Gamescom, the biggest gaming event in the world, broke new records as the Koelnmesse filled its enormous 233,00 square meter showroom floor to capacity with more than 1,700 exhibitors this year.
At that colossal scale, it’s frankly impossible to see everything the show has to offer, but from the Opening Night Live show that kicked things off with several world premiere reveals, as well as wall-to-wall media appointments, here’s the highlights I came away with, with a notable return of more than a few beloved series.
Nodusfall (TBA)
Hoyoverse is best known for its popular free-to-play games with their distinct roster of anime characters, something which the Chinese company isn’t about to ditch with upcoming titles like Pokemon-like auto-battler Honkai: Nexus Anima, but its world premiere reveal at Opening Night Live is a huge departure. With a more mature dark fantasy aesthetic that looks like Elden Ring mashed together with Monser Hunter in Unreal Engine 5, you play as Weavers able to solo or co-op as a team of four to do epic battles against large legendary beasts known as Dreadnodi, taking inspirations from mythical folklore from across the world.
While platforms have yet to be announced, Nodusfall will be a free-to-play game like Hoyoverse’s other games, but the key difference will be that monetisation will apparently only be for cosmetics rather than drawing characters through a gacha system.
Release date: TBA
Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S)
After the huge success of Baldur’s Gate 3, there’s plenty of appetite for more games in the D&D universe. But Warlock is the polar opposite to a turn-based role-playing game with RNG dice rolls, casting you instead in the role of a single protagonist Kaatri, in a third-person action-adventure more akin to God of War, except you’ll have magic as well as might.
Opening Night Live’s premiere gave an extensive look of the game, showing the young warrior making a pact with the iconic Tasha (voiced by Resident Evil Village’s Maggie Robertson) that gives her the power of forbidden spells that let her manipulate the environments for traversal, taking down foes, or even changing the weather all seemingly in real-time. There’s certainly more witchy games coming out, including 1666: Amsterdam’s recent early access release, but this one looks like the most spellbinding one of the lot so far.
Release date: 2027
Ananta (PC, PS5, iOS, Android)
All eyes may be on GTA 6’s release this November, but if there’s one open world game that has me most intrigued, it’s this ‘anime GTA’ from Chinese gaming giant NetEase. The comparison is mostly down to it being also set in a huge bustling urban sprawl, including the newly revealed Shanghai-inspired city of Chongxiao, with its share of car chases. It’s fair to say that it also ‘borrows’ from a whole pool of other games too, including Spider-Man’s aerial traversal and Batman Arkham’s combat, but also executes it with the same cinematic and stylish polish of all the big blockbusters out there while being a free-to-play game.
So for any who might have greeted GTA 6’s unparalleled realism with a shrug or turned off by its high price but no physical disc, Ananta could be an enticing alternative that offers the same open world thrills and spectacle for free, but without the usual gacha nonsense, while also not taking itself seriously at all – how can you when you’re in a team that calls itself the ‘Yeet Squad’ and has a bunny girl as a member?
Release date: 15 January, 2027
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2)
With The Witcher 4’s release not due until 2028, CD Projekt Red has come up with the perfect way for fans to pass the time by giving Geralt of Rivia’s already decade-old adventure another lease of life. First, a new remaster is coming later this month (29 September), which besides a graphical uplift also greatly improves combat while introducing a proper skill tree system – better yet, it’s free for anyone who bought the original game (including a free Switch 2 upgrade if you had bought the ‘impossible’ Switch 1 port).
But for those who have already spent hundreds of hours exploring The Continent, a brand new story expansion called ‘Songs of the Past’ will see the old witcher come out of retirement for one more last hurrah with his close friend Dandelion in an adventure that sees him visiting the latter’s hometown. On the strength of CDPR’s past expansions, and the new location of Litten definitely has a similar lush ldyll as Blood & Wine’s Touissant, it could well be 2027’s gaming highlight in its own right.
Release date: 2027
Alien: Isolation 2 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2)
Alien: Isolation is still hands-down one of the most terrifying games I’ve played in over a decade, so it’s overdue sequel is a game I’m excited about but also dreading. H.R. Giger’s iconic super-intelligent Xenomoprth is once again the biggest threat that you need to do your best to avoid being seen or heard, though the prologue also sets up what’s new.
