E3 2021: Guerrilla Collective 2 Overview
Showing off a bunch of indie and AA titles, Guerrilla Collective 2 was at E3 and was absolutely chock-full of trailers. Things began with the two hosts Justin Woodward & Alex Wilmer, and a big shout out to their sponsors, as well as a mention of the Steam event page so you can wishlist PC games.
Things kicked off with a look at Aragami 2, Gina Campoy ran us through the sneak peek, and talked about the new abilities and shadow powers. Double jumping, ledge grabbing and tons of hiding places to help with stealth. It’s coming to PC and consoles on the 14th of September.
Then we saw Firegirl, which sees you going around putting out fires, and upgrading your firehouse. What’s more, the water hose is also a jetpack!
Batora: Lost Haven was next, which is an isometric low-fantasy game. By “low-fantasy” I mean that it is set in a version of the real world, but has magic. It has twin-stick hack-and-slash combat, and sees you having to use the environment to solve puzzles.
Next up was Grime, where two entwined figures shared a soul or something, before we saw some growing evil crystals which formed into a figure with a black hole for it’s head. Not much.
The console version of BPM: Bullets Per Minute, presented by Josh Sullivan, came next. Josh told us about the roguelite FPS, where everything is tied to the beat of the weapon. It’s coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Summer 2021.
Then we saw some gameplay of the Asian-inspired ninja platformer Akatori. It’s a metroidvania with pixel art.
Archvale showed some top-down bullet hell action, with two-player co-op. It sees you going around dungeons killing monsters and looting.
Cel Davidson and Hana Lee then came on to talk a bit about No Longer Home. It’s a coming-of-age story about young adults starting their lives. Cel and Hana said that it’s a personal tale, as the characters are based on themselves. It’s been in development for six years, and looks like it will be an emotional adventure. It’s coming in 2021.
Justin Woodward & Alex Wilmer came back to introduce the next game, giving me a moment to finish writing bits of this.
Hunt the Night was next, a top-down, violent, action game with magic powers and monsters. It’s a roguelike, and sees you needing to upgrade your character to complete dungeons more successfully. It’s coming to PC and consoles.
Then Black Book left us a little puzzled. We saw a magic circle before getting a look at demons, monsters and more magic. Though some parts appeared to be turn-based card battles?
Demon’s Mirror showed a quick look at its roguelike deck-building gameplay with match-3 elements, and the statement that every playthrough is different.
Salim Grant came on to tell us some information about Neverwinter’s new class, The Bard, and how it performs. Yes, it’s a bard with a lute and everything.
Miro Straka told us about Loot River, a top-down action game with pixel graphics. You have multiple weapons to violently stab your enemies. Despite the pixel look, the water effects were quite impressive in the gameplay video. That’s good, as a big part of gameplay is moving the floating platforms, which enables you to isolate enemies and give yourself some breathing room. It’s coming to Xbox & PC.
Justin Woodward & Alex Wilmer came back and said that Loot River had Tetris-like platforms, which was just incorrect, as they were just shaped like Tetris blocks. You don’t actually have to connect them and line them up to get them to disappear.
We next saw the Switch version of Ghostrunner, the PC & console game from last year. It’s getting a physical version on the 30th of June.
The Light of the Darkness came next, a side-scrolling action game where you play an angel that’s also a demon, so of course everyone wants you dead. It’s coming to PC in 2022.
The next trailer was for Slime Heroes, and it looked very cutesy. You play as a slime that can turn itself into weapons to fight against the evil ooze created by an evil fog, and even has co-op available.
Two nameless developers came up next to talk about Demon Turf, and how it’s coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The gameplay video showed us some of the abilities you will unlock, too. It’s coming to every platform in 2021.
Arietta of Spirits showed off some top-down The Legend of Zelda vibes. It’s a game where you have to help spirits with their unfinished business - and kill monsters as you try to do it. It’s coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in Summer 2021.
The next one made me laugh quite a bit, with a clear humour about itself, and the games it’s taking a swing at: UnMetal. The trailer took on an A-Team feel, and showed off the pixelated graphics, and how you will use objects in the world as weapons, beat people up, and blow things up. “It’s another cat!”
The look at Wolfstride was swift. A mech battling game that’s entirely black & white, you have to fight in turn-based mech battles. Between bouts, repair your mech by getting things around town.
