I will say that I don’t really follow what Ubisoft puts out very closely. I’ve never really had much attraction to their brand or the games that flag under them. So what am I expecting from this conference? Not much. I would be pleasantly surprised if they showed something that actually brought me in, but it’s so rare for them to have anything worth my interest. While I really will admit that I like South Park, and found the first game decent, I wasn’t persuaded to try the second. This is not to say their games are bad, not by a long shot. Just that I have never particularly been intrigued enough to play them. So going into this with that understanding, let’s see what might hold interest!

Just Dance 2019

Coming right out of the game Ubisoft tries to wow us with a dance show that actually ends up coming off awkward and desperate. This silly performance including a person wearing a panda costume may have thrilled some of the crowd, but weirded a lot of other people out. This wasn’t just for fun, however, it was actually to kick out the door the next Just Dance game in the series. It arrives something in October of 2019. I can only guess that this was an attempt to cover for the lack of any actual game footage. The music was good, and the dancers were fine, but this is a game conference, get that weird sassy dancing out of here.

Beyond Good and Evil 2

We’ve been given a very humorous and action packed trailer that’s clearly endearing to some of the characters right away. After we’re given a sudden attack on the crew and their ship, resulting in some destruction and the return of Jade. This trailer caught my attention pretty well, and even might be the ticket that brings me towards Ubisoft, it’s been a long time! Featuring a full cast of characters, we’re given a glimpse what we might expect out of a prequel. This game is a space opera taking place in 2400, and you get to be the captain. Doesn’t that already sound pretty exciting. The game is an action RPG that you can play solo or co-op with friends.

Discussion progressed towards the Space Monkey program which issues an open invitation so people can introduce their own created content for the game. Including art and music, but not limited to that alone. They introduced Joseph Gordon-Levitt; co-founder of HIT RECORD, to the stage to discuss further, and he seemed incredibly excited to be working on the project. HIT RECORD is a collaborative effort for all individuals in the community, and is intended to contribute content to Beyond Good and Evil 2. As a side note, I’m fairly sure that Joseph Gordon-Levitt dropped “Go do that shit.” at the end of his part.

Rainbow Six Siege

A quick discussion about this game was made talking about the new characters and e-sports for Rainbow Six Siege. They mention that they will be hosted in Paris and Brazil in 2018, with the pinnacle taking place in Montreal in 2019. A documentary was brought into focus and given a first look at. This documentary surrounds e-sports players who are set with Rainbow Six Siege.

Trials Rising

After a silly display by Antti Ilvessuo; Creative Director of Ubisoft Redlynx, we are present with the concept that Trials is about crashing fantastically and getting up again. We’re introduced to our host and a mildly amusing joke about him being the prime minister of Finland; which he isn’t. That’s why it’s funny, right? With Trials Rising we’re presented with more of the same. Riding bikes, doing flips, conquering obstacles, and crashing. They’re focus is on the community and competitivity within the game, which is we can probably all agree is a good idea. The game is currently in a closed beta and you can register now. It will be available February 2019 on PS4, Xbox, PC, and Switch.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

We’re given another look at this game and a bit more information about it that Microsoft didn’t do even an attempt to explain. During a Black Friday we find that a strain of smallpox was released on the US dollar. After a good chunk of time passes, the virus has almost completely burnt itself out. We find ourselves attempt to survive and rebuild, with a focus on Washington DC. The goal is the rebirth of a functional society. This is a decent premise for a game, though I highly doubt the virus would cause a serious epidemic like they want to pretend it would.

There’s a lot of talk about us players being the last line of defence and how tyrants will rule if we fail. They put in place a system by which your actions and choices actually impact the civilian population. At the end of the campaign you can pick a diverging path which includes powerful weapons, utilities, specializations and unique skills. There’s a large focus on teamwork and multiplayer, with eight players being the maximum squad size with the introduction of raids into the system. Ubisoft plans for years of upgrades and DLC to follow along with the games release, with 3 coming in the first year, and be completely free for everyone who purchases the game. You can find the game on its release date: March 15, 2019.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Donkey Kong Adventure DLC

A DLC announcement was met with resounding excitement. The DLC centralizes around a Donkey Kong focused adventure, one of the most beloved characters from Nintendo. We are treated to live music that applies to the preview trailer showing in the background. With the success of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle in 2017 it’s not hard to see why people are so excited for this DLC release. The music was splendidly done as well, and full of life. Expect this DLC to reach you on June 26th of 2018.

