Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference: The Seven Biggest Surprises

ComicBook.com Staff

11/09/2017 05:41 pm EST

There was a lot revealed during this afternoon's Xbox E3 press conference – and if you don't believe us, take a look at the whole list. Whether you're into big games, or prefer something more on the indie side, there was something for you. And there was no disappointment when it came to big blockbusters, with everything from Anthem to Forza Motorsport 7 to Dragon Ball FighterZ getting a fair amount of exposure.

But, believe it or not, there were some superb surprises as well. Nothing along the lines of "here comes Halo 6", mind you, but still a lot of stuff that threw us off guard and got a few of us excited for the Xbox One X, which will make its way out this November.

So here's a quick recap of the five biggest surprises from the show, the stuff that really make us jump up in our seats and get us excited for the gaming year to come. These games can't get here soon enough…

Life Is Strange: Before The Storm

First off, let’s just get something out of the way. We were not expecting a trailer for Square Enix’s follow-up to Life Is Strange so soon. And when we saw it, we knew that we were in for something special. The story looks to pick up right where the first game left off, and, what’s more, it’ll follow Max into a series of new adventures – including one that could very well involve Rachel. And best of all, Before the Storm isn’t too far off – we’ll be playing the first episode in the series before summer comes to an end. You can read more about the game here.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Okay, so maybe the game itself wasn't a real shocker, as it was leaked last week, much to Bandai Namco's shagrin. But then we saw the gameplay, and – wow. Sure, it may not be as detailed as the 3D games we've seen in the past, but, number one, it's a 2D fighting game, and number two, it looks like an animated episode of the TV show. Not to mention the fact that it has the fighting prowess of Arc System Works behind it, and there's a beta coming to boot. This one should be a huge hit with anime fans when it arrives next year.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Blind Forest is easily one of the most majestic – and gorgeous – games on the Xbox One console, a side-scrolling adventure that's well worth the journey. So imagine our surprise when we heard that a sequel was on the way, promising to expand upon the scope of the journey. While we didn't get to see too much of the game in action, Moon Studios painted a very promising picture of what's to come, and that soundtrack that was in the trailer (see above) is already too good to be true. The full game should be making the rounds sometime in 2018, and hopefully, maybe even sooner…

Terry Crews And Crackdown 3

We already knew that Terry Crews was going to be at E3, but we figured he would be associated with some kind of announcement for Overwatch, with the hopes of all players that he would be introduced at Doomfist. While we wait for that, though, we get to see him in action in another game, Microsoft's Crackdown 3. We knew the game would be getting a big reveal at the show, but we had no idea that they'd be adding Crews to the mix. And if he's in the final game, then it'll be even more of a party – especially if he shouted out, "EXPLOSION!" We'll see how it fares when it arrives on November 7th.

Metro Exodus

Deep Silver's been pretty busy as of late, with DiRT 4 releasing this past week and the likes of F1 2017 and Agents of Mayhem on deck – along with wherever the hell Dead Island 2 is. But that didn't stop the publisher from unveiling first gameplay from its next Metro game, which is currently in development over at 4A Games. Metro Exodus looks to be the best entry in the series to date, with compelling gameplay that draws in players at every turn, along with a variety of weapons to master and monsters to bring down. This should no doubt turn a few heads when it surfaces in 2018 – especially if it ends up looking this good. Read more about the game here.

Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds Coming To Consoles

Over the past few months, Playerunknown’s BATTLEGROUNDS has become a massive hit on the PC front – so we figured it was only a matter of time before someone brought the havoc to consoles. However, we didn’t think it would be Microsoft – but they surprised us with an announcement out of left field. BATTLEGROUNDS won’t just support the Xbox One and Xbox One X hardware to maximum capacity, but it will also increase multiplayer traffic like crazy – even if people are prone to dying more than expected. Hey, that’s just the nature of the game. You can read more about the game here, and check it out when it launches this fall!

Cuphead Has a Release Date and New Gameplay

Anyone who's a long time Xbox One owner knows that we've been waiting for Studio MDHR's side-scrolling action game for what seems like ages. In fact, we were placing side bets between the team whether the game would be featured at the Xbox E3 press conference at all. But then, lo and behold, Microsoft not only gave us some fresh new footage (which you can see above), but also…a release date! We'll have to wait a bit longer to play this one, but it'll finally arrive on September 29th – and then we'll see if we can survive the hellish onslaught that awaits us…

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