Gamescom 2019 kicks off on Tuesday, and I must admit it’s crept up on me a little bit. After a slightly lacklustre E3, it would be great to see some big surprises, but all the signs are pointing towards it being 2020 before we hear much more about Scarlett or the PS5 and outside of some EA games that have already leaked or been announced, the big publishers have already revealed everything. Are there any particular announcements you’re holding out for?
In the News This Week
- Need For Speed Heat brings the burn, releases this November and Ghost Games promise it will not feature loot boxes
- No Man’s Sky Beyond update is out now with VR support
- Skate 4 can wait, Session arrives on Xbox and PC soon
- US tariffs on consoles made in China delayed until December
- Microsoft’s Xbox Project Scarlett is aiming for 4K 60fps gaming
- Sony will announce PS5 release date at PlayStation Meeting 2020 event – rumour
- TimeSplitters co-creator joins THQ Nordic to “plot the future course for this franchise”
- Saints Row is going to continue as new game confirmed to be in development
- Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts scopes out a November release date
Games in Review
It wasn’t a stellar week for the reviews, but a couple of the games showed promise:
- Madden NFL 20 – PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
- Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure – PC – 8/10
- Sagebrush – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch – 6/10
- FIA European Truck Racing Championship – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch – 4/10
- Darksiders 3: Keepers of the Void DLC – PS4, XBO, PC – No Score
- We Happy Few: Lightbearer DLC – PS4, XBO, PC – No Score
(Reviewed platform in bold)
This Week’s Features
Stefan kicked off the previews with a look at Starborne, a throwback to the MMO browser games of days gone, that sees players battle it out in an intergalactic war played over 8 weeks.
Elsewhere, he also had a look at WRC 8, and how it’s taking on the challenge of DiRT Rally 2.0. In addition to his preview, he also made a video with 8 reasons why it’s worth keeping an eye on:
Last up, Dom checked out Astral Chain, summing up his first hours or so with the game by saying that it’s “undoubtedly a great start for another Nintendo exclusive”.
Finally, we rounded up the week with What We Played, which featured Monster Hunter: World, Destiny 2 & No Man’s Sky Beyond
Trailer Park
Look at some trees in 4K in the new Blair Witch trailer
King’s Bounty 2 announced, coming to console and PC in 2020
Your Achievements
Just a couple of responses in What We Played this week:
- Crazy_Del has been a busy boy, reaching Champion rank in Mortal Kombat 11, revisiting the Spider-Man DLC to mop up the trophies, and also spent some time with Warface and Get Even.
- ron_mcphatty hasn’t been doing much gaming, as he’s been avoiding his compulsions to go back to Knack and get it above 50% trophy completion.
- With the big No Man’s Sky update, it was no surprise MrYd spent a lot of time there, as well as some time with Trover Saves the Universe, Firewall, and Honor & Duty.
- Also joining him in NMS VR was TSBonyman. He says that, “Despite the visual downgrade, experiencing NMS in VR is full of wow. Had my first space combat/pirate encounter last night and it was awesome!”
The Week Ahead
And here’s what’s coming out next week:
- Remnant: From the Ashes – PS4, XBO, PC – 20/08
- Hunt: Showdown – XBO, PC – 20/08
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 4 – PS4, XBO, PC – 22/08
- Black Desert Online – PS4 – 22/08
- Oninaki – PS4, PC, Switch – 22/08
That’s it for this edition, I’ll see you again soon!
TSBonyman
I didn’t realise Gamescom was so close either, the one game i’m hoping to hear more about is Atomic Heart.