Gameplay-wise, there isn’t a ton to see but it looks breathtaking all the same. Along with teasing some new lore and Zelda’s involvement in the same, we see the regular Link diving from the sky and riding platforms up. In the meantime, long-haired Link also makes an appearance, just casually climbing a branch.

First announced during Nintendo’s E3 2019 Direct, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is confirmed to take place in the same Hyrule as the first game. However, it was later stated to be its “own game.” New gameplay showcased last year revealed floating land masses, the return of Runes, and Link using portals in unique ways. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Gameplay

The sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has been rumored for a long while and finally it is coming rather soon. Titled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the game will release in early 2023 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. At this point, no gameplay footage has been showcased but it’s very much possible that it could be revealed at a major showcase in June. This was the pattern with Fallen Order (and even past Star Wars Battlefront reveals) so we’ll see if EA repeats the same.

Strange of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin aka Chaos Reigns

You could point to other titles in Square Enix’s showcase as being disliked but Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is on top. This is a combination that should have made an immediate impression – Team Ninja of Nioh fame working on a hack and slash Souls-like set in Final Fantasy 1’s universe. Plus, it was a surprise announcement – it had to make an impact regardless. It certainly made an impact and unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what Square Enix had in mind. From the cheesy dialogue and meme-rific spouting of “CHAOS” to the unimpressive aesthetic and blandly designed main character, Stranger of Paradise garnered mixed reactions. And unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it.

The trial went live on PS5 right after the debut trailer – surely the gameplay was solid, right? No sooner had fans downloaded it than they discovered the trial was corrupted and wouldn’t play. Square Enix would release an update to get it working and even then, impressions have been mixed. From what should have been a bright new debut to a floundering on all fronts, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin’s arrival has been painful to witness.

Not much is known about Nintendo’s sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A short teaser debuted last year that saw Link and Zelda seemingly encountering Ganondorf once more but there’s been no gameplay footage or substantial information since then. Nevertheless, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachet feels that Nintendo will have no trouble selling tens of millions of units.

Speaking to GamingBolt, Pachter was asked about the sequel and whether it will maintain the same level of critical and commercial success (especially since Breath of the Wild sold over 20 million units since launch) or see a drop-off. He responded that, “I think it will sell more. Bigger install base, and the brands that everyone buys Nintendo systems for are Zelda and Mario Kart and Smash Bros. And how many Switches will be on the market by the time the next Zelda is out, 75 million? They will probably have no trouble selling 25 million units of the next Zelda game, they will probably sell 35 million, even 40 million.”

These would be pretty good numbers but Pachter notes that, “They’re great games. Zelda is the best thing that Nintendo does, I’m not a big Smash guy, but Mario Kart and Zelda are great.” Interestingly, he also speculated that the reason Nintendo hasn’t done a new Mario Kart title since 2014 is because “They want to have a giant install base to sell it to and set records.”

As for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel, series producer Eiji Aonuma said fans would have to wait “a bit longer” for updates. Nevertheless, Nintendo is working with Omega Force on Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a Musou-style hack and slash title set 100 years before Breath of the Wild. It features Link, the Champions, a younger Impa and even Zelda as playable characters and releases on November 20th for Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo recently announced Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a new hack and slash title developed with Koei Tecmo that serves as a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Of course, this led to the obvious question – what about the actual sequel? Series producer Eiji Aonuma actually addressed this in the announcement video for Age of Calamity. Check it out below.

Around the 15 second mark, Aonuma states, “Regarding the sequel, in order to make the vast world you enjoyed exploring in the original game even more impressive, the team is working hard on its development, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer before we can provide more updates.” While this doesn’t necessarily narrow down the release window, it seems to indicate that the sequel is farther off than initially believed. Either way, don’t expect to play it this year.

As for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, it’s out on November 20th for Nintendo Switch. Along with Link, players can control Zelda and the four Champions, battling against the forces of darkness to halt the Calamity. Koei Tecmo has worked closely with the development team on every single aspect, which should make for a more inherently Zelda-like experience. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

Last year Nintendo dropped the very unexpected news that the acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be getting a direct sequel. The game apparently started life as DLC, but ultimately evolved into a full production. Since that unveiling, though, it’s been almost entirely silent. There have been rumors and gossip about what we might see, such as the return of more traditional dungeons, but on Nintendo’s side there has been nothing. Well, that hasn’t changed per se, but some people working on the project may have inadvertently given some idea for where it’s at.

On the Spanish podcast Un Cafe Con Nintendo, and reported by Gamereactor, Spanish voice actors Nerea Alfonso and Marcel Navarro, who voice Zelda and Revali respectively, revealed that their work on the sequel was done. This probably means that the Spanish dub is already done. What does that actually mean in the grand scheme of development? It’s hard to say, but foreign dubs are generally one of the last things to be done. That isn’t a hard and fast rule, either, especially since COVID-19 has clearly had a huge impact on companies’ development pipelines.

