The First Four Reveals of E3 2021 – VGU Reacts

So E3 2021 has officially kicked off! Just like last year, most events aren’t big shows open to the public, but rather a series of digital showcases a la Nintendo Directs. Those begin sometime in June, but before we get down to the nitty-gritty with all the crazy conferences, E3 has given us some bite-sized gifts in the form of gameplay reveals. So today, I figured I would go through this week’s four major reveals and give my thoughts on how the future of gaming is looking. Let’s get to it with our first show of the week, Sonic Central.

Sonic Central

Taking a crack at the Nintendo Direct formula, Sonic Central was hyped up to be even better than its spiritual predecessor. Unfortunately, the overall news coming out of this 15-minute conference didn’t exactly live up to the Twitter discourse and memes, but that’s not to say it was entirely underwhelming. The show began with the announcement of a Sonic Symphony concert on June 23^rd, seemingly inspired by the video game symphonies of late. The coolest thing about this is it will be free, so perhaps I will give it a listen, considering Sonic has some awesome iconic music.

Sonic Easter eggs are coming to various games this year. The official Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 video game is getting a terrifying Sonic skin, Two Point Hospital is getting Sonic skins and décor, and Lost Judgment will include a playable arcade cabinet of Sonic the Fighters. The Olympic Games Tokyo skin is actually pretty genius, considering Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 came out two years ago, and nobody’s going to be playing that game anymore during the actual Olympics.

Sonic Colors was one of my favorite games on the Wii, and I am so excited to see its return. Unfortunately, this is a remaster and not an official sequel, but I’m sure it will look gorgeous and be worth a replay. Sonic Colors Ultimate comes out September 7 and will include in-game movie content. Roger Craig Smith is also returning for a new animated Sonic Colors series, called Rise of the Wisps. He seems like a pretty cool dude.

Rounding out the show, SEGA announced a new compilation coming soon, including next-gen versions of Sonic 1, 2, 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic CD. That is a hefty package of awesome games, and I can’t wait to play them all! Also, the latest Sonic games are coming to Amazon Luna and PlayStation Now, and the Sonic mobile games are getting new content. Furthermore, Sonic Prime is a new show coming to Netflix in 2022, but that’s not the only thing planned for next year…

We also got a teaser trailer of a brand-new Sonic game, coming to all next-gen consoles! Nothing big was shown, just the blue blur doing his thing, but nevertheless, I am excited to hear more. I’m finding as I write this… do I actually like Sonic? I guess I do kind of have a soft spot for the guy. I’ve definitely had more fun in old Sonic games than in old Mario games. So… I’m not sure what that says about me, but before I seem too fangirlish, let’s move on to the next show, which is something I am not nearly as excited about!