Games
With so many games on show, it’s hard to know where to start, but fear not – we’ve hand-picked the 10 most exciting titles for you.
The Crew 2
If Project CARS 2 is about letting you drive any type of vehicle, Ubisoft’s take on the Forza Horizon format is about letting you drive any type of vehicle anywhere – even in the sky. Much as Steep let you take on a huge open mountain range and switch out your gear instantly, here you can toggle between F1-style cars, rallycross, bikes and even planes in an instant to better traverse a vast United States map with all its iconic topography. Think Diddy Kong Racing meets open world.
Bad North
We don’t see many mobile games making an impact at shows like Gamescom, which is why we’re so excited about Bad North, which is headed to smartphones as well as PC and consoles. It’s an adorable, isometric single player strategy game in which you must fend of hordes of rampaging vikings – intriguingly, all of the wreckage of war remains strewn across your island, so as more and more waves of pillaging Norsemen arrive, things get all the more frantic. We can’t wait.
Super Mario Odyssey
After years – not to mention console generations – of waiting, the next mainline 3D mario game is almost here. While we saw small snippets earlier this year, the gameplay on show at Gamescom makes clear just how ambitious Nintendo’s new platformer is. Mario’s cap is able to possess people and animals, presenting us with the plumber’s most interesting new tool since his water jetpack in Super Mario Sunshine. Game of the show for many pundits, and from what we’ve seen it’s hard to argue with them.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Hello yes, a proper Dragon Ball Z game, and from Guilty Gear developers Arc System Works no less. The cel-shaded animation fits the characters perfectly, while an extra element of depth is provided by the 3-on3 tag team style battling Marvel vs Capcom fans will be used to. Watch the trailer and try not to go super saiyan in anticipation.
BioMutant
What do you get when you cross Star Fox’s Fox McCloud with Kung Fu Panda? BioMutant, apparently. This open world, martial epic adventure game is being developed by former Avalanche staff (Just Cause, Mad Max), and though it’s not yet in a playable state, is already stunning fans with its premise and jawdropping visuals. We can’t wait, however long we’ll have to.
Need For Speed Payback
If any series is due a massive comeback with a brilliant game, it’s Need For Speed. EA are constantly harangued with people wanting a new Burnout, but Need For Speed is the series they forge ahead with. Early indications are of a game that appears to be borrowing from the action movie Hollywood style, and the new trailer backs those claims up. Here’s hoping it’s more Hot Pursuit than The Run, though.
Star Wars Battlefront 2
It really doesn’t come much bigger than Star Wars. So far it seems as though EA and DICE have taken on all the feedback from the first game, and built upon it to make what could be the most promising Star Wars game of all time.
With a beta to come this autumn, you’d be forgiven for being hyped already, but feast your eyes on the Gamescom 2017 trailer and we challenge you to not let your inner geek scream out. Look at it. Look at it with your eyes: Yoda is piloting a ship! You’re dodging TIE fighters in the debris of the exploded Death Star! Yoda is piloting a ship! This is a game you’re going to be able to play in a few short months.
Jurassic World Evolution
Announced during what was an otherwise fairly limp Microsoft press conference, Jurassic Park Evolution came out of nowhere. Developed by Frontier (the studio behind Elite Dangerous, Planet Coaster and Zoo Tycoon, to name but a few) the hype for this one is already sky high. This is a theme-park-building game where when things go wrong, your customer satisfaction rating doesn’t just dip a bit – dinosaurs go on a rampage. You’ve got around a year to wait for this one as it’s scheduled for a summer 2018 release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC, but that theme music sent fans into meltdown.
Cuphead
It feels strange listing such a small, indie game among all these huge budget triple-A games, but Cuphead mania is at fever pitch due to the release date being set in stone, finally. But in a month that saw Microsoft delay Crackdown 3 into 2018, it was a huge relief to hear that Cuphead hasn’t slipped, and is still coming to Xbox One and PC at the end of September. It may not have taken tens of millions and a headcount of hundreds to make, but it’s a huge game, both for Microsoft, and fans of indie games.
Project CARS 2
Slightly Mad Studios’ hardcore racer Project CARS 2 feels like it’s been a long time coming. The studio (and publisher Bandai Namco) haven’t been shy about showing off the game, or inviting the media to play it. Having spoken to the developers multiple times, we’re convinced this could well be the hardcore racing game we’ve been crying out for, so for fans of the genre, there's no bigger game right now.
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