Opening Night Live Gamescom 2021 - live report
It's beginning to feel a lot like Geoff. Live from 7pm BST.
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Happy late summer days, and happy video game showcase o'clock as we prime ourselves for another Geoff Keighley special. Expect news, reveals and a side order of cringe live from 7pm BST (there's also a 30 minute pre-show starting at 6.30pm BST but let's not encourage such nonsense, ok?)
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Hi hello and how do you do?
You're not watching already are you? I do not approve of this pre-show stuff.
But I've just started watching and they're showing off The King of Fighters 15 which was one of the games I was looking forward to most tonight.
Out next Feb, everyone's in it, it's looking great.
We are currently having a few technical difficulties which we're sorting out, so please bear with us (also hello lovely to see you again!)
Anyway one of those internet people that is very popular is doing some jokes.
EMLvHeerebeek: very popular and making jokes generally means bad jokes that are trying too hard
tbh you've described most of these live reports.
Apart from the popular part, anyway.
Miyamotosan: Always seems like a different set of regs that turn up for these things to those who post on the articles...
It's only the really cool kids here. And me!
With just under ten minutes to go, you now have my undivided attention Opening Night Live.
Am I excited? Honestly it's hard to tell anymore.
But I think I am!
We know some of what's due up - the new Saints Row, the Halo bit that was mysteriously cut from yesterday's Xbox show (there was a reason there was no live report for that), an extended look at Death Stranding Director's Cut (Geoff likes Hideo, apparently?).
It's the unknown unknowns that really excite, though - including something Geoff teased about an all-new football game? (I think he meant soccer too!)
Just googled Lindsey Stirling so you don't have to - that's the kind of service we're always happy to provide at Eurogamer - and she's a famous violinist apparently.
In the pre-show chat Geoff's just lowered the expectations a little - this won't be wall-to-wall reveals and will instead be mostly updates on games we already know of.
I'm so out of touch... My taste in music is still stuck in 1974 somewhere.
We were hoping for a Libero Grande revival here.
I do sort of miss our jaunts to Cologne - it's a beautiful city, and while the show itself can get a bit *busy* it's always had a character of its own that helps distinguish it from E3.
Plus I bloody love sausages.
A quick drinks check all round - I'm on water until it gets to a more reasonable hour when I *might* have a bottle of Ghost Ship (they were three for a fiver in the local shop!)
One last trailer before the big show - and it's a new thing from Galleon creator Toby Gard.
Kami: I have actual real freshly-ground COFFEE tonight!
Coffee after 4pm is bold! Unless it's decaf, of course.
And here we go - Opening Night Live is.... LIVE!
Geoff looks a lot narrower than before.
Could be my screen. Or that sharp jacket.
He looks genuinely happy to be there though. Bless you Geoff.
(If you've never read Geoff's early gamz jurnlism - the Final Hours series, on the likes of Half-Life and Metal Gear Solid - they're really worth rooting out. He gets a bit of a bad rep, and these shows can be a bit awkward, but he's coming from a genuine place).
And this'll be Saints Row.
I'm embargoed on talking about this until 9pm. Because I guess they didn't know it was at the start of the show?
So yeah no idea what this is. True Crime Resurrected?
Oh look at that it's Saints Row.
I couldn't possibly say...
Right here with you pal. Right here with you.
To the gameplay itself, which is slightly less subdued than the trailer.
If I did see it recently, I might have seen a tiny bit more - but really not that much. Anyway, more at 9pm.
And now, to Marvel.
Wait for it....
Because this might not be Avengers.
It might be something a bit more exciting (yeah sorry this is something else we might have seen earlier!)
That looks an awful lot like more of Marvel than you see in Avongers.
So this is Midnight Suns - and it's the new game from the XCOM team at Firaxis.
I'm not a Marvel fan, but I am a fan of that team - so consider me interested.
(Also I am, of course, a fan of Jake Solomon - *swoooooooooon*)
This is a tactics RPG - so a slight deviation from XCOM, though I'm not sure how much of a deviation.
We're not going to get to see the game proper until September 1st. And it's out next March.
