The Mayan Theater lit up for the PC Gaming Show (run by our sister site, PC Gamer) to see what's coming to PC gaming in the next year. The lineup included Annapurna Interactive, Chucklefish, Epic Games Store, Paradox Interactive, Raw Fury, Tripwire Interactive and more. Baldur's Gate 3 and Borderlands 3 also made appearances.
The show was hosted by streamer Sean "Day[9]" Plott and esports presenter Frankie Ward.
Baldur's Gate 3
Larian Studios and Wizards of the Coast were on stage during the show to demonstrate the most anticipated game of the PC Gaming Show, Baldur's Gate 3. The franchise, based in Dungeons and Dragons, hasn't seen a game for years.
There was no new footage or anything different from the recent trailer, but Larian said it was porting as much of the game's handbook to the title, while also adding systems to make the game work well.
The developers also discussed bringing classes to the game in an authentic way, so that players of the paper and pencil game will feel that it's a great reproduction.
There will also be a paper and pencil prequel to this game that takes place between Baldur's Gate 2 and this title.
The team said it will be released "when it's ready."
Borderlands 3
The game is coming out September 13, 2019. Gearbox creative director Paul Sage talked up Moze, a gunner with a mech, flame thrower and a ton of other heavy weaponry.
He also discussed grenades, because there are more than the last game. There are also shields, including one that extends if you duck, and class mods that give you new skills and enhance what you have.
There are also artifacts that make changes to movement. One causes and explosion every time you slide.
There will be jump-in/out multiplayer and massive bosses in the single-player mode.
Shenmue III
Yu Suzuki took to the stage to talk Shenmue III.
"I want to say thank you for all the fans supporting me for the long 20 years," he said through a translator. "The wait is nearly over." Then he rolled a trailer.
In it, we saw Ryo Hazuki training in martial arts, as his master says others have become more powerful. There were environmental shots of the city, as well as Ryo fighting a drunk wielding a bottle. He captures a little girl during a chase. The game comes November 19.
Evil Genius 2: World Domination
From UK developer Rebellion comes Evil Genius 2. The trailer showed a number of playable classes, secret agents and nefarious traps. But a lack of gameplay footage made it hard to see what the game will actually look like.
Telling Lies
Sam Barlow talked about Telling Lies, a spiritual successor to Her Story. The game has footage of a woman who has stolen an NSA project with secret conversations between four characters. You need to piece that footage together to piece together what happened when something goes horribly wrong.
The game looks much like Her Story, with a computer desktop and video clips to watch and re-order. You can tag clips and search by keywords to find new clues in parts of the footage you may or may not have seen yet.
Barlow said there are 10 hours of footage.
The game is "coming soon" to Steam.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
There was a violent trailer for Paradox's Bloodlines 2 with a slightly blurry, dark look. Players need to keep themselves hidden from other vampires. Those vampires, of course, feed on human beings. It's coming in Q1 of 2020.
In some pre-alpha gameplay footage, we saw environmental shots, as well as the player's first-person vampire powers, like hovering in flight. There's also some knife fighting and combat, as well as the releasing of bats from your hands.
Man Eater
We met a new character in Tripwire's upcoming game, a fisherman with big headphones and bigger guns. We also saw some sharks attacking as he cleaned his boat. He's Pete, the villain in the tale, the best shark fisherman in the Gulf.
Man Eater is told as a reality show that follows the villain and the player shark.
"It's like GTA [Grand Theft Auto] if you were shark," the developer said.
There are three facets to the game. Growth, which you get through eating, like experience points. Then there's growth, when you change sizes and get a big jump in size and power. And there are evolutions, like metallic teeth, more powerful tails or mutated lungs that let you get on the beach.
TripWire is aiming for a release date before the next E3, its reps said, vaguely.
Starmancer
Chucklefish and Omnilux's new game is about growing a space colony, expanding it and customizing it your way. The gameplay trailer we saw showed a number of customization options, as well as gardens to feed the colony. Of course, it's not space without enemies, and there's a battle system to fight them off.
Chivalry II
Torn Banner and Tripwire have teamed up for Chivalry II, a first-person sword fighter. The trailer we saw showed bloody fights with brutal decapitation and armies fighting each other. It’s coming in 2020 to the Epic Games Stores.
The main game mode has teams raiding castles and sieging villages. "You're burning houses, killing peasants," one developer said.
The game will go up to 64 players and has horsebacks, which the first title didn't.
The developers also suggested players will be drunk while playing and can beat others with chickens while quoting Shakespeare.
Songs of Conquest
Coffee Stain and Lava Potion's trailer was largely atmospheric, showing off a lush forest environment with rivers, fires, towns and trees where the game takes place. A dark wizard sets the entire map black.
From there, the developers said, you create an animal and set them on an adventure. The adventure/strategy game is about upgrading your town and collecting resources.
There are turn-based battles with your troops. You deploy them (they have stats) and go turn-by-turn against enemies who come through.
The game isn't coming until late 2020.
