The past week was quite eventful even without Gamescom kicking off but we included some of the biggest news from there in this roundup as well. Marvel is going all out with both the Eternals and Spider-Man No Way Home trailers, and they also had a few announcements during Gamescom. Furthermore, we got a look at the new Saint’s Row, Call of Duty Vanguard’s story campaign, and an amazing trailer for a new MMO coming from Pearl Abyss. Not all was great as Horizon Forbidden West was pushed back to 2022. Read on to find out more.
Call of Duty Vanguard Campaign First-Look
Check out the bad brick-work in Stalingrad
Gamescom showed us what the campaign for the upcoming Call of Duty Vanguard is going to look like. The demo playthrough was set during the attack on Stalingrad with the protagonist trying her best to stay alive while saving as many people as possible along the way. It was pretty much what you expect out of a Call of Duty game at this point – a mix of light stealth, shooting, and spectacular, scripted set pieces look like a high-budget war movie. Of course, everything, from weapons to attire is era-appropriate and many are looking forward to once again revisit WWII.
It did seem like some light parkour elements were added to the game since the protagonist could vault over obstacles and even scale walls by grabbing onto bricks, etc. It’s important to note that even though it was a mission from the main campaign, it didn’t give any information on the characters or the overarching story. We know the protagonists are going to be jumping around different locations of WWII fronts but not much more.
Saint’s Row reboot is going back to the roots of the franchise
Saint’s Row is once again all about gangs and criminal activities
Gamescom’s opening night started strong, with the reveal of the Saint’s Row reboot. Most of it was via a CGI trailer but they did show a short clip of in-game footage at the very end of the presentation. All in all, the reboot is going back to the roots of the franchise. So, no more simulations, aliens, or crazy superpowers. Instead, you’ll create your own character and, with a few friendly NPC’s, set out to take over a fictional city Santo Ileso. Of course, this means crossing paths with various gangs and doing all sorts of criminal activities along the way.
The great news is that Saint’s Row will support a two-player drop-in-drop-out co-op so you’ll be able to build a criminal empire with a friend. Even better is that this isn’t one of those “announced now and coming in two years” type of deals as the reboot is coming out on the 25th of February 2022 which is in short 6 months. Of course, check the trailer out for yourself to see if this returning franchise in its original form is even your cup of tea.
Monster collecting MMO Dokev had an amazing Gamescom showcase
DokeV brings what is seemingly a winning formula
GameFreak is moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to innovation in their Pokemon games. Well, Pearl Abyss decided to take full advantage of this with their announcement of DokeV – a monster collecting, open-world MMO. The up-tempo trailer for DokeV was one of the longest-running ones shown during Gamescom’s opening night and it blew people away. It showcased a big, vibrant open-world with numerous activities ranging from cycling, skating, rollerblading, swinging, floating, and much more.
However, the main gameplay feature is that you’ll be collecting and fighting against creatures known as Dokebi. According to the dev, Dokebis draw their strength from their owner and the owner is stronger the more he pursues his dreams or does the various in-game activities. The visuals of the game were especially noteworthy which is to be expected from the makers of graphically impressive Black Desert Online. Still, Black Desert is notorious for poor performance, and seeing this trailer, it seems DokeV could be plagued with similar issues. We’ll just have to wait and see as the game is still in heavy development with no end in sight.
Marvel dropped the final trailer for the upcoming Eternals
Best look at a Celestial yet!
With just over three months until the film’s release, Marvel has dropped the final trailer for the upcoming Eternals film. The trailer gave us both a better look at our new heroes, but also at the villains. And of course, some epic actions sequences and world-building as well. What’s more the trailer gave us our biggest look yet at who the team may be up against. At around the first-minute mark of the trailer, Kit Harrington’s Dan Whitman asks Seri (Gemma Chan) a question many fans have also been asking: “Why didn’t you guys help fight Thanos?”. Seri replies by saying, “we were instructed not to interfere in any human conflicts unless Deviants were involved” which leads to an awesome shot of a full-blown Celestial!
With that image, the trailer switches into 5th gear, further showcasing the action and the seemingly epic scale of the film. Erupting volcanos, burning ancient civilizations, and even the galactic cosmic setting we’ve come to expect. Besides the fact that the cast is absolutely star-studded, the trailer was backed by some amazing music which has us more than hyped for the movie’s November release. For more information on the trailer, check out our original news coverage.
Horizon Forbidden West is coming in 2022
After numerous rumors, the 2022 release has been confirmed
The release date for Horizon Forbidden West has been officially revealed. The game will be available on the 18th of February 2022, for PS4 and PS5. Guerilla Games revealed this news at Gamescom Opening Night Live, alongside announcing a 60fps patch for Zero Dawn. Pre-orders will be going live next week on September 2nd, likely with a couple of special editions.
The highly anticipated PlayStation sequel was originally slated to release in the second half of 2021, but due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the desire for a high level of polish the release date has been pushed back to early 2022. This confirms the rumors that were circulated last month about the decision to delay the game. And with that, we can write off and forget about the possibility of 2021. having any significance in the gaming world. All hail 2022 – the greatest year in gaming. For more information on the release date of Horizon Forbidden West and the game itself, check out our original news coverage.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns, an XCOM-like tactical game has been announced
XCOM x Marvel’s heroes? Sign us up!
Marvel is seemingly going all out. After awesome movie announcements, here’s a game that has many people excited. The opening night of Gamescom saw the reveal of Marvel’s Midnight Suns and it gathers heroes and villains from all corners of Marvel’s comic-book history. Surprisingly, the game isn’t an action-adventure of some sort but is instead a turn-based tactical one. What’s great is that it’s being made by Firaxis, the folks who already have a reputation for great tactical games with their XCOM series.
Midnight Suns will feature a similar gameplay formula. You’ll have a central HUB area called The Abbey where you’ll be able to upgrade, outfit, and change characters you send out on various missions. The developer also promised that team interactions will be an important aspect of the game as the quality of their relationships will in some way affect the gameplay. The announcement featured a CGI trailer but the gameplay reveal is set to premiere on September 1st at which point we’ll know even more.
Spider-Man No Way Home trailer explodes the internet with hype
No Way Home teaser is all about the multiverse shenanigans
After leaking to the internet a few days prior, Marvel has decided to release a full-quality teaser trailer for the upcoming Spider-Man No Way Home and it has the internet in flames. The teaser currently stands at over 15 million views after being online for barely two days. It’s no wonder since it gives us a great look at what we can expect once it releases. In short, it all revolves around the fact that Spider-Man’s identity has been revealed at the end of the previous film. This prompts Peter to approach Doctor Strange, who is seemingly a huge part of the movie, to undo this with a spell that goes terribly wrong.
Terribly wrong for Peter, but absolutely fantastic for us the viewers. As rumored, the spell opens up a multiverse of Spider-Man’s villains from previous movies to make their appearance. While Jamie Foxx’s Electro and William Dafoe’s Green Goblin were merely teased, Alfred Molina’s de-aged Doctor Octopuss is in full view at the end of the trailer – mechanical hands and all! Sorry, still no sign of either Andrew Garfield or Toby McGuire – but we feel this is something best kept a secret for the full-movie experience. Hopefully they don’t spoil it in the trailers yet to come. For more information and the full trailer, check out our original news coverage.
