by Jessica Ham
June is usually an exciting time for video games because of the E3 conference. Unfortunately, due to what is currently going on in the world, E3 is no longer happening. But this has not stopped gaming publishers and developers from having online, live-streamed press conferences of their own.
Sony, on June 11, had a live-steamed Playstation 5 reveal event. This event not only discussed the specs of the new console but revealed trailers and gameplay for new games coming to the console. Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a spin-off of the first Spider-Man game, was announced and is set to release later this year. A new Ratchet and Clank game and Hitman game were both announced and with Ratchet and Clank’s release date still unknown and Hitman’s release date to be sometime next year. 
The game I was most excited for was the new Resident Evil game, Resident Evil: Village, which is set to release sometime next year. The game will continue the story of Ethan, the protagonist in Resident Evil 7. A sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon: Forbidden West, was announced and unfortunately there is no known release date yet. My favorite game that was announced however was Bugsnax, where you play on an island of bugs made of out food. The theme is catchy, and it looks so adorable and fun. The game is set to release holidays 2020. 
EA also had a live-streamed event on June 18 called EA Play Live. The event featured new titles as well as announcements of a lot of their games coming to the PC platform Steam and crossplay being available with most of their newer titles. Apex Legends will be available on Steam and Switch later in the fall along with a promise of crossplay between all platforms. Sims 4 is available on Steam for the first time ever. The creators of the exciting and dramatic prison escape game, A Way Out, revealed a trailer for a new co-op game called It Takes Two, which will release sometime next year. Zoink Games, the makers of Fe, showed off a trailer and gameplay for a new game set to release next year called Lost in Random, which features a young girl and her sidekick dicey, an actual die that controls the random fate of their world. The most anticipated and exciting reveal however was a gameplay trailer for Star Wars: Squadrons, which will release on October 2, 2020. The game features realistic flight mechanics as well and 5 versus multiplayer battles.
It has been seven long years but Last of Us Part 2 has finally been released on June 19. The first game is one of my favorite games of all time, so I was very excited for the sequel to be released. Several screenshots and script bullet points were unfortunately leaked several weeks ago. Those leaks revealed story points that made people angry. Fortunately, however, the assumptions made from the leaks were proven to be false now that people have actually played the game. The game has unfortunately been getting bad reviews by people who refuse to play the game and just believe the leaks. I have played the game and can attest to the fact that it is a masterpiece. This game does things that no other game has ever done, and it is beautiful and brilliant. If you loved the first game, I highly suggest you pick up the sequel. Don’t listen to those bashing it who have not even played the game themselves. 
The video game industry has been thriving despite these dark times, and I cannot wait to see what happens in the gaming world next.
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After the release of Playstation 5, the Last of Us 2 will have better graphics doe sure. Waiting for the release of PS5