It's cyberpunk, it's an FPS RPG, and it looks absolutely rad. You have a cybernetic upgrade that allows you to see bullet trajectories, so you can fire off walls and see with unerring accuracy where the shots are going to land. To me, that's the hypest thing in the world, and I can't wait to see what else CD Projekt Red has in store for Cyberpunk 2077.

As much as I love AAA games, my heart and soul will always lie with indie experiences, and Indivisible proved to be the best thing I played all E3. Hand-drawn aesthetic? Check. Smooth and tight controls? Check. A battle system that allows for rapid tactics, counters and nuance? Check. An enthusiastic heroine who wields an axe with the judicious nature known to professional lumberjacks? Check. Semi-joking aside, Indivisible looks to be a wonderful effort from a team that emanates love for the product they're creating, and I feel you could do a lot worse than supporting a game that looks beautiful, charming and fun to play.

That 20-minute conference is a fever dream. Do yourself a favour, and go watch it.

It has a glow-in-the-dark map. That's the tightest thing I've seen this side of Megaton.

Y'all, they're handsome. Dante's looking like a grizzled, I've-gone-through-hell-and-back, big bear of a man, and I'm mighty fine with Nero skateboarding his rocket-powered arm right into my face.

We kind of knew this was coming, but a Tales of game officially announced at a Western press conference was a huge deal for me. Ring a Bell started playing and I started screaming. I love Tales of Vesperia, and to think we're finally getting the PS3 version on all consoles? I can't wait.

I mean, come on, he's so adorable! Best medic dog ever, and the hat is so soft! I look pretty good in it too, to boot.

I can't believe Devil May Cry 5 is really a thing. I love DmC, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more Dante and Nero action in the same vein as DMC3 or 4, and it looks like I'm going to get it. When this comes out, I'll have a drink in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other, getting ready to rock.

Sega, if Square Enix can do ship battles, then I think it's time you joined in! In all honesty, while Kingdom Hearts III's presence was almost overwhelming, that Pirates of the Caribbean trailer has me fully on board. I can't wait for January 2019. We'll have crisp animation, crazy battles, amazing music, and that Disney magic all in one place.

There were so many good boys and girls doing good work at this year's show, and each one of them was adorable and well behaved. Sorry Ragnarok, you just can't quite beat the real thing.

Bloodstained has been on my radar ever since it reached its Kickstarter goal, and while I was sad it didn't get a release date at the show, watching gameplay has alleviated any doubts I had. Locales look varied and gorgeous, and the skill system looks like a blast to play around with. It's just the right amount of Castlevania, and with the distinctive art style and world design, it looks like it's just enough to make its own name.

I didn't queue up for many games because the floor was obscenely busy at times. Kingdom Hearts and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate were always going to be must-buys, and I managed to tick off a few must-play games in appointments. But I made Dragon Quest XI a priority. It's been six years since I last played a Dragon Quest game, and as soon as I picked up the controller, I suddenly remembered what made me love this series. It's so distinctly Dragon Quest, yet it feels like the biggest leap forward. Battles are fluid, exploration is fascinating, characters are expressive, and it feels like the perfect evolution for the series. There was a ton to do even in a 15-minute demo, so I can only dream about how much is waiting for me when Dragon Quest XI releases in September.

Released conveniently on the Switch eShop on the final day of E3, the latest demo for Octopath Traveler was a welcome spot of reassurance that the game is on track to surpass early expectations. It's a unique melange of old and new with some of the most beautiful art around. Talk about a game that speaks to my sensibilities!

Flynn is best boy.

One of my favorite things about E3 every year is gathering around a single screen with the RPGFan crew to watch press conferences. It's a chorus of "oooh!" and "what the hell?!" that sends little electric tingles up and down my neural network. And while the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal elicited the greatest amount of "OH MY GOD" per capita, the surprise trailer for Daemon X Machina is where my mind kept circling back to long after Nintendo's presentation stopped rolling. Not since Zone of the Enders have I seen a stylish, anime-infused mech action game with such a grandiose sense of scale.