Consider me very much interested.
And now it's Call of Duty Vanguard!
A look at the campaign, I believe.
Apologies for the silence. It's partly because this is all hollow guff, but also because it's hard to muster any enthusiasm for Activision Blizzard products at present.
Anyway, excuse the grinding gear change but here's some footage of a fairly generic looking first person shooter campaign.
A neck has been stabbed.
Kami: So anyway, how's everyone's day been?
I'm going to be one of those awful people, but I've been playing something I can't talk about just yet (but I can tomorrow at 3pm) and it's just brilliant. The kind of game that doesn't come around that often, and that seems pretty special so far.
Also I had cheese and oatcakes for lunch.
So it's been win-win really.
Maybe it's because my own lack of enthusiasm for the series at the moment, but this looks very 2008 in terms of the action.
troymb: Martin Robinson multi or exclusive?
If I said that'd give the game away! Anyway, sorry for being a tease - just be reassured that not all games coming later this year will be as dull as this Call of Duty looks.
Malek86: I'm afraid 2008 just doesn't cut it. I wish it looked more like 1998.
I've been playing that lovely surprise Quake remaster this week and saying late 90s FPS is one of the best compliments you can give.
God it's still going on?
And yet still Call of Duty will outsell Battlefield this year. Poor DICE.
Kami: Is it just me or did they skip Quake 4 with those re-releases?
I've always seen Quake 4 as sort of non-canon as it's by Raven Software. That's not to say it's not good though! I mean, it's not great either.
Oh and also that makes a lot of sense.
Criminally this is the first time I've ever played Quake. It's good isn't it?
A friend said it's sort of like Mario 64, the game that invented 3D platforming while also perfecting so much of it. Quake just came along and perfected the FPS at the first ever crack.
Anyway the Call of Duty bit is over now, thankfully.
HERE'S HALO INFINITE!
Oooh that's given me the jolt I needed - I'm so looking forward to this.
Miyamotosan: I've been dipping in and out (mostly out), what's the biggest thing they've had so far?
Saints Row, I'd say.
Ah, this is a CG trailer and so my heart sinks once more.
A CG trailer for multiplayer?
Baritone: Martin, are you a Spartan?
we r all spartn now
Ah, remember that Halo 3 trailer? That was a banger.
This one isn't.
Still, looking forward to the game.
So it's a tie-in with the first free-to-play season of Halo Infinite - I guess they're doing that whole Fortnite worldbuilding thing, which is fair enough.
And there is the release date, which of course leaked earlier - it's December 8th.
A little surprise to coincide with the 20th anniversary of both Halo and Xbox - it's a Halo Elite controller!
Good god that thing is ugly.
Having spoken about the 'Finish the Fight' trailer (thanks for reminding me what it's called Eratosthenes) I get some similar vibes from this ad.
But this time it's an ad for a really ugly special edition Xbox Series X.
Still looking forward to Halo Infinite, though. Despite Microsoft's best efforts to drag them down with fairly underwhelming showings like that.
Here is something quirky and cute being published by Devolver - ....
Er I wasn't paying attention when they put the name up.
I'm such a pro.
The 2D/3D artstyle looks lovely - it reminds me of Dakko Dakko's PSVR game Pop-Up Pilgrims.
And that was Cult of the Lamb.
An over-the-top isometric action game that looks like John Wicks by way of Crusader No Remorse.
That is how I'd describe Midnight Fight Express. I would like to play that!
Dotemu's Turtles game!
I don't think I'm American enough to understand the Turtles.
When the Turtles movie came out, there was a rumour going around my school that there was an X rated version that someone had on video where the Turtles cut peoples heads off and did swears and everything.
Actually sounded alright.
Anyway, that did look like a fine arcade action game.
Here's a quick interlude which hands the mic over to the people at Gamescom.
It's Monkey Ball time!
I hate to say, though, Monkey Ball just isn't Monkey Ball without the GameCube's octopad. Luckily you can still use those on the Switch.
weebleman: Gonna drop my traditional ‘how longs this on for?’ question during this section.
Two hours! So it wraps at 9pm BST.
