The Disney D23 Expo 2017 Level Up Gaming Panel showcased numerous video games that we knew about and revealed a handful of new games as well. The bulk of the showcase was for Star Wars Battlefront II and Kingdom Hearts III but there was plenty to show from the upcoming Spider-Man game as well.
The Level Up Panel kicked things off with Star Wars Battlefront II with Janina Gavankar who plays Iden Versio in the video game. Gavankar seems to be the spokesperson for this video game which is alright since she has plenty of passion and enthusiasm for both Star Wars and her character in the game. We found out more about Star Wars Battlefront II’s story mode as this is what they focused on at D23. Turns out the story picks up with the destruction of the Death Star as seen through the eyes of Iden Versio who is a part of Inferno Squad and witnessed events while on Endor.
John Boyega surprised fans in the audience with a brief appearance on the panel and said on stage that you can play as his Star Wars character Finn in Star Wars Battlefront II – we’re assuming he meant multiplayer and not in the story mode. Star Wars Battlefront II will be out later this year for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
A new Augmented Reality Star Wars themed video game (Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR) was announced and showcased briefly and involves a partnership deal with Lenovo. The new AR Star Wars game appears to be a self-contained headset device that uses your smart phone. We saw some Stormtroopers in battle on what looked like the planet Hoth and a tease about using lightsabers with a physical device.
During the Spider-Man portion of the panel, the team at Insomniac talked about their collaboration with Marvel and how the upcoming game is very story driven. The developers also emphasized how this will be an original Spider-Man story where he is 23 years old and in the prime of his abilities and has knowledge of the city and his powers. Insomniac developers also admitted they took inspiration from the Ultimate Spider-Man series and that you would be fighting against Wilson Fisk early in the game.
A short teaser video was shown for LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 which announced that the Spider-Man Homecoming outfit would be available in the upcoming game. Marvel also discussed how Kang is the villain and will be able to bring in both heroes and villains from the past and present.
Marvel Powers United VR was announced as an upcoming Virtual Reality game set in the Marvel universe. We were treated to gameplay that featured The Incredible Hulk, Captain Marvel and Rocket Racoon who shot and bashed their way through enemies in a 360-degree environment. Powers United VR will be exclusive to the Oculus Rift and features team co-op play with an emphasis on scale and action.
The Disney D23 Expo 2017 Level Up Gaming Panel ended with a presentation of Kingdom Hearts III which had the entire arena crowd cheering with excitement. At D23 they showed a familiar trailer so nothing new there but the big topic or reveal was announcing that there would be a Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts III complete with Woody and Buzz Lightyear. At D23 they showed new gameplay from the Toy Story world which also includes a section where heroes could hop into giant mechs and fight sort of like in the video game Titanfall. The team behind Kingdom Hearts III also announced the game would be coming sometime in 2018 – so the wait is finally over, almost!