Mighty No. 9 it is not. The Power Gear system is a superb addition that completely changes the risk/reward factor of Mega Man for the better.

There's little to be said about Dragon Quest XI that I didn't already mention in my hands-on preview. It's polished to perfection, huge, and relentlessly gorgeous. I simply cannot wait to own it.

Wait... what? Microsoft had the best conference?! Yeah! Microsoft didn't waste too much time talking about unnecessary stuff, unlike pretty much everyone else with their press conferences. Their conference was jam-packed with games and all sorts of crazy third-party announcements, like Jump Force, Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition, Devil May Cry 5, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Runner-up: Nintendo

Perhaps my bias is showing through, but I also didn't go in with high expectations because I know how Nintendo prefers to keep their seasonal Directs focused on the near future, as opposed to showing off games that are a while off. Last year was an anomaly for sure. This year, we got a lengthy Super Smash Bros look, Daemon X Machina (a cool new mech game by the Armored Core creators), and Fire Emblem Three Houses, which looks to bring graphical improvements to the classic SRPG series.

I laughed like crazy at Bethesda's amazing Skyrim on Alexa skit during their press conference. A couple of hours later, I learned that Skyrim Very Special Edition was real, and you can actually play it on Alexa. If I had an Alexa, I would probably use it to play my next D&D adventure through Skyrim.

Runner-up: Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition

Imagine if that 10th anniversary URL didn't leak. Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition would most likely have come out of nowhere. After all, they shut us down three years ago. If it wasn't for that leak, I would have been far more surprised at its announcement. Still, it's great that Bandai Namco is finally giving Tales fans what they've always asked for: the PS3 version and all of its exclusive features now on current consoles and PC. Everyone wins!

I'm a big fan of Fire Emblem, and my one wish during the E3 Nintendo Direct was for Nintendo to finally show off the new entry in the series coming to Switch. I got my wish, and Fire Emblem is finally returning to home consoles. I've always wanted Fire Emblem to make me feel like my units were actually part of a war, since they usually just revolve around one individual fighting another individual. In Three Houses, there are now soldiers that follow your unit into battle, and they will take damage and lose members based on your actions. It also looks like unit formations will play a role in combat, which is pretty exciting for the strategy fan in me. I was really hoping Three Houses would have a playable demo on the show floor, but it was not to be. So here it is on this list!

Normally I would just say this is a cool song and move on. Instead, it became the inside joke of the RPGFan staff at E3. We would simply say the line "My Devil Trigger," and everyone would laugh. It's cheesy and stupid, but it was part of what made my first E3 fun and memorable.

It's been a while since the last true Dragon Quest game. Whether you consider the last true DQ game VII or IX, it's still been almost a decade. With its HD Akira Toriyama art, the first DQ game made for this generation looks absolutely stunning. The international version is also adding lots of quality of life improvements, including voice acting, which will most likely make this the definitive edition of Dragon Quest XI. I was already looking forward to the game, and playing it at E3 only reinforced my belief that, barring anything crazy, this will be one of my top games this year.

That thing was easy to spot from anywhere and not at all out of place, as it represented one of the more picturesque phases of the actual event — a boss fight called Tsukuyomi. And hey, I got my shirt!

Let's skip the tiny detail where I was busy getting my hair done and didn't actually watch, but I have to give it to Microsoft for pulling my Devil Trigger the Devil May Cry 5 reveal. Leak or no leak, I've waited a good decade for this, and thus the conference phase of my E3 was complete.

You guys are just going to have to trust me on this one.

Wherever I got that mango-spinach-chicken-teriyaki roll thing from.

Vietnamese Iced.

All of them!

I know, I can't believe it either. I don't specifically have an issue with Microsoft, but their press conferences are usually the same mix of Gears, Halo, Forza, and a collection of forgettable games apparently aimed at making Xbox family centric. But this year was fantastic — with Tales of Vesperia's long-awaited comeback, Devil May Cry 5, a legitimately wonderful-looking Zelda-like starring a cute fox with Tunic, and yes, Halo — there was something for everyone. And that's before I even talk about how emotional I got seeing the first real footage from Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

I don't know where I was that I missed Devolver's weird faux-conference in 2017, but I couldn't be torn away from their 2018 show. It was worth seeing simply because I long stopped thinking anyone was insane enough to bring Metal Wolf Chaos to North America. But the... theatricality around that announcement was bizarre, disturbing, often insulting... and completely compelling. I hope these continue to be an annual tradition. If you missed it, watch it now, but don't say I didn't warn you.

