Gamescom 2021 is over, and we've got a ton of awesome trailers and reveals to ponder. Microsoft kicked off Game Announcement Week with its Xbox stream, and while it was a boring demo, it wasn't without its strengths. Geoff Keighley seriously brought the merchandise the next day as Opening Night Live provided us with a variety of fantastic announcements, including several world premieres. Like Gamescom last year, this year featured an all-digital event, but there were a few in-person interviews scattered around this time. The Geoff Keighley-led live opening night, which lasted around two hours and featured a healthy mix of AAA and indie announcements, ended up being the centerpiece of Gamescom 2021. Did you miss any parts of the show? Don't worry, because we've rounded up the best bits from all the major shows, including Xbox Stream, Opening Night Live, and the Future Games Show.
- What is it? The largest gaming event in the world.
- When it was? August 25 to August 27, 2021
- Who participated? Confirmed publishers include Xbox, EA, and Ubisoft
Gamescom 2021: our pick of the best games
YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and Facebook. What has been shown?
Credit where it is due. Gamescom Opening Night Live, hosted by the face of gaming Geoff Keighley, was a corker. The two-hour show was packed with world premiere announcements, truly unexpected surprises, and was delivered with a pleasing cadence that ensured we were never bored or bewildered by what was on the screen. In fact, the only criticism we'd have was the bizarre Gamescom awards that were scattered throughout the show, with Elden Ring clinching "Best Sony PlayStation Game." Elden Ring is a cross-platform game for beginners and has not been released yet. Strange. Other than that though, Gamescom Opening Night Live exceeded our expectations. But if you missed all the goodness of the Cologne, Germany game (delivered virtually, of course), you can catch up on the biggest announcements below. The Comparison point of view: Opening Night Live has done a great job of bringing us a host of new trailers for some of the most anticipated games to come, as well as some surprise announcements that we are looking forward to. Host Geoff Keighley emphasized “vacation” outings and he was right. We have received release dates for games that will be released around November / December, including Halo Infinite, as well as many titles scheduled for early next year. Saints street
Saints Row returns (hopefully) to shake up the open world subgenre once again. By removing the shark-jumping craze found in later games in the series, this rebooted Saints Row seems to retain the silliness that made it so special, while still anchoring it more faithfully to the original two games. The Saints Row coverage at Opening Night Live focused almost entirely on the CG reveal trailer, but Volition had also prepared a short gameplay clip of what we can expect when it launches on February 25, 2022. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker
Say what you will about the latest Star Wars movies, but if there's one thing that can make George Lucas's expansive universe fun and exciting again, it's a Lego makeover. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga received a new gameplay trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live, and it featured comedic banter, moments of slapstick, and strikingly beautiful visuals that we've come to expect from the Lego video game series. Unfortunately, the release date for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is still a long, long way off. The game is expected to arrive in "spring 2022", which falls between March and June. Let's hope it doesn't slip anymore. Death Stranding Director Mug
Death Stranding: Director's Cut was shown off in detail at the end of Gamescom Opening Night Live. The PS4 version, now updated for PS5, includes a number of nice updates like a 60fps performance mode, 4K visuals, and completely unexpected additions. The delivery of your cargo, which strangely remains the core mechanic of Hideo Kojima's latest creation, should be much more fluid and streamlined in Death Stranding: Director's Cut. You'll have new gear and transportation to help ease Sam Bridge's sore back, along with new activities to take part in: there's a new career mode included that probably no one saw coming, and there's also a Metal Gear Solid VR Missions mode. -esque that looks pretty promising. It's still Death Stranding though, so if you didn't riff on the game when you first played it, or if you still have no idea what's going on, it's unlikely the Director's Cut will change your mind when it launches. on September 24, 2021. . Call of Duty: The Vanguard
