Here’s a Rundown of Everything Shown at Gamescom Opening Night Live [27/08/2020]

What a season, what a season! Every year Gamescom signifies three things; the end of the Summer convention circuit, the end of the Summer game release drought and the beginning of the Autumn release deluge, and rarely has all three been more true. With no E3 this year game news and announcements have been spread over the last 4 months. While due to (gestures all around) the state of the world, many releases have been delayed out of these hot days, meaning Autumn is due to be packed full of releases. Avengers Assemble begins the tirade next week, while Destiny: Beyond Light, Yakuza 7, CoD: Black Ops: Cold War, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, and both new consoles all being scheduled (or heavily rumoured to be) releasing in the first half of November. And even though we still don’t know console prices or Nintendo’s holiday slate, Gamescom Opening Night Live really felt like a wrap on a Summer of gaming speculation, news, controversies and confusion. 

It was a two-hour long show where a lot was shown and a often had a strange format. So let us fill you in on what you might have missed.

Pre-show

Game Trailers and Easy Allies alum, Kyle Boseman, was on hand to host ONL’s preshow. Honestly, not a whole bunch was shown here; we got a small look the joint venture between Microsoft and Bandai Namco, know as Scarlet Nexus (and yes it looks as anime as that name implies), the creepy shooter Quantum Error got a trailer, Jurassic Park: Evolution was announced for Switch and a weird amount of car stuff (including DiRT 5 and Ford showing off a concept car).

Oh look it’s Regan.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War

I could tell you plenty about this Regan riddled trailer but instead of giving any time to one of history’s greatest monsters becoming a glorified quest-giver, I’m going to talk about the holo-dome Geoff Keighley seemed to be trapped in. Apparently being powered by the same Unreal Engine tech as the Mandalorian is was genuinely pretty cool to see graphics and videos play on screens that weren’t really there and for the first time, I can recall, augmented reality tech didn’t feel massively out of place at a gaming event. Shame it wasn’t for, you know, a game that would actually use AR but what are you going to do. (*psst* Do you think this paragraph looks long enough now? Ok I’ll wrap it up for anyone just skimming). AND THAT WAS Call of Duty, sure to be another exciting entry in Activision’s long-running franchise.

Unknown 9: Awakening

Reflector Entertainment was set up in 2019 by ex-Ubisoft creative Director, Alexandre Amanico, with the help of Cirque du Soleil founder, Guy Laliberté. Their game, Unknown 9, is a next-gen exclusive narrative, action game starring a woman “raised on the streets of India” seeking to understand her otherworldly powers. The trailer was a pre-rendered tone piece by the looks of it, but it is always nice to see new IPs for independent studios show up at big events like these.

DOOM: Eternal - The Ancient Gods: Part One

In one of many extreme changes of pace. We went from a somber and moody CG trailer for Unknown 9 to rip-tearing, rock-infused, bloodbath gameplay trailer for DOOM: Eternal’s first paid expansion. It’s exactly what DOOM fans want, more guns, more demons and more slaying,. However, if the game didn’t hook you with its harsh difficulty and campy story, this might not be the best place to get back into the franchise.

This image is my gender.

Dragon Age 4 (or something)

Bioware golden boy, Casey Hudson, has certainly been around the block. Having led the studio on Star Wars: KOTOR and the Mass Effect Trilogy, as project director, he left in 2014 to join Microsoft Game Studios as a creative director only to return to Bioware as the studio’s new general manager in 2017. Hudson showed up at ONL as the game director for the next Dragon Age at a make or break moment for the studio. After the acclaimed, but far from fan-favourite DA: Inquisition, and the disasterous Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, Bioware is thought to be on its final chance EA, who are well known for shuttering studios that don’t perform. It is no surprise then that we got no gameplay beyond alpha test footage, and were mainly treated to developer and voice actor interviews designed to quell the nerves of anxious fans. “The Doctor’s” studio has big expectations to live up to and we certainly hope they can, but with how little was shown it is way too early to tell how things are going to go.

Surgeon Simulator 2

GREAT SCOTT! What is Christopher Llyod doing on a Gamescom livestream? Well, apparently he’s here to introduce a trailer for the now cooperative Surgeon Simulator 2. The trailer showed off many a Youtuber reacting to the early access follow up of one of the first big meme simulator games, only to announce that the game is available for everyone now.

Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead

Yet another odd crossover, but this time with a series pretty used to bending around other IPs. After the apparent success of Bridge Constructor: Portal it makes sense that developer, ClockStone, and publisher, Headup, would team up with another franchise. Did we expect that franchise to be The Walking Dead? Not Really. Does it look good? Listen, it’s another Bridge Constructor game you already know if you're going to buy it or not, ok.

