I swear, I talk myself into the worst possible things. When it was announced a few weeks ago, I said I would cover whatever this Gamescom: Opening Night Live nonsense was all about. Yes, I do regret saying I would cover yet another E3 conference after playing even small roles in several of the last ones back in July. However, let’s jump into what Opening Night Live had to offer.

Gears 5:

I’ll not shy away from this one, I’m not a fan of the Gears of War series. It is a game series that has been the leading general in the never-ending march towards cover shooting hell we are encased in. However, we did get to see a piece of the single-player campaign, which to the uninitiated, namely myself, looked like your typical spectacle of set piece after set piece. These set pieces included windsurfing and being chased by big monsters. While it is very colorful (comparatively) and pretty, that’s not why anyone is here.

Swiftly moving from the Americans in big and bulky metal suits to prove they are Americans, we got a glimpse of multiplayer. Horde mode is the return of the Gears of War 2 PvE area mode, based around the survival of the characters. However, this time it includes 5-player co-op and character abilities. In the video below, Ryan Cleven, multiplayer design director, states “It was the idea that you were going to be doing this as an endurance run, as a three-hour epic experience.” This sounds like a monolithic task as people drop out of five-minute missions in GTA: Online often.

The defining feature brought to Horde mode this time, however, is the “ultimates.” These are character-based abilities that define them, such as the lead protagonist of Gears 5, Kate can turn invisible for a few moments letting her run-in and kill some of the impending wave. Another character (also featured in the campaign) is Jack, a drone friend who can “hijack” the impeding horde, controlling whoever has been hijacked and using their weapons. However, the Microsoft fun hour (or few minutes) wasn’t done there.

As revealed back at E3 during the Microsoft conference, Sarah Connor is set to feature in Gears 5, now it has been revealed Gears 5 will also feature Halo Reach characters.

Comanche:

I had to track through my Rolodex (if you are 12, google it) of strange, old PC games that I thought were dead and long forgotten. It turns out Novalogic’s Comanche is set to return under THQ Nordic, but this time as a team-based competitive multiplayer game. Yes, it does seem that, the residents of single-player-town, are the least favored child. This time the helicopter simulation has been swapped for an action-arcade shooter in the sky. It may very well be interesting, though I had lost interest in it the moment I saw “competitive multiplayer.”

DCL – The Game:

What? Literally, the trailer of this one was 15-seconds long (the one above was not shown) and said nothing more than the title. I understood there are drones and you fly them but that’s it. It was a world premiere I’m sure everyone ignored as it flew by in a dull hum.

Need for Speed – Heat:

Admittedly, from the get-go, this was a concern. I know more recent Need for Speed games lacked the Underground vibe; a feeling I’ve had as news broke about Heat. This gameplay trailer is squashing that partially for me. The pessimist in me says we’re going to find out about microtransactions and loot boxes, but the optimist in me says, “Maybe EA have done well this time.”

As we spoke about just last week, Heat will be featuring Palm City and enough neon to shake a palm tree at. This trailer shows off aggressive cops, lots of customization, a mobile app, and where microtransactions will most likely sit. “We’ve replaced the speed cards from Payback. You can now unlock parts by building up REP at night,” suggests a quantifiable currency that will slow the game or make a home for micro-payments.

Kerbal Space Program 2:

Yes, Private Division and Star Theory’s take over of Monkey Squad’s “spacey physics ’em up”, Kerbal Space Program 2 has been announced and is expected to release in 2020. This entry looks to feature more customization, detail, silliness, and multiplayer. After spending hours, weeks, or months building the perfect moon base, your friend could come crashing down onto your perfect Matt Damon habitat. It looks pretty so far, though as a cinematic trailer one wouldn’t expect anything less.

Little Nightmares II:

It seems we’ll be getting a sequel to 2017’s strange and horrific small child in a big world experience, similar to Limbo. However, this entry also seems to be borrowing from EA’s Unravel Two as the sequel features two characters and according to the somewhat awkward interview, “some combat.” I don’t know enough about this one, nor does the trailer give much away other than it is more of the same with a few extras added on. What it should be in my opinion.

Predator: Hunting Grounds:

Coming from the developer of Friday the 13th, it should surprise no one that this one is a team-based, objective-focused shooter. A team of armed-forces experts goes into a jungle trying to kill other men dressed in green, meanwhile, a predator hunts and tries to kill other players. Four players will play as the army men with the guns, one player will play as a predator in the same vein as Evolve from years gone by. Boy didn’t that die a quick death when it was half-competent but just a bit boring. I wonder if the bugginess made Friday the 13th?

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne:

As I can honestly say, I have as much interest in the taste of the paint on my office ceiling as I do Monster Hunter; this one is hard to talk about. I know Jaydyn was excited about the upcoming release during the Beta. So if you are a fan of Monster Hunter and want more monsters to hunt, this would be the one.

The Cycle:

Remember Yager? You know, the people who made the dark and horrifying reality that Spec Ops: The Line can be a third-person cover shooter and not about racism. Well, a new team over there has made another competitive online shooter that’s also PvE. How this is “a new genre” is baffling. Though like the other first-person online shooters, this one is roughly the same with the saturation turned up.

