E3 means many things to many people. New trailers, hype for games, leaks, console announcements. Chances are, however, if you’re reading this then your heart lies with that of the personal computer.
The PC Gaming Show is an annual celebration of our beloved beige, black, or multicolour boxes and the games held within. There’s always a huge amount of new stuff announced at each one with titbits galore for PC gaming fans to soak up and absorb.
As always, you can catch up with the rest of our E3 2019 coverage on the Green Man Gaming blog, so if you’re missing out on the latest gaming news, we should be your first port of call.
But we’re here to talk PC, so here’s everything that went down at this years’ PC Gaming Show at E3 2019.
Evil Genius 2: World Domination
From Rebellion comes the sequel to the cult classic, Evil Genius. As everyone knows, Bond’s boring and everyone wants to be Blofeld. Unfortunately it’s not so easy in real life, but that’s why we have video games. Build your base, staff it with useful idiots and traps, watch enemy agents fall for your nefarious designs, and take over the world. You know, normal Monday stuff.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
The first gameplay footage was shown off at the PC Gaming Show, vampires, blood, choices, and more await you in this sequel to one of the best vampire experiences ever made. Choose your clan and choose your approach. Will you keep to the shadows, or will you test the boundaries of the titular Masquerade? Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will be launching in Q1 2020.
Starmancer
A space-station sim described as ‘Dwarf Fortress in space’, Starmancer sees you taking on the reigns of a fledgling colony after the apocalypse. Grow, build, expand, and customise your very own colony. Just don’t forget to keep your precious humans alive, a difficulty in the cold reality of space.
Chivalry II
Chivalry took the medieval world by storm with huge multiplayer battles, and Chivalry II looks to be improving on it in every way. With castle sieges, village raids, open warfare, and revamped swordplay, Chivalry II is set to be a brutal return to the dark ages. Chivalry II will be launching in early 2020.
Mosaic
Dystopian, beautiful, and with a spoof mobile tie-in called Blipblop, Mosaic is an upcoming adventure game releasing later in 2019.
Midnight Ghost Hunt
Based on the popular multiplayer mode, prop hunt, Midnight Ghost Hunt sees players take on the role of ghost hunters, searching for player-controlled poltergeists inhabiting items around the level. Will the ghost hunters identify and take down the poltergeists, or will they be destroyed by spooky furniture? Anything possessable can be used as a weapon against the ghost hunters, including chairs, statues, lamps, and more, but the focus is on hiding from the ever-searching ghost hunters.
Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy
A procedure roguelike with a beautiful world, Unexplored 2 sees you explore, defeat enemies, solve puzzles, and die over, and over, and over again. With a stunning art style and a sense of atmosphere that has to be seen to believed, Unexplored 2 looks like it might scratch that roguelike itch you’ve been harbouring.
Samsung C27RG5 Gaming Monitor
This 240hz curved screen monitor comes with built in with Nvidia G-Sync, promising lag free and tear free performance with an ultra immersive display. The 27 inch version will be available mid-July 2019 for under $400, with sizes going from 27” to 49”.
Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil
New mutants, new enemies, new areas, new missions, this DLC for Mutant Year Zero will be launching on the 30th of July, 2019.
Conan Unconquered
Conan Unconquered launched on the 29th of May, 2019. This bombastic RTS set in the Hyborian Age sees you defeat wave after wave of incoming beasts and foes. Prepare, fight, die, and try again. This is what is best in life.
Moons of Madness
Space and Lovecraft meet in a terrifying journey into the mind, a journey full of sci-fi horrors. Coming Halloween 2019, check it out, if you dare.
Conan Chop Chop
Definitely not an April Fools joke, Conan Chop Chop brings the brutality of Conan to a roguelike dungeon crawling chibi-styled adventure. Which is a sentence no-one thought we’d be typing. Coming September the 3rd, 2019.
Last Oasis
The Earth has stopped rotating which has caused a few problems. One of which is the Sun is burning the planet’s surface. This multiplayer game sees players fleeing the oncoming Sun, working together, crafting, defending themselves against foes, and always always moving towards sanctuary. Last Oasis comes to Early Access on July 15th, 2019 and will launch on the 3rd of September.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
Take control of, well, everything. The world can be yours if in this brand new 4X strategy game filled with over-the-top creations such as cyber-zombies and dinosaurs with lasers. Crashing down onto an untouched planet, it’s a race to take over the world before your opponents do. Coming August 6th, 2019.
Zombie Army: Dead War 4
From the makers of Sniper Elite 4, this co-op shooter set in the 1940s is a zombie-filled blast. Multiple characters to choose from, multitudes of enemies to destroy, and even a zombie Hitler. Coming 2020.
Remnant: From the Ashes
Terrifying yet stunning monsters have ravaged the Earth and much of the galaxy and you’re the only one who can stop them. This co-op action shooter sees you take on destructive creatures in a huge variety of beautiful environments and fantasy planets. With a dynamic generation system, no two games will be the same. Available August 20th, 2019, with early access for pre-purchasers on August the 16th.
Griftlands
A deck-building roguelike, the universe this game is set in is ruled by greed. Not only will you have to build decks and play cards to complete your mission in the world, you’ll have to negotiate your way through the world. Grift your way to victory, well, with a little fighting thrown in. Griftlands launches into an alpha on July the 11th.
Planet Zoo
Frontier Developments are known for two things. Beautiful and deep space games, and the best management theme park sims on the market. Planet Zoo allows you to build and manage your very own zoo, with individual creatures each with their own wants, desires, and needs. It’ll be a constant tightrope walk of balancing needs, money, and happiness of not only your residents but also your visitors, but with skill and effort you’ll be able to build your dream zoo. Planet Zoo launches on the 5th of November, 2019, with a beta launching over Summer.
