The PC Gaming Show 2021 had more games than scalpers have graphics cards.
And, some of them looked pretty cool. It wasn’t on the level of the blockbuster showcase we got from Xbox and Bethesda earlier in the day, but PC Gamer’s annual showcase still had plenty to get excited about. Here are four of our personal picks.
New Blood supercut
New Blood Interactive is best known for publishing a bunch of throwback FPS games, including Dusk, Amid Evil, and Ultrakill. During the presentation, New Blood showed off gameplay from a bunch of games, some that are already out, some that were previously announced, and some new games (mysteriously unlabelled during the showcase) that are in varying degrees of development.
New Blood CEO Dave Oshry told PC Gamer that some of those titles are deep in development, including a VR version of Amid Evil. Others, like an isometric Fallout-inspired RPG will likely come out sometime in “like 10 years,” if ever.
The games they showed that actually are coming out included: Fallen Aces, a noir shooter with a terrific comic book look; Amid Evil: The Black Labyrinth, a prequel expansion; Dusk ‘82, a top-down 8-bit take on the popular shooter; Kyle is Completely Famous, the next iteration in New Blood’s lesser known Kyle is… series; Faith: The Unholy Trinity, an 8-bit horror game inspired by the satanic panic of the 1980s; and Gloomwood, a Thief-inspired retro immersive sim that had an extremely good demo a while back.
Naraka: Bladepoint
Naraka: Bladepoint looks to be an incredibly unique spin on the Battle Royale. From Chinese developer 24 Entertainment, this game places heavy emphasis on parkour and melee combat. It’s launching on August 12.
Dodgeball Academia
Knockout City, who? Dodgeball Academia is pretty much what it sounds, casting players as a student at a school where everybody is really into dodgeball. Matches play out from a side-on perspective with movement and action that wouldn’t look out of place in a Streets of Rage game. When you’re not competing, you explore a 2.5D world. It’s hard to tell if it’s a full-on sports RPG in the vein of Golf Story, but whatever it is, it looks like fun. It’s “out soon.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is one of my favorite games of all time, so I should be excited for the sequel, right? Unfortunately, development on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 appears to be very troubled, with publisher Paradox Interactive taking developer Hardsuit Labs off the project earlier this year. That news came out shortly after multiple key developers left the project. Will it every come out? Who knows. For now, though, we have Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong.
Previously announced in 2019, this third-person narrative RPG will take players to Boston, where they’ll play as three different vampires. Details remain light, but it looks like players will be attempting to solve a murder? Or some other kind of investigation? Look, details are mostly unimportant. Vampire: The Masquerade games thrive on vibes, and Swangsong looks like it has them in spades.
And, here’s everything else shown at the 2021 PC Gaming Show.
The best of the rest at the PC Gaming Show
- Chivalry 2
- Rawmen
- Dying Light 2: Stay Human
- Humankind
- They Always Run
- Orcs Must Die! 3
- Giga Bash
- Lemnis Gate
- Next Space Rebels
- Wartales
- Ixion
- FAR: Changing Tides
- Lakebury Legacies
- Killing Floor 2: Interstellar Insanity
- MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
- Silt
- Hello Neighbor 2
- Jurassic World Evolution 2
- Soulstice
- Chaos Gate: Demon Hunters
- Pioner
- Eve Online
- Lumber Hill
- Arboria
- Tinykin
- Chernobylite
- Sacrifire
- Icarus
- Mecha Jammer
- The Wandering Village
- Death Trash
- Songs of Conquest
- Citizen Sleeper
- Project Warlock 2
In case you missed it, you can watch the show in full, right here.
For more on E3, check out our coverage of the conferences from Ubisoft, Gearbox, and Panic. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