Another year, another Call of Duty? When it comes to Vanguard, this lack of enthusiasm might be misplaced. While another entry in Activision's long-running series won't appeal to everyone, what we saw of the game at Gamescom Opening Night Live told us one thing: Call of Duty: Vanguard is spectacular, to say the least. From a graphic point of view. From the game's realistic lighting to the crisp, almost tangible textures, this is arguably the most convincing recreation of WWII we've seen to date. Like it or hate it, Call of Duty: Vanguard is sure to be one of the biggest games of the year. dokev
One of the most striking announcements of the opening night live had to be DokeV. Coming from Black Desert Online developer Pearl Abyss, DokeV is an upcoming open-world action-adventure that's part Pokémon, from Jet Set Radio, with a little K-Pop thrown in for good measure. Players take control of a boy who has access to dream monsters known as "Dokebi". These creatures can help you in battle against robotic-looking enemies. His designs are adorable and wacky, so we can't wait to see how crazy Dokebi can be in the full version. Infinite halo
Halo Infinite was surprisingly absent from Microsoft's Xbox stream at Gamescom, but developer 343 Industries more than made up for it during Gamescom Opening Night Live. Not only did we finally get a December 8th release date for the game, but Microsoft also revealed a limited edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X and a limited edition Halo Infinite Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 controller purportedly on sale, which has since So they're up for sale. .Sold out quickly. But that is not all. A new cinematic trailer has been unveiled in all its glory for the game's multiplayer mode, which will be free-to-play for the first time in the series. The wait for Halo Infinite will be long. Marvel Midnight Sun
Firaxis Games, creators of the beloved XCOM reboot series, are back with a new tactical RPG, this time taking on the vast and unpredictable world of Marvel. While we only have one (good) CG trailer so far, Marvel's Midnight Suns will not only feature the heroes we know from the MCU, but several X-Men like Wolverine will also join the scrum. Marvel's Midnight Suns will be released across all platforms in March 2022 and will feature many iconic heroes as well as a player-created avatar. Check out the trailer below to see if your favorite superhero pulled it off.
YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and Facebook. What has been shown?
Microsoft's presence at Gamescom 2021 was something of a snoozefest, without any updates on expected titles like Halo Infinite and Fable. But that doesn't mean it was completely devoid of interesting ads. From Dying Light 2 footage to a deep dive into a rather quirky Age of Empires 4 mode, Xbox streaming has had its highlights. But much of his thunder was stolen by the Opening Night Live showcase the next day. That being said, we did get a lot more gameplay footage for Forza Horizon 5, which still looks pretty amazing. Although the show wrapped up, we'd say the Xbox stream was still worth tuning in for Forza on its own. The Comparison point of view:
No Starfield, no Halo, no Elder Scrolls... the list goes on. One might have expected a lot from Microsoft to go all-out for Gamescom after delivering such a stellar screening of E3 2021, but it was hard not to be a little disappointed by the lack of news. Images of the most searched games, nor mic-drop reveals new games. Still, it's still a great time to be an Xbox gamer, with a busy release schedule for the family of consoles underway. So let's give Microsoft a pass here. Dying Light 2
Zombies. Parkour. In itself, it's not exciting either. But when combined, you have the basics of some really satisfying gameplay. This is where Dying Light 2 shines, as the latest trailer for the game shows how you can use your body momentum to destroy enemies, knock them down in the face, and generally wreak havoc as a kind and violent circus act. Keep an eye out for this one as it will be releasing soon on December 7, 2021. Age of Empires 4
While we only caught a glimpse of Age of Empires 4 gameplay while streaming Xbox, the good news is that we've learned a few things about medieval warfare. So the focus of this Age of Empires 4 screening wasn't really on gameplay, but if you really wanted to test how a Trebuchet works, this might have been the best gameplay presentation of all time. All jokes aside, Age of Empires 4 is aimed at history buffs with its new "Hands-On History" feature. Less of a fad and more of a collection of documentary snippets, the feature will provide in-depth video dives into many of the units and buildings you've used in different versions of Age of Empires. It could be something to fall back on whenever you know that an enemy monk has converted your entire cavalry. Forza Horizon 5
We already got a good look at Forza Horizon 5 when it was revealed at E3 2021, but who are we to say no to seeing more of a follow up…