Ubisoft Forward 2020 - Event Recap

Today was Ubisoft's digital replacement event for their E3 Replacement summer gaming news release, dubbed #UbisoftForward As always there were pre-event leaks. We learned about Far Cry 6, and we know of course more gameplay is coming for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. During today's event we also get more of a look at hotly anticipated Ubisoft titles such as Watchdogs Legion, Gods and Monsters, and Ubisoft's fortnite/apex competitor, Hyper Scape. Check out the full event below.

(Full Event)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla (ACTUAL) GAMEPLAY trailer

About after Xbox's controversial "gameplay event" that was largely devoid of gameplay, including the hotly anticipated Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Fans of the franchise, were expecting this trailer a month ago, when instead we got what would have been better described as an "in-engine cinematic" trailer. Now we finally got the lengthy, actual gameplay trailer, and I have to say it was well worth the wait. Honestly, I don't see why Ubisoft felt they had to keep this for their own event, because they had a longer indepth "Deep Dive" to follow. With a half hour of content, they could have shown the true "gameplay trailer" earlier. Nonetheless, this game looks to be absolutely beautiful. It showed vast gorgeous landscapes we have come to expect from recent Assassin's Creed games. We got a look at raids, the ability to have pet cats, rap battles, sieges, and much much more. Check out the full deep dive next. Here's the worst news of the day. Assassin's Creed Valhalla arrives on November 17, 2020. That is two days before 2020's arguably most anticipated title, Cyberpunk 2077. What sucks about that is that these are both going to be absolutely massive 100 hour games coming out virtually on top of each other. While the suits at the top may think these games are different enough to not be direct competitors, they are still massive time sucks. They may not compete on theme, but they sure will compete on time. Is it wise for Ubisoft to pit such a massive game up against Cyberpunk 2077? I don't think so.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Deep dive

Far Cry 6 - Cinematic Reveal trailer

Leaked days prior to the event thanks to Playstation jumping the gun on the storefront, we now get the official look at Far Cry 6. It looks to be a visual and narrative departure from the franchise, as the color palette has more reds and oranges, along with the decision to feature a famous actor for the main villain, with Breaking Bad and the Mandalorain's Giancarlo Esposito, in what proves to be a chilling and an exciting story. We saw no gameplay, only a double helping of cinematics; however we know it will be releasing February 2021, on current and next-gen, with free next-gen upgrades, supporting Xbox's Smart Delivery on Series X.

Watchdogs Legion - new in depth Gameplay trailer

Ever since Watchdogs Legion was announced and it shot to the top end of my Most Anticipated games of 2020 list, I have been vocal about how excited I am about this game. Despite being disappointed and unenthusiastic about the franchise up until this point, Legion promises to do something never really done before. In a truly unprecedented and ambitious gameplay mechanic, in Legions will be able to recruit and control any character on the map, it has no NPC's. I wondered up until now if that meant, you could even recruit enemy combatants, as this is a shooting focused game there will inevitably be enemies to fight. We learned during this event, that while more difficult, it is possible to recruit those who work for the enemy factions, making for great infiltration members. We got a more indepth look at the fact that this system of recruiting a list of operatives goes beyond just the cosmetics. We got to hear how different characters responded to a interaction with another character, and we got to see just how different the combat and gameplay style will be for the characters. The game doesn't force you to approach any mission one way. Where one character can storm in guns (or even a nailgun) blazing, others sneak in, or use drones. It is a truly amazing looking concept that I just can't wrap my head around. This game if executed properly could be one of Ubisoft's best, and even a GOTY contender. We also learned the release date, Watchdogs Legions comes out October 29th, 2020 on PC, Current consoles, and Next Gen consoles when they arrive. They also support free upgrades, including Xbox's Smart Delivery support.

Hyper Scape - Cinematic Trailer

We recently learned about Hyper Scape, Ubisoft's direct competitor to Warzone, Fortnite, and Apex Legends, with their own take on the still hot battle royale genre. It launched on a beta on PC, and news dropped today that console versions are coming sooner than originally thought with versions dropping this summer for PS4 and Xbox One, with no word on next-gen versions as of yet. During Ubisoft Forward we got to see a cryptic "story trailer" where we learn that the Hyper Scape universe takes place in a VR world in the distant future when the world is overcrowded and VR is that last means of escape (Ready Player One?). There is an allusion to some mystery or conspiracy at the heart of the corporation running it all. We did also get another look at the fast-paced gameplay. Hyper Scape hopes to evolve the genre with new mechanics and twitch integration. Twitch viewers will be able to vote on in game events, a truly innovative and strange new addition to a game. There is much more verticality to the sky scraping combat, as well as a new mechanic that turns downed teammates into ghosts who can scout for you.

Hyper Scape - new gameplay Trailer

Might & Magic Era of Chaos - Cinematic Trailer

Some smaller mobile game news made its way into the event with a mobile "might and magic" game, now available on iOS and Android.

Tom Clancy's Elite Squad - Cinematic Trailer

If this had been a live show, I think this would have been a Diablo Immortal, "Don't you guys have phones?" moment for Ubisoft from the audience. Tom Clancy fans would be understandable to be upset that the sole representation of the brand was a mobile game, especially one that shows Splinter Cell content. Fans are eagerly awaiting Rainbow Six Quarantine news. Last years Breakpoint was a massive disappointment that could have used some spotlight of the improvements. Fans have been waiting for a long rumored Splinter Cell reboot for a long time. The fact that THIS is what showed up for Tom Clancy fans may have been upsetting to some.

Brawlhalla

Brawlhalla, Ubisofts cartoon brawler on the vein of "Super Smash Bros" is a free to play game that I only recently discovered and tried in the past few months as they did a Tomb Raider cross-over event we covered on Tomb Raider Infinite. Now during Ubisoft Forward they announced it is coming to mobile, including cross play. I will say this, if Ubisoft fails to think of a crossover with the Viking themed Brawlhalla and the upcoming Assassin's Creed Valhalla, they should rethink their marketing strategy.

MIA Games

Other missing games that some may have been hoping to get at least an update on include Beyond Good and Evil 2, Gods and Monsters, and Skull and Bones. These are long in limbo games we haven't heard from in quite some time that it would have been nice to get a "hey we are still working on these" trailer from Ubisoft. Over all though, I was very happy with the event, and enjoyed all the content we did get.

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