Best video game trailer

[Pifanjr]

I just shared the Outer Worlds 2 trailer with someone and they said it was the "best trailer yet", which made me realise we don't have a thread for discussing the best trailers yet.

So, what is the best/your favourite trailer according to you and why? Multiple answers are possible of course.

(Please use spoiler tags around the video so the page doesn't get super slow for having to load each preview)

Moderator ETA: Two ways to add Spoiler tags:
1. The Insert button beside the Smiley button;
2. Without the spaces, type [ SPOILER ] text to hide goes in here [ /SPOILER ]

 

[Pifanjr]

Here's the Outer Worlds 2 trailer by the way, which is admittedly fantastic:

Spoiler

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClhDyC0ZECs

However, the first trailer that came to mind when I thought about "the best trailer" was this one:

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View: https://youtu.be/Vxxnq5YAVHw

(And its part two)

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View: https://youtu.be/Ab9e764D7cI

 

[Zloth]

What silliness in that Outer Worlds video! Everyone knows that particular Mwah sound is specifically for giant mechanical monstrosities!

I actually used to download and keep trailers back in the days when GameTrailers.com was doing well. Some favorites...

Star Wars Old Republic "Deceived" trailer

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Skyrim Reveal (best music ever)

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DC Online's trailer was really fun

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Secret World teaser (best use of a zipper sound across all mediums)

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[Pifanjr]

I actually used to download and keep trailers back in the days when GameTrailers.com was doing well. Some favorites...

Star Wars Old Republic "Deceived" trailer

Spoiler

Skyrim Reveal (best music ever)

Spoiler

DC Online's trailer was really fun

Spoiler

Secret World teaser (best use of a zipper sound across all mediums)

Spoiler

I didn't expect to get so much nostalgia in one post.

I spend quite some time on GameTrailers, it was my go to site for a while if I wasn't playing a game.

I remember Skyrim's trailer being really amazing, but watching it now it just looks really dated to me. You're right that the music is still amazing though, but then they did put a lot of effort into that.

DC Online's trailer actually almost made me read the comic it was based on, which would have been the first superhero comic I read, but then I never got around to it.

I also absolutely loved the idea of The Secret World. I had one of their wallpapers, I joined their forum and did the test to see which faction I would belong to (Templars). Then I saw a gameplay trailer and immediately lost all interest.

The Star Wars Old Republic trailer looks amazing and makes me want to play it, except that it's an MMO and I know I won't care for it.

 

[Rynwar]

I am generally excited about Ubisoft's cinematic trailers. But unfortunately, cinematic trailers are not the same with games, yet I like these.
Assassin's Creed Unity E3 2014 World Premiere Cinematic Trailer:

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzCEdSKMkdU

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Official Trailer:

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssrNcwxALS4

The Crew - E3 2013 - Announcement Trailer:

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4JnshyKOOQ

These are just some that come to mind.

 

[Pifanjr]

It's really interesting to see the way the Assassin's Creed games have changed reflected in the trailers. The very first Assassin's Creed trailer showed someone killing a specific target and then making an escape. It also had obvious hints of the entire thing being a simulation:

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View: https://youtu.be/RjQ6ZtyXoA0

 

[Sarafan]

I'd say Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The music, atmosphere and narration are hard to beat. And it doesn't matter that you won't see most of the trailer in actual game. It's great even without this!

Spoiler

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq5KWLqUewc

 

[Pifanjr]

I'd say Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The music, atmosphere and narration are hard to beat. And it doesn't matter that you won't see most of the trailer in actual game. It's great even without this!

Spoiler

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq5KWLqUewc

I don't remember noticing before that this game was supposed to be set in 2027. The developers must have had great faith in scientific progress.

 

[Sarafan]

I don't remember noticing before that this game was supposed to be set in 2027. The developers must have had great faith in scientific progress.

They needed to make a space for a few games set in this universe before Deus Ex 1 plot took place. This is probably the reason of them being very optimistic, when it comes to scientific progress.

 

[Zloth]

Here's a classic from World in Conflict

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And because I'm such a total fanboi

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[RaihanFitra]

cyberbug

the last of us 2

 

[Zloth]

Tried to look up the trailer for you, @Cligerson, but there's at least four of those things.

 

[Pifanjr]

I've been meaning to add the trailer for Fallout 3 here for a while:

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View: https://youtu.be/zPt08UYmyMo

It does an amazing job of nailing the atmosphere of the game in my opinion.