Let’s take a quick break…

So this show must have been a nightmare to organise and I honestly think Geoff Keighley is the only person in the industry who could pull off such a huge feat. The organisation, the communication and the patience required to deal with this many huge companies is nothing short of staggering. But we should really take a second to talk about how strange the intermittent adverts, IGN promos and awards were. It makes sense, all these things are present on a show floor at something like Gamescom, but it was very confusing to have these things pop up in between gameplay demos and made the whole show feel even more like a marketing campaign than it already was. Special shout-out has to go to giving awards to random games without even explaining to the viewer that these were presumably Best of Show Awards based on the games that IGN got to preview beforehand. It was all very out of place.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

WoW is almost 16 years old, and let’s face it, if you are into this game still you already know everything that has been announced for this expansion, so I won’t bother trying to inform you as an outside observer. I will say that the animation shown was much too long for something in the middle of a two-hour show. It will be interesting if the diehard players that still play this game will be warmer on this iteration of the game compared to the last few updates when it launches in October.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Stormground

Geoff introduced this game as “a new universe, coming to games for the first time”, which by the letter of the law is true. However, considering there are about 9000 different Warhammer games and series’ on the go at any one time I can’t help but feel like this wasn’t that shocking. No, shortage of swords and shield in this mystical trailer, but very little in the way of showing what the game actually is.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

I’ll give it to them, this was a pretty funny bit. The masked Crash which visited Geoff house of the unveiling of the fourth (mainline) Crash game apparently didn’t get the memo that Gamescom wasn’t on this year. But credit where credit is due, even if he did show up to the Koelnmesse ready to party, he was at least wearing a proper mask. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that seeing the empty halls of the show didn’t make me the smallest bit sad for what we have lost this year, but hey, maybe next year… maybe. After that skit, Lu Stutter from Toys for Bob was on hand to announce the new Flashback Tapes, which are new ultra-challenging levels set before the first Crash game where you must survive Dr. Neo Crotex evil experiments. Crash 4 is also launching in October.

Please stand by…

We broke again for some ads from Red Bull of all things. The only reason I mention this there was also a short trailer for Outriders from Bulletstorm developer, People Can Fly, and even though that game does look remarkably like Destiny and The Division had a baby, it still looks neat.

Teardown

Tuxedolabs went semi-viral on Twitter last October when they announced Teardown, a voxel-based physics puzzle game. In Teardown, a game made by a team of two, you go through an environment, with different destructive tools breaking walls and creating platforms so that you can then run through the area as quickly as possible while fulfilling certain objectives. The game is certainly ambitious with its engine being made from scratch over the course of several years and if it delivers on a truly dynamic destructible environment it will certainly be one to watch.

Little Nightmares II

The first Little Nightmares was an indie game that gained a cult following for its creepy atmosphere and haunting story, and after a year of radio silence, the team at Tarsier Studio finally were back at Gamescom to show off gameplay. The trailer, which was extremely evocative of the like of Limbo and INSIDE, would most certainly fit on a list of things NOT to watch before bed but if you like ruining your dreams the game is launching in February.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds

I’m so tired…

Star Wars: Squadrons

Having just been awarded “Best Action Game”, people were probably wondering where EA’s next Star Wars game was considering how little we’ve seen of it this Summer. Well, it showed up right after another promo break with a trailer that harkened back to the vector graphics of the original spacefaring Star Wars games and the movies themselves. Outside of that, not much new was shown, but that game sure is a good reminder that the Frostbite engine sure can make FPSs look pretty. Squadrons is releasing on the second of October.

Time loops are totally in fashion right now.

12 Minutes

This game has been in development for a long time, with Luis Antonio first showing the press the game back in 2015. But it made a splash last year at Microsoft's E3 showcase when it was re-revealed as being published by Annapurna Interactive. Playing as a man stuck in a time loop, the game pitches itself as an interactive thriller and now has a Hollywood to go with its killer concept and great artstyle. There is no release date on this game starring Daisy Ridley, James McAvoy and Willem Dafoe yet so look have to keep your eyes peeled.

Godfall

This game seems to be showing up at almost every show this Summer and while it is nice to see a game looking very pretty on next-gen consoles, this Gearbox published “looter-slasher” is yet to really impress. The gameplay shown was the briefest of clips of one of the playable classes and, honestly, that game has a lot of work to do to win people over before its release this holiday.

Warframe: Heart of Deimos

Like World of Warcraft I am severely out of my depth on this one as anyone that really cares about Warframe is already playing its most recently released DLC. However, it did feel awfully cruel to have this right after Godfall, as it only exacerbated how generic that game looks in comparison.

I like the robot-fish-man.

