What Were The Most Popular Games of E3 2019?

Share.

The games that drew the most attention from IGN’s readers.

E3 2019 has come and gone, but most of the games we saw are still on the horizon, and the excitement for them is still growing strong.

Based on article traffic, we’ve determined what the most popular games from E3 2019 were for IGN readers. We also made a separate list of the most preordered E3 games based on our data tracking. Continue on to see which games made the cut, and what some of our readers had to say in our comments sections.

1) Marvel’s Avengers

Reactions to Marvel’s Avengers from Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal have varied from person to person, but it undeniably caught the attention of a huge amount of IGN readers. Marvel’s Avengers was shown off at the end of Square Enix’s E3 2019 press conference with a flashy and dramatic trailer, and the publisher ultimately revealed its release date: May 15, 2020.

Following this reveal, IGN was able to watch 25 minutes of gameplay in a behind-closed-doors demo, which featured Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow. This is nearly identical to the MCU’s initial Avengers line-up, but Crystal Dynamics claims it’s just a coincidence. Of course, Hawkeye is missing from this team (which fans weren’t too happy about), but the developers offered some hope that he’ll join in the future.

Since its reveal, we’ve found out more about Marvel’s Avengers, including how it will have microtransactions, how character customization works, and how you can’t play its campaign in multiplayer mode.

Comments from IGN readers were mixed in articles about Marvel’s Avengers, with some disliking its character designs, others contrasting it to Final Fantasy VII Remake’s showing from the beginning of Square Enix’s conference, and several showing excitement for the game and its story.

2) Cyberpunk 2077

It’s no surprise that Cyberpunk 2077 garnered a huge amount of our audience’s attention, as it won IGN’s people’s choice for best game of E3 (not to mention winning our own game of the show award and several others).

Beyond already having a huge amount of hype behind it going into E3 2019, excitement for Cyberpunk 2077 shot off into the atmosphere when Keanu Reeves came on stage during Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference to reveal he’s starring in the game as Jonny Silverhand. We later learned that he’ll have the second-most lines of dialogue of any character in the game.

We gathered a whole lot of gameplay details from the E3 2019 behind-closed-doors demo, and though there will be a bit of a wait until it’s shown publicly, CD Projekt Red have confirmed it will be made public during PAX West 2019. Even then, the wait for the game won’t be too long: Cyberpunk 2077 will be released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on April 16, 2020.

Fan reactions to Cyberpunk 2077 have been largely positive, with many fans excited to play the game after seeing its E3 2019 trailer, others shocked by the Keanu reveal, and some pointing some criticism at its dialogue.

3) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order had been on everyone’s radar since last E3, when developer Respawn Entertainment announced its name. This year, EA showed off a gameplay demonstration during its E3 2019 EA Play livestream, and IGN was lucky enough to experience an extended version of this demo. We went hands-on with Fallen Order, which felt great to play. Ultimately, we gathered 50 gameplay details about Fallen Order during E3 2019.

IGN also interviewed the creators of the Fallen Order, and found out it won’t have loading screens once the game starts, learned how its adorable droid BD-1 helped shape its protagonist, and how Respawn looked to Wind Waker and Dark Souls for its combat difficulty.

Fans are excited by the prospect of a new third-person, action-adventure Star Wars game, and reactions to its reveal were largely positive, if not initially mixed. Many fans noted their excitement for Respawn’s next game, while others said its animations weren’t quite up to par – some even felt it looked boring overall.

4) Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Fans have been waiting for a Final Fantasy VII Remake since the infamous 2005 PS3 tech demo teased fans with a game that wasn’t yet intended for development, but they won’t have to wait too much longer. Final Fantasy VII Remake’s release date was actually announced during a live concert the night before Square Enix’s E3 2019 press conference: it’s coming to PS4 on March 3, 2019… at least, the first part of the remake is.

IGN had the chance to go hands-on with Final Fantasy VII Remake, though we felt it’s more of a reinvention of the classic game than anything, saying “It’s very clearly a reinvention; something that takes a classic world and builds upon it with modern ideas, rather than just re-building the same game with modern graphics technology.” We extended that thought of reinvention to its battle system, which we felt brilliantly blended an action-oriented approach with the original game’s Active Time Battle system

We were lucky enough to interview producer Yoshinori Kitase about Final Fantasy VII Remake, and also found out that it expands on the original game’s story of Midgar with a whopping two Blu-Ray discs worth of content.

