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Gamescom, one of the gaming industry's most popular events, took place last week. Their virtual showcase highlighted some amazing games that are currently under development so let’s dive right in and see what's coming out in the near future.
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Gamescom 2021
Gamescom Opening Night Live was filled with amazing game reveals and announcements. Here’s what you may of missed.
Saints Row is getting a full reboot by Volition. It’s an open-world action game that takes place in the fictional city Santo Ileso of the American Southwest. Players take control of a member from The Saints crime syndicate leading the way into a major turf war. Saints Row is set to release on February 25, 2022 for Xbox, PlayStation and PC through the Epic Games Store.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is a turn-based tactical RPG developed by Firaxis and published by 2K Games. This new game will feature more than a dozen Marvel superheroes, in addition to The Hunter, an all-new customizable hero. The Hunter is the main playable character and is highly customizable in terms of appearance, combat ability and superpowers. Players will make their way through turn-based missions alongside three other superheroes to help save the world from destruction. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is coming to consoles and PC in March 2022.
Halo Infinite multiplayer and campaign will officially launch together on December 8. In addition, as part of Halo’s 20th anniversary celebrations, 343 Industries and Xbox are releasing a limited edition Spartan 117 themed Xbox Series X and Series 2 Elite controller.
Other notable announcements include,
Call of Duty Vanguard showcased part of a campaign mission set in Stalingrad featuring one of the four main characters, Polina Petrova.
Death Stranding Directors Cut received a 9-minute extended look highlighting some of the new gameplay features such as new delivery support tools, a firing range to practice weapon skills and a global leaderboard for boss fights.
Horizon Forbidden West has been delayed to February 18, 2022. Horizon Forbidden Dawn received an enhanced performance patch supporting 60 FPS.
Far Cry 6 revealed a new story trailer ahead of its October release. The trailer revealed that Anton Castillo is on a mission to make the Island of Yara a paradise.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl announced the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, April O’Neil and Catdog will be joining their fighting game roster, which is scheduled to release later this Fall.
Splitgate has launched “Season 0,” their first official season alongside a 100-level battle pass. This is the first battle pass where you will be able to earn weapons, skins, armour, name tags and banners. The Season 0 patch also adds the new Karman Station map and Contamination Mode. The new mode has “infected” players trying to melee infect all the “humans,” who are trying to protect themselves with shotguns.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will launch in Spring 2022 after multiple delays. The Skywalker Saga will allow fans to play through all nine of the main movies in LEGO fashion. The game will be available on Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Nintendo Switch.
After the strong opening night, Gamescom continued to plough forward in the days to follow. Let’s check out what other games we have to look forward to.
Elden Ring revealed a 15 minute gameplay demo ahead of its January 21, 2022 release. Elden Ring also won the award for Best Sony PlayStation game at Gamescom 2021. According to the Washington Post, the game includes:
The ability to fast travel anywhere
Several optional encounters
Multiple story paths and endings
Legacy Dungeons that are separate from the overworld
Nonplayer characters hub
Stealth mechanics similar to Sekiro
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel was revealed by Konami and it is set to have more than 10,000 cards available to players. Fans of the series will be excited to hear that all their favourites will be included and that the game takes inspiration from the trading card game. It has no official release date but it will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, Nintendo Switch and mobile.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human will be released on December 7. The franchise has definitely taken some major steps forward as the sequel showcased some awesome action including parkour moves and melee combat. Dying Light (2015) will be coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year and the Platinum edition will include all four DLC packs and all the cosmetic items.
The Waylanders will be released on November 16 and it is inspired by Celtic mythology. The game was initially released on Steam in Early Access in 2020. According to IGN, the game will be a 40-hour adventure.
Farming Simulator 22 will include more than 400 machines, vehicles and tools. The game will be released on November 22 for PlayStation, PC, Mac, Xbox and Google Stadia. It will have a Year 1 Season Pass including three packs and one large expansion set to be released over a twelve month period.
Esports Corner
🥇 Congratulations to 100 Thieves on winning the 2021 LCS Championship!
LoL Esports Travels to Europe
Riot Games has officially announced that the 2021 League of Legends World Championships is being moved from China to Europe. The unexpected change is due to the complicated travel restrictions caused by the on-going global pandemic. Upcomer reported that various LCS teams were struggling to secure travel visas for their players and staff, and Riot’s Global Head of Esports John Needham said that “accessibility for the highest number of teams and their best players” is a key component in where the tournament will ultimately take place.
Apex Legends Esports - Year 2
Apex Legends Esports now has a dedicated twitter account and their first tweet was about the ALGS Year 2. After a successful inaugural year, the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) is back starting with the first preseason qualifiers taking place between September 11th to 13th. This year’s season includes a $5 million total prize pool and a new Challenger Circuit to better complement the Pro League. The ALGS Championship will take place in July 2022 with 40 of the season's best teams competing for their portion of the $2 million event prize pool. All the circuit details and format are highlighted on the EA website.
Tim Hortons for Gamers
As a Canadian based gaming newsletter, it’s our duty to include details on the new collaboration between Tencent Esports and Tim Hortons. According to industry insider Daniel Ahmad, the two companies announced their partnership back in 2020 with a goal of building offline experiences with social elements for esports fans. Fast forward to today and Tim Hortons just opened up their newest coffee shop in Shenzhen, China with an incredibly modern esports theme. The new location includes a dedicated esports zone and interactive spaces with themed drinks and food. Tim Hortons plans to open in 1,500 locations across China.
Game Review - Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2, the long-awaited sequel to Double Fine's 2005 platformer is nothing short of brilliant. The game’s cartoonish aesthetic and expansive narrative delivers a deep level of creativity that takes place immediately after the original Psychonauts. The sequel easily builds on the charming foundation set by the original game while still reaching a whole new level of storytelling, character development and whimsical gameplay. The game successfully balances a lovable cast of characters with an inventive set of levels and an imaginative world that makes the game experience incredibly fun and endearing to play. We consider Psychonauts 2 a ‘Game of the Year’ candidate and happily give it a grade of B+.
Gaming Roundup
EA has announced a ‘patent pledge’ that allows any other developer to use one of their accessibility patents royalty free. All five patents are part of the Apex Legends ping system which aims to “break down barriers for players living with disabilities or medical issues”.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen expansion is launching on February 20, 2022. The expansion will feature new enemies, new weapon types, campaign upgrades, weapon crafting and more. Cross-platform multiplayer is now fully supported.
Battlefield 2042 launches on October 22, 2021 and cheats are already being advertised. According to Tom Henderson, hack providers have seen a 400% increase in website traffic in August mainly due to BF 2042 cheat searches.
Dr Disrespect says he knows why he was banned on Twitch and that he is suing them. Since the ban, Dr Disrespects growth has declined and he estimates that he’s earning only a quarter of what he would be making on Twitch.
Raven Software has added a “Looking for Party” feature in Call of Duty Warzone. This new feature allows players to search for and party up with other players via a series of preferences that you select such as by game mode, party communications or play style.
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