We were briefly given the opportunity to watch their new games at Microsoft. That gave us a nice chance to get the real Gamescom feeling by having to stand in line for some games, where it was clear that ie-de-reen wanted to experience Devil May Cry 5. Fortunately, there was still plenty to play and we have been able to make the most of our time at Microsoft!
Metro Exodus
Exodus is the third Metro game in the making, so few really expect new things. At least, if we can believe the demo we played. The game looks stunning on the Xbox One X and the gameplay feels very familiar. Rusty weaponry and a scarcity of bullets. The enemies were not exactly challenging at the moment, but it is difficult to say whether that will be the case in the entire game or if that was more of this demo. It was only a small piece that we played, but there were already enough letters and other story-technical objects to discover.
Metro Exodus will be released on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on February 22, 2019.
Indie games
There were also a number of indie games to play on the Xbox stand and the one that made the most of it was Tunic. This game looks like someone has taken Zelda: a Link to the Past, crossed with Fez and Link has replaced a fox. It is immensely charming, plays well (albeit slightly slow in the demo) and has exactly the kind of gameplay that can charm people who like old SNES rpg’s. The demo was short and ended with a final boss who could not be beat, so there is not much to show to the public yet. We are guessing that the 2019 date of the game will probably be very much in the back of the year, but that is not bad. The basis of Tunic is very nice and if the makers can make a whole game full of it, we would like to wait a bit.
We also played Kingdom: Two Crowns, a rather strange game in which you as a king on horseback can do little else than go back and forth and pick up coins or spend coins. This way you build a settlement with subjects that protect you (and the crown you carry with you) against the monsters that come at night. It has something Minecrafterigs, is also in very hard pixel style and was quite soothing. It has not received much attention, but it is a cool game if you like that kind of slow experiences!
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
The previous two Ori-games are beloved metroidvanias, and with Will of the Wisps it seems to be all right. The platforms can occasionally still be quite spicy, and there is plenty to discover. For example, while playing the demo, we got the ability to dig in sand, where treasures are hidden on the bottom and previously inaccessible parts of the level become accessible.
Of course the game looks super nice, so basically everything you would expect from the third Ori game is present again. It is striking how fast everything goes, especially in the new Spirit Trial mode that the developers showed on Gamescom. In it you have to take a course as quickly as possible and you can even asynchronously compete with other people who play the game. A nice addition to an already impressive game. That will be a long wait until the game will be released sometime in 2019 for the Xbox One and PC.
Devil May Cry 5
We were also allowed to play Devil May Cry 5 on the exhibition floor for just a short moment. The demo was unfortunately limited to about 10 minutes, so we could not try many of the deeper systems. What is obvious is that it still plays as a Devil May Cry game. Shoot, hit and use your demonic arm to finish off all enemies as stylishly as possible. And that worked well in any case.
The only thing we could see was that there was a new system for the Devil Trigger where you can use gloves that you can use to make a lot of damage. With a crooked eye we could also look at a final boss who tried to beat someone (who was so smart not to reset the demo). The boss was too big and too strong, but it does indicate that DMC5 will not slow down. The trailer above shows what kind of madness we can expect from the game and that certainly tastes like more! Devil May Cry 5 will be released on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on March 8, 2019.
Forza Horizon 4
Meanwhile Forza Horizon 4 is already out, but we still wanted to take a ride on the Xbox One X’en on the Microsoft stand with the game that this time in England plays , among others in Edinburgh. The Ford Raptor announced on the stock market was of course present, but the developers especially wanted to highlight their PVP mode, which is called Team Adventure. There are various modes that you can play as a team. That is so nice, because in earlier Forza games you could actually stop if you were not in the front of online races and that happened unfortunately. Now you race as a team and then anyone can contribute his or her share. There are also nice new modes such as survivor and even zombie!
With the hands on the controller, Forza 4 does not play very differently from the previous games, but that is not necessary. The games already excelled in how nice everything felt and as we are used to, the game really looks amazing. The seasons that are constantly changing are incredibly beautiful to see, but also things like reflections, water and the rest of the secondary effects are beautiful. We can not wait to be able to experience this in 4K and luckily we do not have to wait a long time, as already mentioned. Forza Horizon 4 will be released on October 2 this year for Xbox One and PC.