Genesis Noir
OK, this one was weird. The black-and-white game has you playing as a detective, and the 2D art style is disorganized and gorgeous. We saw the detective dialing a phone, walking down hallways on seemingly meeting a femme fatale, but little other context was given. The game was described as a "cosmic adventure."
El Hijo
In this game, you play as a 6-year old trying to find your mother. The western is a top-down adventure title with stealth, puzzles and bright, vivid art direction.
Valfaris
Big Sugar's new game showed a massive side-scrolling run and gunner with a heavy metal sound track, massive creatures, fiery explosions and aliens galore.
Warframe Empyrean
We learned Warframe is getting some updates, but there won't be a full reveal until July 6. The developers showed a trailer devoid of much context, but it looked epic and had lots of combat.
The developers said you'll explore the solar system in the expansion.
Remnant: From the Ashes
Perfect World and Gunfire Games showed off its co-op shooter, Remnant: From the Ashes, with evils taking over the world, including a number of hideous monsters, like demons and massive wolves. We then saw some third-person, over-the-shoulder combat with the evils. The game is coming August 20 on PC, Xbox and PlayStation 4 (PS4). Pre-orders can play the game on August 16.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War
From the makers of Sniper Elite 4, we saw a cinematic trailer for Zombie Army 4: Dead War. It showed men with guns in a hellish warzone with lots of fire. A man on the ground was corned by zombies and took them out with his gun as a colleague came to save him. They escaped a massive demon with a flamethrower, and a guy with a sniper took him out, resulting in an explosion of gore.
Yet another of our heroes had a gatling gun, and in the trailer she made a distraction to help get the team together. Then there was more zombie combat before the team gathered up to face the entire horde. The game is coming in 2020.
Cristales
Modus Games' "love letter to classic RPGs" showed off a distinctive art style that switches between that shows the past, present and future simultaneously. Learn from the past, make changes in the present and change the future. Those three times are split on screen to show you everything at once. It's coming in 2020.
AutoChess
AutoChess takes chess to a wild new level with odd pieces. The game, adapted from mobile, is being built on Unreal Engine 4 and will be on Epic Games Store.
Mosaic
Our next trailer was bleak, showing a man standing in the rain playing a mobile game. We saw a busy city and the man swimming in the ocean. The game is called Mosaic and is coming in 2019.
Midnight Ghost Hunt
Coffee Stain's new game showed Ghostbuster-like characters hunting for paranormal activity in a haunted house. They use a meter to find where ghosts are, blast out their proton packs and get to hunting. We saw a chair turn into a ghost behind a character, so clearly there will be some surprises. The first-person gameplay footage showed household items being weaponized and, of course, ghosts being busted.
You can play as ghosts or hunters in a 4v4 game mode. The ghosts are actually hiding and try to stay hidden until the clock strikes midnight, but they can fight back against the hunters.
An alpha event will take place later in the summer.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
We saw the turn-based strategy game, which includes massive mechs, dinosaurs with lasers and more. You can create a paradise or a vast military choice, your choice. There's a massive stats trees for growth, including doctrines and technologies.
Battles could be as short as 2-3 minutes, but games at the end could be 20 minutes per side, the developers said.
The game will come out August 6 on PC and consoles.
Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy
Big Sugar's sequel showed undersea exploration in the dark with a moody atmosphere, as well as brighter exploration in a forest-like area. There's some combat in a top-down view and a large game map with a forest, desert, winter mountain and more. It's one of the more distinctive art-styles of the show, with a simple aesthetic with lots of colors and environments.
Funcom Games
Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil, Conan Unconquered and Moons of Madness (Halloween 2019 release) all made very brief appearances in Funcom's sizzle reel.
We also saw Conan Chop Chop, which originated as an April Fools' joke but clearly isn't. There are rogue-like elements and a chibi-style art direction. Huge swords, lots of blood and massive beasts from Conan lore are all in there. It'll come September 3, 2019 to PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PS4.
The Last Oasis
"We must move forward, or die beneath the sun."
In this trailer, a group tries to survive in a punishing desert, using sand-based pirate ships. They foraged in the occasional trees and grass and battled with other clans. We also saw vehicular-based. It's coming September 3 to Steam.
Griftlands
This one's a very cartoony, turn-based fighter with beautiful 2D artwork. The alpha is available July 11 on the Epic Games Stores.
Ancestors
Ancestors director Patrice Desilet's game about human evolution will allow him to tell a wide-ranging story, he said. You play as our last common ancestor and explore, expand your territory and clan, evolve and eventually reach Lucy. The game comes out August 27.
No gameplay or trailers were shown.
Zoo Planet
The developers showed a gameplay video of Zoo Planet, with realistic looking animals like bears, zebras, elephants and wolves. The game lets you run a zoo, care for the animals, clean up after them and create habitats for the wildlife.
Developers said people who want to go the zoo will be educated, including about the welfare of animals and about conservation. It's out November 5 on Steam.
Per Aspera
Raw Fury's space game takes place in a world where we reached Mars. Now humanity is putting human minds in machines so they can build a home there. We didn't see any gameplay, but it's coming 2020 to Steam.