Severed Steel came up next, with Matt Cundy talking about how you can go through walls. A first-person shooter, there is lots of action, shooting, and lots of parkour. Coming to Steam, then consoles shortly after.
Then was Sable. A third-person game with a cel-shaded look to it, where you explore on a hoverbike around deserted landscapes. Climb up walls, and it seems that you hover in a bubble if you jump off of things. It looks quite relaxed, 23rd September 2021 to PC & Xbox.
Justin Woodward & Alex Wilmer came back to introduce the next game.
Surely to make you batty, BATS was next. It stands for Bloodsucked Anti Terror Squad, and sees your vampire squad taking on vampires in violent action, despite the pixelated graphics.
We then got a quick look at Death Trash, a gorey sci-fi game.
Next up Jacek, Krystztof and Miki showed us a bit of Serial Cleaners, a sequel to Serial Cleaner set in the 90s. We saw a bit of gameplay, showing blood getting dragged into the snow, before a more fully realised gameplay trailer without narration. The cleaner had to evade detection while tidying things up. With an isometric viewpoint, it’s coming to PC & consoles in 2021.
We then saw White Shadows, a blurry black & white game. Developers Vivien Baguio and Daniel Wagner told us about the game world of White City, while Ride of the Valkyries played. The protagonist is Little Raven Girl who is trying to change the messed-up world. The graphics don’t stop it from looking quite nice, though it may be hard to tell what’s happening at times. It’s coming in 2021.
Next was a quick look at Raji: An Ancient Epic Enhanced Edition, which boasts an authentic Hindi voiceover and enhanced gameplay in the new version.
A little different, Despot’s Game is an idle battler, which has you lead a group of humans on the way out of a dungeon. Battles happen automatically, so you need to use what you can find to arm your humans in their fight against robots. You can also genetically modify them.
Potion Craft came up, showing us an alchemy game. It sees you making potions and tonics for people, gathering ingredients and haggling prices. Eventually, you will get better equipment.
Then we saw RAWMEN, a food-fighting game in the vein of Splatoon. Two of the dev team talked us through two new modes: Meatball Mode and Boba Ball. It also showed off character customisation with tons of things to decorate yourself with.
Next, Happy’s Humble Burger Farm showed how you run a burger chain. Bake cookies, pour drinks, serve fries and keep clear of the terrifying creatures that come after you if you don’t keep customers happy.
Unfortunately, the look at Hello Neighbor 2 was just the AI trailer that came out in March.
Then, Trash Sailors came up with a stylised game that sees you keeping your makeshift boat running by using whatever you can find. Make engines, weapons, decking and fuel by fishing trash out of the water. Enemies will try to destroy you, but you’ll be fighting back and hoping to survive. It’s coming to PC, Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Justin Woodward & Alex Wilmer came back again with an interview with the Among Us developer Inner Sloth. They talked about the team and the game. They also teased 15-player matches with six new colours.
Then, we saw a game where you manage a casino from building it to juggling staff - but you’re all anthropomorphic animals. It’s called Blooming Business Casino.
Robodunk slammed on next. A mech sports game, it has a roguelite campaign that sees you upgrading abilities to aid in your basketball matches.
King of Hat didn’t have much to talk about, as it’s a multiplayer fighting game and a fridge is involved somehow.
Venice 2089 sees you in a 2.5D futuristic Venice. It’s a side-scrolling adventure, which has you exploring a futuristic Venice with your hoverboard and talking to people. It has a Kickstarter launching on 20th of June.
The trailer for Behind the Frame didn’t show much. It’s an anime-styled art game, which has you play as an artist who breathes art into life. Or their art affects the real world in some way.
Next was Kitsune Tails, which has you play as a fox-girl who can turn into a fox. It’s a side-scrolling platformer.
We had a quick gag trailer for Whitewater Wipeout, which was first shown at the Playdate Update. It had a bit more gameplay, but seemed more for fun.
Another confusing trailer, Arcade Paradise began showing a 90s-style employee information video for a laundromat, then for a video arcade. Presumably you run an arcade? In any case, it’s coming to PC & consoles.
Then Justin Woodward conducted an interview with Limited Run Games about it being over five years old.
Justin Woodward & Alex Wilmer finished things off by thanking everyone and their sponsors, then ended things teasing the Wholesome Direct.
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