Favorite games from E3 and Summer Games Fest 2021

Do you ever feel like there are just too many games and not enough time? Yeah, me too. But that doesn’t stop me from getting really excited about new game announcements. Here are some of my favorite games announced at E3 and Summer Games Fest 2021.

Somerville

The 1 minute and 46 second-long trailer for indie game Somerville had my full attention during the Xbox conference at E3. The game is being developed by a small team called Jumpship, and the team’s co-founder previously worked on two games I adore - Limbo and Inside. This is one we don’t know too much about yet, but it’s definitely one I’m keeping on my radar. Even better, it’s coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one.

Lake

Lake is another indie game that revolves around a middle-aged woman named Meredith who decides it’s time for a change of pace and returns to her hometown in Oregon to deliver mail. Honestly, the game seems very Animal Crossing-esque to me; your objective is to do your job to make money, and then meet people around town and find things to do with them. It takes place in the 1980s and the scenery looks very serene and nostalgic (even though I wasn’t alive in the ‘80s). This game is certainly not going to be for everyone, but it certainly has my attention.

Mario Party Superstars

My dreams are finally coming true - a Mario Party with boards and minigames from the N64 titles and more minigames from the GameCube titles. I screamed when I saw the trailer for this; I’ve always said that Mario Party 2 and 4 are my favorites, and now I get to experience some of those boards and minigames on the Switch. This will definitely be a day-one purchase for me!

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

The original Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle came out in 2017 and was such a random, amazing game. It’s not your typical Mario game; it is a turn-based tactical RPG game with Mario characters and the Rabbids, which are characters from the Rayman series. I wasn’t expecting a new Mario + Rabbids game, so this was honestly the biggest surprise announcement for me.