Shenmue III
Ryo has been looking for his dad’s killer for a long time, but he might finally be catching up. Shenmue III is the long awaited next chapter in the Shenmue series. Heading to China, Ryo’s search is almost over, but there’s a lot to do before then. These games traditionally mix adventure, detective work, and a peek at a slice of the 1980s. Shenmue III is launching on the 19th of November, 2019.
Songs of Conquest
Inspired by the Heroes of Might and Magic series and Total War, and full of stunning pixel art, this strategy RPG adventure sees you build your town, defeat foes, and explore the lands. Send your heroes out to spread the word, and the sword, to your enemies. Songs of Conquest will launch late in 2020, with an alpha dropping earlier.
Vermintide II – Versus
The melee co-op murderthon is being expanded with a new threat: you. Play as the Skaven and turn on each other in a new versus mode, PvP comes to the End Times.
Per Aspera
In the future we have uploaded our consciousnesses to machines and set out to start over. On Mars it’s time to terraform the red planet with your robotic creations. Fill the planet with water, air, and life, as you work to make it habitable. Per Aspera will launch in 2020.
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
Set ten million years ago, you play as the last common ancestor of apes and humanity. Explore the world and expand your territory, then evolve down the years, becoming a little more human with each step. Go from prey to predator in this utterly wild world, before history started.
Auto Chess
Auto Chess is coming to PC as a standalone title, starting out life as a Dota 2 mod, this strategy game mixes chess and resource management in intense multiplayer strategy. Auto Chess will launch later in 2019.
Cris Tales
A love letter to classic jRPGs, this game lets you see the past, present, and future, all at one time. Your decisions will be unveiled in-front of you, showing the impact of your choices as they happen. Learn from the past and implement your decisions in the present. Winner of multiple awards and with a stunning and dynamic art style, CrisTales is being released in 2020.
Valfaris
A brutal 2D action shooter inspired by Contra and others, it’s time for things to get explosive. With more weapons than you can shake a stick at, and more enemies to shake those weapons at, you’ll take on the universe and win. Humongous bosses and disgusting foes will all fall before your destructive power.
Borderlands 3
Several new details were shown off during the PC Gaming Show. Mech-ing her debut in Borderlands 3, Moze the Gunner is the new character who can summon in a giant mech for you to climb in and destroy your enemies with.
In addition, details about loot changes were unveiled during the PC Gaming Show, such as grenades with multiple affixes allowing them to do several things at once. Artifacts were also shown off, allowing your movement to be changed such adding extra destructive effects to the way you traverse the game.
An audience question shone more light on Guardian Ranks. An evolution of the Badass Rank upgrades present in previous Borderlands games, Guardian Ranks allow you to tweak and alter the way that your character plays throughout the game.
Borderlands 3 will be launching on September the 13th, 2019.
Maneater
Maneater is, of course, an open world action RPG where you play as a shark. Finally, humans will get their comeuppance in your toothy maw. We were also introduced to the game’s villain, Scaly Pete, the best shark fisherman. Well, he says he is the best shark fisherman. Disfiguring the player shark in the intro, you’ll be looking for revenge against this fishy foe. Maneater is launching within the next year.
Terraria: Journey’s End
One of the best-selling PC games of all time, Terraria has been continually updated over the years since its release. The penultimate expansion, Journey’s End, will bring the saga to a close. New biomes, new items, new recipes, new monsters, new bosses, and much much more will be coming to the game.
Telling Lies
From the acclaimed creator of Her Story, Telling Lies is a game about watching video footage to piece together a story. A woman has stolen an NSA hard drive, containing secret and intimate recordings between the four main characters. It’s up to you to work out what’s happened, explore the stolen database, and work out what the terrible event that shattered these four lives was. Telling Lies is a game about paying attention to the small moments and the unsaid and said, things that people let slip. Telling Lies will be launching ‘very soon’.
Warframe: Empyrean
Next up for Warframe, the Empyrean expansion will be fully revealed on July the 6th. Until then we got a beautiful teaser trailer showing off some explosive space action.
Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure
Never mind ten million years ago, this game is set during the big bang itself. Filled with black and white intrigue and a killer jazz soundtrack, Genesis Noir is a trippy and noir-filled exploration of a long distant period of time.
El Hijo
Playing as a six year old attempting to escape a monastery to find your mother, you’ll use toys, tricks, and your wits to stealth your way to freedom. This beautiful spaghetti-Western-inspired game had a great reaction at EGX Rezzed earlier in the year, and we can’t wait to see how it shapes up for a full release.
Baldur’s Gate III
The biggest surprise announcement of recent days was that Larian Studios is developing Baldur’s Gate III. Featuring everyone’s favourite mercenaries, the Flaming Fist, and everyone’s favourite mindflayers, the Illithids, Baldur’s Gate III looks like a darker departure for the more comedy-toned studio. The main confirmation from the PC Gaming Show was that Baldur’s Gate III will be using the 5th Edition as a baseline for its rules, as opposed to the original games’ Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The real question on everyone’s lips though: will we see Boo?
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
On September 17th, Wizards of the Coast will be launching a tabletop scenario and campaign that acts as a prequel to Baldur’s Gate III. Showing off the Sword Coast and the city of Baldur’s Gate, it’ll serve to bring players who haven’t been to the city of Balduran before up to speed. Whew, a lot this year in the PC Gaming Show. What was your favourite announcement, or what did you want to be announced that wasn’t? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to check out our Green Man Gaming blog for all your E3 2019 news and coverage.