I didn't play Astebreed. I know of the game and the praise it earns from shmup fans, made even more notable for it being Edelweiss' only game. When I learned they were behind this side-scrolling action RPG where you battle foes as the adorable Sakuna and also run a rice farm, I was floored. The game looks and feels like side-scrolling perfection, and it continues to be a highly anticipated 2018 release for me.

I figured I'd keep the tradition that I established in 2017 alive, where I only played one game on the show floor. It wasn't really intentional, but as my main role at E3 is media related, I couldn't bring myself to wait in line for hours to play a single game. Especially when the games in question — Kingdom Hearts III, Dragon Quest XI, Smash Ultimate — are ones I'm definitely buying, and thus need no more convincing.

The E3 security staff often had canine companions, and this was a thing I feel like I didn't notice in past years. It was either new, or the RPGFan crew this year was just more dog oriented than past years, but we couldn't walk far without finding another good boy/girl. Add to them the pettable (!) dogs in Dragon Quest XI and the hilariously named Ragnarok in Valkyria Chronicles 4, and it was clearly just perfect for 2018, given that it's the Year of the Dog. (Hmm, we should do a feature...)

That Devil May Cry 5 trailer has me interested in the series again for the first time in a long time. It's over-the-top, a bit cheesy, stylish as hell, and I simply cannot stop listening to the wow-its-almost-seven-minutes-long song. Kudos to Capcom for knowing they had a hit on their hands, and releasing the song on digital platforms like iTunes, and even producing a music video:

Few tweets cut at the RPG community like Bandai Namco's response in 2015 to a fan asking for Tales of Vesperia's enhanced PS3 edition in the West. That they would dig that tweet up and revive it now that Vesperia is indeed coming here on modern platforms is the finest gaming-centric use of social media next to basically anything Arby's posts. It's so good, we invented an award just for it.

Dragon Quest is one of my all-time favorite series of video games, and the 15 minutes (WHY ONLY 15!?) I got with the Dragon Quest XI E3 demo were delightful. The visuals were beautiful and expressive, the world map was fun to dash around, the battles moved quickly and felt great, and the skill grid was so beautiful I spent a full third of the demo pouring over them. Dragon Quest XI is my most-anticipated video game until I see its credits roll down my television screen.

Runners-up: Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Octopath Traveler looks like a game made exactly to my tastes. It has stunning sprite work and environment art, an appealing cast of characters, a killer soundtrack, and a deliberate mesh of old-school mechanics with fresh storytelling ideas. Octopath Traveler didn't appear on the E3 show floor proper, but the new trailer and demo are excellent. I can't wait to play the full game in July.

Runners-up: Cyberpunk 2077, Shadows: Awakening

Two of my favorite multiplayer jams showed off a totally unexpected crossover event that looks cool as hell and also somehow fits both series perfectly? The FFXIV Rathalos looked gorgeous, and the massive MonHun World Behemoth is sure to be a terror. It was carrying a Deviljho in its jaws! Like a chew toy pickle!

Runners-up: Metal Wolf Chaos, Devil May Cry 5

I expected to see some Final Fantasy VII tidbits either at Square Enix's conference or at their booth, and instead I got radio silence. I'm sure we'll see more of Square Enix's big remake either at Tokyo Game Show in September or at the PlayStation Experience in December, but to have nothing at E3 was a bummer.

Runners-up: Big crowds and long lines, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

The security staff working at E3 employed several working dogs, mostly Labrador Retrievers. Every service and detection dog I saw at the show was alert, handsome, and well behaved, to the point where I was sad to know I shouldn't praise or pet them. Good boys and good girls all.

Runners-up: The dogs of Dragon Quest XI, Ragnarok from Valkyria Chronicles 4