Gamescom Opening Night
E3- er, no- Gamescom started up today. Google tells me it runs til the 29th (by NZ reckoning). This struck me as something of a surprise, I mean… I know I don’t often pay much attention to it and simply enjoy the trailers that come along with it as I stumble across them… but has Gamescom always run this long, or has it been expanded this year?
I suppose if I really cared, I could Google that too. … It’ll always be a mystery, I suppose!
There will no doubt be full coverage of the event all over the place, but I landed on Eurogamer’s article as my vehicle for perusing what came out today. I can’t say I’ve been blown away, but even so, I found some highlights! Here they are, in no particular order.
Under the Waves
On first watch of this trailer, I was left wondering, would this be like ABZU? Or more like Subnautica? I would’ve been absolutely fine with either of those answers.
Turns out, from reading the video description, it is perhaps more like Gris, at least from a narrative and tonal perspective.
Whatever the case may be, it’s one I’ll at least be keeping my eye on.
Sonic Frontiers
I didn’t expect to end up interested in Sonic Frontiers. The last Sonic game I actually enjoyed was Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. However… Disappointed as I may frequently be with the franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog still does hold some sentimental value for me.
It was the very first game I was ever bought for my Sega Mastersystem. Until then, I was just playing the built-in Alex the Kidd in Wonderland. I spent untold hours on the first two Sonic games.
And now…? Dare I hope?
I probably shouldn’t, but this isn’t looking too bad, so… we’ll see.
Return to Monkey Island
Another blast from the past, albeit not as far back as Sonic — I played the ever-loving bejeebus out of Monkey Island 1 and 2. I never quite got on as well with the rest of the series, but I’m willing to give it another shot with the return to basics approach that seems to be in play this time around.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Vermintide with guns! … Well, I mean, Vermintide already had guns — but these ones are high-tech guns! Lasers even, in some cases!
I’ve already written recently about my excitement for this one. I fully expect it to be the co-op-with-friends GOTY. Fingers crossed that is how it actually plays out.
Lords of the Fallen
Not a single drop of gameplay to be found here, in this reboot of the 2014 Lords of the Fallen (first? I think? Dark Souls-like, that… didn’t do so well.)
But!
It earns a lot of style points, using Jason Quinn (Eddie from latest season of Stranger Things) as narrator with Danzig’s ‘Mother’ to score.
Far too early to tell whether there will be any substance to this game, or whether the mistakes of the past will be learned from, but I’m open to giving it another try. It does appear to be a different set of developer hands at the wheel this time too, for better or worse.
I think these are the major ones for me out of the opening night line-up. If I was to give an honourary mention as well, it would go to ‘Lies of P‘. There is even a little gameplay on display in that trailer, but rather than building interest it gave me pause.
It doesn’t look quite right. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it looks janky, but it is certainly poking around the edges of such.
If I had to give an overall favourite Gamescom reveal so far, I think it might actually be Under the Waves. Almost entirely on strength of the setting and scenery. It looks incredible to the point it (almost) doesn’t matter what ‘style’ of game underlies it.
This was posted during Blaugust 2022, the annual blogging event hosted by Belghast. Blaugust is an event aiming to welcome new blogger blood into the fold and revitalise those who’ve been at it a little longer.
The Blaugust Discord is still available to join in year-round!
