Along with the heavy-hitter announcements (Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last Guardian) there were a few other gems to emerge from Sony’s press conference at E3. The first of these, and perhaps the most pleasant surprise, was the announcement of post-apocalyptic PS4 exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn.

A little bit reminiscent of the underrated but superb Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, the action adventure Horizon Zero Dawn similarly takes place in a world reclaimed by nature, in which human being’s cities, and our current civilization,  is a thing of the past. Instead, this future world is populated by scattered tribes – some larger than others, and mechanised creatures roaming free.

Judging by the trailer, it looks like players will step into the shoes of a female protagonist and hunter, Aloy, who along with being particularly adept with a hi-tech bow, explores the land to discover what exactly happened in her past, where the machines came from and other mysteries. What is particularly alluring though, also shown below, is the combat, as Aloy has to rely on her speed, agility and wits when going up against much larger foes (think mechanical T-Rex types). Not yet announced is a firm release date, although it looks like it is slated for sometime 2016.

Dreams come alive

The next gem to come out of Sony’s press conference was something thing new from Media Molecule, the Creators of Little Big Planet and Tearaway. Once again, the company seems to be dipping into a sandbox, create your own content game, although this one looks delightfully whimsical and even enchanting.

For example, beyond the water-colour aesthetic opening of a polar bear playing the piano and sharing a tender moment with its cub, the trailer proceeds to include flying cars chases, a badass teddy bear fighting off multitudes of foes with a hammer, and closing off with the polar bear and piano becoming birds. Here’s the kicker: apparently players will be able to create their own places and characters and share them with others as well as modify existing dream sequences, using the Dualshock 4. There’s no word yet when the title will be released, although apparently further information will be given in due course.

Even so the trailer is well worth watching, several times in fact, especially if you like painterly visuals and something different from your new game trailers.