Here's a classic from World in Conflict

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And because I'm such a total fanboi

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It's kinda weird seeing these trailers that use in-game graphics without showing any actual gameplay, because it just makes the game look dated now without really showing why you might still want to play it.

 

[Colif]

Until the graphics in games look as good as cut scenes, I don't care about cut scenes. They don't tell me anything about gameplay, Every year new game rolls out cut scenes and often its only after release you actually find out what game is really like. Diablo 2 Cutscenes are the stuff of legend though, although it is 20 years since I watched them, except they look better in new one.

No Mans Sky sold you on all the planets and stuff but no one knew what actual game was... fact it took 2 years after release for game to match cut scenes shows you all you need to know about cut scenes. They sell you your dreams if they good enough, shame games can't do that (Until someone makes Better Than Life a reality (reference)

 

[Pifanjr]

Until the graphics in games look as good as cut scenes, I don't care about cut scenes. They don't tell me anything about gameplay, Every year new game rolls out cut scenes and often its only after release you actually find out what game is really like. Diablo 2 Cutscenes are the stuff of legend though, although it is 20 years since I watched them, except they look better in new one.

No Mans Sky sold you on all the planets and stuff but no one knew what actual game was... fact it took 2 years after release for game to match cut scenes shows you all you need to know about cut scenes. They sell you your dreams if they good enough, shame games can't do that (Until someone makes Better Than Life a reality (reference)

Not that actual in-game footage with gameplay means anything either if it can just be scrapped before the game is released (looking at you, Spore).

Also, that plot synopsis of Better Than Life is one wild rollercoaster.

 

[Colif]

Spore was what woke me up to hype and the fact games aren't always what they promise they will be. It was too ambitious I guess. And EA over promised... start of a trend. No Man Sky is just most recent I could think of. An Aliens game also comes to mind.

E3, lets show you movies of what cutscenes look like. No actual games played

actually, if gameplay graphics ever approach cut scene level, will we ever be able to tell the difference between actual game play footage and a movie made to look like gameplay? Maybe I don't want that after all as it will be easier to fake for them.

 

[Zloth]

Game play graphics are WAY better than cutscene footage from years ago. What's more, games often use the game engine to do their cutscenes as it's far less jarring for the player.

I'm not sure if the X4 Foundations trailer is actual gameplay or not. The guys walking off at the end definitely aren't. Sometimes the camera moves faster and smoother than is possible in game, so I think some was recorded using a free camera option. Most could actually be done in game, though, with the HUD and cockpit turned off (shift-H and control-H).

The real impact of a trailer isn't just the graphics, though: it's the dramatic camerawork and music. I don't think you'll mistake a trailer for gameplay because of that. You're going to be yelling all sorts of mean things at your computer if you're trying to fight a battle and the camera decides it would be really cool if it hid behind some obstacle then slowly revealed the battle going on as it moved out from behind the obstacle. To get in-game music to trailer level would require some psychic powers, too.

P.S. Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock has a feature to stitch battle you just finished together as a movie. So is the result a trailer, game play, a cut scene....?

Spoiler: example

 

[mainer]

Elex 2 is a game I've been longing for since I finished Elex a couple of years ago. The announcement trailer for Elex 2 is by far the most advanced that Piranha Bytes has ever done. They make such great, and very under rated, open world RPGs for such a small development studio.

Spoiler

ELEX II - Announcement Trailer - YouTube

 

[Brian Boru]

trailer for Elex 2

Excellent! Reminds me of Miracle of Sound's Mass Effect songs.

 

[Frindis]

Most kick-ass soundtrack.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj_1s_X3I-0

This one brings back a lot of nostalgia, as I played it with my sister back in the '90s. Really gory and eerie game with decent music and a good story. The trailer is also very cool!

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW_d04W8QWY

While this game was not that great in my eyes as it got a bit boring with all the opening doors and backtracking, I think the trailer at least stands out with its creepy atmosphere and good narration.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lNmsMAMd00

While not having the greatest opinion of the company, I have to admit that this excellent trailer really hits the spot. It is grotesquely wonderful with its darkness, blood&gore. If they manage to make the game look this dark, then perhaps there is a small ember of hope in there after all.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SSYzl9fXOQ

 

[Brian Boru]

Miracle of Sound deserves inclusion here. He's released hundreds of YT videos, had a couple of songs in games, and Bioware cooperated with him to do a launch song for Mass Effect 3.

Here's his channel…

https://www.youtube.com/c/miracleofsound/videos

…and here's the ME3 launch song:

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9feUxKIqKmg

and the 2021 version:

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAI814u0vQc