The Ubisoft Forward pre-show for E3 2021 teased much of the showcase's content and provided additional announcements, but it mainly attracted attention for all the wrong reasons: Between each announcement of the pre-show, Ubisoft showed one-shot scene of a character or vehicle moving forward in its respective game world. While likely used as an opportunity to showcase the detail and breadth of these worlds - and perhaps to make a pun on "forward" - the slow, uneventful pace of the scenes made Ubisoft's open worlds seem downright boring.
The scenery of these pre-show motion shots was undoubtedly beautiful, but the pace at which the people or vehicles moved was frustratingly slow. Though games often feature slower movement options, few players actually use them, choosing instead to move as quickly as possible through the environment, since that's often the most fun. The slow movement was at least a good setup for the last scene, which featured Far Cry 6's Anton Castillo standing stock-still and staring directly into the camera.
Each scene took place in a different Ubisoft game, from Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion to Far Cry 6. Some also featured action happening around the character or vehicle, but the central figure always chose not to engage. Villages burned and horses rode by, but it wasn't enough to entice them to react at all. Besides being what many considered padding for an arbitrarily hour-long pre-show, these scenes also likely left a bad impression for the later announcement of the open-world Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
The Internet Reacts To Ubisoft Forward's Boring E3 Pre-Show
Here's a complete list of the walking, sailing, and driving scenes from the Ubisoft Forward E3 pre-show. The first was a full five minutes long, and each subsequent scene got a little shorter, until the last was only a few seconds.
- AC Valhalla's Eivor walking through ruins in a forest
- Watch Dogs: Legion character crouched on a drone flying over the Thames
- Plane soaring over a tropical landscape
- Viking boat sailing through frigid waters
- Taxi driving through dark city streets
- The Crew 2 car racing through the countryside
- Eivor woman riding a horse in a snowy landscape
- For Honor warrior striding through destruction
- Racecar zooming around a track
- Anton Castillo staring at the camera
Needless to say, E3 2021 attendees who were expecting non-stop, action-packed reveals for E3 day two's first showcase had thoughts to share about Ubisoft's pre-show choice. Memes and snarky comments flew in chat and on social media during the walking, sailing and flying scenes. Some did appreciate the quiet breaks as opportunities to step away from the stream, however. Either way, Ubisoft Forward's pre-show left a strange impression.