Video game trailers are often the first medium from which a player learns about an upcoming title or new content. As such, developers take special attention and care when it comes to these previews, as they need to be striking and memorable. Whether it’s down to sheer production quality or stoking emotions, some trailers go beyond their intended purpose to become remarkable in their own right, regardless of whether the final game turns out to be good.
Trailers must pique players’ attention by showing what you can expect from the actual game, without revealing too much and spoiling the story. They require a precise balance of excitement and anticipation – just enough to make players talk about it, but not too much to avoid inflating users’ expectations.
Considering how many trailers bombard us every year, it takes a truly special one to stand out from the crowd. In this piece, I’m covering some of the best examples that managed to tell a story, stir emotions, and shape how we remember a game. From record-breaking announcements like GTA VI, to emotion-packed teasers like Dead Island, here are my top 10 picks. As usual, don’t forget to share your favourites with us on our social media.
Assassin’s Creed 2
Assassin’s Creed 2’s trailer, specifically the one projected during E3, is a great examples of a teaser that piques players’ interest without revealing too much. It opens with a view of Venice’s carnival, where we follow a high-profile noble (Templar) under heavy guard, who ends up being assassinated by the main protagonist of the game, Ezio Auditore.
The happy festivities quickly turn into chaos when the guards spot Ezio, followed by a chase in Venice’s famous streets and canals. It then culminates in a view from the top of a building to reveal the historical setting in which the game will take place.
What I like about this teaser is that it doesn’t need to tell you much to build hype. It simply confirmed that this second instalment of the series will also be an assassination game, while showing the new, and arguably much more interesting, playground.
Battlefield 3
It was a toss-up between this game and Battlefield I (2016) for this slot, but the old game’s trailer won, thanks to its heart-pounding theme and nostalgia factor. The launch trailer for Battlefield 3 delivers a high-intensity mix of cinematic story beats and chaotic gameplay from the single-player campaign. Its rapid switch between close-quarters urban action, tank warfare, and jet fighter combat gave a glimpse of what was coming our way.
The jet dogfight mission turned out to be one of the most spectacular and memorable missions in Battlefield 3, despite its limited player freedom. I still have goosebumps when recalling the moment the cockpit closed and the game’s theme song, with its heavily distorted bass, began. Hands down, this is the best version of the theme, in my opinion.
Beyond the story and setting, the trailer also showcased the evolution of Dice’s Frostbite 2 engine, including its dynamic lighting and lifelike character animations. While these graphics may look a bit outdated nowadays, back in 2011, it felt like jumping inside a Hollywood movie. You wondered if your machine would even be able to run it.
Dead Island
Dead Island’s trailer depicts a horror scenario in which a family is attacked by zombies in a hotel during their vacation. It begins as the camera pulls back from the eye of a zombified girl as it recalls the story in reverse. The way the teaser was made doesn’t reveal this fact until near the end, where you then understand that the events were presented in reverse chronological order.
Although it didn’t show any gameplay, this trailer gave us an idea about the location, what types of zombies we would encounter, and the weapons at our disposal. Beyond its cinematic value, the trailer was also highly emotional, highlighting the helplessness and inevitability of the situation.
The heartbreaking music, as well as the use of close-ups and slow motion to emphasise the helplessness of the father in the face of a zombie outbreak, were on point. The trailer ends with a happy family smiling for a picture, reminding you that these smiles will soon turn into fear and cries. A truly beautifully made trailer.
Halo: Reach
Keeping with the sad theme, we have the Halo: Reach – Deliver Hope live-action trailer. This one follows Kat (Noble Two) as she crosses a chaotic battlefield during the Battle of Fumirole, under heavy plasma fire from the Covenant, trying to bring a nuke inside an alien ship to destroy it.
While attempting to reach the ship, Kat gets hit by an explosion that knocked her out, so Thom (Noble Six’s predecessor) picks up the bomb and flies towards the ship to plant it. This reminded me of the scene in the Independence Day movie, where a fighter pilot flew inside the alien ship to destroy it. Unfortunately, the bomb timer was near the end, and Thom couldn’t escape in time, costing him his life.
Unlike traditional first-person shooter trailers, which tend to emphasise their action-packed and explosive gameplay, Halo: Reach’s trailer captured the grim and desperate tone of the game’s campaign story. The fact that it took place on the planet Reach is also important, considering its value to humans in the game, and its tragic destruction. Despite a desperate defence by the military and Spartans, the Covenant alliance managed to wipe out the planet, which setting up the events of the first game, Halo: Combat Evolved.
Beyond teasing the new game, this trailer is canonical to the Halo universe, as it explains how Kat lost her arm, and why there was a slot open on the Noble Team for a new Spartan. The latter is your role in Halo: Reach. It also foreshadows the tragic journey the Noble Company will face during the campaign, and the ultimate sacrifice it will have to make.
Frostpunk
Frostpunk went for a simple yet haunting piece of storytelling for its trailer. It features poetic narration, describing how a sudden global ice age caught humanity off guard, freezing both the land and technological progress. The speaker notes how the frost stripped away former societal rules, all while destroying existing empires, affecting everyone equally, regardless of their wealth or social class. It showed the grim reality of survivors, who abandoned their frozen homes in the hope of finding a better place, losing everything on the way, including a piece of their own humanity.
To tell its story, the trailer uses simple drawings, like an art book, with an emphasis on visual contrast instead of fancy graphics, focusing on white to reflect the snow and cold players will face in the game.
