22 of my Favorite Announcements from a Stacked gamescom Opening Night Live
Denshattack! by Undercoders and Fireshine Games
My favorite part of Opening Night Live was when Geoff said that we’d seen a certain developer do things with tanks before, but nothing like what we were about to see–only to reveal a game full of tanks.
I’m just kidding, this was one of the best events of the year. It was probably even better than Summer Game Fest.
A quick note on why this article is structured the way it is. During my coverage of “E3,” I learned the hard way that Squarespace doesn’t play nice when I try to embed EVERY trailer that catches my eye. If something here sounds like it’s for you but I didn’t include the video, I implore you, go seek out the trailer for yourself.
Now that I’ve met my introduction quota, let’s jump in. We have a lot of games to get through.
Bubsy 4D
I knew we were in for a good time when the preshow was so packed.
Bubsy is a meme, but regardless, this appears to be a solid 3D platformer (and we’re desperately in need of more of those). I like the direction they chose to go with the graphics–they have personality. Whether or not that amounts to a winning personality, we’ll find out next year.
I wonder if Bosman’s first PlayStation game was really Bubsy 3D or if that was a bit.
Outlaws + A Handful of Missions Remastered
We support all of Nightdive’s endeavors at Tactical Reload. The fact that none of the shots fired in this trailer seem to hit their target only has me a little bit concerned. Seriously, even the Gatling gun in the closing moments is spitting lead directly into a wall.
Denshattack!
Now we’re getting to the good stuff!
Play as a train (yes, really) and trick your way through a dystopian Japan. Look at that speed, those colors, that world map, and those magical girl adjacent transformations.
I am so in.
Valor Mortis
Witnessing the Napoleonic Wars mixed with body horror is a first for me.
For just a moment, my brain shut down and I thought we were seeing a reveal for a new BioShock (why would a new BioShock be in a preshow? Also, until it happens, I’m convinced Cloud Chamber’s BioShock doesn’t exist).
Routine
We haven’t seen Routine in a while but I’m a big fan of its overly complicated analog devices and thick, gritty scanlines. I still have no idea how it actually plays, of course (which could be a red flag if it’s actually being released later this year), but the vibe is incredible and that’s a good first step.
Sword of Legends
If I could only say one thing about Opening Night Live 2025 it’s that I feel we’ve reached the peak of creature design–and this trailer for Sword of Legends dropped banger after banger in that category.
Lotus zombies?
A decapitated swordsman (with the head also wielding a sword of its own, no less)?
An entire shrine on legs?
Hollow Knight: Silksong…kinda…
New gameplay footage! I don’t care that it amounted to a total of 30 seconds!
Geoff also confirmed it WILL release later this year. Team Cherry teased an announcement for Thursday–I think we’re going to get a demo and a date.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
As someone who almost exclusively plays the campaign in Call of Duty every year, I appreciate how story focused this trailer is. However, I’ve said it a dozen times at this point, fractured landscapes as a representation of fractured sanity suck (it was fine 100 iterations ago, do something different). There is limitless potential in a hallucinogenic Call of Duty, I’m hoping the teams working on this get really weird with it.
For the record, I expect that they will. They wouldn’t give away their best set pieces in a reveal trailer, would they?
Sekiro: No Defeat
Will the anime have an easy mode?
Even if Sekiro has more of a straightforward story than most of FromSoftware’s catalog, I imagine this was still a challenging adaptation.
So far, it looks like it might be worth burning a free trial on Crunchyroll for.
Monster Hunter Wilds x Final Fantasy XIV crossover event
Everyone I know calls the mounts in Wilds chocobos, anyway. Still, a cool crossover between two cool games.
LEGO Batman: The Legacy of the Dark Knight
Two trademarks in one title!? (Google it, you’ll see what I mean. I couldn’t be bothered with finding the proper symbols for these impressions).
I thought I was completely out on LEGO games (except maybe LEGO Party!) but The Legacy of the Dark Knight has grapnel gunned me right back. From the trailer and brief presentation, it looks like LEGO Arkham City (it has a Gotham hub, similar combat, and different batmobiles).