While still heavily based on the original 1979 Ridley Scott film and its analog sci-fi aesthetic, Alien: Isolation 2 introduces new protagonist Blake with a team of Weyland-Yutani crew investigating a crashed vessel in a remote colony world. If the prologue is any indication, you won’t just be exploring claustrophobic interiors but also the harsh outdoors, braving storms as well as hiding amongst foliage. Nonetheless, the demo’s latter half returns to familiar territory once I’m inside the crashed ship, crawling through vents, and even come across one of those emergency phones you have to operate in stressful realtime to save progress.
Release date: TBA
Stranger Than Heaven (Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC)
Set across five different Japanese cities across five decades of Japan’s history, Stranger Than Heaven is looking like an ambitious epic drama from the creators of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon games, even if the inclusion of Tupac Shakur’s likeness in a trailer earlier this summer soured things somewhat. At least the demo I got to play features no dead rappers, but instead focuses on the game’s unconventional combat system.
Instead of mashing face buttons, the left and right bumpers and triggers correspond to the left and right sides of protagonist Makoto Daito, which sounds and feels quite unusual to get to grips with at first, especially when you also have to use them to guard against attacks. Yet there’s also a realistic intuitiveness to it, as I alternate between bumpers when throwing punches, and it makes sense that if Daito is holding a knife in his right hand, you’d use the right bumper and trigger to use it. Still, I would have loved to spend my hands-on exploring the environments of 1915 Kokura, 1929 Kure, and 1943 Minami that the demo was set in, instead of just brutalising bad guys.
Release date: 15 January, 2027
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch)
It’s been more than a decade since a new Castlevania, but Konami’s iconic series is back just in time for its 40th anniversary, not only returning to its side-scrolling roots with Symphony of the Night’s non-linear exploration but also being developed by the same team who worked on the Castlevania expansion for the indie hit Dead Cells.
Set in 1499 as Paris is burning, you play as Rose Belmont, the last in the line of this legendary vampire hunting family, and though she starts with a sword, it’s not long before the iconic whip is back, which is doubly handy for swinging around levels, complimenting her already agile moveset of sliding under tight spaces and wall-jumping. There’s even more abilities and weapons, obtained from bosses once they’re defeated and sealed in tarot cards, as cursed enemies become uneasy allies.
Release date: 15 October
Persona 4 Revival (Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC)
The beloved RPG that has you fighting shadows from another dimension while investigating a small-town murder mystery while living the life of a Japanese high school student is getting the full remake treatment. Whether that seems necessary given that the game Persona 4 Revival is remaking, Persona 4 Golden, is already so perfect and available on all modern platforms, is still debatable.
But in between watching the remake’s more cinematic story cutscenes and fighting enemies in dungeons by summoning personas, there certainly are lots of little improvements, as well as completely new voice acting and a re-recorded soundtrack with new J-pop inspired songs, while there will also be adjustments to the game’s calendar structure allowing you do even more social activities each day, from working part-time jobs to hanging out with classmates, or even going on dates.
Release date: 18 Feburary, 2027
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
The best Top Gun simulator that doesn’t need you to actually learn to fly a plane realistically is back in action with Unreal 5 visuals that make taking to the skies even more realistic than ever. There’s still plenty of room for customisation, with the final game featuring more than 30 aircraft you can use as well as the option to customise loadout and your wingmen before each sortie. While my hands-on was primarily just jetting around trying to destory targets on land, ships at sea, while also engaging in aerial dogfights, there’s also a dramatic story tying this altogether as you listen to chatter coming from your wingmen, commander and rival pilots during the mission.
It won’t just be a narrative played out over radio either as the campaign story will be presented in first-person, putting you face-to-face with the game’s many intriguing characters that ought to raise the stakes when it comes to who survives.
Release date: 1 October
Silent Hill: Townfall (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
This survival horror series’ revival has been on a winning streak so far with an excellent remake of the second game and last year’s new instalment set in 1960s Japan. Townfall is another period piece set in the Scottish coastal town of St. Amelia in 1996 where as protagonist Simon Ordell, you’ve been called back to “make things right”.
Of course, just what exactly went wrong is a mystery when you first arrive, but it’s a fascinating direction for the series, which presents the gameplay in first-person while the period is the perfect excuse to engage with analogue tech, including a portable CRT display that you manually tune to reveal video footage providing clues while also for detecting the creepy enemies also present in this seemingly abandoned town. Still, I’m not sure many players will be prepared for a puzzle that requires understanding how to top up an electric meter with a prepaid card. While the series has always been known for its nightmarish surreal moments, this one might be a bit too real.
Release date: 24 September
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