Right now I'm sat here trying to think of an E3 that was as exciting as 2015's has turned out to be - and I'm struggling. This week has seen some incredible showcases, a lot of promising footage, and totally allayed fears that the biggest surprises had been outed the week prior.
But the dust is now settling and everyone is picking out their highlights from the show. Yes, the new Doom looks suitably brutal, and, sure, I'm ecstatic that The Last Guardian is happening for real this time. And isn't the idea of a new Shenmue exciting? Can't wait to play that in 2027 after the developers raise their fifteenth Kickstarter campaign to squeeze in a few extra quick-time events.
But if you asked me which one looked the best, then Cuphead was my E3 darling.
Cuphead is a 2D action game that harks back to animations of yesteryear in more than the "charmingly retro" way which is oh-so-in with the indie community; this sort of animation was more than the product of its technical constraints.
Studio MDHR's old-timey platformer will arrive on the Xbox One and PC some time this year, but amidst an armada of other titles shown off during Microsoft's press conference, you might have missed it.
The gameplay footage we saw looked less likely gameplay and more like somebody had messed up and stuck in an old VHS by mistake. Each animation has been hand-drawn and hand-inked, those watercolour backgrounds are actually real.
It reminds me of the first time I saw screens of The Wind Waker - or if you're looking for a better cultural touchstone, the first time Steamboat Willie was shown to the public in 1928.
It's a bit ironic that after so much mud-slinging over the graphical strengths of the PS4 and Xbox One, there'll be a lot of people praising how good Cuphead looks on console in 2015. You'll have single player and co-op modes to choose from, and so far it looks like the game will be compromised mostly of boss fights.
Cuphead, I don't know if you'll be any fun to play - but you'll be a damn sight for sore eyes.
Missed anything from this week? Fear not - here are some of the other highlights:
- Fallout 4 will ship with the coolest 'special edition' gadget ever
- Xbox One is now backwards compatible with all your old 360 games
- Rare Replay puts the original Perfect Dark on your Xbox One, but not Goldeneye
- First Star Wars Battlefront gameplay trailer brings the battle to Hoth
- No Man's Sky shows gameplay in a gorgeous pulp sci-fi universe
- First Star Fox Zero footage finally justifies the Wii U Gamepad
- Here's the Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay trailer from E3 2015
- No Man's Sky will launch on the PS4 AND PC at the same time