Skull & Bones

A very anticipated title being presented during the conference. Skull & Bones is a piracy based game with a large focus on naval combat. With pirates and trading companies, it’s a heralding back to the times when pirates were hunted. The next target for pirates is for the Indian Ocean. After dropping the f-bomb when discussing how your goal is to steal every drop of wealth. Justin Farren, Creative Director for Ubisoft Singapore, continues to discusses the hunting grounds for you prospective pirates.

This is a lead up to the way the weather and waters change, and how even trade routes change. In the trailer we’re treated to the idea of being stealthy instead of outright aggressive, by disguising your ship as a trade ship of the prospective target. Get ready for epic sea battles with lots of ship management involved, and then board your enemy and take everything they have. The current projected release date is sometime in 2018.

Transference

Elijah Wood partners up with Ubisoft to attempt another merge of film format into a game. Transference is a first person exploration game that involves shifting between family members to uncover secrets. A psychological thriller is a good game for this type of merging, as film recently has really been hitting horror-style content out of the park. The trailer did a good job at being spooky and mysterious, with scary black cloud like monsters and upside rooms that make very little logical sense. With the game slated in June of 2018 we’re a bit on the close side to hopefully getting our socks and possibly pants startled off.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Starlink focuses largely on a real life customizable ship that plugs directly into your controller. I’ll be frank, that’s a terrible spot to put an attachment, they usually get in the way, knocked off, or broken somehow. Be ready for this game when October 16th closes in, because it’s coming out this year and you can already pre-order it. It’s cool to have a reconfigurable ship system, but I personally would prefer it be in game, instead of in my hands. There will be a lot of planets, factions, starships, and gear available in the game.

With a focus on exploration coupled with story, players will be able to group up and find amazing things in the universe, as well as battle difficult enemies. With the release of this game onto the Switch, we also find ourselves with an exclusive addition. Starfox will be available for folks that own a Switch and purchase it. While this is great, I also feel like it’s a bit weird to put an exclusive only on a single console. Let us hope that they find something for the rest of those who don’t play on the platform.

For Honor

Starting on 6/11/2018 they choose to giveaway permanent access to For Honor for the upcoming week. Get it now if you haven’t already, there’s a lot of fun to be had there. The only downside? It’s only free for that week on Uplay. If you haven’t got Uplay yet, you might want to consider it for this one. But that wasn’t all, they also brought a brand new faction, named The Wu Lin, who come out of China and bring with them four warriors: Tiandi, Jiang Jun, Nuxia, and Shaolin in the For Honor: Marching Fire update. For Honor: Marching Fire locked in October 16th 2018 release date, free to PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 users.

The Crew 2

This motorsports game releases June 29th, 2018. The open beta arrives on June 21st, 2018 with the preview available right now. Enjoy land, water, and air travel in this fast paced game releasing to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. If you have a love for this sort of speeding around, then this game is probably right in your wheelhouse.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Another installment for the Assassin’s Creed lines takes us to into Greece. Are you excited to play as a Spartan, running around hacking and slashing people? I hope so, because that’s going to exist here. The Spartans have been a rather popular topic for years, and I know a lot of people felt excitement for this game. Holding onto the concept that this is true roleplaying game, not just a basic adventure. We find out that we’ll get to explore both land and sea. Which is what we’ve come to expect from this series.

After three years, they have transformed Assassin’s Creed into a full-fledged choice based RPG, in which you start by choosing your character. This choice is actually between Alexios, or Kassandra. Bearing your Spartan hero ancestor, Leonidas’, mysterious weapon. Which we immediately find out is actually just his broken spear, not very mysterious anymore. You war through this game with varying weapon choices and abilities. They claim they have changed how the interactions work with history through your choices. Be prepared to be lectured at by Socrates on October 5, 2018.

After having a good look at what Ubisoft had to offer I feel that I can only say that I was at the very least surprised with the breadth of their presentation. There were some interesting concepts and games here, but they weren’t within my personal range. Look forward to games like Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Tom Clancy’s Division 2, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Beyond Good and Evil 2. These games stood out in the conference for their amazing systems, innovations, and wonderful designs. While not being overly impressed with the presentation, I feel that Ubi did a great job with their explanations on the games. Of all the conferences so far, this one was seriously out there with how overdone it was, however it also gave a lot of information about their games and got people excited. Well done, Ubisoft, if a bit strange.