MONKEY TARGET EVERYONE! And it looks just as I remembered and loved it.
Monkey Fight can do one tho.
And the special guest is Morgana from Persona.
I still keep forgetting that Atlus and Sega are a thing.
Malek86: @Martin the arcade banana joystick was the real thing, accept no substitute
Haha, that is a very fair point.
The very popular Splitgate gets a moment now.
See, this has 1998 FPS vibes, and is all the better for it.
And an update on Riders Republic. I've played this!
I really liked it too!
(You can ignore all this zany annoying stuff and just dick around on mountains and across parks on a bike, and that bit is just brilliant).
The beta's just opened up. I'd recommend having a quick look!
Oh they're doing awards!
I was a judge for the Gamescom awards a couple of times.
It mostly meant having access to this incredibly detailed spreadsheet, getting access to a special room at the Koelnmesse which had some really nice biscuits in it and getting to jump and queue for console stations.
We're only 50 minutes in somehow - it really feels like it might be December already.
Miyamotosan: "I was a judge for the Gamescom awards a couple of times." [That picture of Harry Maguire leaning on the railings talking to those girls]
Hahaha
An advert for Game Pass which has me thinking 'cor Game Pass is so good' and also 'oh my god my backlog is going to become unbearable soon'
There really are a lot of good video games out there.
Like this one that lets you be a dragon!
Dragons are great.
Here's that football game Geoff teased, then.
UFL?
It's a free-to-play thing from devs I don't think I've heard of before.
And we're not getting much by way of details - they say it's a 'football simulation', so I guess it will be aiming to go toe-to-toe with FIFA and whatever Konami's calling that fetid corpse of a series they've been dragging around these past few years.
The Lego Skywalker Saga game now, looking like a very pretty Lego Star Wars game.
I'll be there for the prequel stuff.
Seriously, after Episode 9 all was forgiven for the prequels.
Anyway, after quite the hiatus for Lego games the next one is due up next Spring.
Miyamotosan: I watched The Last Jedi last night. It's actually worse than you remember.
I think in truth they're all a bit shit.
Apart from The Phantom Menace, obv.
A new Outlast game being trailered for you all, that's what's happening right now.
See? It's a great film.
A south Korean Pokemon-a-like now called Dokev.
I think I missed an accent in that title somewhere but I'm really bad at that stuff so sorry!
This is quite pointed timing given the reaction to Pokemon's most recent trailers and gameplay demos.
But, well - it does look kind of great and you do wonder what a real Pokemon game would be like with these kind of assets.
(Then you remember that the real appeal of Pokemon is nowt to do with its visuals and more about the depth and character elsewhere which isn't so easily replicated).
Also this framerate lol.
How long has this trailer been going on for though?
There was even time for a dubstep interlude.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 is getting its gameplay reveal - and I'm off to the fridge for a beer.
(no offence Jurassic World Evolution 2 - you look great but I'm really thirsty and it's just gone 8pm)
What did I misssssss?
kingmob: I've been playing video games since the ZX Spectrum and I've never known things to look so dire. Literally nothing of interest.
I've never known such an abundance of riches! The only real problem is having enough time to play everything that's interesting.
Also I don't play Ubisoft games like this which might help.
(sorry Far Cry just isn't my thing! This looks just fine if it is, though)
This Ghost Ship beer is really nice!
Three for a fiver, too. What a steal.
Here's the Vampire The Masquerade battle royale Blood Hunt.
(I think this is the battle royale? God I'm terrible at this)
Here's a new park building game callled - Park Beyond?
There was a very well modelled croissant I spotted just then.
If this is gameplay - or at least in-engine - then that's very impressive indeed.
It's by Limbic Entertainment, who previously made Tropico 6.
And what I will say for it is that's one of the most Gamescom reveals ever.
Jett: Far Shore now! It's from Superbrothers, it's quite likely to therefore be brilliant.
Spoilers!
Oh this is an update about Horizon: Forbidden West - which we understand is now coming out next year.
But yes it also looks like Horizon Zero Dawn just got a 60fps patch.
18th February 2022 release date - for both the PS4 and PS5 versions.