As someone who literally fell asleep while playing LEGO Jurassic World (in co-op no less, my siblings won’t let me live it down), I have my fingers crossed for this one.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
I’m still in disbelief that we’re getting a new Onimusha. The first one is the title that made a 13 year old me NEED a PS2 (the praying mantis in the opening cutscene sold me).
When do we think this is coming out next year? I feel like Resident Evil has the Q1 slot. So, June? I hope the combat feels as visceral as it looks.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
I couldn’t tell you narratively what’s going on in this trailer–but Daemon X Machina has a pretty distinct style of mech combat and I have no doubt that the soundtrack will go hard.
Unbeatable
I’ve been writing about Unbeatable regularly for a while now. It’s a rebellious rhythm game with incredible animation and a distinct style (watch this trailer and tell me it doesn’t flood you with joy).
I wanted to plug it one more time because we finally have a firm release date. We’ll be able to play it on November 6th.
Silent Hill f
I always planned to play Silent Hill f in Japanese as long as it was an option (and probably still will), but Suzie Yeung is talented (she’s so good as Yuffie) and I’m happy the dub is there for future runs.
We’re a month out from this and I need it to be good. Thematically, it looks like the survival horror game I’ve always wanted to play.
La Divina Comedia
How crazy is it that we’ll soon be living in a world where we can actually choose our favorite video game adaptation of a 14th century poem? We’ll have at least two options—three if you count ULTRAKILL.
700 years later, Dante’s creature designs are still crushing it. Jokes aside, the thing in the wolf costume is one of my favorite enemies in a showcase with very good creature design across the board.
Also, I kinda have a thing for laurel wreaths.
Cronos: The New Dawn
All signs seem to be pointing towards Cronos: The New Dawn being Bloober’s take on the Dead Space formula and I’m here for it. This will be a solid test to see if their team is capable of making something awesome from their own material. However, I love both Dead Space and the Silent Hill 2 Remake (review coming soon to Tactical Reload–maybe–probably not) so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until I have a reason not to.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
I genuinely thought this game would never come out...
…but this new footage paired with the extensive write up in Game Informer has me cautiously optimistic. I was obsessed with the first Bloodlines when I was in high school, it would be really cool to come full circle and be seduced by this world of darkness and blood once again 21 years later.
We’ll see if it was worth the wait on October 21st.
Project Spectrum
A tactical shooter where you battle against an enemy team, monsters, and your own sanity.
It wouldn’t shock me if this inevitably struggles to live up to its pitch (those are some ambitious goals), but the ideas it’s playing with are so interesting I wanted to at least give it a shout-out.
Ghost of Yotei
Nothing will sell you on Ghost of Yotei like Sony’s 20 minute presentation from last month (come on, it has a Miike mode). This trailer didn’t move the needle much for me either way, but I’m a fan of the first game and still planning to grab it at launch.
It was also announced that the co-op mode, Legends, is coming in a free update next year.
Resident Evil Requiem
When the male character appeared during this demo, I said out loud “oh, that guy is getting killed.”
Going off some clues in the Summer Game Fest trailer, I’m assuming this is the opening of the game. Ultimately, this clip left me with more questions than answers and I’m not good at being patient, but I will for Resident Evil. It’s currently my favorite franchise and Capcom has been on a legendary run since 2017.
February can’t get here soon enough.
Black Myth: Zhong Kui
I haven’t got around to trying Black Myth: Wukong, yet–but it was such a massive hit that this feels like a big deal. I feel that Yotei will be the “prettiest” game when it releases in October but the graphics on display here are edging close to photorealism (especially the tiger and the shot of the demon guard scratching its face).
You play as a ghost catching god and that sounds incredible.
You can expect to hear from me at least one more time this week as I bring you all the most exciting news to come out of the Future Games Show on Wednesday morning. Also, as I wrote above, Silksong is getting some sort of special announcement in a couple days. I usually don’t do a full write up for a single game, but if I am ever going to bend that rule, it’ll be for this (and that rumored Final Fantasy IX remake).
We’ll talk tomorrow. Until then, video games are very good, and remember, ignore the feeling that you don’t have time to play everything. Yes, I am aware this statement is ironic considering I just admitted to having never played Wukong. Do as I say, not as I do.