It’s been a while since this year’s Gamescom closed its gates, but the dreaded Gamescom flu had me firmly in its grip for three long weeks.
So, without further delay: here are a bunch of noteworthy games shown at the convention.
Wrath – Aeon of Fury (KillPixel Games, 2020)
A brand-new FPS using the old Quake engine? That does sound ever so slightly anachronistic, but the demo I played quickly won me over. Contrary to what you might think, developing games with old tech can be incredibly tricky, but definitely worth it. Wrath plays like a dream and it is shaping up to be a merciless, fast-paced hell of a good time. The game even supports Voodoo’s 3dfx GPUs. That’s dedication.
Hitch Hiker (Mad About Pandas, 2020)
Narrative-based game Hitch Hiker takes you along on five different rides. You don’t know who you are and how exactly you got here, but hey, maybe you’ll figure it out on the way? There isn’t really that much to do when you’re stuck in the passenger seat, but small interactions with your surroundings and picking the right conversation topics might get you to your goal. The developers were inspired by games like Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch, as well as the films of David Lynch, so there’s bound to be more going on than meets the eye…
Darksburg (Shiro Games, 2020)
We already wrote about Shiro Games’ cooperative zombie basher Darksburg last year. Now, we got our hands on a playable build and we’re happy to report that it feels great. Plus, playing as a warrior nun never get old. If you’ve ever played an action RPG, you can just sit down and play. You’ll feel right at home. The new PvP mode has one player directing the zombie hordes, as well as deploying and controlling the stronger “special” zombies to make life a living hell for the team of four good guys.
The Longing (Studio Seufz, 2019)
Here’s an odd experiment: a combination of point and click adventure and idle game. Playing as an underground dwelling little guy, you have 400 days to prepare for the awakening of your king, who’s fast asleep in your cavernous home. That’s 400 days in real time, mind you! Thankfully, you can take certain actions that make time go faster. What actions these are – well, that’s what the point and click part is for, as you literally puzzle away the time.
Terraformers (Asteroid Lab, Release TBA)
Strategy simulation Terraformers asks you to colonize the red planet. There are no little green men to contend with, just the trials and tribulations of setting up logistics and satisfying the demands of the different nations back home on Earth. Terraforming the terrain might have far-reaching consequences, though. Thanks to the realistically-modeled Martian atmosphere and ecosystem, things like rising water levels are depicted as accurately as our current knowledge allows.
Moons of Madness (Funcom, 2019)
Tentacles! In! Spaaace! In Moons of Madness, you play as a technician stationed on Mars. While your scientist colleagues try to uncover the source of a strange signal, you’re basically there to keep the lights on and the station running. Of course things go awry before long, and you’ve got to ignore all those nasty hallucinations (they are hallucinations, right?) and save the day. The focus doesn’t seem to be on combat, but rather on exploration, solving technical issues and environmental puzzles along the way. Good, spooky stuff that will be out in time for Halloween.
Main Assembly (Bad Yolk Games, Q4 2019)
In this freeform physics crafting game, you control a customizable drone that can build all kinds of robots. Adding elements such as steering, sensors, rotors, or servos to a base frame, there are few things you cannot build. That super-weird robot thing you’re thinking of right now? Yeah, you can construct that here – or at least fail spectacularly. The game offers two game modes: a multiplayer sandbox and single player challenges. The amount of options you have is, frankly, mind-boggling, and Main Assembly shows immense potential.
Dolmen (Massive Work Studio, 2020)
What if Dead Space and Dark Souls had a baby …or rather some vile demon spawn with tentacles? That’s Dolmen in a nutshell. It certainly doesn’t shy away from the former game’s goriness and the latter one’s deliberate and often merciless way of fighting. The controls felt a little clunky, but thankfully the developers still have some time before the mid-2020 release to polish it up (And to be fair, there are few places worse for playing this kind of game than crowded, loud exhibition booths).
Yaga (Breadcrumbs Interactive, 2019)
Yaga is a colorful action RPG developed by a small Romanian studio and inspired by Slavic mythology. You’re playing as Ivan, a blacksmith with a streak of really bad luck. In order to escape his predicament, he sets out to ask the witch Baba Yaga for help. While solving numerous amusing sidequests, your choices affect Ivan’s personality and have consequences for the plot. While the game’s not out to reinvent the wheel, it looks like a solid little title with a lot of heart.
Dark Envoy (Event Horizon, 2020)
The developers of Tower of Time are hard at work on their next game. Dark Envoy once again has real-time gameplay with turn-based battles. The dark fantasy theme looks neat, and what I’ve played so far looks promising. The game also has multiplayer, and the Polish studio isn’t quite sure yet if they want to focus on that gameplay mode or if Dark Envoy is going to be a single player game first and foremost. In any case, fans of turn-based tactics should keep their eyes on this one.
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