Gamescom 2016 may not have been quite as big as this year’s E3, but it still provided no shortage of excellent titles that currently have the industry buzzing.
Now that the microphones have been silenced, the stages torn down, and the banners inviting everyone to come back next year have been hung up, the question “What was the best game shown at Gamescom 2016?” is all that remains.
From a stacked group of candidates, these are the five games that stood out most:
Battlefield 1
A familiar, name, perhaps, but there is no denying that Battlefield 1 continues to impress. Although the trailer for this upcoming WW I title shown at Gamescom 2016 didn’t reveal much in the way of gameplay, it did address one very important concern some had about the title leading up to this event, and that is its dodgy historical accuracy.
This latest preview made it clear that Battlefield 1 will not try to be entirely historically accurate, but rather present a grand cinematic battle that so happens to take place during that era. It should be something special.
Little Nightmares
This is certainly one of the most interesting games to emerge from Gamescom 2016, even if nobody is entirely sure just what it is quite yet. Basically, Little Nightmares is a stop-motion Tim Burton film turned into a video game where you must solve a series of elaborate room puzzles and stay out of sight.
Even if much of Little Nightmare’s gameplay remains a mystery, the visuals of this title are more than enough to earn it best of show honors.
The Surge
It feels strange to praise The Surge. After all, this game is basically just Dark Souls with a futuristic coat of paint, and we’ve suffered through enough generic Dark Souls clones over the years to be a little wary of any titles that evoke the name of that classic franchise.
Still, there’s no denying that the action in The Surge looks just as smooth as the best Dark Souls encounters, and that the game’s limb targeting system and deep upgrade mechanics help it claim just enough of an identity to be worthy of optimism.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliverance made some pretty big promises on its way to a successful Kickstarter campaign, not the least of which was the promise to deliver the ultimate medieval universe where anything you can dream of is possible.
It’s too soon to say that it will deliver on that grand billing, but it’s Gamescom showing was certainly the title’s most impressive to date. The attention to details in this game’s world suggests that this could be the best medieval-era game yet.
Yooka-Laylee
Years ago, a company called Rare perfected the 3D platformer genre on the N64 with games like Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. Now, many of the developers responsible for those titles are back to create a spiritual successor to those great games.
Yooka-Laylee is more than just nostalgia; it’s the glorious return of a type of game and a development team that should have never gone away.
