Gamescom 2022 Opening Night Live

Which of those are you most looking forward to? Or is there another game you'd like to see?

Good afternoon-slash-evening! It's lovely to feel all of your presences. Are you excited? I am. I can't help myself.

IanHigton says: I love Bertie, he is nice. (also, Callisto Protocol for me)

Hooray! Your fiver is in the post.

RevBadger says: Personally, looking forward to Return to Monkey Island. My daughter wants to see some Hogwarts Legacy actual play footage.

I'm with your daughter. Tricky prospect with everything going on but I still feel the pull of Harry Potter.

2much says: Always Sonic

You are very much on brand!

Kami says: Interesting list. Aside WET 2, to keep that joke alive... I'm still hoping for a Grim Dawn sequel announcement.

WET 2 - yes! Tonight could be the night!

Weebleman says: Hello Bertie. Hope all is well!

Hello! It is. I have a beer chilling right now. I wish it would hurry up.

Kami says: Heyo Bertie! I have a pot of Earl Grey and a twin pack of Jaffa Cakes. I'm set for this!

Hello! I have a Tunnock's caramel bar. I bloody love those things.

Bauul says: @JudgeCal Lies of P is essentially a Bloodborne homage, at least from all the trailers so far. Just with oily puppets and automotons stalking the city rather than werewolves. But it does look like it captures that From essence quite well.

Oily puppets?! That's quite an aesthetic.

But there's no one there, Geoff!

I'm just trawling Geoff Keighley's Twitter feed, as you do.

Six whole minutes. I got excited too early, didn't I?

What is the optimum set-up for watching these things? I'm cramming everything onto one monitor this evening - it feels less than ideal.

I'm not sure about this opening hold music. It's like a record scratch that will never end.

Gosh these live reports take me back. I remember the first ones we did, back in, what was it, 2005 maybe? Back when it was really hard to get live video feed from E3 conferences. How things have changed (but we haven't)!

Kami says: Remember being offered to DOWNLOAD the old Nintendo E3 streams from what was then GameSpy. Damn, I'm old enough to remember GameSpy.

Yes! I remember Johnny Minkley and James Hills - his camera chap - filming and then chopping entire conferences into dozens of pieces people could download.

Oh, here we go!

It's Geoff, collar up on a crushed leather jacket. He's pumped. He's gone for trainers with smart trousers, keeping it lowkey.

He looks a little bit like David Hasselhoff.

Two HOURS?! Let's get to it, Geoff.

A new world from a brand new team with a bolc new vision - don't they all?

Leslie Benzies, former Rockstar VIP!

What is it what is it what is it?

Five years, they've been working on it.

We're seeing a glimpse at some environments in the game - a canyon, a lush forest. There's driving, there's jumping and shooting, there's clearly multiplayer. It looks Fortnitey.

It's called Everywhere.

Assistant game director Adam Whiting is on stage, hitting all the buzz words. "Watch, play, create." There's that Fortnite feeling again.

He's talking about players making their own experiences. I wonder if its a game-making platform like Roblox and Fortnite.

He's said a lot without saying anything, basically.

They aim to have Everywhere out in 2023.

We're onto another world premiere announcement. It's Funcom and Legendary Pictures. We're in a desert looking at the back of a man's head. Is it Dune?

I think it is! There's a bloody great sandworm just swallowed a machine. The hero character is now going to ride the worm, presumably, like Sting once did but we haven't seen Timothée Chalamet do yet.

This is an open-world survival MMO. Remember, Funcom made Conan Exiles, which is also set in desert biomes, so perhaps there's a lot of crossover possible there?

A PlayStation announcement now. We're looking at the DualSense 5 - it's the DualSense Edge.

It's a high-performance, ultra-customisable PS5 controller. You can have custom control profiles. It's a thin announcement and there's more info on the blog.

Big cheer as Geoff annoucnes Callisto Protocol, and here's boss Glen Schofield to demo it - he's putting in the promotional hours isn't he?

He's got a good voice, hasn't he? He sounds like a grizzled marine.

We're going to get a mix of live gameplay across two sections. The 2nd December 2022 date is on the board behind him.

I love Geoff very politely talking about "strategic dismemberment", like it's a bullet point on an annual forecast or something.

Kami says: Is it wrong I'm looking forward to Callisto Protocol more than the Dead Space reboot?

I don't think so! I think many people are.

Boooo_urns says: Ambiguous was the name of the game for 'Everywhere'. Not a clue what it was

Yeah, I hear you.

That's a cool gun - holds enemies as if in a kind of stasis, then can fling them away like the Gravity Gun.

