After SQUARE ENIX’s rather… short showcase, it was now time for Ubisoft to show us what they had to offer. We already had details about stuff like The Division 2 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but now Ubisoft had free rein to pull out their guns.
1. Just Dance 2019
I don’t know whether to call the introduction cringe-worthy, but it’s there, and now we know there’s a new Just Dance game coming this October. I know a few people in the team would be excited for this news.
2. Beyond Good & Evil 2
We get a new cinematic trailer, as well as some pre-alpha gameplay of Beyond Good & Evil 2, the sequel to the classic action-adventure title. This trailer gives us a look at the big bad, Jade.
Other than that however, Ubisoft announced for BGE2 something called the Space Monkey Program, which invites players to contribute their creative works, no matter the form to help build the shared world in partnership with HitRECord. Interested parties can check out hitrecord.org for more details.
3. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
No gameplay additions were announced, but the reveal trailer for an eSports documentary was released. Called “Another Mindset”, this documentary chronicles the tale of several prominent Siege personalities in their quests to be the best at what they do. The documentary releases in August, during the Six Major in Paris.
4. Trials Rising
I loved the hell out of Trials Fusion, and now there’s a new one. Always a welcome surprise to see and players will be able to pre-register for the closed beta soon at this link. The game is slated for a February 2019 release.
5. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
More details on The Division 2 were shown during Ubisoft’s conference. We know the game is set in Washington D.C, 7 years after the first game. When the virus that wiped out most of the population had run its course, it’s time for the survivors to pick up the pieces.
Gameplay news for players comes with some very good news. Players who complete the main story campaign will be able to choose from 3 specializations. These specializations come with exclusive weapons, as well as exclusive skills depending on which one you take. Raids will make their debut in the series, and Ubisoft also has 3 episodic DLC planned for post-release support. All DLC will be released for free, which is amazing.
The Division 2 arrives to Xbox, PS4 and PC on March 15, 2019.
6. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
When Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle dropped last year, it was a surprising success. Pairing the vibrant and colourful style of Mario, with the tactical gameplay of X-COM (of all things), it made for some rather good fun. This year, Donkey Kong joins the battle, bringing a new set of characters as well as new skills. Look forward to it this June 26th.
7. Skull & Bones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjC8_av7hhU
Now this is something new. Skull & Bones is set in the Indian Ocean, when piracy is ruled dead, due to the Empire taking over the Carribean. Build your own ship, gather your crew, plunder ships and board them for loot. Be careful, however, as some people don’t like losing their cargo. You’ll be able to call for help from other pirates, but once the threat is over, who walks away with the loot?
The gameplay at sea seems reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, and that’s a good thing. If you’re interested, sign up at this link to pre-register for a closed beta. The game looks to launch in 2019.
8. Transference
Brought to you through a collaboration between Ubisoft and Spectrevision, Transference is a VR psychological thriller where the player must switch between perspectives of the members of a family, to solve puzzles and piece together the mystery of this dimension.
The trailer has a nice mix of spookiness and the feeling of dread. The game launches Fall 2018.
9. Starlink: Battle for Atlas
It’s a ship combat game, I think. The trailer doesn’t show much in terms of gameplay, but the idea of having modular spaceships where you can change your weapons on the fly seems like a really nice idea, if this is actually what it is.
PLUS THEY HAVE STAR FOX. AS A NINTENDO SWITCH EXCLUSIVE. BARREL ROLLS EVERYWHERE. OCTOBER 16TH. GET STAR FOX.
10. For Honor
After a problematic launch, For Honor has really come into its own over the past year. This conference gives us a first look at the newest addition to the game, For Honor: Marching Fire. The Wulin faction hails from the East, and brings with it 4 new classes with unique battle styles. The expansion also adds a new game mode. Breach is a 4v4 castle siege, where the attackers must siege a castle and conquer it while battling against the defenders. It seems to be a lot of fun.
If you’ve watched the trailer and figured that now is a good time to pick the game up finally, UPlay is now offering the Starter Edition for all players, from June 11th-June 18th. Overall, with this much content, the game is very much worth picking up.
11. The Crew 2
Not much about the game that we don’t already know, only news of the open beta releasing on June 21st, while the full game comes out June 29th. This is shaping up to be one to look out for.
12. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
And now we have the pièce de résistance, what we all came here to see. The latest game in the Assassin’s Creed series takes place in ancient Greece, during the height of conflict between Spartans and Athenians. It looks to the largest AC game yet, with exploration above land and under water.
The game allows for branching dialogue paths, and choices that affect gameplay. The player will have an option to choose between 2 characters at the beginning of the game, Alexios and Kassandra.
At first glance, it really doesn’t look like a AC game. I don’t see any assassinations, there’s no emphasis on stealth. I don’t even see anyone climbing anything like a monkey with infinite stamina. Whatever it is, I do have hopes for it, and wish it success.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey launches October 5th.
Conclusion
There’s not much stuff that Ubisoft talked about that we don’t already know of. Aside from a new IP (Skull & Bones), there really isn’t much to show. It’s not a bad thing per se – God knows how many surprises I can take – but it does feel relatively tame, considering most of these trailers don’t even come with gameplay. Overall, it’s not absolutely terrible, but aside from a few titles, it feels mediocre.
It’s still not as terrible as EA, though.
