When Bethesda first began doing a press conference at E3, the reaction was a combination of confusion and laughter, and four years later, they are arguably the best part of the show. From the games they show to the way the presenters keep things interesting to surprise reveals at the end, Bethesda knows how to put on a good show.

This year was no different, and probably one of their best, mainly because Todd Howard’s studio had not one, but three exciting announcements: Fallout 76, Skyrim for mobile, and Starfield. They also were the only ones to make light of the Walmart Canada leak, which is a great way to make people believe that you are the cool development company. Overall, Bethesda does what you’re supposed to do at E3, and I can appreciate them not wasting our time.

Below is my breakdown of the good, the bad and the AMAZING of the Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference.

Good

Fallout 76

There are two games that get me to believe in them despite my reactions to the previous game: One is The Legend of Zelda, and the other is Fallout. Sometimes my faith is rewarded, and sometimes it’s Skyward Sword. With Fallout 76, I am excited about the idea of being able to build my own little town and being able to play with my friends, but with those features comes the possibility of loading into a server with awful people. The concept is great, and I love it, but I’m nervous about the execution.

Starfield

Not much was said about Starfield, but it is exciting to see Bethesda Game Studios working on a new IP. Whether or not it will have an impact remains to be seen. But either way, new ideas are always fun.

Doom Eternal

The reboot of DOOM was great, so it was a no-brainer that they would make a sequel. I was very happy to see that they kept the progression from the old series as this game appears to be literal hell on Earth. There’s no doubt that it will be a fun game, but the only question is what new features will be added to keep the game interesting.

Bad

Quake Champions

I understand the idea of getting all of your properties out in front of the audience, but Quake Champions presentation felt more like a ‘Remember me’ spot in the event. The most difficult thing the developers of this game have is that the core audience that cares about Quake can find better ways to play it on the internet, so unless they announce something significant, they will always feel tacked on.

AMAZING

Crowd Reactions During Andrew WK Performance

There are plenty of gifs on Twitter showing these and they are all amazing. The dichotomy between Andrew W.K.’s energy and the crowd’s bored/confused reactions was one of the best things about E3.

Todd Howard

There are few game developers on the planet that captivate me more during a presentation than Todd Howard. His comfort in front of an audience and subtle DGAF attitude means that there will be times when he goes off script to make a point. He is also a great salesman and will always get me to buy into what he’s selling despite my instincts. The reason he is in this category is that his entire presentation, he low-key made fun of the people on the internet that get way too crazy about these events, and he delivered it with the swagger of the cool young teacher.

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Our schedule for the press conference articles is as follows:

Sunday — EA; Monday — Microsoft; Tuesday — Sony; Wednesday — Nintendo; Friday — Square Enix; Saturday — Ubisoft.

We will have a full E3 wrap-up article on Monday, June 18th and on the Main Damie Podcast. If you have any questions that you would like us to answer, please tweet us @themaindamie with the #VGCornerE3. We will answer your questions on the podcast!