Oh, there's a kind of pivot or dodge ability for when enemies get close - that's nice.

We're watching our hero go down some space flume now, with the running water. This can't be the new gameplay Glen was talking about can it - an endless floater?

He's dodging what are clearly fatal obstacles in his way - spinning blades and turbine blades. Might make a nice break from the other action. And oh dear, he's been cut in half.

This is a biggie, this next premiere, according to Geoff, but then he would say that.

Skulls on the battlefield, armoured riders on horses. It's Hexworks Studio in collaboration with CI Games. Some story about fallen gods influencing the world, corrupting it, pillars of dark magic in the sky.

Oh! Is it Lords of the Fallen 2?!

It's all cinematic, which is annoying. Lords of the Fallen was a stylish game though - a bit of a grab at finding a Souls audience in between Souls releases.

Oh, this is just "The Lords of the Fallen". No number 2 on it now.

Scratch that last thought, I don't know what I was thinking. It's Moving Out 2, from Team 17.

Cue Harry Potter music, it's Hogwarts Legacy time. The audience seem excited. February 2023, remember. We're going to see a brand new trailer.

We're seeing a montage of gameplay here. We're outside the Chamber of Secrets, maybe? The student wizards are battling zombie-like enemies. Looks like a nicely-drawn dungeon, pretty much.

I'm not sure that convinced me but it continues to look interesting.

Randy Pitchford is on stage now, in yellow trousers, to officially announce - there were leaks - New Tales From the Borderlands.

This is a continuation of what Telltale memorably made, and it's made by some former Telltale staff. It's coming in October this year on "all platforms"

No apparent lip-synching, not that that's a bad thing. It's got that thick-lined Telltale look. It seems colourful and varied, and lively. And it's out soon.

Techland here to present some Dying Light 2 DLC, I think?

We're in an underground gym, a sort of arena, Mad Max Thunderdome style. You're going to have to stay alive in there.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human - Bloody Ties. I think that was the name.

An sketchy looking pirate game just whizzed by. Tortgua: A Pirate's Tale. And here's a forgettable looking shooter called Marauders. I guess we're just getting these out of the way quickly? I hope they're not actually interesting.

Kami says: Bloody Ties is the DLC title

Thank you!

I just completely glossed over Destiny 2: Lightfall there.

How has Metal: Hellsinger won an award already? Regardless, it looks great. I genuinely can't wait to play it.

I like that she's talking about kindness and empathy as equally important skills and traits in the industry. Treat each other with heart - make games with humanity. Nice message.

It's Sonic time!

Here's Sonic Frontiers, the release date of which was leaked earlier. But we're going to see it for real now!

It looks very fast! Could it actually be... good? Whisper it!

Why does Sonic run with his arms behind his back? Is that a faster way of running? I've never tried that.

8th November! Well waddaya know.

A French studio: it's Quantic Dream and Parallel Studio.

We're under the water in a sumbmersible vehicle of some kind. We're out in the ocean, exploring sunken worlds. There are ghosts, by the looks of things.

It's Under the Waves, due 2023. Has a melancholic vibe. Interesting.

Malek86 says: Robert, you never tried Naruto running? It les you run faster than bullets, you know.

What have I been missing my whole life!

Goat Simulator 3 - the game that skipped a sequel.

It looks appropriately wild. There's a goat throwing a fisbee. There's a goat dressed as a knight. There's a goat driving a car. There's a goat jousting down a power line?!

I think it's safe to say there's nothing like subtlety there. 17th November.

Ooh, it's Return to Monkey Island. We're going to get a release date!

I think this new game looks lovely, for what it's worth.

19th September - International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Haha, they're having a pop at Oblivion's Horse Armour. Do you know, I met the man who was in charge of Horse Armour the other day. We didn't actually talk about it. Missed opportunity.

Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds here to reveal its brand new IP, a turn-based sci-fi game. It's bestselling author Brandon Sanderson!

He's been working with Unknown Worlds!

Moonbreaker.

We're seeing a very colourful cityscape, and huge figurine-like characters are smashing down onto a turn-based playing space.

It's very energetic and colourful. There are obstructions and what appears to be cover. There's a lot of character coming through the voices, and flashy special moves.

This is right up my street!

Oh it IS based on figurines. We can build them, paint them, then assemble our teams.

Early Access 29th September.

They're calling it a "digital miniatures game".

They're channelling Guardians of the Galaxy and Firefly, apparently. You choose a captain and 10 crew. Every unit in the game is really strange and special and game-breaking. Oh man they're saying all the right things. Hearthstone meets X-COM is another comparison made.

