These are the 17 best game trailers of all time
A really good trailer gives you goosebumps: Sometimes it makes you go "wow", sometimes it's a cinematic trailer that gets under your skin and sometimes it's a gameplay trailer that blows your mind. Here is my selection of the 17 best trailers of all time.
User Kevin.Sundara has requested a best of with game trailers in Luca's Trailer Tuesday article. I won't be asked twice. Kevin has already come up with an excellent selection. However, I can't quite agree with his list. That's why I created my own.
Because, strictly speaking, the following game trailers are of course my favourites. After all, the dramaturgical and visual staging is only part of what makes a good trailer. The emotional connection you have with the game is almost as important. Here are the trailers that have left the most lasting impression on me.
"Dead Island"
This trailer is also on Kevin's list, and rightly so. It was the first trailer that popped into my head. Despite the fact that "Dead Island" is actually a relatively simple zombie-slasher game, the trailer exudes drama as if it had been directed by George A. Romero. The trailer gets under your skin - in both senses of the word.
"Max Payne"
Hard to watch today, but in 1998 the trailer completely blew me and my mates away with its graphics. Bullet Time was an absolute novelty at the time and even "Matrix" wasn't in the cinema until a year later.
"World of Warcraft"
"Do the Blizzard cinematics count?" a mate writes when I ask for input on WhatsApp. "If yes, then all of them." I can only agree with him. Blizzard is the undisputed master when it comes to epic CGI trailers. The one for "World of Warcraft" was particularly impressive for me.
"Star Wars: The Old Republic"
The cinematic trailer for the MMO "Star Wars: The Old Republic" is another gem in the history of game trailers. Perfectly choreographed from start to finish, it doesn't really reveal much about the game, but I still couldn't get enough of it.
"Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain"
You didn't have to be a Metal Gear fan to be impressed by this trailer. From the incredibly detailed graphics to the dramatic story moments, you hardly dare blink during the nine minutes.
"Gears of War"
Although I didn't find the first part particularly appealing, I have to admit that I was moved by the trailer. Of course, the sadly beautiful "Mad World" by Gary Jules is the main article that gives me goosebumps. The actual game is not nearly as profound as the trailer suggests. But in these three minutes, you feel the full weight of this hopeless world overrun by relentless monsters.
"Dead Space"
Song remakes for trailers are now old hat. In 2008, however, this cliché was still relatively new. The eerie version of the nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle" is perfect for hinting at the unimaginable horror that awaits players in the first and best "Dead Space".
"Bioshock Infinite"
Gentle violin sounds, a supposed underwater world that turns out to be an aquarium and then one WTF moment after another. The first trailer for "Bioshock Infinite" knows how to impress.
"Assassin's Creed"
Even though the quality of the series increases with almost every instalment, new "Assassins Creed" trailers hardly elicit more than an "ah, cool" from me. In the meantime, we have seen the acrobatic assassins in the historical setting countless times. In 2006, I could only guess what fantastic worlds the series would take me to. Jerusalem in the year 1191 promised unimagined possibilities.
"Prey 2"
The fact that "Prey 2" ended up being a completely different game from a different company makes this trailer even more legendary. I still secretly hope that the game that was teased at E3 2012 will be released. Awesome, just awesome.
"Fallout 3"
It is and remains my absolute favourite "Fallout" game and the love affair began with this trailer. The 40s soundtrack combined with the retro future and post-apocalypse is captured perfectly in this trailer. The second trailer is almost as good.
"Battlefield 1"
"Seven Nations Army", perfectly matched to the action, make the "Battlefield 1" trailer an absolute blast. Wow, goosebumps again. They're hardly going away any more.
"Overwatch"
The first trailer for "Overwatch" looks like a Pixar animated film. I could easily watch a two-hour film of it. With all the character trailers in the ever-growing "Overwatch" roster, there would probably even be enough time for that by now. I didn't know about it in 2014. All I knew was that I wanted to find out more about this armoured monkey and the girl with the sleek orange glasses.
"Inside"
If you loved "Limbo" like I did, then you probably sat up in your chair when "Playdead Presents" faded in at the beginning of the trailer. The trailer did not disappoint. A dark world, full of sinister figures and machines. The low-colour design that allows you to look into the depths despite the 2D game principle. And at the end, a series of people looking through a window in some underground laboratory and the promising title: "Inside".
"No Man's Sky"
The trailer promises more than the game delivered at launch. We no longer need to have this discussion. But it was precisely this longing and hope for the infinite universe, with countless secrets and creatures just waiting to be discovered, that the trailer triggered in many players. The fantastic soundtrack of "No Man's Sky" does the rest.
"The Division"
It's one of those trailers that made me want to play the game so much. The graphics with their almost unimaginable level of detail left me in awe at the time. I can still remember the action scene where the character closes the door while sneaking past a police car. "Wow, did you see that?" I exclaimed. A completely irrelevant game element, but it shows how much detail went into the game.
"The Witcher 3"
Alongside "The Division", this was undoubtedly the trailer that got my fingers itching like no other. I had to play it. And now. Graphically an absolute stunner. The scenes through bustling cities, icy waters or forests shimmering in the evening sun are just crying out to be explored.
Now I'm looking forward to your suggestions: Which trailers have flashed you the most?
Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.