E3 2017: Starlink: Battle For Atlas is the Next Peripheral Game, But It Seems to Offer Something New

Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a new IP from Ubisoft. It was revealed at their E3 conference today as their new peripheral-based game for 2018.

It allows players to create a team of pilots flying starfighters. This is done with a starfighter figure attached to a controller. At first, this sounds a bit gimmicky, but the game actually looks promising in terms of gameplay, which is usually where these kinds of games tend to fail.

There seems to be an engaging story as well, as opposed to a throwaway slapped together platform-fest. Ships come with hardpoints that players can attach weapons to at any time, swapping them out mid-battle, and the game will adjust accordingly.  The interesting thing for Nintendo fans is the new custom attachment for the Nintendo Switch's Joy Con grip controller.

The game follows a team of pilots fighting against an enemy force called the Forgotten Legion. The trailer is peppered with story bits, but mostly shows off the various environments we'll be able to fight in. Open space and detailed planet surfaces with giant animals are just a few locales we get a look at.

Ubisoft slates this game to launch in Fall 2018, so we have some time to go before it reaches our hands. It will be available on all current consoles including PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. No word on a PC version yet.