Watch tonight's Gamescom Opening Night Live here with us

Hello!

I'm back from Bulgaria and I'm here!

I'm awake. I hope you're all A Wake 2.

Kami says: Heya Bertie, bring anything cool back with you?

Hello! Yes I did actually - I brought a very decorative bottle of wine back. It's total airport tourist stuff, but it looks nice. I don't dare drink it though.

So! What is everyone looking forward to seeing this evening? We've already had Geoff temper our expectations a bit but, well, you never know.

At least Kojima will be there, right? Right?

swedishfish says: Anyone have any other Alans they can recommend? Wake, Partridge, Shearer, all fine examples.

I don't think there are any other Alans in the world.

Oh except maybe Alan Key.

7th Guest VR! I had no idea this was a thing. I wonder if they could do the same for Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria.

Kami says: Alan Davies?

Oh, yep, there's him. Alan Yard, too.

Gosh, being a janitor looks like a very creepy job.

That's Post Trauma from Raw Fury, coming spring 2024.

Kami says: Haha, me and Bertie had the same thought. Though I preferred the first game to the second. That second game was... odd.

Ha! We did! Crikey.

What is that pink watering can with Clint Eastwood on that's in Anne's background? That's kinda incredible.

Kami says: Hell, if we're talking 90s throwbacks, I wonder if Knightmare would make a decent first person adventure these days.

Knightmare would be brilliant! As long as it was made to look like the original show. But, like, Knightmare in VR would just be like putting a helment on your head, like a Skyrim NPC, wouldn't it?

TheMonkAmbrosio says: Why whenever I see an American meet a German in any interview they seem astounded that they speak a language other than English

Haha! Yes. I was thinking the samething.

Is this a Warhammer RTS game that isn't Total War? I don't understand.

Oh gosh, Delta Force. I remember playing this in LAN multiplayer years and years ago. Well, not this game specifically of course. This Call of Duty-looking game looks very different. There's some pretty high-tech gadgets on show - it's kind of Ghost Recon in that regard.

Still, there'll be some love for Detla Force out there.

Ooh Homeworld 3!

I played a demo of this what feels like an age ago now. I think it was last autumn? It's sort of disappeared since then, the game. This is maybe a CGI video, but maybe there's some gameplay mixed in.

Genuinely curious what's going on with this project. I thought it seemed hugely promising when I played it, and the team was saying and - seemingly - doing all the right things. Perhaps they simply are just taking their time to get it right.

February 2024 for Homeworld 3.

So! It's time.

He bloody loves it, doesn't he, the great attention sponge.

I'm a little bit jealous to be honest.

I have a feeling Geoff will never age. I think he'll always look like this for many years to come. Maybe he has a Vader-like tank he sits in behind the stage.

Starfield to start. Or, well, perhaps it's just a musical rendition of Starfield. That's as good as a playable demo, right?

Do you think each copy of the game comes with a pianist?

I see he's named his keyboard Roland.

Shh don't, don't.

Mark Harrison says: Dorian Gray-style painting of Geoff looking haggardly and covered in Doritos crumbs somehwere in an LA storage unit.

Haha.

How to market your game when you don't want anyone to actually play your game - yet.

IneptKnight says: The special edition of Starfield comes with a pianist but the GP version comes with a busker on a casio keyboard.

I'd take that Casio Bossanova accompaniment any day!

Geoff's been playing it.

What on earth is happening?!

Some people crashed the stage to say... something?

Kami says: Wait that wasn't scripted?!

Yeah I thought the same thing. I guess not.

Kami says: Something about GTA?

It sounded like "GTA".

Oh! And it's Goeff's cryo-chamber pal Todd Howard here now!

I like Todd's Starfield jacket. I bet you can buy that right now somewhere.

Dripping_Brain says: I thought that was a bit and he was getting into comedy trouble for leaking about the game

Yeah, exactly what I thought.

aleander415 says: The same guy ran on a live TV show the other day asking for GTA VI info. The show was about football. What a numpty he is.