Override 2: Super Mech League

Override: Mech City Brawl, by The Balance Inc, wasn’t received particularly warmly by critics or the FGC when it launched in 2018. But since then it has carved out its own community large enough for the publisher, Modus Games, to greenlight a sequel. The trailer certainly had a bunch of personality and a crossover announcement was teased but currently, there is no release date, just a beta you can sign up for.

Mafia: Definitive Edition

The first Mafia game turned old enough to drink today (it was released on the 28th of August 2002). Now, 18 years later, 2K is celebrating by remaking the game from the ground up with the help of Mafia III developer, Hanger 13. The game has gotten plenty of story trailers and continues to look beautiful and will release on the 25th of September this year.

Lemnis Gate

Ratloops Games’ new FPS strangely has almost the exact same concept as Quantum League a shooter that was released earlier this year. Lemnis Gate sees players face off in PvP matches where you play out a 25-second turn only for time to rewind and your previous actions to be carried out by your past self while your current self makes moves at the same time. It’s all very confusing and you should just watch the gameplay trailer.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Delayed out of 2020 into Spring of next year, this reboot of the Tt’s long-running Lego game got a big trailer. It sought to show off the new, action-oriented gameplay, its wider, semi-open-world and its more traditionally voice-acted story (kind of sad to see the old grunts and gesturing completely fade from the Lego games). It remains to be seen if this overhaul of the formal will work but E3 impressions were certainly positive, so my nostalgia has me cautiously optimistic.

Struggling

After being announced at Nintendo’s Indie World event the other week, this gross version of Heave ‘Ho got a release trailer at ONL, and it looks very… grotesque… but like in a good way… I think.

CHOURS

One of the few next-gen exclusive games shown, Chorus is a space shooter being pushed as a technical showpiece. Its gothic, space-operadic vibe paired with the promise of 4K 60fps gameplay has us intrigued but we’ll wait to see more.

Here’s a picture of a fall guy in a dragon suit. This is how you game SEO right?

Fall Guys Season 2

It was really strange to see a Devolver Digital indie game being hyped up throughout the show as one of the big reveals but considering earlier this week Mediatonic announced it was the most downloaded PS+ game ever it really is no surprise. Shown off was the updates coming as part of Season 2 to this Summer’s breakout hit, including medieval-themed outfits and levels.

Wasteland 3

InExile’s third spiritual successor to the classic Fallout games is out next week and between glowing reviews and this damn cool trailer we’re pretty sure a fair few people will be checking it out (also it’s on Gamepass, so why not?).

I like the bit where the Nazi dies.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond

Vince Zampella, of Activision litigation fame (and CoD 4 and Titanfall fame too, I guess), was on hand to show off more gameplay for Respawn Entertainment’s reboot of the Medal of Honor franchise in VR. Impressive set-pieces and creative Nazi killing await later this year.

Spellbreak

Up next was “anime fight simulator”, Spellbreak. This magic merging battle royal has been in Early Access for a fair bit of time, but this trailer was the strongest it’s ever looked with fireballs-a-flinging and flying-abound. Spellbreak launches on September 3rd.

Turrican Anthology Collection

Neither Factor 5 nor the Turrican name have seen much daylight in recent years but Strictly Limited Games are´bringing the classic games to PS4 and Switch soon. Spanning games form the Amiga, NES, SNES and Megadrive there are two volumes coming with each costing €34.99 and the Collectors Edition running you a cool €100. They aren’t cheap, but if the proper work has been done to emulate these games on modern machines there is certainly a market for these games.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light

Yet another game-as-a-service, yet another chance for me to make a fool of myself. This one a little less so because I love Destiny, but I haven’t played in about a year so I’ll do my best. Beyond Light sees the introduction of a new element (stasis) and new supers, along with a proper introduction the long alluded to Darkness after many a teaser over the last year. I, along with many others, will likely drop back into Bungie’s incredible world when Beyond Light launches on November 10th.

Dimension hopping is neat, but we all know what the coolest thing in the trailer was.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

The final thing shown at this 2-hour behemoth of a press conference was the PS5 game that got everyone talking about the potential of SSDs. Rift Apart got an extended version of the demo that was shown at Sony’s PS5 conference recently and it showed off more dimension-hopping, teleporting and wacky weapons. Worth noting is that despite Marvel’s Spider-man: Miles Morales also being an Insomniac joint that is launching with the PS5, Ratchet & Clank was confirmed to be a “launch window” game, surprising many. The next lombax adventure still looks very impressive and is definitely the most “next-gen” thing shown so far.

All in all this show was symbolic of this Summer; overly long and quite confusing, and while there were some nice highlights, there were still many questions remaining when all was said and done.

Hopefully, things will be a bit different next year.