I don’t usually cover Gamescom announcements, but I didn’t want to just keep talking about the GTA 6 leaks, so let’s see if there’s anything worth talking about here! Note that I will only really be talking about anything new that is revealed here, anything we already knew about and is just elaborated on I’ll leave for the more professional gaming press to cover.
First was Nodusfall, a new game made by the Genshin Impact people which seemingly is going for a more serious tone and has an emphasis on co-op. I wonder how much Gacha will be in this one… Next was anew Rainbow Six game, Rainbow Six Tactics which contrary to what many may think will be a single-player focus tactics game commanding a squad around the world, feels very XCOM like to me.
Then we got a new game from Netease, a beloved name in the online space, with Ananta which… well it’s certainly Anime, but a lighter tone of anime with martial arts and quips, interesting stuff. Then we got Tides of Annihilation which is a hack n’ slash game set in an off looking victorian setting. Getting real bloodborne and anime vibes from this one. Then a really cool announcement from Capcom, a new Mega Man game! This one called Dual Override which will focus on the classic 2D scrolling gameplay style but with a set of playable characters. I’m sure Megaman fans will be very happy… now when will Legends 3 be you cowards!
Then for fans of the show we got Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, a strategy game set in the same world and seems to take heavy inspiration from older RPG games which is a nice touch. Exodus was also shown off, the Mass Effect-like game and I must say it certainly does look the part with some unique charm to it. Will it be good? I certainly hope so, a good sci-fi RPG is desperately needed. Then there was actual gameplay shown of the new Warlock game from the DnD universe. As someone who is now into DnD this is of course interesting to me, though I do hope they will find a way to implement Necromancy into the game…
Interestingly we got shown a sequel to Aion of all things, an older MMO with some really dedicated fans, so this will go down really well and it comes out so soon, October 5th! Then another huge one, a new Paradox game, this one is called Afterworld and seemingly is another of their hallmark grand strategy games but this one is set in a post-apocalypse. I wonder how many mutants and Fallout references they will make. We were also shown a new Lego game of all things, but this time it makes perfect sense as it’s another Paradox strategy game, but this one is a city builder, Lego Skylines. It’s making Lego, it just makes sense.
Then a big one, Ontos, the spiritual sequel to SOMA made by Frictional Games. SOMA is a beloved game that I shockingly have actually never played, with this on the horizon perhaps I should just jump in and give it a go. Then we finally heard more about Pony Island 2, which I feel has been in development for forever! It’s coming out on 27th April next year and promises to be just as weird and mind bending as the original. Finally, the show rounded off with a look at the new Witcher 3 DLC and the announcement that the Witcher 3 would be getting a free remaster with this release too which is great stuff to hear about. It may even convince me to pick up another playthrough, if I can be convinced to tear myself away from Total War: Warhammer.
So plenty to discuss! I am sad I didn’t get to see it live, damn timezones, but it was great to hear about everything and I hope it means even more big announcements later on in the year. Here’s to all of the developers, please don’t mess anything up! That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.