19Since its surprise announcement
at E3 2019, we’ve heard almost
nothing about the sequel to
The Legend of Zelda: Breath
of the Wild, other than Nintendo
occasionally telling us it doesn’t
have anything to show.
But while we still have very little
information, not even a proper title,
we did finally get a new trailer at
this year’s E3. And we’d advise
Zelda fans who haven’t yet seen
the new BOTW 2 footage to huntit down the second you’ve finished
reading this, as it really does look
absolutely stunning.
The big takeaway is that we see
Link soaring over what appears to
be a collection of floating islands,
above a much more familiar Hyrule
than the one we saw in the original
2019 reveal. His trusty paraglider is
seen cutting through clouds, and it
appears our hero can even teleport
upwards through solid surfaces.
This one should be out next year.FRESH NINTY BREATH
SABLE
Xbox, PC, macOS
We’ve been staring dreamy-eyed
at this open-world exploration
game for years now, whenever
it’s emerged from its development
cocoon... and this latest trailer is
the most stunning yet. The release
date is 23 September.BATTLEFIELD 2042
Xbox, PS5, PS4, PC
The next Battlefield game was
revealed ahead of the expo, but
it was at E3 that we got our first
look at gameplay. The 2042 trailer
showed off the new shooter’s
128-player battles, which look
incredible – and bonkers.
The near-future setting means
these massive matches will be
sprinkled with futuristic tech,
and we saw everything from
parachuting tanks to explosive
quad bikes. Players can use
wingsuits to quickly move from
ground skirmishes to the action
taking place high above street level,
while sandstorms and tornadoes
will very quickly put an end to any
strategy your squad might have.
You just can’t legislate for your
chopper being hurled into the side
of a building.
The lack of a campaign might
disappoint some, but Battlefield
2042 could be the multiplayer
event of the year when it arrives
on 22 October (2021, not 2042).
MARIO + RABBIDS
SPARKS OF HOPE
Switch
Ubisoft’s mash-up franchise is
getting another entry in 2022 with
this follow-up to the early Switch
gem Mario + Rabbids Kingdom
Battle, taking its inspiration from
Super Mario Galaxy.While there was news
aplenty at this year’s show,
E3 isn’t the extravaganza it
once was.
There was a PS5-shaped
hole in proceedings, with
Sony opting once again to
give it a miss. PlayStation has
recently showed off a chunk
of its biggest upcoming
game, Horizon Forbidden
West (above), but we’re still
awaiting more information
on what the future will look
like for PS5 players.
The other major absence
was EA, which will stream
its annual EA Play Live event
on 22 July. Expect plenty of
FIFA, more Battlefield andhopefully a few surprises
when that rolls around.
As for games that didn’t
show up, well, we couldn’t
fit them all in here if we tried.
Skull and Bones (above), the
Ubisoft pirate game that’s
been in development for
a lifetime, was nowhere to
be seen. Nor were Fable 4,
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
or Everwild.
But perhaps the biggest
surprise E3 no-show was
the so-called Nintendo Switch
Pro. Rumours of a powerful
OLED-screened Switch with
4K graphics have been raging
for a while... but at the time of
writing, the House of Mario is
still saying nothing.ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD SEQUEL Switch
...AND WHAT
WE DIDN’T GET