Fantasy XII Remastered
- Nier Replicant
- Outriders
- The World Ends with You
- Forspoken
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Final Fantasy XIV Online: Endwalker
What do you think?
While there is much to be proud of as a Montrealer, Square Enix can’t seem to get away from Final Fantasy. To that end, the new hack-and-slash Final Fantasy game trailer came off as overly edgy and a carbon copy of Devil May Cry with the Square Enix brand slapped on it.
The mobile games also seemed to cause an uproar in the chat reminiscent of the 2018 BlizzCon Diablo: Immortal announcement. That is to say, low effort milking of fan-favourite franchises to make more money. Were you impressed by Square Enix Presents or were you disappointed? Let us know below!