YvoCaro’s E3: where is the lighthearted stuff?

Monday was an E3 day jam packed with presentations and news. Square Enix brought their latest, Ubisoft made their annual announcements of a Just Dance title and some other goodies, and Sony had their conference.

I tried to take it all, looking for Switch titles, mobile titles and looking for the cute, colorful and lighthearted. Let me tell you, that wasn’t easy. Lot’s of the titles announced or showcased seem so grim, such realistic looking games. Stories that I wouldn’t even watch in a movie, let alone immerse myself into when I’m playing a game for my amusement.

Of course, everyone has their own tastes in video games and I always tend to respect other peoples preferences, but every year at the E3 I wonder why the more casual gaming side is hardly represented?

The Ooblets for light-hearted fun

One colorful highlight of the day was the new trailer shown for Ooblets. The game is expected to arrive on PC and XBox later this year. No Switch release mentioned, but with the track record of PC games coming to Switch eventually, I have high hopes.

Ooblets is an upcoming farming, creature collection, and town life indie game inspired by Pokémon, Harvest Moon, and Animal Crossing. It’s developed by a small team, the description they give is:
“Manage your farm, grow and train your Ooblets, explore strange lands, and battle wild Ooblets and other Ooblet trainers.”

Its the kind of casual game us here at LadiesGamers love!

Take a look at the trailer:

More fun to be had at the Rabbids Kingdom

At Ubisoft’s E3 2018 media briefing, a release date was provided for Mario -Rabbids: Kingdom Battle’s Donkey Kong expansion. The add-on will be released on June 26, 2018. However, people who have purchased the season pass will get access to it a day early on June 25, 2018.

The adventure stars everyone’s favorite necktied gorilla, Donkey Kong. But he won’t be alone. Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Cranky Kong will join Donkey in this expanded adventure. The DLC adds four new areas to the tactical strategy game. Mario is getting a break, and won’t be in this DLC.

Miyamoto in another guest appearance with Ubisoft

Just like last year’s E3, when Miyamoto came on stage during the Ubisoft presentation to announce Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, he appeared again this year. He was presented with a model of Fox’s ship, the Arwing.

It was part of the announcement that Star Fox’s Fox McCloud will appear in Starlink: Battle for Atlas. It seems every year Ubisoft shows a new, unusual game the blurs the line between software and toys. This year (and last year) that game is Starlink: Battle for Atlas. Set in the Atlas star system 400-lightyears from Earth, players fight an alien legion using laser guns and powerful spacecraft.

Here’s where it gets interesting for handheld gamers: Players will be able to buy toys that, when connected to a special component, will unlock their counterpart spacecraft parts in the game. And they can play the game on the Switch, XBox and PS4 on October 16. Only the Switch version will include Fox McCloud and his trusty Arwing.

Here’s the trailer showing it all:

And that’s about all I could find that might be interesting for the casual gamer who wants to play Handheld on the Switch. All of that will change today though, as Nintendo is showing its Nintendo Direct today!

Join us tonight when we live-stream our comments to the Nintendo Direct at 9 am PT, 12 pm ET and 5 pm BST (which is 6 pm here in the Netherlands). Exiting Day!