E3 2021 Future Games Show recap: Jurassic World Evolution 2, Sonic Colors Ultimate, Immortality and more

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The Future Games Show was an agreeable mix of indie and mid-budget fare

future games show
(Image credit: GamesRadar)

The Future Games Show is a relatively new addition to the E3 roster, debuting last year to fill a gap left by the canceled E3 2020. At E3 2021, the Future Games Show, from our sister site GamesRadar, returned under much more auspicious circumstances, showcasing a variety of mid-budget and indie titles across the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Like last year, the Future Games Show didn’t have any blockbuster announcements or industry-shaking revelations. What it did have, however, were more than 40 games, ranging from a boxing game that lets you pit the greatest fighters of yesteryears against today’s rising stars, to a pixelated noir thriller where you play as a detective raccoon.

Describing each title from the Future Games Show in detail would take thousands and thousands of words, but here are a handful of games that stood out to the Tom’s Guide crew. If you want to see the rest, you can watch a recording of the Future Games Show on YouTube, or see one embedded below.

Jurassic World: Evolution 2

future games show

(Image credit: GamesRadar)

Jeff Goldblum himself narrated the cinematic trailer for Jurassic World: Evolution 2, which we also saw at the Summer Game Fest and the PC Gaming Show. However, at the Future Games Show, we got our first glimpse of in-game footage, thanks to a feature called the Species Field Guide. This introduces you to the various dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts in the game. (Jurassic World: Evolution 2 also lets you populate your park with flying and marine reptiles, which were not technically dinosaurs.) Seeing a triceratops in action was a welcome development, although we’d still like to see the creature in a clip with some real gameplay.

Sonic Colors Ultimate

future games show

(Image credit: GamesRadar)

Sonic Colors Ultimate is admittedly kind of a “gimme” for long time series fans. They liked Sonic Colors when it debuted in 2010; now, they’re eager to replay it on current-gen consoles, with enhanced graphics and performance. We got to see Sonic Colors Ultimate in action at the Future Games Show, as the developers showcased the Tropical Resort stage. In it, Sonic rocketed his way through a balmy maze of platforms and loop-de-loops, surrounded by pine trees and sandstone walkways. There’s an easygoing mix of side-scrolling and 3D navigation, but Sonic never has to slow down, which is more than certain 3D Sonic games can claim.

Immortality

future games show

(Image credit: GamesRadar)

If you liked Her Story and Telling Lies, you’ll almost certainly be intrigued by Immortality, the next project from director Sam Barlow. Immortality tells the story of Marissa Marcel: a young actress who made three unreleased films, then disappeared into thin air. Immortality will explore what happened to Marissa, as well as why the three movies never saw the light of day. We didn’t see any gameplay, but it’s an intriguing concept with a talented team. Barlow, who also oversaw Her Story and Telling Lies, will direct, while Allan Scott (Queen’s Gambit), Amelia Gray (Mr. Robot) and Barry Gifford (Wild at Heart) will help write it.

E3 2021 Future Games Show: More game announcements

future games show

(Image credit: GamesRadar)

Here are a few other games that hooked the Tom’s Guide staff during the Future Games Show presentation at E3 2021:

  • Backbone is a film noir detective thriller where you play as a raccoon in a world full of shifty animals
  • Beacon Pines is a colorful storybook adventure where you can change the narrative by finding and applying new words in a book
  • Esports Boxing Club (eSBC) is an immersive boxing sim where you can pit classic boxers against today’s talent
  • Lake is a chill adventure game where you play as a woman who returns to her hometown in the ‘80s to become a mail carrier and befriend the local populace
  • KeyWe stars two kiwi birds, Jeff and Debra, who run a local post office and deal with all the various hazards that entails
  • Harold Halibut is a beautifully animated adventure game that channels the aesthetic of Wes Anderson films
  • Olli Olli World lets you pull of skateboard tricks in intense but inviting levels that flow easily from one challenge to the next
  • Tails of Iron features beautiful graphics and a fantastical story about a rat kingdom fighting a frog invasion
  • Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is set in England during the 1950s, and spins a dark detective yarn

There are still more big E3 conferences on the way, so stay tuned to Tom’s Guide, where we’ll have all the latest news as it happens.

Marshall Honorof
Marshall Honorof

Marshall Honorof was a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.