Massively Overthinking: Massively OP’s E3 2018 awards

“The best of the show and the biggest (and most pleasant) surprise was the reveal of Fallout 76 as a fully online MMO,” MOP’s Justin argues. “No, Bethsoft isn’t going to use the ‘MMO’ label, but it sounds far more online and persistent than many survival sandboxes that lack connected official servers.” We’re worried about the PvP and NPC issues, but on the whole, most of us were hyped by the reveal, Justin most of all: “It’s a perfect fit for the Fallout universe and one that I cannot wait to explore.”

Everyone who plays Rend at conventions comes away impressed; this year’s attendee was no different, but the game keeps on flying under the radar for some reason. While Andrew said the floor demo was “lacking” this round, he was “blown away” by the developer presentation and in particular the studio’s plans for PvP and PvPvE. “HOLY GOD, it’s like the devs actually have played and made PvP games before!” he wrote.

I play Trove and still didn’t expect to see it nominated for anything this year, but Andrew was insistent that Geode deserves a solid nod based on what he saw at the con. “New, non-combat content permeates the update,” he notes, everything from laser-mining and rocket boots to raising critters from eggs and spelunking.

Andrew didn’t love his demos of the original Division, so we were super surprised that Ubisoft’s sequel was so awesome at E3, particularly in regard to its incredibly sophisticated AI: “This may actually be a title to watch, not just for general gamers, but MassivelyOP readers who want challenging PvE in a realistic setting.”

We’d known for many months that Elder Scrolls Online still had more DLC left for 2018, but the reveal of Murkmire and Wolfhunter was easily the highlight of the event for traditional AAA MMORPG players. Elder Scrolls lore fans in particular are hyped at the chance to explore Argonian culture in Black Marsh for the first time.

Even if you’re not a mobile MMO fan – and let’s be honest, most of our readers (and we) prefer our MMOs on PC or at least console – you should still keep an eye on Black Desert’s mobile port, which is way better than a port. In fact, our attendee liked it better than the original PC game, citing its PvE smoothness, superb demo, and of course the tantalizing possibility that it might land on the Switch.

I pushed to include ReEvolve personally because I’ve been hyped for it since I read the press release. Ecosystems, diurnal cycle, weather, animal migration, crafting, building, housing, farming, animal breeding, PvE, and non-gankbox PvP? And it’s going to run on my phone? OK, PWE. You have our attention. Here’s hoping our next demo is a better one because we’re intrigued!

We should preface this one by saying it’s the biggest bummer for MMO players – we were definitely all hoping it’d be more of an MMO than it apparently will be. “I was very disappointed to hear that Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t going to contain multiplayer at launch, but otherwise it looks like a slick ride,” Justin wrote. Anthem was proposed as a runner-up by Eliot too.

It takes a lot to get half the team to sit up on a Sunday night and watch a press conference together, knowing the studio will have the video and docs out five minutes later anyway. But Bethsoft made its presentation more than worth it, with one huge reveal after another, for MMO fans and Elder Scrolls fans alike. Most of us agree that Bethsoft won E3 this year, as much as anyone can win at these things.

“Sony gets ‘biggest doofus’ award for its blocking of Fortnite crossplay, which happened at the most unfortunate time for the company,” Justin says. “Everyone is up in arms about this, and Sony did not respond well to it at all.” Definitely the narrative that had the most lingering effect following the con.