Not-E3 Round-Up of Opinions 2026 + Expansion Pack

 

About an hour after I posted my prior blog post talking about the announcements of Not-E3, Nintendo had to go and announce a Nintendo Direct for the next day. Naturally, of course, that Nintendo Direct was absolutely filled with exciting announcements that I want to talk about, so here is the Not-E3 Round-Up of Opinions 2026 + Expansion Pack.

Big Walk

Finally, after waiting for years, we finally get a release date. I have not really had a chance to play some of the so-called “friendslop” due to both my online shyness as well as a majority of my online friends being in inconvenient time zones. But I am forcing myself to play this with friends, whether it is in the afternoon on a weekend or at 11 pm at night. Team Cherry and House House carrying the Australian game industry on their backs.

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave

2026’s most anticipated game is finally coming out, and I am absolutely stoked to see it here. I’ve only really played the last two main Fire Emblem games, but I am absolutely hooked. Three Houses was one of my favourite games in the last decade, so an official sequel is music to my ears. The gameplay and characters look absolutely incredible, and seeing the little tidbits of story just makes me want this game even more. This was the game that made me buy a Switch 2, and looking at this trailer makes me believe that was a wise investment.

Xenoblade Chronicles Trilogy Switch 2 Editions

There were rumours going around a few months ago that showed some of the Xenoblade 2 cast recording new dialogue, so many believed we would be getting a Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, or at the very least a Switch 2 Edition. I don’t think anyone was expecting Switch 2 Editions of all three games, on top of them all getting new content. This isn’t some up-rez and unlocked framerate hastily thrown out there with zero care (looking at you X), but an actual proper version of these incredible games. Now, the new content isn’t the most significant update—don’t expect a new expansion-level of content—but it’s not nothing. Once this post goes up, I’m going to have a look at Xenoblade 1’s Switch 2 version to see how it is.

Xenoblade Genesis

I was 100% completely not expecting a new Xenoblade game, let alone such a comprehensive look. I thought there was a low chance—maybe a brief little teaser—but this was a proper reveal of what the next generation of Xenoblade looks like, and it looks great. It appears they’re going back to a more grounded-ish take on the series—less giant robots and full-scale battles. It is interesting to see them ditching the Chronicles branding and changing it to Genesis. This is a very clear break from the prior games into something entirely new, and I am absolutely looking forward to what they do with a clean slate.

The Duskbloods

FromSoftware insisting this game is coming out this year is adorable. They barely showed anything but did tease a closed test, so at least we have something to look forward to. I would have liked to see a little bit more, but considering how absolutely stacked September and October are, I would be 100% fine if this got pushed to 2027.

DayZ

Funniest announcement of the week by far. Who asked for this? Seriously?

Kingdom Hearts IV

Looked great—still nothing new from what they showed at the game’s reveal 90 years ago. I was hoping to get a glimpse of what Disney worlds we would be exploring, but I guess getting a sign-of-life trailer is better than nothing. Also, bravo to Square Enix and Disney for completely fucking over the people who bought the cloud versions of the Kingdom Hearts collections, only to ask them for more money. Just incredible work.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake

I don’t know about this one, boys and girls. Trying to remake literally the greatest video game of all time is already an impossible task, but what very, very little we have seen of this was a bit off-putting. They are going for a more realistic look for this game, and I could very easily see it fall into the Halo: Campaign Evolved problem of looking like one of those “we remade Super Mario 64 in Unreal Engine” videos on YouTube. I mean, if anyone could pull it off, it’s Nintendo—but I am going to need to see more of this.