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.
FIFA 18
Let’s start with EA’s monster football title. Without fail, FIFA is one of the top-selling franchises year in, year out, and thanks to a lot of people being able to play and capture the game at Gamescom, we know a few more titbits that EA themselves haven’t revealed.
Aside from all the usual features, we now know that there will be some kind of FIFA Street-inspired part of The Journey this year, which is just incredible. Sure, it’s not a full-on return of the game as a new mode, but it does show that EA are aware that fans want it, and could lead to more. Moreover, in the video above you can see the Nintendo Switch version of FIFA 18 in action, which, despite early concerns over it not being on the same Frostbite Engine that the PS4, PC, and Xbox One versions will run on, actually looks pretty good, we think.
PES 2018
Konami’s game plays like a dream already (we know this from the beta), and while the Japanese company cannot compete in the licenses field, what they're doing is choosing licensed teams and players carefully.
With more to announce still, at Gamescom we got a demo date (August 30), and a new legend in the form of David Beckham. With the new and returning modes, revamped free-kicks, and much more, PES looks set to compete with FIFA on every level, and therefore is easily one of the biggest games at this year’s Gamescom.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
With over 8 million copies sold in the few months since PUBG (as all the cool kids call it) was released in early access, it’s become one of the biggest games in the world. Being published by Microsoft means that it will support the power of the Xbox One X, but it’s also coming first to Xbox (nobody seems to know if it’s coming to PS4 or not at this stage, though it probably will). This means that if you don’t have a gaming PC, the only place to play the biggest game in the world this year is on Xbox. We’re still addicted to the game, and it keeps getting updates and support – including a whole new, utterly terrifying city map. The hype is real, people. Believe.
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.
Destiny 2
Speaking of games that are using the sequel to fix the problems reported by the community from the first game, FIFA 18 aside there really isn’t a bigger game out there right now than Destiny 2.
Bungie’s follow-up to one of the most played games of the past few years is so close that Gamescom saw the release of the official launch trailer, and with promises that there'll be a proper story within the game this time, along with improvements to the Raids (and how you can actually find people to play them with now), it’s hard not to think that Destiny 2 will be a rip-roaring success for Activision. Easily one of the most hyped games in existence, anywhere, right now, but with good reason.
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.
Call Of Duty: WWII
It’s well worth remembering that the developer behind COD: WWII is Sledgehammer Games, who made the excellent Modern Warfare 3 and Advanced Warfare in the Call Of Duty series. But this Gamescom also saw the announce of Headquarters Mode for multiplayer, which allows players to share a social space to basically muck around in. It feels strange to be saying Call Of Duty is one of the biggest games from Gamescom, especially given how the game is jumping back in time to its roots. But with the success of Battlefield 1 last year, fans are clearly keen to revisit the past once more.
