June 11, 2018, 1:00 PM PT
Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles
Ubisoft's press conference this year was a straightforward lineup of expected but interesting games, laid out clearly so fans would know exactly what was coming. New Assassin's Creed and The Division titles are joined by long-awaited sequels, like Beyond Good and Evil 2, and new franchises, like Skull and Bones. For the most part, it was an impressive lineup, and Ubisoft fans have a lot to look forward to.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
One of the longest-awaited sequels of all time, Beyond Good and Evil 2 is the prequel to the PS2-era cult classic. Quite a lot has changed in that time frame. The new game follows the crew of a space ship as they explore the mysteries of outer space. While the irrepressible Pey'j returns as the ship's captain, most of the crew appears to consist of new characters. The main villain, however, looks to be the last game's protagonist, Jade, giving us more info about her mysterious past.
We only got a few glimpses of gameplay, but they promise more of the same large and open world, including both on-foot and vehicular gameplay. We're also told that co-op will be available. Fans of the game can go online and submit artwork that will appear in-game due to a partnership with Hit Record. With a behind-closed-doors gameplay demo available this year, we can expect to hear a lot more about Beyond Good and Evil in upcoming days.
Trials Rising
The Excitebike-meets-insanity Trials franchise has a niche but incredibly dedicated fan base, and the latest game, Trials Rising, appears to be for them. It has everything you'd expect from a sequel: new gimmicks, new locations, and new tricks. It's focused on a world-traveler aesthetic that lets you perform limb-breaking motorcycle maneuvers all across the globe. Those worried about Trials' infamously difficult gameplay will be happy to know that it also includes an incredibly comprehensive tutorial created by fans who are experts at teaching others how to play Trials. It comes out in Feb. 2019.
The Division 2
Ubisoft's entry into the MMO-slash-shooter genre, The Division, had a rough start but eventually came around. Fortunately, The Division 2 looks like it learned its lessons and is starting off with promises to alleviate the mistakes of the first. Set in a war-torn Washington, D.C., it follows a new group of survivors as they try to hold out against would-be patriots who seek to dominate the shattered country.
Mechanically, they explained that the focus will be on specializations. You'll be able to customize your character within the confines of your chosen class in a variety of ways, including signature weapons and specialized abilities not accessible in any other way. Players can create interesting character builds that can be customized according to their play styles.
Ubisoft also promised full and heavy support for the game. The Division 2 will feature eight-man raids to add some weight to the end-game challenges as well as regular content upgrades that feature a new story and new areas. The first three updates will come in The Division 2's first year, and all will be free.
Skull and Bones
When Assassin's Creed: Black Flag came out, a lot of people felt like it should have been its own game with fewer assassins and more pirates. Well, that's finally what we're getting. Skull and Bones is a stand-alone pirate game seemingly unconnected to Ubisoft's other big franchise. The gameplay we saw looked very familiar, with a heavy emphasis on all sorts of swashbuckling piracy antics. There seems to be little or no on-foot combat, with the focus on naval battles. It's also the latest in the line of "shared world" games, where other players inhabit the same space as you, and you can team up to take down enemy ships or blow up each other and let the survivor take the loot. It'll be coming in 2019.
Transference
What little we saw of Transference looked intriguing. It stars a young boy whose father invents a device that somehow transfers his mind to another location. We're told "into a corrupted mind," and the glimpses inside the world show a horrific atmosphere. It's a first-person adventure game that clearly draws inspiration from things like Silent Hill, and it has a ton of potential to be exciting and dangerous. It comes out in Fall 2018 and will support VR.
Starlink
With Disney Infinity and Skylanders quietly fading away, it almost seems that the genre that combined video games and toys might go the way of the dodo. Ubisoft isn't willing to let that go quietly into the night. Starlink is the latest addition to the lineup and involves tiny spaceships that you can customize to alter your weapon loadouts as they battle to save the universe from evil titans. Not too much new was shown during the conference, except for one nice surprise: The Switch version of Starlink will support a Star Fox cameo ship.
For Honor
The postapocalyptic-yet-medieval For Honor franchise continues its conquest. While the game has been getting regular patches and small content updates, it hasn't had any big shakeups yet. That's about to change with the Marching Fire expansion. It will have four factions based on Chinese warriors and a new four-on-four "Castle Siege" mode. For fans of the franchise, this is a must-play, especially since Castle Siege has been one of the most oft-demanded features for a while.
The Crew 2
The Crew 2 only got a brief showing, but it made the idea clear. The Crew is a franchise, and The Crew 2 is clearly taking that far beyond cars. Not only will it include everything from motorcycles to race cars, but you can also fly planes or captain boats in races that go from city streets to the distant wilderness. In short, it's pretty much trying to be any race fan's dream game.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Sadly not the adventures of Ezio as he discovers the power of a magic hat that lets him take over people's bodies (á la Super Mario Odyssey), Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the latest game in the storied franchise. For the first time, players can pick their protagonist — as opposed to Assassin's Creed Syndicate's shared protagonist slot. They can pick from two Greek heroes, Alexios or Kassandra. Both are the descendants of Leonidas of Sparta and must engage on a quest that will alter the course of history.
Odyssey is clearly building on Assassin's Creed Origins. A lot of the gameplay we saw showed clear similarities to the last game, though obviously with new features aplenty. One of the new features is Leonidas's Spear, a magical artifact that gives the protagonist a myriad of special abilities, including magical throwing daggers, multi-shot arrows, and the ability to pull away an enemy's shield. There are also going to be dialogue choices and trees that can influence the way missions play out. It looks to be a safe sequel, but in the Assassin's Creed franchise, the safe sequels are usually the ones that focus on smoothing out the mechanics, so Assassin's Creed Odyssey has a ton of potential.