Gamescom Opening Night Live 2021 – Top 10

Gaming is something that many people love. Whether it be gaming on your cell phone, PC, or console no matter where you play games, and no matter what kind of games you play, you are a gamer. Gaming showcases happen all the time and usually has something for everyone. Nintendo Directs, Sony’s State of Plays, Xbox’s Showcases, and so many other publishers have given us information through videos that showcase trailers and information about the games.

Throughout the year, there are also other shows that are a little different; such as The Game Awards, Summer Games Fest, and Gamescom Opening Night Live, all of which are works of Geoff Keighley. Geoff had a major announcement in June when he put on SGF, which was Elden Ring was releasing in January 2022. There was also the reveal of Perfect Dark back at The Game Awards 2020 which a lot of people liked. He always has at least one massive announcement to make at the shows. That was no different here at Gamescom ONL. Here are my top 10 game announcements/trailers that were showcased at the event.

10. Fall Guys x The Jungle Book

This honestly was a surprise announcement that a lot of people didn’t expect to occur. Look, I kind of fell out of the game after the massive hype that occured when the game launched on PS4 and PC, and I stayed on for about 6 months until about the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. I got out of the game, but the crossovers that the title has had recently such as Ratchet and Clank are very cool for the many people that are still playing the game. Disney recently crossed over with Sea of Thieves from Rare and Xbox, so maybe there will be even more crossovers in the future for many different games.

9. Cult of the Lamb

Devolver Digital and Massive Monsters have unveiled their newest creation. The title and game have this unique charm and craziness to it that makes me very interested to know more. It appears as though it is a resource management/town creation style of game (which is not my favorite genre) with dungeon aspects that are randomly generated. Whatever game Devolver Digital has that comes out, a lot of the time they are seriously good and always are unique. To name a few include; The Messenger, Carrion, and Katana Zero; however, there are so many more than this. I am excited to seem more about the game when it comes out in 2022. PC has been confirmed at this point but it may also be coming to other platforms as well.

8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was there and there was a new trailer for the game that showcased a fifth playable character. Who was this character, why it was April O’Neil and she is a playable character in the old school style beat-em-up. I am excited for this game and the game as a whole. The game has so far been confirmed for PC and Nintendo Switch. The launch window was originally for this year, but now the window for the launch of the game is 2022.

7. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania Character

Okay, look. I do not like the fact that this character is coming out as a paid DLC for $4.99 on November 2nd. However, this character being from one of my all time favorite games, I am probably still going to pick it up. Morgana, also known as Mona from Persona 5 is coming to the game. Announcing a paid DLC before the game releases always makes me feel like they cut out that part of the game just to add on additional purchasing afterwards. Maybe the character is not done yet and they need more time… who knows. I just know that I am a fan of the Monkey Ball games and I love Persona 5, so I will probably be getting this DLC, even though I don’t love it when companies do this kind of thing and announce paid DLC before the game launches.

6. Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Okay, this one was an absolute shock when it showed up here. There was rumors going around about 2K creating an strategy RPG that was like X-COM and it was finally announced. I would put this game higher on my list, except we got only a cinematic trailer and tiny tidbits about the game from the developer on the project. The gameplay reveal isn’t too far off as it is set for September 1, 2021 and I am excited to check out what this game actually is about. Hopefully the game looks as good as they made it sound. The game launches in March 2022 on all platforms.

5. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

This game was announced a while ago but we are finally seeing some more information and gameplay on it. I have been a big fan of lego games for a while, and even though I may not have played every single game that was made from the team at TT Games, I have always enjoyed the classic Lego Star Wars games. This isn’t a collection of games, it’s a brand new game that includes the original movies, the prequel movies, and the last trilogy. This game seems to be a combination of all of the different takes from the old school games and also some tactics and abilities from the newer ones. I have been very interested in this new one and I am excited to check it out when it launches in Spring 2022 for all systems.

4. DokeV

Now this one, this one was a big surprise for me at the show. This game was announced a while ago and then just went dark from what it seemed. Now, the devs behind this open world creature collecting game that has both a Pokemon and Yo-Kai watch combo feel; and it looks like it will be a lot of fun. There are a lot of things going on in the trailer, which isnt necessarily a bad thing but they wanted to show as much as possible about a game that has been missing for a while. The trailer is great and I can’t wait to hear more about the game; hopefully soon. There was no mention of platforms or launch timing.

3. SIFU

SIFU, which is a fighting brawler got a new trailer and showcased more of the game. The game also finally got a release date that was set for February 22, 2022. This game looks great everytime I see it and it might just be one of those games I will end up falling in love with based on the trailers alone. The fighting combat looks absolutely fluid and slick. The way in which you age by dying and coming back with more wisdom and skill is a very unique way of learning and growing as the character. The game will be on PS4, PS5, and PC.

2. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut

Okay, so I never played the original game that came out back in 2019. I have the game, and it’s in my ever growing backlog but for some reason, I haven’t dove head first into the game just yet. Well, in all honesty, I am kind of glad I haven’t as the directors cut is going to have a lot more helpful tools in the field, more gameplay variety, and just more content overall which I love to see in expanded titles. I am excited to finally check out Death Stranding when the Director’s Cut launches on September 22 for PS5.

1. Horizon Forbidden West

Even though we didn’t see any new gameplay for this anticipated title from Guerilla Games and PlayStation Studios, we finally got a firm solid release date. The game will be coming out on PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on February 18, 2022. Pre-orders are beginning this week so we may see new information or trailer for this title soon. I have been really excited for this game and even though it’s a release date, it definitely takes the cake as the best announcement of the show for me. This wasn’t the only Horizon news that was shared. The original Horizon Zero Dawn was patched to allow for up to 60fps in the game, only on PS5 instead of the locked 30 it had before. Nice upgrade, but not sure if it is enough for me to jump into another playthrough of the game. That was just a nice little bonus on top of the meaty news of HFW’s release date.

This year, we had Summer Games Fest which I thought was good but not super amazing, we had E3 which honestly wasn’t that good except for a couple of standouts; which included Xbox and Nintendo, we has showcases in July for EA and Annapurna Interactive which were okay; and so many other videos that I couldn’t keep track of. I don’t know, it kind of felt like bit of a down summer to me for gaming compared to some other years. Maybe next year when hopefully things are even more normal, it will be even better. The Game Awards is this December and with Geoff getting some massive announcements recently, things are looking interesting and I can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeves for that show.

Feel free to check out the full show. It’s available to watch on Youtube from The Game Awards channel and others as well. There are a lot more titles than what was on my list. Did you have any favorites that wasn’t here? Comment and let us know.