Fans praised the demo’s boss fight, battle system, and character designs, while others remain skeptical about it being divided up into multiple parts.

5) Xbox Project Scarlett

While obviously not an actual video game, Microsoft announcing its next-gen Xbox Project Scarlett certainly captured our audience’s attention and ranked among the site’s most popular subjects. It was revealed during Microsoft’s E3 2019 Press Conference via a designer-centric video, and the rumors that it would be released Holiday 2020 alongside Halo Infinite proved to be true.

We know the console will support four generations of games, and that new backward compatible games won’t be coming to Xbox One in the future to shift focus on Scarlett. For even more on Project Scarlett and its long history of leaks, check out everything we know about Project Scarlett.

Fans were excited by the prospect of next-generation gaming, but some felt Microsoft could have had a bigger blowout at E3 2019, especially with Sony sitting it out this year.

6) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel

One of the biggest surprises from E3 2019 was Nintendo officially announcing a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was in development. At the tail-end of its E3 2019 Nintendo Direct presentation, we were treated with a moody trailer featuring Link, Zelda and what is likely the reanimated corpse of Ganondorf.

IGN had the chance to interview series producer Eiji Aonuma, where he didn’t deny the possibility of a playable Zelda or potential co-op, revealed that the younger members of the Zelda team had been inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2, and that it’s not related to Majora’s Mask. For even more info on this highly anticipated game, check out everything we know about Breath of the Wild 2.

Reactions from fans of the original were almost unanimously positive about this surprise reveal and trailer, with some feeling it helped “save E3,” though many fans noted they hope the sequel will focus on dungeons and forgo the weapon durability mechanics of the original.

7) Elden Ring

The reveal of Elden Ring was unfortunately spoiled prior to E3 2019, but it’s still exciting to know that the From Software and George R. R. Martin collaboration is a reality.

We only received a cinematic trailer, but we did find out quite a bit of info about the game. According to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, Elden Ring is an open-world game with gameplay mechanics similar to the Dark Souls series and it will be closer to Dark Souls than Sekiro or Bloodborne – Miyazaki also explained the meaning behind the game’s mysterious name. For more on this exciting title, check out everything we know about Elden Ring.

Though the trailer didn’t tell us much about the game, fans are still eagerly awaiting the next From Software title. Though many joked about George R. R. Martin’s penchant to not finish a certain series of novels, many are excited by his involvement.

8) The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for Nintendo Switch

As an original GameBoy game, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is often overlooked in favor of the two console Zelda games that came before and after it: A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. However, the game remains a beloved gem in a series filled with winners, and we saw quite a bit of its stellar remake during E3 2019.

During the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct, it was officially given a September 20, 2019 release date alongside a brand new trailer. While much of the content of this remake remains faithful to the original, it will include Chamber Dungeons, which allow players to create their own in-game dungeons – a feature that surprisingly spurred Nintendo into remaking the game in the first place.

Ultimately, we learned 23 new details about Link’s Awakening and were able to go hands-on with the game for 30 minutes where we were MURDERED by a vengeful shopkeeper. Even more footage of the game can be seen by watching the full Nintendo Treehouse Live presentation, and our own live on-stage gameplay walkthrough of the title.

Fans were pleased by Link’s Awakening’s showing at E3 2019, but some complaints were aimed at its full price point, and some performance issues when the game was in full-screen mode.

9) Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, the artist formerly known as Dragon Ball Project Z, was officially given its new name during Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference alongside an exciting new gameplay trailer.

We were lucky enough to have the game’s developers on-stage during E3 2019 to show off the game’s open-world, action RPG gameplay. In our preview of the game, we said it gave us “nostalgia goosebumps,” noting its strong fighting mechanics and familiar world.

Fans are super excited by the though of a big Dragon Ball Z open-world action RPG, hoping its concept ultimately holds up to their expectations.

10) Doom Eternal

Last but certainly not least, Doom Eternal rocked everyone’s world this E3. It was shown off during Bethesda’s E3 2019 press conference, and was given a release date for this year: November 22, 2019 to be precise.

We went hands-on with Doom Eternal, saying “Doom Eternal makes Doom (2016) feel like a warm-up act,” specifically praising its gameplay. Doom Eternal won’t have a traditional multiplayer, instead opting for a 2 v 1 Battlemode, but we did learn during our on-stage preview of the game with its developers that it draws inspiration from Doom II: Hell on Earth.

Fan reactions to Doom Eternal were largely positive, noting their faith in Id Software and their love for the franchise’s single-player gameplay.