Really? How odd.

And that's it! Bethesda Game Studios is sure keeping Starfield under wraps.

Bandai Namco now. Supermassive Games. But, um, hang on. This looks like Little Nightmares but... Supermassive games?

It IS Little Nightmares 3. But why isn't Tarsier developing it?

Kami says: Yeah, the original devs said they were done but Bandai-Namco have the rights so... the series isn't. If I recall correctly.

Aha! I missed that. Thanks!

Online co-op is coming to Little Nightmares 3. The game is coming in 2024.

Lone and Alone are the characterts? They're trapped in a world called The Spiral.

There's a podcast series coming called The Sounds of Nightmares, the first two episodes being released tonight. It tells an original story. Cool.

Oh so Tencent bought Tarsier and moved away from Little Nightmares. Shame. It'll be interesting to see what it's like without Tarsier at the helm. I've got a lot of time of that studio.

Black Myth Wukong here. Some chap without a head playing a guitar-like instrument. This still looks delightfully strange.

Strong Soulslike vibes from that, although with more of an action game bent. Leaves a very distinct impression.

Nothing says Tuesday evening like a humanoid being ripped open and turned into a cybrorg.

Unreal849 says: Killing floor 3

Winner!

Kami says: Ah, that had me thinking, "Wait, they're doing Quake 4 again?"

Haha - yes! It started off very Quakey.

Which reminds me that I still haven't tried the remade Quake 2. So many fond memories of that game.

Age of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition available on Xbox today. Looks like it plays quite nicely on console.

Bloody hell Zack Snyder is here, to talk about his new film Rebel Moon.

You know, I don't think I've ever seen Zack Snyder before. I don't think he knows what he's doing out there.

Yeah, I bet his calendar is dominated by Gamescom.

So Netflix paid for this spot I suspect? It's a big move to fly Zack over for this though.

I have never heard of this film. I'll probably watch it though.

Kami says: Was this the guy behind the Batman vs. Superman movie? Sorry, I'm tired and I'm sure I heard the name before but...

It is indeed!

Oh - surprise! - they're making a game of Rebel Moon as well. Developed by Super Evil Megacorp, whoever that is. I guess it'll be a Netflix game? So... a mobile game?

So this is Rebel Moon. A sci-fi feel about a child who will stop the madness of war, it seems like. But, um, there seems to be plenty of war going on all the same.

So a prophecy about a child, and then a lot of fighting. There are spider-people, there are laser swords, there are ships, there are explosions. It looks as balistically over the top as all of Snyder's other work.

Solaire1987 says: Showing a film trailer at a GAMES show. Pathetic!

Yeah. All told, this has taken a chunk of the presentation. I'd rather have a bit more focus on games!

Oh good it's a two-parter.

Crimson Desert from the Black Desert developer Pearl Abyss now.

Black Desert is great at what it does - make an MMO feel like an action game. I'm assuming this is an MMO too - but it looks like a (very handsome) single-player game.

Kami says: I think Crimson Desert is a single-player spin-off. That fishing gave me alarming FF15 flashbacks!

Oh thank goodness!

Well, I think this looks pretty good! I mean, it's got pole-vaulting. It's got some gliding, it's got some Zelda-like magical interaction stuff. Come to think of it, it does look quite a lot like Zelda.

Here's legendary rapper Ice T to promote Payday 3. There's a heist coming that he's involved with, becaus he knows all about heists.

We're leaving Payday behind now for Baghdad. It's Assassin's Creed: Mirage.

Kami says: And time for Assassin's Creed I presume, though I'd much rather see more Prince of Persia

True!

I do love the Assassin's Creed series' sense of place, and the effor that goes into creating places from times gone past.

5th October for Mirage.

MrGriffin says: How long does this show usually go on for?

Years and years, I'm afraid (two hours).

Zombie-Hamster says: AC Mirage does look great!

Yeah it's really nice to see it going back to a similar setting to where it all began. Assassin's Creed 1 was so exciting all of those years ago.

