Today, March 18, Square Enix is holding its first-ever Square Enix Presents presentation.
The showcase is being presented by none other than Critical Role’s Matthew Mercer and is set to give us a glimpse into Square’s future.
We already know of a handful of games that will be present, including the reveal ofLife is Strange 3but here are five things that we think could happen at the show.
Life is Strange 3 Release Date - Chloe and Max return
TheLife is Strangeseries has become one of the most, if not the most, beloved series of episodic games going. Most recently,Life is Strange 2had five episodes release, starting in September 2018, before wrapping up in December of 2019.
In terms of a release date forLife is Strange 3, I can see it dropping this year, with the first episode dropping at some point in the late summer (late July, August or early September)
DualShocker’sown Rachael Fiddis says: I think there could be a chance we’ll see childhood best friends Max and Chloe back again in a shared narrative of some sort with the new protagonist. Although I don’t think there will be any main focus around these two, I do hope they are brought back again to help in some capacity as it would certainly be a shame to never see them again. I also think we’ll also be delving into important and hard-hitting topics like we’ve seen running through theLife is Strangeseries.
Marvel’s Avengers goes Free-to-play
This is news to nobody, butMarvel’s Avengersisn’t in a particularly good place. The game launched to a tepid reception and has seen its player base dwindle over the last few months, with recent DLC doing nothing really to revive the game.
Transitioning to a rumoured free-to-play model could be the boost thatMarvel’s Avengersso desperately requires, as somewhere in there, there are the solid foundations of a decent game. It would also give a major boost to the Square Enix Presents event.
Marvel’s Avengers Next DLC Character is announced as Black Panther
Last year, tragically, we lostBlack Pantheractor Chadwick Boseman. His passing sent shockwaves around the world and had an impact on millions of people.
His passing also had an impact onMarvel’s Avengers. In September,a War Table event for the game was altered“out of respect for a fallen true hero.” This likely meant that he was due to be the next character in the game. Now, as it’s been a while since his passing, this could present a great opportunity for Square to honour Boseman and his character Black Panther by adding them into the game.
Balan Wonderworld Joins PS Plus from Day One
It’s safe to say thatBalan Wonderworld’srecent demo didn’t go down all too well. The negative reaction has caused the game’s producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto to state that the title will be receiving a huge day one patch. The patch will addressWonderwold’smany issues including “movement controls, camera movement, and rebalancing of the difficulty.”
It’s likely that this demo and the noise surrounding it could have a negative impact onBalan Wonderworld’ssales, so, why not give it to Sony as a bonus PS Plus game for March (through April). Xbox Game Pass is gettingOutridersat launch, a game that looks very suited to that platform, and, on the other end of the scale,Balan Wonderworldis a game that could work well as a free PlayStation Plus title.
Tomb Raider Trilogy Collection Announced plus New Tomb Raider Game Teased
Recently,leaks suggestedthatTomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, andShadow of the Tomb Raider,plus all three game’s DLC would be packaged together in one complete offering, releasing on March 18. This timing is too perfect, so I’d expect this to be announced as a “and it’s available RIGHT NOW” at some point during the presentation.
With 2021 beingTomb Raider’s25th anniversary, and the fact thatShadow of the Tomb Raiderhas been out for almost three years now, I think we’ll also get a tease of what’s next for Lara Croft. What that could be, I wouldn’t like to say, but I feel like this Square Enix Presents is the time to show us.
