Okay, real talk, I completely forgot that Gamescom was even happening this year. In fact, I only found out when I was on the Replayer Podcast Episode 105 (great episode, we talked about the new Spiderman, new games, a spiderman quiz, and even an appearance by Spiderman himself).
After that episode finished recording, I started delving into all the news, announcements, and everything that has come out from Gamescom, and my lord there are about three dump trucks worth of content that was announced.
So, for all the people like me that haven’t been on top of everything going on, or just want a different take and discover some other games that you may have missed at the time, this list is for you. Without further ado, here are some of the games I’m most looking forward to.
MythBusters The Game (Crazy Experiments Simulator)
This entry is kicking off the list, mainly just to get it out of the way and because there’s not a whole lot known about it. From the trailer they showed, it appears to be a Frankenstein’s Monster of management sims like Soccer Manager, Construction sim games like SimCity, and Gary’s Mod-esque potential for complete madness creativity tool.
Looking at the trailer (well at 34 seconds it’s more of a teaser than anything), the fact it’s being announced right before its release of “Q4 2021” I have a sneaking suspicion that the publisher is trying to sneak this out and try and get some quick money like was common in the early 2000s.
Keep an eye on the game but don’t be surprised if it drops off the face of the earth right after it’s released.
Strange Horticulture
Developers Bad Viking and Iceberg Interactive have gotten together and planted the seeds of interest with the title of this entry and this trailer has just made that seed bloom into a fully-fledged flower of interest.
Poor analogy aside, this game really intrigues me. It’s full of all these different Lovecraftian elements (minus the racism) and who doesn’t love collecting flowers and crafting a great garden in a spooky world where some deeper darker stuff is going on.
The art style in the trailer really adds to the dark and foreboding undertone. The game isn’t out until 2022 but there’s a demo you can try out now on Steam as long as you don’t lose your sanity along the way…
MidWintar
So, imagine this. You’re a werewolf. No, that’s not it but let’s just take a moment to imagine being a werewolf… Okay, that’s long enough now imagine you’re being persecuted by a religious cult.
Why?
Well, they’re a cult and they exist, eventually, they’re going to pick someone to persecute.
Now when this happens, there’s always one underlying question that hangs around like a particularly rank fart in an elevator – how are you going to take your revenge in as violent and bloody a manner as the pixelated art style allows? Like all good things, the answer comes in twos.
During the day you sneak around the village, steal supplies, and spread rumours in order to mess with the cultists and apparently even turning them against each other which is a nice touch. This tees you up well for the nights when you turn into a werewolf and just eviscerate pixelated townies.
I can’t bloody wait.
Broken Roads
Technically not a new game announcement, however, Aussie studio Drop Bear Bytes’ debut game Broken Roads has a new publisher at the reins – Team 17 which, coupled with the fact this is the first time I’ve heard about it, is enough of a slim justification to squeeze within the parameters of the list.
The game appears to be a dystopian post-apocalyptic RPG set in the middle of the West Australian outback with a lot of similarities to Disco Elysium in both art direction and game mechanics (you can check out my first impressions of Disco Elysium here).
From the trailer, there’s a real dark, comedic tone to the trailer, mainly from the narration itself. It’s the studio’s debut work and I want nothing more than to just dive into the game world and explore the great outback.
Now, there’s one last game that I saw in all the news and announcements of Gamescom and I’d normally launch right in but this week I’ve got something special.
Cult of Lamb
So, while I was on the Replayer Podcast after filming had finished, the co-host of the podcast and twitch streamer Pagan showed us the trailer for Cult of Lamb and I loved the art style and the concept.
Anyway, I asked Pagan if she wanted to talk about how she felt about the game and she had the following to say:
“Devolver Digital and Massive Monster have come together to bring us this adorably dark game where the player gets to create and build their own cult as a possessed lamb!
Ok so I’ll admit, they had me with the art style first! Match that with the dark themes of cult and possession and I’m in. This game looks so much fun, giving players the opportunity to venture out into the world and recruit fellow animals to join your cult, while also fighting rival cults and encountering large enemies, all to bring praise to a dark and mysterious stranger who saved your life at the beginning of the game!
The gameplay looks similar to that of Death’s Door and perhaps there’s a Stardew Valley vibe to be taken from this game- although a lot darker and with completely different art style.
This game looks exciting and overall just freaking adorable, so sign me up for Cult of Lamb ASAP!”
Big thanks to Pagan for agreeing to take time out of her day to share her thoughts on Cult of Lamb. You can check her out on Twitter, Twitch, and The Replayer Podcast.
What announcement got you the most excited from Gamescom? Let me know down below or on my socials!
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Have a great day,
-Rohan
I went to my first ever convention a couple of weeks ago. Anime in Bristol. My daughter went as Monika from Doki Doki