Full Arabic voice acting sounds great, too.

Co-host Jasmin Gnu is on the stage - a woman! - but she's only here to point to a website, really. Not quite what 'co-host' brings to mind for me.

Tekken 8 now! There's someone in the office who's working towards professional-level in Tekken - shout out to Tanya! - and I know she'll be super-pumped about this.

It was funny watching her destroy Tom Morgan from Digital Foundry when they played.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 time! Open-world Zombies are coming this year. It's also a direct sequel, apparently for the first time.

There's something new called Open Combat Missions. These are player-directed missions, which sounds like you get a bit more freedom over how you approach the game, rather than being directed. You can be stealthy, you can be loud and shooty - there's a bit more variety, basically. And these mix in with the cinematic missions.

We're seeing the very beginning of the game now...

So! We're in a submarine - well, we're not, but the player is! - and they're inadvisably opening the hatch to swim out into the dark sea.

I don't think now's the time to go for a nice swim, team.

A swim on a storm day, no less!

But they're swimming to what looks like an ornate castle, so perhaps they've packed a picnic. Maybe they're up early to catch the sunrise.

The weather really isn't with them today. Quite an oppressive-looking landmark they've chosen for their day-out, too. But they're prepared - of course they are. They've fired their Batman-like grappling hooks to take them straight to the top.

Oh would you believe it - it's a military base! And do you know what I think? I think they're not supposed to be there. But they're having fun in the dark, it looks like - they've got their new nightcam goggles that they got for Christmas on.

Oh and some of them are parachuting! That looks like fun. They must be on an adventure holiday.

It's a bit predictable to set up your military base in an old castle, isn't it? Hardly inconspicuous.

Aardvarkk says: I bet they're hot in those swimsuits.

I bet they are too!

Classic decoy explosion action there, and now there's lots of shooting, because of course.

Now we're sneaking around underground in a large facility, and there are gunshots in the dark and the enemies can't see us but we can see them, which is quite cool.

It's some kind of prison and our arrival has sent the place into chaos. There's a full-scale riot going on now. I wonder who it is they've come to release - I wasn't paying attention at the briefing. I'd never make it as a soldier would I?

Oh and they blew the door to the cell up and behind it was a Modern Warfare 3 splash screen! I bet they didn't expect that!

Ooh Nightingale now from Inflexion. Early access release date is coming. This is the Victorian-style shared world game from Aaron Flynn, the former BioWare manager.

Lots of collaborative building and strange worlds. I believe it's inherently mutiplayer in the same way something like Valheim is. So, you and a few friends. And I think it looks imaginative.

Early access 22nd February 2024.

Aardvarkk says: Is there a plot or just survive and build?

I'm not sure about a plot. Inflexion was also bought by Tencent last year, so that's where the money is coming from. Tom spoke to the studio about the game in an interview you can find through that link. I love that the world was inspired by Jonathan Stange and Mr Norrell.

Gina Torres! Promoting Immortals of Aveum, which we didn't think was very good. I still remember her in Firefly. Ahh, Firefly. I daren't watch it now in case in retrospect I don't like it any more.

Wow, Geoff really sounds like he's busking it up there!

Victoria has written a bit more about Nightingale in her news story, if you're interested.

Aardvarkk says: - I love that the world was inspired by Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I didn't know that. I've been following Nightingale for a while, that adds another layer.

I know right! Here's Tom's interview for handy reference.

It feels odd sitting at my computer again. I have been turfed off it in recent weeks by my partner who's obsessed with Baldur's Gate 3.

I love the word "Honkai". It makes me smile every time I hear it.

Ok! Lords of the Fallen now, and a story trailer.

Chris Tapsell did a big old Lords of the Fallen preview recently, in case you missed it.

Hang on, who's this blue hedgehog?! I swear I've seen them somewhere before.

Kami says: Having said that, the OG Lords of the Fallen is still a good game.

Yeah! Impeccable timing that series has, too. I wonder if this one can break away from being a me-too to something more in its own right.

