New video game trailers: Resident Evil 7, Steep, Deus Ex, Injustice 2, and more

By Chris Plante
on August 18, 2016 07:26 pm
@plante

If you’re a regular reader of The Verge, you may be familiar with Jake Kastrenakes' bluntly named, eloquently written weekly roundup of movie trailers. I look forward to these pieces, which collect the marketing materials designed to capture in miniature the oomph of a full-length film.

I enjoy films, and the hype around films, too, but my heart lies with video games; I have often pined for a similar roundup, albeit for my preferred medium. Then I remembered that I write for this site. And that I can and should stop being a loaf! And that I ought to make the dang thing myself.

So here we are, preambling our first weekly collection of video game trailers.

Is this just an amalgamation of glossy sales pitches? Unquestionably, yes! Do I love these trailers despite their ultimate capitalistic purpose? Of course! I enjoy junk food now and again. I enjoy cheap beer and good wine. Look buddy, not everything in this life has to be good for me.

And besides, I find value in watching lots of video game trailers, as I’ve begun to see the seams which betray how the marketing is made. As you learn to see through the mechanism, you gain an eye for upcoming games with genuine promise and those that will live their best life as two-minute hype reels.

This week’s roundup should be unusually dense. The annual Gamescom conference hurled a thousand bottled game trailers into the sea, hoping a few might find their way to our sparkling shores. Let’s open some!

Resident Evil 7

PS4 / Xbox One / Nintendo NX / PC – January 24th, 2017

I came for the reboot of a tired franchise. I stayed for the high-definition cat carriers. The new footage verifies the series’ promised return to a slower tempo, modestly plotted horror game. I see no volcanoes, bazookas, or angry men in Matrix-like catsuits. Promising!

Steep

PS4 / Xbox One / PC – December 2nd, 2016

Steep is, without question, my most anticipated big-budget game of 2016. As I become more and more of a boring grown-up, I find it relaxing to aimlessly zip through beautiful settings at high speeds. The Forza Horizon series, the overlooked SSX reboot, the abandoned MotorStorm franchise, the non-violent bits of Just Cause 3: these are the games to which I most often return. Steep looks like more of what I like, which is to say it’s a leisurely game with good momentum and the opportunity to replace my character’s human head with the bust of an elk.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

PS4 / Xbox One / PC – August 23rd, 2016

The lead up to the sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been pocked with delays and controversies. I haven’t had a chance to try the game yet, but here’s what I will say: whether this game is good or bad is secondary it giving its publisher the excuse to create Deus Ex Go.

Little Nightmares

PS4 / Xbox One / PC – 2017

There’s a case for 2016 as the breakout year of fairy tale-inspired video games. Unravel, Inside, and Little Nightmares: they borrow from the fairy tale toolbox. I know the least about Little Nightmares, but am curious nonetheless.

Injustice 2

PS4 / Xbox One – 2017

I’m not usually keen on individual character trailers, but Harley Quinn is the standout addition to Injustice. Well, her and that gorilla character. I haven’t read a lot of comics, but when I saw that gorilla wearing a cool hat, you know I wished that I’d made the time when I was younger.

Mafia 3

PS4 / Xbox One / PC – October 7th, 2016

My pal Andrew Webster wrote a nice piece on what the developers of Mafia 3 are hoping to accomplish with the period shooter about the mob in 1968 New Orleans.

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