Square Enix Presents… Spring 2021 Recap

Square Enix made big news on Sony?s latest showcase with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, but did they leave any surprises for their own digital showcase which debuted on March 18th? The Showcase started off with an in depth look at People Can Fly?s looter shooter Outriders. The segment focused on explaining the premise of the title, a breakdown of the playable classes as well as features from the title. Square also highlighted People Can Fly?s Epic Games pedigree, neglecting to point out they are also the developers of the Painkiller games.

Square Enix Presents | Spring 2021:

Following that opener, it was announced that 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of Lara Croft and the company will not spare any expenses in celebrating. Some of the things that will come down the line will include an anime adaptation to air on Netflix, another live action movie starring Alicia Vikander, a high end statue created in collaboration with WETA studios, Tomb Raider crossovers for Tom Clancy?s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.

The strangest announcement is a Tomb Raider cookbook so you can make the food Lara experiences in her globetrotting. Finally the 3 Tomb Raider reboot titles from Crystal Dynamics will be collected into a bundle to allow fans to experience Lara?s latest adventures at an affordable price point. Finally it was announced that Croft Manor will be available as a stage in Fortnite, so you can finally floss in a classy mansion.

Mobile games get the spotlight in the next segment as Just Cause Mobile is shown once again although no actual gameplay is shown. Continuing the trend, a Hitman mobile title is teased with the tentative title Hitman Sniper Assassins. Finally a Space Invaders AR title was announced as a collaboration with Taito…although given we are still in quarantine I?m not sure how much play will an AR game get when you?re mostly sequestered at home.

Further elaborating on their partnership with Taito, Touhou Spell Bubble and Darius Cosmic Revelation, and Bubble Bobble 4 Friends were announced. The latter two are recognizable arcade IPs from Taito?s portfolio. Touhou Spell Bubble appears to be a reskin of the Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move game featuring the Touhou Project IP.

Earth?s Mightiest Heroes step up and confirm that Marvel?s Avengers is available for next gen platforms with enhancements like 60fps, 4K resolution, better destruction. The segment also showcased everyone?s favorite purple archer, Hawkeye and the Future Imperfect DLC which will serve as his debut. The segment closes with a teaser for the next expansion, Black Panther: War for Wakanda.

Baland Wonderland gets a short clip, and it is still due for a March 26th release.

The penultimate segment which was promised to be the next entry from a beloved Square franchise turned out to be the next entry in the Life is Strange series. Life is Strange: True Colors (our preview here) developed by Deck Nine, the team responsible for Life is Strange: Before the Storm we are introduced to Alex Chen. A foster child who reunited with her biological brother in the seemingly friendly town of Haven Springs as she tries to make a fresh start. However tragedy strikes as her brother dies under mysterious circumstances. Using her empath powers she seeks to find answers and perhaps make some friends along the way. One of the bigger revelations is that the title will not be episodic and will be sold as a complete package on Sept 10th, 2021 with 3 SKUs and the Ultimate comes with a remaster of the original Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

Project Athia closes up the presentation with 3 announcements, the introduction of Ella Balinska who will be playing the role of Frey as well as the final title of this game, Forspoken. Frey appears to have enhanced mobility and magic powers in what little gameplay that was shown. Forspoken will come some time in 2022 (see our preview here).

Perhaps I?ve seen too many of these and nothing was really jaw dropping. To be fair some of the IPs presented are not exactly in my wheelhouse so it would take a lot more to invoke excitement, but let?s see what the future holds as Square will hold another ?Presents? event in the summer.