I’m pretty wiped at the moment so here’s some highlights of what was a cgi packed GamesCom ONL lineup. You can watch it all on Youtube here.
Disgaea 7 being announced on Twitter by NIS Japan

The strongest start to this post is not even related to GamesCom at all. The same day as ONL we had confirmation from Nis in Japan that Disgaea 7 is being made and a sneak peak at some of the characters and systems. What’s strange is Nis America has been incredibly quiet on this so perhaps they’re holding back for a Nintendo Direct to announce it? We’ll have to see. Shout out to Stealth on Twitter who broke the story! Check them out here.
Return to Monkey Island release date plus useless Pre-order bonus

There are a lot of people very excited for the Return to Monkey Island and I’m very much one of those people. The release date of 19th of September means the game is weeks away. With digital pre-orders being a thing but the game being a point and click adventure what do you include to get sales? Well it turns out you include an item that does absolutely nothing. From the Pre-order Bonus description, “All pre-order customers will receive the exclusive “Horse Armor” item in their inventory. Please note that the horse armor has no practical use in the game and in no way will contribute to the gameplay, puzzles or narrative of Return to Monkey Island. But it is very exclusive” Worth every penny.
Lots of CGI trailers but ok The Lords of the Fallen looks ace

I feel like the older you get the more jaded you become about the humble cgi trailer. A lot of soldiers running around shooting and you find yourself tuning out unless something new occurs. There were some standout ones to watch though and despite being a sequel to a Dark Souls knockoff this Elder Scrolls mixed with Lord of the Rings aesthetic looks really nice. You can see this for yourself here.
Lies of P continues to look incredible

Bloodbourne maybe locked to the PS4 still and with the success of Elden Ring we can safely assume we’re a long while away from a Bloodbourne 2 but Lies of P is looking to be the sequel that never was. Every preview build shown looks to play as good as it looks and the news this is coming to Game Pass is absolutely fantastic. Defiantly one to look out for when it eventually gets a release date.
Pika Power

Sure there’s the ex-GTA devs working on Everywhere, a DUNE MMO, Moving Out 2, New Tales of The Borderlands, Moonbreaker, Killer Klowns and even a new podcast from Hideo Kojima but what we all really wanted to see was the Pokemon Mini. The announcement of a sequel to a game that caused the most motion sickness I’ve felt in my life (Dead Island 2) wasn’t a massive win but the cgi trailer was a lark and Warhammer 40k Darktide looks ace but has a strong wait and see vibe to it. The car is what stole the show, who needs fake awards and cgi when you’ve a mini with Pikachu on it?