So you can paint your miniatures a bit like if you're using a painting program, spinning around the figure, using brushes on them. But it's not too complicated to be off-putting, apparently. I like it, I like it!

They'll be on Steam Playtest in September ahead of the Early Access launch.

What is the colourful assault on our eyes? A card game of some kind? A lovely trailer but I have no idea what the game is. Friends vs. Friends. Oh and hello, it's a first-person shooter card game? How unusual! I like it.

Lies of P, a Soulslike inspired by Pinocchio, by Neowiz. Coming to Game Pass day one.

Some very ornate scenery and environments. You have a mechanical arm that you can customise. I do very much like the main character's hair. Gepeto?!

Is that Jimminy Cricket in the pouch thing?

I like the idea but I'm not sure.

Malek86 says: I dunno, I feel like Alice worked because it was unexpected and also felt original enough despite its obvious influence. This is too much of a Soulslike, and not nearly as close to the book to be a noticeable thing.

Yeah, I hear that. It looks too familiar despite trying to be quite different?

It's Samantha Cristoforetti on the International Space Station. There's a Gamescom banner behind her. I wonder if she plays games up there. What would you play?

Oh I thought she was going to announce a game - that would have been cool!

We're onto Focus and Deck 13 now - makers of The Surge.

We're in a desert landscape, playing a female heroine who can surf across the sand at great speeds. She's very acrobatic. She's fighting what look like magical sand beasts. Oh and that fellow is helping her - that's nice of him.

A co-op action game?

Atlas Fallen. Now we're seeing some gameplay. Big powers, sand surfing at great speed. Due 2023. Looks promising.

Kami says: and now THIS is what I was expecting from Lords of the Fallen 2.

Deck 13 being the original developer of Lords of the Fallen, of course!

Homeworld 3 now. I actually played this the other day except I can't talk about it yet - don't tell anyone. Look for my proper thoughts later this week.

I love the grace of the ships. There's great detail on show here, and we're hearing a lot about using debris of big ships as cover. I wonder what it's like to play! Stop it, Bertie!

I love how Geoff had to look down at his notes when he was talking about Genshin Impact there. The big 3.0 update is coming out of course. We're getting a look at it. We had a big State of the Game piece on this the other day, and Alan Wen is totally still in love with the game.

This update is about as bright and green as I think you can get. It looks lush. I'd quite like to live in this world to be fair.

I wonder what Geoff does in these interrim moments - compose himself somehow? Maybe he has a little mantra to repeat to himself.

Benedict Fox does look good though - the game winning a Most Wanted trailer now. Oh he's from Krakow! I like Krakow!

This is High on Life from Squanch Games. It's got that Oddworld, talking-weapons vibe, except this is very over the top. The gun is trash-talking the boss. But the gun looks kind of boring to actually use? It's just a pistol?

Oh, there's some grappling now, and yes, it also talks. OK I did laugh when he got that murderous knife out. That is one bloodthirsty blade!

This is already wearing thin a few minutes in. I worry what it will be like across a whole game. Perhaps you need a big toot before you play.

We're seeing a few games roll by now. Do these count as games included in the presentation? Bit sneaky - they're barely on for 10 seconds.

Malek86 says: I need someone to tell me what that VR sketch was all about.

Me too! I bet none of those headsets were ever turned on.

This is Homeworld 3 developer Blackbird's space engineering game Hardspace Shipbreaker. It's coming 20th September to console by the looks of things.

I can't wait to play Immortality, which we glimpsed in this PC Game Pass sizzle reel. Is it really as good as people are saying? We shall see!

Ooh, it's Telltale's Expanse game. I still haven't seen the series and everyone keeps telling me to.

It seems like they've got some of the actors from the series to reprise their roles. There's zero-g gameplay. There are dialogue choices. It looks quite good you know.

Umang says: Bertie, any idea if Telltale will be using a new engine this time around? That was one of the things that hindered them significantly before they went belly up...

I have no idea but we'll try and find out.

Summer 2023, for the Expanse game.

A film adaptation into a game we would never have expected, says Geoff. Challenge accepted!

A teenage kid in his bedroom. From the exec director of Friday 13th. Scary clowns at his door. It's Killer Klowns From Outer Space!

A sci-fi action adventure now... Prime Matter, Mad Head Games. A big pyramid thing in the sky. A lady on an alien planet. Lip synching. I don't see any combat yet - oh, there it is, guns.

Scars Above, coming soon.

Gamescom is the first "climate friendly" show apparently. The Playing for the Planet Alliance is here - I've talked to them - to give a Gamescom Goes Green award to an exhibitor.