Confirmation there for the 60fps patch. Lovely stuff.
Lexkalin: Couldn’t play first horizon at all. Too repetitive and generic.
Shhhhh don't say that around these parts.
An extended trailer for Amazon's New World now.
I might have dozed off for a second.
Kami: I really wouldn't mind a new MMORPG to get stuck into but New World just isn't striking a chord with me for some reason.
I don't know what to look for in an MMORPG, but Bertie does and seems if not massively excited then definitely interested.
Here's a new Marvel F2P game for mobile. Do you mind if I have another quick doze?
Alkaline: Wake up Martin, you’re missing a zoom call from two middle aged men.
*sits bolt upright*
I do this when I play guitar in my shed too.
I can't kick that high tho.
weebleman: We’re getting 30 mins of death stranding to close the show aren’t we
I'd bet on it.
Here's another annoucement of a mobile game - this time a Tales of entry.
Tales of Luminaria, fwiw.
Tales of Arise does look great, mind.
An award! Mario + Rabbids is the best Switch game of 2021!
Kami: Wait... isn't it coming out in 2022?!
It is! I did a typo!
Which I now can't fix because the limitations of our CMS so I'll have to leave that mistake there for posterity.
Kami: ... holy shit, this Lychee stuff must be opening my third eye or something...
Gissa shot of it plz.
A series of ads - yes I'm aware this whole thing is a series of ads but these are literally just ads - helps bring us through to the last half hour.
Deadmaus is announcing his own presence in the metaverse now and fuck me I'm old.
Literally no idea what's going on anymore.
And I think I just pissed myself.
You don't need a virtual concert. Just tape that shit and play it from the deck of a Citroen Saxo while you sit in the back a bit worse for wear and get driven around. That's when music is heard at its best.
But yeah I have no idea what all that was just about.
Kami: I'll be honest, I'm starting to feel a bit lost at the tail end of this show.
Same here!
There's been some lovely stuff, but not enough to keep the momentum going for two whole hours.
Age of Empires 4, anyway, which is something. Valheim now - I'm thinking that Death Stranding extended ending is actually going to happen.
So get ready to collect your winnings if you took that particular bet.
weebleman: Either that Martin or bluebox games announce silent hill….
!
Kami: Waiting for the day Keighley rips off his shirt and throws himself at a completely befuddled Kojima.
To be honest that's the main reason I keep showing up for these. I think that's the same for a lot of us.
Kami: Brevity is the soul of wit, I think the saying goes. So many of these shows could lose at least 30 minutes or so.
'Game shows are the most witless things in the world' goes the other adage.
God maybe video games are terrible after all.
Here's a World of Tanks music video.
They are a bit shit aren't they?
Honestly what is going on.
Aloy is on her way to Genshin Impact - I think we knew this already, but here she is in action.
This is a very weak show.
Like I'm thinking I need a new hobby.
....
Right, something interesting! Sifu, the new game from the Absolver lot, that looks like a right good time.
A release date too - it's coming 22nd February 2022.
Next February is going to be busy.
They're going to plant some trees which is nice.
With five minutes to go, here's what we feared.
weebleman: Called it
Damn you!
u can rkt jmp nw
I actually love Death Stranding!
But also I don't need five minutes to go through all these updates.
Anyone got any nice plans for the long weekend?
I mean probably not given *everything*, but still.
lintonfen: So Death Stranding is just Euro Truck Sim 2 but without the fun? Yaaayyyyy
Very much this.
Kami: I'm probably going to just sleep for most of the weekend.
That sounds ideal!
And that's 9pm.
Not that I'm getting paid by the hour, but - shouldn't this be done now?
Apologies if your Wednesday evening has been ruined by this. I tried to help!
weebleman: Is it me or is this just metal gear stranding now
I think that's the intention!
It seems a bit odd given the heavily rumoured Bluepoint remake of it, but there we are.
I think that's it? I hope that's it.
And that really is it. Ah, that familiar tinge of disappointment, and of having an evening robbed so that we might sit here and watch some overblown, overlong trailers.
But it is over! Go! Be free!