Alex says: Lords of the Fallen into Sonic - I have whiplash

Hah! Yes. Everything is just thrown in the one pot, isn't it?

We're getting an update on Sonic Frontiers now...

Oh - there's a free update coming. That was an anti-climax.

Jasmin Gnu is back! But just to fill a bit of time, it looks like. We're hearing about some cosplay from the show. I don't know why we need this in this presentation but I love cosplay.

Have we seen anything exciting yet? I'm not sure I've felt excited yet. I did quite like the look of Crimson Desert, though.

Nexon looter shooter The First Descendant now, I think he said.

Oh god the world is called Albion. It's sci-fi with a twinge of fantasy, and nice shiny space-bums.

I can't work out if this looks interesting or not. There seem to be some nice ideas in there? But there are also some very boring looking guns.

Underwater adventure Under the Waves now, from Parallel Studio and Spot Light. I'm intrigued - it seems gentle and mysterious, and atmospheric.

mealdeal says: Can we retire the name Albion from video games? Raise it to the rafters. It's served us well over the decades.

Quite!

Alex says: Rob - I've found it's harder to get excited because I'm short of context. When I see a gorgeous world with an intriguing dash of story, I don't know whether it's a single-player adventure/exploration (let myself get interested) or some kind of live service MMO (look away). Some kind of steer that "this could be for you" - when so much isn't - would really help.

That's a very good point.

Here's Troy Baker, who seems to be everywhere all the time. He's promoting Fort Solis that's out today, and that we've just reviewed. I'm afraid we didn't like it much.

Apparently the game starts out with a lot of promise but unravels a bit as time goes on. Shame.

A new game from Focus Home and Saber. An off-road game. From the creators of Snowrunner and Mudrunner. I love how excited this trailer is about features like anchors and drones and other seemingly very boring things, but not in this context of course, in a game where getting across horrid terrain is the game.

Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game.

The Crew: Motorfest now. Where's Martin when you need him?

Lovely tyres! Ooh phwoar look at that chassis. I love those headlights!

Well this looks all very Forza Horizon-y, and celebratory.

Kami says: I may be hallucinating from the lack of sleep but that Expeditions gameplay... add that to a bit of sci-fi grunge, a little combat and Hideo Kojima plot and I can see that being almost like Death Stranding 2!

Haha - yes!

CD Projekt Red now, and Cyberpunk: Phantom Liberty.

We're going to see a look at all the overhauled mechanics in the game. Let's have a look then.

So, new weaons - somewhat obviously. There's new cyberware - again, probably obviously. I haven't seen anything major yet. Perks have been redesigned - that UI looked completely different. There's an air dash. There's a Relic skill tree now. There seems to be more movement-enhancing abilities.

There are new vehicles and they look very nice. There's vehicle combat!! You can pause while driving and hack other cars. The police have been revamped. Holy! You can launch a mortar attach from your car. Cars have guns, in other words. AI has been overhauled, the level cap increased. I'm excited for this.

You can deflect bullets with your katana now!

So, to confirm: cars have mounted weapons. You can even remotely control vehciles now, apparently. Car chases are going to be a "renewed" experience.

Kami says: I'm one of those horrible old farts who played the pen and paper version of this game.

Nice! Apparently CDPR did, too - some of the board members.

So a great chunk of those updates coming with Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty will also be coming to the base Cyberpunk game, for free, in a 2.0 update. Nice.

Zombie-Hamster says: That looks like a definite step in the right direction, lots of improvements in there. On of my biggest issues with Cyberpunk was that progress in the skill tree felt beyond slow and not massively meaningful so really hope they've fixed that. And in the base game too which is great!

Yeah. It looks like there are some really powerful - and powerful-feeling - abilities in there now.

Lisa Pak! I worked with her as one of the Green Game Jam judges this year. She's very nice and the work Playing for the Planet is doing is really important. I hope more studios get involved. I can only imagine what the EAs and Activision Blizzards could do given half the chance.

