Although Microsoft did not attend the convention, Gamescom still brought a plethora of good announcements from Sony. Although the convention was clearly aimed at European consumers, many of the new games and announcements are good news to all continents.
5) Until Dawn
Until Dawn is full of all of the clichés of horror movies, but stuffed into a game instead of a cinema release. Unfortunately it reminds me of cheap flash games like the House and Hotel 626 instead of a high-quality game—but hopefully this game can move past the clichés and actually integrate the PS Move with good gameplay.
4) Last Guardian
By no means a new game, any news regarding the Last Guardian is still welcome during announcements and conventions. Despite forgetting to renew the trademark for the Last Guardian, an interview conducted by Eurogamer during Gamescom reveals that there is still a lot of progress going on its development. At one point it was playable and seemed to have a stable release date in sight, but the minor glitches turned out to be major, so a huge chunk of the game had to be remade. The game is also still being developed for the PS3 exclusively, rather than a future console.
3) Puppeteer
Puppeteer is interesting because of its strange presentation. You star in a childlike puppet show full of shouting and frightening character design, and you quest with a pair of scissors in order to get your real body and soul back from the Moon Bear King. It’s similar to Disney’s Pinocchio, but it keeps its dark atmosphere throughout the game, and the puppet started out as a boy in the first place. The audience clapping and other puppet characters (are they also trapped, or working with the King?) add to the surreal atmosphere.
2) Tearaway
Tearaway is a beautiful, stylistic game that is being developed by the creators of LittleBigPlanet. Their developers claim it is ‘more ambitious than LBP’ and it is still at least a year away from release. Even so, it looks wonderful with its paper textures and premise, and it’s one of the few PS Vita games to utilize every single feature. Unlike many PSV games, it differentiates itself from, say, iPhone game mechanics by using the PSV’s full potential. The whimsical music that plays during the trailer portrays a calm and adventurous atmosphere. Whether it will be as successful as LittleBigPlanet remains to be seen, but this is definitely one game to be watched!
1) Rain
Giving off the same aura as Limbo and Lost in Shadow, this game is the most exciting reveal at Gamescom for me. Rain features an invisible boy that can only be seen from the ripples of puddles he steps in or his silhouette in the rain. He has to follow another transparent girl in order to regain his…opaque-ness…through a dreary town that looks a little like classical London. With invisible animals and enemies to worry about, the game looks as perilous as it is beautiful. Whether it will live up to its vision with its gameplay is still up in the air.
I can’t wait for tearaway. That game and Puppeter overwhelmed me in every good way! And my wife loved the Until Dawn trailer. And your list is very good indeed! Keep up the good work.