On the eve of a new generation of consoles, the biggest names in the industry are keeping their cards close to their chest, focusing on existing games and preparing to wow audiences the year after instead. That doesn’t mean that E3 2019 was a wash. In fact, it still had some great moments and reveals, all of which deserve to be celebrated. Here’s a look at ten of our favourites.

With the Switch, Nintendo can reintroduce many of their great but unappreciated franchises to a new audience. It's perhaps why re-releases of games like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker have found new life on the console, after being relegated to hardware that hardly captivated mass audiences. It's part of the reason why sequels to established franchises can feel so fresh, and Luigi's Mansion 3 is no exception. There are small refinements here and there, but so far this sequel looks and feels like more of what made the previous two titles so great, and a perfect starting point for those unfamiliar with it.

Crystal Dynamic's Avengers has a tough challenge to overcome. How do you gather some of Marvel's most iconic modern heroes into one game and balance their unique abilities with a cohesive and realistic combat system? How do you have characters like Thor and Black Widow fighting the same enemies without one feeling out of place? Sitting down to watch a 30-minute gameplay demo, these questions raced through my head. And I left with an answer that wasn't exactly satisfying.

Perhaps the first thing that stuck me during my brief time with Pokémon Sword and Shield was just how familiar it felt. As someone who only recently started playing modern mainline entries such as X and Y, I was expecting Sword and Shield to immediately feel different from the formula Nintendo had established on 3DS. Not radically different, but unique in a way that made it appearance on a home console again feel special. Based on the single gym I got hands-on time with, that might not be in Sword and Shield's mission statement.

If there’s anything succinct to say about DOOM Eternal now, it’s that this sequel hasn’t lost touch with what made the reboot great. It retain the same attitude of the Doomguy and his inherent mythos, while also putting the unrelenting action at the forefront with smart changes to make it feel like a step forward instead of to the side. There’s more facets of DOOM to engage with now that it feels like learning it all over again, but without having to forget about lessons learnt in the past. If you didn't know better you’d say that Eternal was just an immediate continuation of the game before it, with Doomguy not missing a step and simply continuing to grow his arsenal even more.

Crash Team Racing is almost unbelievably faithful to the original PlayStation 1 kart racer from Naughty Dog. Whipping my kart around the long corners of Tiny Arena felt like I was a kid again, experiencing arcade kart racing for the first time again while mastering all the right jumps and angles for efficient boosts and drifts. But like both the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro Trilogy remasters before it, Crash Team Racing using more powerful hardware to make these remakes stand out in new ways. With Crash Team Racing that’s clearly evident in its more effects heavy and detailed races, but modern enhancements are taking hold off the track too.

Even without some of its biggest players, the annual showcase of all things to do with video games is still shaping up to have plenty to show off via the tried and trusted press conference gauntlet. Now spread out over several days instead of one gruelling marathon, here’s a look at when you can see the hottest new reveals ahead of E3 2019 grand opening.

Good but not exceptional, Warhammer: Chaosbane is a solid and confident slice of medieval melee action. As Gothic as it is repetitive in the endgame phase, it’s still an enjoyable romp in the same vein as many an action RPG from yesteryear.