Nice to see Xbox recognised for the work it does with the environment in mind. Sony does a lot in this area too, incidentally.

Zombie-Hamster says: The Runemaster looks like Charles Dance!

Hah - I was thinking more Michael Douglas!

Oh it's Ben Brode from Marvel Snap. This guy is larger than life! I wonder if he talks like this all the time. "Oh good morning Ben." "GOOD MORNING!!!"

Marvel Snap has just launched on Steam apparently.

Alex says: Marvel Snap must have been in early access previously, because it already has 16,000 reviews. The 700 recent ones are overall "Mixed"

Aha.

Armored Core VI is out this week and, as the trailer suggested, will not be like the Souls games From Software is famous for. Can the studio do any wrong? We shall see!

Kami says: OKay, finish the roster off please Ed.

Let's see!

Mortal Kombat 1 now, the reboot.

Shao Kahn fighting Sindel. And is that Centaurian?

Kami says: Motaro!

Ah! Motaro!

I love that Mortal Kombat knows excatly what it is and what it's about. It looks great, too.

Mark Harrison says: I hope we're still getting new over-the-top MK fatalities in 30 years time.

It sure looks like it!

Talk about whiplash... We're into turn-based grand strategy with Ara.

This looks quite pretty - this looks a lot like Civilization.

Blizzard now. We're going to hear about the next season of Diablo 4, coming this autumn.

If you haven't read our take on the first update, Season of the Malignant, you should - we weren't massive fans.

17th October, the Season of Blood. There are new vampiric powers coming. New bosses, new story.

I still haven't quite finished the game - I'm close, though. I'm a druid. I must say that the scripted parts of the game - the main campaign - are much better than side quests.

Rod Fergussion saying Diablo 4 has more than 12 million players.

The pacing of these Keighley shows is just all over the place. There's no discernible sense of shape or crescendo. We go from Diablo 4 to a smaller, European-made game about a roadtrip in a sci-fi land. Dustborn, it's called, coming early 2024.

Now a bizarre children's story-book-looking game, which admittedly looks absolutely crackers. Dustborn coming early neaxt year.

And now it's Sam Lake from Remedy for Alan Wake 2!

I've met Sam Lake, I won't tire of telling anyone, and he's really very nice.

We're going to see Alan Wake gameplay now. We've seen gameplay from the FBI agent's perspective, but not from Alan's. He's in the Dark Place. He's been there for 13 years since the first game, apparently - all the time he needs to write some new books, I'd bet.

So ther's a mix-up of live action and other techniques in the game. There's something distinctly disconcerting about live action when you see it in a game.

The torch is back.

Wow. That did look good. 27th October.

Grim... says: That was the least "gameplay" gameplay trailer I've seen for a while.

Haha - quite!

The Game Awards is coming back on Thursday December 7th, would you believe? Of course you would. Another three hours of Geoff.

And with that, we're done!

Kami says: Will Geoff hold TGA at a reasonable time for us Europeans?

I doubt it! It's a prime time LA thing, which means a late night for us.

I thought Alan Wake looked great, and I'm really excited about the Cyberpunk update and Phantom Liberty expansion. Mortal Kombat looks wonderful. Nightingale remains interesting. And I see other people pointing out some other games of interest too. So there were a few things. It wasn't one of the great nights of reveals, but it wasn't terrible?

Alex says: ... and with the work event done, Rob gives his computer back to his partner for more Baldur's Gate

Yeah pretty much! Haha.

Kami says: I won't be shocked if some of those releases just don't do well from sheer overcrowding.

Yeah it's been a really busy year. Which is a good thing for us I suppose!

Right! I really must go because I am getting evil looks from my partner who was mid-battle in Baldur's Gate 3 when I turfed her off!

Good night everybody and thank you for joining us tonight!

Alex says: Night! Thanks for the commentary

Pleasure!

Mark Harrison says: Thanks very much Bertie, and everyone else here who stuck around and commented!

Quite! You're all a joy to be around for these things. You make them bearable!