D23 EXPO has kicked off and with it the Level up! Video Games showcase. The gaming focused show shed new light for several highly anticipated titles such as Spider-Man PS4, Kingdom Hearts, Star Wars and other Marvel properties.
JackSepticEye and Strawburry17, popular streamer took the stage to kick off the Disney Level up! Video Games showcase .
More Star Wars: Battlefront II was shown off. A new theme song for the upcoming title filled the audience. New details surrounding the single player campaign was given out. The story will focus on the destruction of the second Death Star through the unique lens of the Empire. Janina Gavankar took the mic and talked about her role in the campaign, stating how humbled and honored she was for getting to be a part of the Star Wars universe.
A new story trailer dropped for the title, the trailer focused on highlighting the events after Return of Jedi and the impact it has on the Empire. Some minor gameplay snippets were shown off. The story will follow the exploits of Inferno Squad, specifically the commanding leader, Iden Versio, who is voiced and base on Janina Gavanker.
John Boyega made an appearance after finishing up his Last Jedi panel. He took the opportunity to mention his tweet regarding a lack of a campaign from the first title and his excitement for the inclusion of a story in the upcoming sequel. A small snippet of Boyega playing the game was then shown off. A poster of Iden Versio was promised to be given out to the audience that featured unique art from the title.
Mike Goslin, VP of Advance Development at Disney took the stage to take about augmented reality. Goslin announced a Hollo Chess game in addition to their own augmented reality headset with a partnership with Lenovo. A brief gameplay clip was shown off that showed the augmented reality game in action.
A lightsaber augmented reality game was also announced via small teaser video. The upcoming title will be called Jedi Challenge.
New Spider-Man PlayStation 4 information was given. The game will be the biggest Spider-Man game to date, but it was stressed that the title will at the same time be intimate and personal, telling a deep and caring story about the person under the mask, and not just an unbelievable super-hero.
The inspiration for the upcoming title came from the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series, and that the new PlayStation 4 game will use that as a jumping-off point, promising to deliver an original never before story based on the renowned hero. A new trailer was also shown off for the title. Like Star Wars, story telling seemed to be the primary focus for the title. Players will assume the roll of an older Spider-Man who is already quite adept at being a super-hero. The core of the story will focus on balancing the life of Peter Parker and Spider-Man while facing off against the likes of Mr. Negative. A character who himself lives in a state of duality, a character that in universe, runs a homeless shelter while also playing the role as one of Spider-Man’s adversaries and main villains.
The Level up! Video Games showcase also unveiled A new character for the upcoming Marvel Super Heroes 2 LEGO game, a Spider-Man based on the homemade suit worn by Spider-Man in the latest Homecoming film will be playable in the upcoming title.
A world exclusive premiere also dropped, in the form of a title known as Marvel Power’s United VR, an exclusive Oculus Rift title. The game will capitalize on the sense of scale that VR is excellent at delivering, an example of this was given comparing the feeling going from The Hulk to Rocket Racoon.
Additionally, a gameplay demo was shown off, the game looks like a standing experience in which hoards of enemies’ swarm the super powered players while comic book inspired action words blast the screen. The game will feature multiplayer and let gamers step into the tights of their favourite Marvel Super Heroes.
Tetsuya Nomura took the stage to discuss Kingdom Hearts III, he mentioned all the releases that have come out to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the series including the remastered collections available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III ended the show, the trailer featured a new world based on Toy Story.
The gameplay demo showed a Toy Sora and company inside Andy’s Room facing off against an assortment of enemy Heartless with the aide of Buzz Lightyear and Woody, which transitioned into a scene outside the house and other locations reminiscent from the Toy Story Films. It appears that Sora will be able to use a mechanized suit in some instances that change up the flow of gameplay. The trailer ended with the promise that the game will come out sometime in 2018.
Overall the Level up! Video Games showcase at D23 EXPO had a few great surprises for all of Dinsey’s great properties, with the most exciting news probably being a 2018 release window for Kingdom Hearts III.