Considering how little we’ve seen of the game (we aren’t even sure what the name of this thing is yet), and how little Nintendo has said about it, it’s hard to believe this will come out this year. But Nintendo has been dropping news incredibly close to release the last few months for its games, so anything is possible. All we really know is the game is set to come to the Switch at some point in the near future.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was one of those games that hit at just the perfect time. It launched with Nintendo’s latest system and managed to get almost everything right. It remains one of the Switch’s biggest and most consistent sellers and is beloved both critically and by fans. For some, though, one of the few flaws of the game is its almost complete lack of traditional dungeons. The game opted more for bite-sized ones, which left some people dismayed as they missed the sprawling dungeons of the past. The sequel is coming and will revisit the same Hyrule, but a recent rumor seemed to point to things being different.

According to Tyler McVicker, well known YouTuber/streamer, he’d heard that the game will be slightly more linear in the beginning as compared to Breath of the Wild‘s vast openness from the get-go and says that more traditional style dungeons will be making a return (you can see the summary of his comments via Reddit here). That’s all the details he offered.

McVicker has been a pretty accurate source of leaks in the past, but it’s worth mentioning there’s been a lot of bogus Nintendo rumors floating around lately, so take any and all leaks with a big grain of salt. If true, though, it’s sure to make some people very happy. Stay tuned for more official information on the sequel down the road.

Cloud Strife – Final Fantasy 7 to Final Fantasy 7 Remake

The iconic Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7 will be making his return soon in the remake. However, the process behind his iconic look is interesting – the spiky hair was meant as a contrast to antagonist Sephiroth but also to keep the polygon count low. Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children – and by extension Crisis Core – saw Cloud have a realistic design for the first time with defined hair and facial features. Numerous models were used to capture different expressions and Cloud’s general attire combined elements of his old outfit with a darker, more contemporary look. The overall aim was to showcase how much time had passed in the world and how the guilt of losing Aerith weighed down on him.

In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Cloud once again sports a more realistic look in keeping with the game’s high fidelity approach. His hair and facial expressions are more defined; the overall outfit has a darker look in keeping with Advent Children; and several elements like the waistband, baggy pants and boots are toned down to look more proportionally accurate. Regardless, this is Cloud Strife through and through.

Doom Marine/Slayer – Doom 1 to Doom Eternal

Though mostly represented as the gun mowing down demon hordes, the Doom Marine or Doomguy had a distinctive design. A helmet covering his entire face, save for a visor over his eyes; chest armor with short sleeves; and the signature green shade adorned the entire set. It was iconic and meant to represent the Marine as a human facing overwhelming odds. Doom 2 didn’t make any major changes to this design. The older games emphasized sprites over full 3D models and this was reflected in whatever we saw of Doomguy.

In Doom 3, however, the human aspect of the Marine was emphasized more, showcasing his face fully. The clothing is more distinct from the armor (he now wears a separate t-shirt below the same); the ab window below the chest plate is covered up; and the pauldrons are more accentuated. All of this to reinforce the Marine being prepared but not overwhelmingly powerful, perfect for the game’s survival horror approach. The Marine was packing an estimated 4400 to 5000 polygons and id Tech 4 allowed for real-time light computation, MegaTextures and shadow volumes to bring the world to life in a creepier way.

With DOOM in 2016, id Software made significant changes to the protagonist. Known as the Doom Slayer now, he had full-body armor with more plating, weathered textures, darker shades of green, and a significantly taller build. It fit well with the Slayer’s motif of being an unstoppable badass that could shred entire armies of demons. The game was developed on id Tech 6 which sported physically based rendering, SMAA and TSSAA anti-aliasing, bokeh depth of field and HDR among many other features, with the aesthetic feeling more heavy metal and visceral than previous titles. Ample amounts of gore and hellish landscapes never looked better.

DOOM Eternal takes the same design, bulks up the Slayer further and adds new weapons like the shoulder mounted cannon and arm-blade. There’s also a return to the classic short sleeves worn by previous Marines.

Jill Valentine – Resident Evil to Resident Evil 3 Remake

An abject professional at heart and in stature, Jill Valentine was designed by director Shinji Mikami and designer Isao Oishi as an anti-thesis to overly sexualized characters. Sporting tactical boots, gloves and a beret, Jill is as no-nonsense as they come. It’s interesting to note that her outfit in Resident Evil 3 received some criticism at the time for going against Mikami’s initial philosophy.

In the HD remake of Resident Evil 1, Jill’s likeness was based on actor/model Julia Voth. This likeness would define Jill’s look for a number of titles including Resident Evil 5, which saw her undergo the most radical change in design yet. Though the shock value of Jill’s return was palpable – especially with the set-up for her apparent demise – many fans reacted negatively to her form-fitting outfit and blonde hair. Resident Evil: Revelations would see Jill adopting a wet-suit in keeping with the infiltration of the Queen Zenobia cruise ship while retaining aspects of her original design. Perhaps the most surprising bit was seeing her with a ponytail instead of the trademark cropped hair.

