Reviews of my favorite trailers
There’s one trailer for Helldivers 2 which doesn’t match the others, but doesn’t depict the game’s hook of the satirical mood and tone. Here’s how the trailer’s direction makes such a big difference through shot selection and concept.
This excellent trailer is elevated to the stratosphere by its voice acting and direction. Anyone who says that watching a realtime strategy game isn’t exciting or dramatic will eat their words after watching this trailer.
My favorite game trailers of 2023 won’t be seen winning awards at ceremonies or even be on lists from other major game news websites, but that doesn’t make them any less interesting, notable, inspiring, or exceptional in one way or another. You’ll find something great in every single one of these trailers!
How do you get people to scream the name of your game in the streets? The new Mortal Kombat 1 trailer featuring Dave Bautista is a rousing trailer which gets the blood pumping in a new audience while also pressing all the nostalgia buttons in the players who are now likely pushing 40 years or older.
My favorite game trailers from Summer Game Fest 2023! A range of game trailers which are all interesting in their own unique way, from cinematic capture to scrappy indies, unique musical themes, and very expensive AAA game production values.
The third trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a masterfully paced and executed trailer, especially for one which is nearly 4 minutes long. Here’s my shot by shot breakdown for what makes it so good.
Dredge’s animated trailer is a great example of a dramatized version of what you do in the game which shows you just enough to hook you and leave you wanting so much more you have to play the game.
This trailer for the supernatural Pacific Northwest survival game is part short film, part gameplay trailer. Incredibly well directed, captured, and edited. This is a great example for how a gameplay trailer can feel cinematic while also showcasing the game mechanics in a way players can see the game’s experience.
Here are my favorite game trailers of 2022! I have so many I loved that I just flat out made up categories so I could include them. You’ll find everything here under the sun from the smallest indies to the biggest AAA games. But no matter how big the game you’ll see some very well made and innovative trailers!
This is a great trailer with a tremendous amount of restraint which I really admire. It’s longer than most game trailers and yet so much more engrossing than trailers a third of the length.
Elden Ring had a spectacularly successful launch, so I wanted to take a look back at the trailers to see what was communicated during the trailer campaign to see what we can learn, and if there was anything that could’ve been done differently or better.
Here are my favorite indie and AAA game trailers from 2021! Some you may have heard of, many more you probably haven’t, but I guarantee each and every one has something interesting and unique to say.
This trailer is very well made and took all the right lessons from videos which display on social media muted by default. It does a great job of explaining itself simply and giving the audience room to understand without holding their hand too much. It’s also the rare video which I think actually works better when muted!
The trailer for Atrio: The Dark Wild (a survival factory automation game) is structured around a brilliantly script which focuses on how you play the game, but is also very funny, absurd, and entertaining.
This amazing trailer shows how you can make an explainer trailer super fun to watch and stylish as heck!
How do you make a trailer for a game which is pretty much all text? This trailer came up with a great solution which is fun to watch and gives us a clear understanding of the game’s personality and mechanics.
These two trailers are a great example for how the direction and editing of a trailer can create an entirely different impression by focusing on the hook and specificity of a game, versus its broader appeal
Splatoon 3’s announce trailer drops a bomb at the beginning and things slooooowly reveal in a way which is fun, suspenseful, and also gives the core fan base exciting new things mixed in more of what they love.
The trailer for Unpacking is simple with subtle storytelling; it’s a great example of how a trailer can have dramatic structure without feeling like an action packed epic trailer.
The trailer for Huntdown wonderfully combines the game’s style and story in a cohesive trailer which is tight, punchy, cinematic and fun to watch!
If you want to study a game trailer campaign which is consistently entertaining and informative from beginning to end, look no further than Snow Runner. This campaign masterfully balances the emotions, experience and features of the game all through it’s well strategized and produced trailers!
The trailer for the game Inbento is a great distillation of the philosophy and structure of an effective game trailer, and it does it in only nine shots!
The Half-Life: Alyx gameplay videos are excellent examples of how clips of gameplay can be incredibly engaging for people who got hooked by the announce trailer, but needed a deeper, unedited look at the game. I break down each moment from Gameplay Video 1, and explain why I think it does a great job showing the game in an entertaining way!
Coffee Talk is a narrative driven game with a simple, but effective trailer which does a great job of prioritizing what is important about the game, and wrapping the audience in a trailer befitting the game’s tone and vibe.
Kerbal Space Program 2’s cinematic trailer is a spectacular announce trailer which shows the developers are both in touch with their community and the appeal of their game.
Spiritfarer’s “Gwen” trailer does an amazing job of telling a short and affecting story while simultaneously showing a handful of looks at its gameplay!
The trailer for A Star is Born does an amazing job of creating a complete story arc which is both satisfying, indicates to the audience this is only a small part of the whole, and seamlessly weaves the song lyrics into the narrative.
The reveal teaser for The Last of Us Part II is a masterclass in teasing an audience in ever escalating waves through careful editing, and shot composition in a linear narrative.
The trailer for Astroneer is a very impressive look at the sort of custom made short-film style trailers which are possible to make in the medium of video games. It does a great job of mixing storytelling and teaching gameplay.
The trailer for Papers, Please is an excellent example of quickly establishing premise and mood, while also immersing you in the world, and making everything dramatic and clear.
What if a documentary film had a trailer cut like a horror film? That’s exactly what you get for An Inconvenient Truth, and it works remarkably well.
The trailer for Swing Kids is a phenomenal example of theme providing direction for editing style!
Title cards are one of many tools to help tell a story in a trailer, but most trailers don’t use them in a memorable or effective way. What is it that makes title cards for one trailer memorable, and completely forgettable in another?
Here are three great trailers from E3 2021 which caught my eye for very different reasons. The Halo Infinite Multiplayer Trailer, The We are OFK Story Trailer and The Outer Worlds 2 Cinematic Announce trailer. They’re absolutely delectable trailers for very different reasons and well worth taking a look at if you need some inspiration!