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Square Enix E3 2021: Everything about Final Fantasy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers and more

Square Enix leaned on some of its most high profile series -- like Hitman and its Marvel titles.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
Daniel Van Boom Senior Writer
Daniel Van Boom is an award-winning Senior Writer based in Sydney, Australia. Daniel Van Boom covers cryptocurrency, NFTs, culture and global issues. When not writing, Daniel Van Boom practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reads as much as he can, and speaks about himself in the third person.
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Ian Sherr
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2 min read

E3 may be entirely remote, but that doesn't mean we won't get news and previews from the world's biggest gaming companies. Square Enix used its Sunday press conference to discuss its next big Marvel game, based on the Guardians of the Galaxy, along with other forthcoming titles.

The company announced other games planned for a fall 2021 release, including a remastered version of Life is Strange, Dontnod Entertainment's supernatural drama, planned for Sept. 30. The company also showed updates for its main Marvel's Avengers game, including the upcoming storyline based in Black Panther's Wakanda.

Watch this: E3 2021 Preview: Xbox, Nintendo, Bethesda and more

Here's everything we're excited about from Square Enix:

Guardians of the Galaxy

Unlike the company's Avengers title, Guardians of the Galaxy is a single-player, third-person adventure game. (You play as Star-Lord.) Unfortunately for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, the game doesn't have any of the same looks or sounds as its movie counterparts.

GameSpot got an extended hands-off preview look at the Eidos Montreal game and said it seems more polished than the Avengers was at launch. So, we'll call it tentatively positive.

Watch everything: All the greatest E3 trailers so far

Marvel's Avengers: War for Wakanda

The company's Avengers game definitely struggled after its mixed launch reception last fall. The new updates may bring people back, but GameSpot reviewers say they're uncertain.

Hitman Sniper: The Shadows

Square's also coming off the January launch of Hitman 3, the latest in its well received series reboot. Now, Square Enix Montreal is working on a new mobile spinoff called Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, a sequel to 2015's Hitman Sniper, that is launching for smartphones and tablets later this year.

Babylon's Fall

This Platinum Games collaboration was first announced years ago, and even though it doesn't have a release date, the company did show off some of what the cooperative shooting game will look like.

Our colleagues at GameSpot described Babylon's Fall as having "a unique art style, somewhat resembling a watercolor painting. As with other Platinum Games titles, it uses high-flying abilities during combat, but it does also appear to be a little bit weightier than something like Bayonetta or even Nier: Automata. Weapons like swords, bows, and lances make an appearance, and there are also magical abilities. You'll also be able to use "battle actions" to eventually trigger more powerful attacks in combat, keeping in the spirit of high fantasy while avoiding "cartoonish" elements."

It's also the latest in a growing list of game that have the word "fall" in their titles. Consider: Fall Guys, Godfall and Redfall.

Final Fantasy

Square Enix's most famous series touted Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, a new spinoff co-developed by Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo that has an exclusive PS5 trial available now.

There will also be a pixel remasters of the first six Final Fantasy titles available for Steam and mobile.

Notably, a clip for Final Fantasy XVI appeared in the company's closing reel.

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