The trailer also relies heavily on psychological and atmospheric dread, which perfectly reflects the gameplay loop. The way the narrator’s tone slowly rises as the video goes on is perfect for conveying the danger of the situation, which could mark the end of humanity. It concludes with the game’s ultimate directive: “To build the last city on Earth, the city… must survive.”
That won’t be easy, as players will learn when playing the game. Every decision has true consequences, full of brutal moral compromises, such as child labour and medicine rationing.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2’s launch trailer begins slowly, with an iconic western acoustic guitar theme that rapidly accelerates as scenes shift to reveal more action. It sets up the game’s core conflict as the Van der Linde gang tries to survive a rapidly modernising America.
The horse-hoof sounds quickly transform into gunshots and explosions, setting the tone of the game; this is a Wild West where the strongest make the law. The dialogue highlights the growing distrust and tension as Dutch Van der Linde demands absolute loyalty, a factor that would see the game evolve into full-on conflict.
There is no doubt that Rockstar knows how to make trailers, being able to present, tease, and hype a game for millions of players in less than a minute. From high-stakes gunfights to train robberies and bank heists, not to mention dangerous fauna, the trailer paints a deep and living world. Its stunning cinematography and music, punctuated by the first appearance of the game’s protagonist, Arthur Morgan, were enough to win the hearts of many who couldn’t wait to get lost in its world.
The trailer also acted as a stunning showcase of the game’s graphics engine, from expressive facial animations to photorealistic vistas, which to this day remain beautiful. Red Dead Redemption 2’s launch trailer took players’ expectations and ran with them.
Hitman Absolution
Hitman Absolution’s trailer, specifically the one for the Attack of the Saints mission, is one of the most controversial, and by consequence, most famous trailers out there. It has explosions, the bald head of Agent 47, and most importantly, nuns with guns; you don’t see that every day.
It opens with a wounded Agent 47 hiding out in a motel room, attending to his injuries, while a group of lethal assassins sent by his former employer get ready to eliminate him. Known as the Saints, this group is made up of highly trained assassins disguised as nuns, wearing shiny latex clothing. The trailer depicts Agent 47 with his iconic Silverballer pistols brutally eliminating the assassins one by one in a stylised slow-motion bloodbath. The fluid character movement and hyper-realistic slow motion made it a visual masterpiece for its time.
Unsurprisingly, the clothing choice with the “nuns” and excessive violence sparked widespread controversy, with some critics arguing about the necessity of either one. Instead of backing down and dropping its vision, IO Interactive reworked the Attack of the Saints mission, adding a backstory and context for the Saints within the campaign prior to the actual confrontation, instead of relying solely on visual shock value.
Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6’s trailer centres on a tense interaction between Antón Castillo, a ruthless dictator and the game’s main villain, and his young son, Diego, where he hands him a live grenade before pulling out the pin. He forces his terrified son to hold the safety handle while explaining his vision of politics on the way to the rooftop.
He explains his twisted philosophy, where he compares his country to a grenade, telling Diego that when his turn comes to become leader, he must continue squeezing the population to stop everything from falling apart. The trailer ends on a tense moment where Antón orders Diego to drop the grenade onto the rioters to prove himself.
Needless to say, the trailer relies heavily on Hollywood star Giancarlo Esposito, with his famously calculated and chillingly calm delivery, making him one of the most compelling villains in the franchise. Add in the psychological tension of a father putting his own son’s life at risk to teach him a political lesson, and you get an unforgettable narrative hook.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077’s trailer was projected during Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference, mimicking a hacking/hijacking of the conference’s big screens to load a video. It introduced the world to Night City after five years of radio silence from CD Projekt Red, establishing the early public image of Cyberpunk 2077. On top of the nightlife and neon lights one would expect from a cyberpunk setting, the trailer also showed that daylight doesn’t stop violence in what’s considered the worst place to live in America.
As a monologue plays, the trailer showcases different facets of the game world, from vibrant signage and highly advanced technology to rampant street crimes and corporate overreach. We also got to see the plethora of cybernetic body modifications through which people put themselves, including the player when creating their character.
While the trailer was less about showcasing gameplay, and more about setting the tone and creating excitement for the game, it revealed many aspects such as weapons and NPC behaviour. It also shows us cyberware hacking, which allows overloading of the nervous system to literally fry enemies’ brains from the inside. The electronic music track driving the trailer was also great, with heavy, aggressive beats perfectly synced with the rapid-fire imagery, making it synonymous with the license.
Grand Theft Auto VI
GTA VI’s first trailer officially unveiled the game after 10 years of waiting. While it didn’t delve deep into gameplay and story, it showcased the game’s setting, which takes place in Vice City – the fictional location inspired by Florida, alongside with enough goodies to spark many discussions and speculation. Most notably, it confirmed one of the main game characters’ names, Lucia, who is the first female protagonist since the series entered the 3D era.
It also showcases a breathtaking and detailed recreation of Miami and Florida, including detailed streets, crowded nightclubs, street racing, and even swamp airboats. As Rockstar’s first game built exclusively for current-gen hardware, the trailer showcased impressive technical advancements in lighting and character detail, such as hair physics, on top of denser crowds and roads. There were also some examples of random and hilarious moments you can only expect from a Rockstar game, such as an alligator casually entering a store from the main door.
The trailer hinted that GTA VI would let us control both Lucia and her partner, much like GTA V’s multiple protagonists, but this time in a Bonnie-and-Clyde relationship, which was confirmed by following trailers.
One of the defining features of this trailer is its heavy reliance on in-universe social media clips, satirising viral modern internet culture. Needless to say, this trailer broke global viewership records within hours, and made players wish the release date was sooner. It clearly sets the stage for what we’re going to experience come November 19, and what could become a new standard for open-world games.