It's great to see games shows talking about being climate neutral, as Geoff said - to see this becoming part of the conversation.

Dr Jo Twist from UKIE delivering a sobering message that "we only have one planet".

Brand new game from a new studio of veterans. I think this is the game I have just done an interview for. It is: it is Wyrdsong from new developer Something Wicked Games.

I've got a separate extended news piece going up about this right now. In short, this is an occult, Knights Templar-themed RPG from a very new studio that's years away from finishing it. Helmed by Jeff Gardiner, ex Fallout 76 lead, and Charles Staples, lead designer on Outer Worlds.

Here's that piece!

Gotham Knights is going to come out earlier than expected - but is it going to be any good?

A meaty montage of everything Gotham Knights is going to be about. 21st October, three days before my birthday.

I can't work out if I like the look of this or not. It's Where Winds Meet, an MMO by Everstone Games based heavily on martial arts.

I wonder how the MMO part comes into it - I haven't seen many other players in this trailer.

It's Hideo Kojima, Geoff's best pal!

He's here to share some news. He's going to announce that his podcast program is going to be available exclusively on Spotify in September are you kidding me?

I also do a podcast, Hideo.

Bandai Namco and Limbic. It's, could this be, is it, Theme Park?

I went to Alton Towers recently, you know - what an ordeal that place is! Get Fast Pass!

It's not Theme Park, it's Park Beyond. But beyond what? It doesn't say. The hedge?

How did Geoff just teleport like that!

How did Geoff just teleport like that!

I can't believe they'd actually let that actor eat a piece of pizza in the back of that car.

Is that car real? Is it actually there? It's very nice but slap a number plate on their and give it a few bangs in a supermarket car park and then we'll see what it looks like eh?

Apparently you can connect your console to the screen? That sounds horrifically dangerous.

Play On... your way to A&E.

Ooh Darktide looks the business - cannot wait.

I love the atmosphere of Vermintide, and it looks like they've got that nailed again here. You against absolutely everything. Look at that! It looks brilliant!

30th November for Darktide.

Skippermonkey says: Depressing amount of multiplayer and co-op titles for someone like me that hates other people.

Ha! Yes.

This looks interesting. A game about using a bow and arrow, and witchcraft. Will you become the good witch or the evil witch? Blacktail. Coming this Winter from Focus and Parasight - I haven't heard of that studio.

Oh, it's The Parasight and it was only founded in 2019.

Weebleman says: Recently picked up vermintide 2 and i am very very impressed so far.

I wish I'd played more of it! It's one of those games on my permanent "must play more, Bertie - stop making excuses" list.

A few more games to go.

Four students in Berlin. I know who this is! It's Toukana! I met them! It's Dorfromantik and it's coming to Switch on 29th September. What a brilliant game that is.

The Outlast Trials, that we haven't heard anything on since last year, really.

A first-person horror that looks quite disturbing, to be honest. I like the atmosphere. I wonder how clever it is. You can now register for a beta. That was an anti-climax.

OK, the big finish!

A hotel room that looks like a big party has happened there. A man rifling through - god it's horrid. Get a cleaner in there.

It's Lenny Kravitz Simulator!

Sorry for stealing your joke, Weeble. I think Kami is on the money here! This is fairly clearly Dead Island 2, the game that has been in development at various places for what feels like an eternity now.

This is CGI, though. What does it actually look like?

Dead Island 2 coming in February.

Dambusters is behind this game, the Homefront: Revolution lot.

Deep Silver Dambusters started work on this about four years ago and built it from the ground-up, apparently. They liked the over-the-topness, the pulp horror side of it. They've built an action RPG out of it.

It's all about experimenting with your style of zombie killing - and it's more about close quarters than gunplay, which is cool.

We're going to see some gameplay.

Kami says: This is set, reportedly, in LA. So... not an island.

Haha - touché!

I am here for the lurid brightness of it. It is gory Jackanory - heads being skewerd like they're going on the barbecue. It's wild, it's silly, it's messy. I definitely like the tone of it all.

That's it for the show. A few things of interest, I think, but not Kojima's podcast (I'll probably still listen to it). What took your fancy?

For me, it was Moonbreaker, the new game from the Subnautica lot. I'm intrigued by that Quantic Dream-related project Under the Waves too.

Time to crack open that celebratory beer - I completely forgot about that. Thank you all for joining me this evening. It wasn't too bad was it?

Kami says: Not at all, a pleasant couple hours. And I only went through half my jaffa cakes!

Bonus!