In the upcoming Resident Evil 3 remake, Jill’s design has changed once again. Model Sasha Zotova provides her likeness, offering a harsher touch to Jill’s expressions. While the clothes have been kept casual, the darker colours, combat boots and tactical gloves reinforce Jill’s status as a former special ops soldier. The RE Engine also provides more freedom for additional details like dirt, grime, cuts, bruises and sweat. How Jill’s demeanor and overall character will change remains to be seen but so far, the design is in keeping with her original approach.

Master Chief – Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo Infinite

It’s easy to underestimate just how many changes Chief’s attire has gone through in the years. This is explained in-universe as upgrades to the Mjolnir Armor. Master Chief was first designed by Bungie developer Robert McLees, art director Marcus Lehto and concept artist Shi Kai Wang. After receiving some more muscle, the Chief would receive his trademark green shade and we got the motorcycle helmet-esque wearing marine in Halo: Combat Evolved.

Halo 2 saw the armor gain much more definition, both in terms of details, texture quality and polygon count. Instead of bright green, Bungie opted for a darker shade. This was carried over into Halo 3 where the armor looked more singular as opposed to a variety of armor sections. Improvements to lighting gave more definition to all of the details, and it felt like the Chief had truly made a generational leap. Then 343 Industries took over the franchise with Halo 4 releasing in 2012.

If Master Chief wasn’t a space marine before, it was heavily reinforced this time. His armor was highly detailed with several more components and looked to have Kevlar weaved into the mesh. Eventually, this gave way to a more streamlined design in Halo 5: Guardians. The overall tone felt less busy and seemingly a combination of the designs in Halo 3 and 4.

With Halo Infinite, 343 Industries is making a rather interesting return to the Mark VI armor from Halo 2 and 3. The green tint is more vibrant than before and the shoulder pads are more defined than Bungie’s iterations. But this feels, once again, like a natural evolution of Chief’s design from the older games.

Link – The Legend of Zelda to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

The Legend of Zelda is an amalgamation of timelines, alternate universes and reincarnations. However, throughout it all, the hero Link has always maintained his signature blond hair and green tunic. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, Link started out as a simple sprite in a top-down perspective. He gained more detail and colour in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, mostly due to the game’s side-scrolling nature, but The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past returned to the top-down perspective with a much more defined sprite with more colours.

From there, Link would see a number of design changes depending on the game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time saw the hero in full 3D for the first time and, as a contrast to previous adventures, featured an adult version with sharper facial features and a white undershirt and pants. The Wind Waker depicted Link with a cel-shaded style channeling the animated style and energy of the adventure with complex facial expressions and animations. Games like The Minish Cap would channel this style, emulating Link’s bright blond hair. Link’s model was about 2600 to 2800 polygons – this would be quickly surpassed by Twilight Princess, which saw our hero in a mature form right off the bat. His overall outfit was a darker shade of green with more defined gauntlets and even brownish blond hair.

For Skyward Sword, Link was a teenager but his outfit returned to the bright green shades of yore while his gauntlets were replaced by gloves. The overall aesthetic was more fantastical as opposed to the gritty atmosphere of Twilight Princess while borrowing some cel-shading from The Wind Waker. Brighter colours to reflect the game’s emphasis on the sky.

It’s interesting when you look at Breath of the Wild – Link’s design went through a number of changes including variants of the blue tunic that eventually made it in. Cel-shading was applied again, giving the world a more stylized animated feel without going over the top like The Wind Waker. With the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel, Nintendo seems keen on replicating the same look, with Zelda taking some cues from it as well, perhaps hinting at her being a playable character.

Watch Dogs: Legion

Not even delays could dull the potential of Watch Dogs: Legion. Slated to arrive later this year, it’s set in the UK as DedSec recruit followers to topple CtOS and the government’s surveillance. The key gameplay mechanic is being able to recruit and play as any NPC, each with their own unique perks, abilities and stories. It’s wildly ambitious, especially in terms of the overall scripting and gameplay variety done. Expected later this year, Watch Dogs: Legion will be coming to current gen platforms along with Xbox Series X and PS5.

We haven’t see anything of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s as-of-yet-unnamed sequel since we first saw it last year, but most have assumed that the game would be launching later in 2020. That’s not just because Nintedo’s lineup for the year is looking a little light for now, but also because they’re probably going to want to have a big Holiday release to compete against the releases of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, especially now that they’ve confirmed that the rumoured Switch Pro won’t be releasing this year.

However, Breath of the Wild 2 might not end up being their Holiday release of the year. Taking recently to Twitter, noted Nintendo insider Sabi, who has a proven track record, said that due to the game having taking “longer than anticipated”, it is no longer going to be Nintedo’s Holiday 2020 release. Interestingly enough, Sabi also mentions that said Holiday release is going to have “tires”. The most obvious conclusion to jump to here would be Mario Kart 9, but given how well Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to sell well, it’s hard to imagine Nintendo wanting to make a sequel just yet- you never know though.

Meanwhile, though Nintendo haven’t yet spoken about their 2020 lineup of Switch titles, recent leaks (also coming from Sabi) have indicated that they could be releasing a new Paper Mario game and a new 2D Metroid title this year. Read more on that through here.

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