Life is Strange Two‘s 4th Episode:

The last dying embers of Telltale lives on in Square Enix’s Life is Strange titles. Simultaneously holding up the theory of indie emotional plots and the idea that episodic gameplay will be the future. After Life is Strange concluded I had forgotten about it entirely. I still mean to go back and play through these, though with the 4th episode’s trailer sitting above, I feel I already know what could have/would have happened in episodes 1-3.

Humankind:

Have you ever wanted Civilization to be what Civilization would be if it was trying to get Civilization into bed? This is how I described Humankind to David, who has written about Civilization a few times. As much as I’ll make fun of the fact, I am excited to see what Humankind can bring to these electronic video games for saved sapiens.

Borderlands 3:

Honestly, the less I say about this one the better. Earlier today our editor-in-chief Alexx asked if I wanted something to play in multiplayer. I laughed, and now I’m writing about multiplayer-focused shooters. However, if I say the wrong thing I’m sure I’ll find two P.I’s breaking into my house soon enough, interrogating me slightly better than those in Gitmo. Afterward i’m sure i’d be told it is part of an internal investigation.

Everspace 2:

Why am I just finding out about a rogue-like/lite space game now as the second game is announced? Everspace 2 looks to be everything you could want from a Star Wars-style ship fighting game. However, it is a long ways away, and is the only title we know is coming in 2021.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition:

The Switcher 3, am I right? My disgraced dad-level pun aside, I wrote about this happening back in March, and it was later confirmed at E3 2019. Visually, it is clearly a downgrade from “classic console” counterparts of The Witcher 3. Even so, this does show that it might just be working at 30 FPS in handheld mode. Only time will tell, however, since it is coming on October 15th, 2019.

FIFA 20 Volta:

Do you remember FIFA Street? EA doesn’t. There’s not much else to say on this.

Disintegration:

A shooter from a Halo developer? I am somewhat interested to know that it is set to feature a single-player campaign. However, my question at this point is how much of it will be single player? In a Polygon article, the line stated, “And a ‘huge’ multiplayer component.” It has an interesting setting, though questions persist.

Darksiders Genesis:

Do you wish Darksiders was isometric and could be multiplayer? THQ Nordic likes the idea, thus we’re getting Genesis on everything but the Game Gear. Joking aside, an isometric dungeon crawler in real-time on the Stadia? Ok.

GYLT:

Something I don’t have when I slam the Stadia for its issues is guilt. However, this third-person hide ’em up adventure is set to release on the Stadia, at launch. Taking the main mechanic from Alan Wake, i.e “shine a light at the scary thing so the scary thing goes away.” You play as Sally, “a woman/girl” as Keighley calls her, who is in search of her cousin.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep and Season of the Undying:

Do you want Destiny but just a bit more of it? Well, Shadowkeeper is set to bring in Free-to-Play and other things that drag my interest from mild disinterest to, “I somehow don’t care as much as I did before I owned it for free.”

Remothered: Broken Porcelain:

Ah, the game with Jim Sterling in the mirror looking at a woman. Check out the world premiere trailer to see more.

The Epic Games segment:

Ok, so of course the derision was felt at this point but that’s not why we’re here. I’m just letting you know if you hate Epic Games, I’ve heard about it. It was revealed that Oddworld Soulstorm is coming to the Epic Games store, as are: Magic: The Gathering Arena, The Outer Worlds, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries, Control, Borderlands 3, and many Ubisoft games.

Erica:

The first of two FMV games released/releasing this week is Erica, a project that gained a lot of traction in 2017, went quiet for a while, and then popped up yesterday. It also released during the show as well. Though I am hesitant of the “Interactive story game” blend that is associated with David Cage, I did quite enjoy Her Story.

Anno 1800:

This is hardly an announcement, though a trailer for new Anno content shows some interesting content. It is a series of games I’ve passed over, as I know I’d lose many hours to placing the beautiful botanical gardens everywhere. With that said, until the 25th of August you can play Anno 1800 for free on Uplay.

Moving swiftly from one Ubisoft business simulation/city building game to another by Kalypso Media this time.

Port Royale 4:

Ah yes, it is the pirate’s life for me when I want to run a business. A return of Port Royale is always welcomed by me, though the last in 2012 caused Gaming Minds Studios to lead development since Ascaron Entertainment went into bankruptcy in 2009. Port Royale is set for a 2020 release.

Iron Harvest (1920+):

A World War 1-style (or The Great War) steampunk RTS with a prerequisite video of a German man with the best facial hair? Count me in! Yes, I would like that very much so. That’s not including the fact it launches September 1st, 2020 or outside of the US it is 1/9/20. We don’t need to know more, I’ll be on that like a German on a big sausage.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare:

The game with the shooty bangs is returning this year with another game of mild-to-overtly-racist overtones; with set-pieces as far as the eye can see. This year’s multiplayer is set to feature a 2 v 2 paintball game. There really is nothing original.

Death Stranding:

Let’s cut 27 minutes into the most important piece of information you could ever need: You can urinate as Norman Reedus. Yes, after the wait to find out whatever Death Stranding was, it turns out the man that put a woman in a bikini and gave her a big gun is back to weird stuff. Sure, there is a woman that touches her breasts in the trailer, a urine mushroom, and Geoff Keighley in the game, but weaponized penile discharge in a video game? Japan is weird.

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