Games Inbox: What new games will be announced at Gamescom 2024?

The Tuesday letters page worries that the perceived value of games consoles is shrinking, as one reader asks if Space Marine 2 is coming to Game Pass.

Taking a guess
So it’s Gamescom this week, which I always meant to go to pre-pandemic but never got around to. As I understand it’s the Opening Night Live livestream on Tuesday night, so I guess I might stay up for that if it’s not too late. Although I’m not sure what to really expect (aka get disappointed by when it’s not there).

Borderlands 4 I think was debunked as a possibility? Resident Evil 9 feels like it should be announced soon-ish but I haven’t heard anything about that being there either. I like the idea of Tomb Raider being shown though. They’ve got a new animated show coming up and it’s years since we’ve heard anything, so I’m putting that down on my bingo card as a prediction.

I would also love to see Mass Effect 4 as well, but I don’t think they’re going to say anything about that until the new Dragon Age is out and they know how that’s done.

Still, lots of possibilities. Now just watch it being a bunch of DLC and other disappointments. Remember, the trick wit these events is to except nothing and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.
Gonch

Changing the conversation
Great to hear that Silent Hill 2 was good after all, glad they gave you plenty of time to play it. I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of Bloober Team before, but the relentless negativity had made me pretty much give up on the game already. And yet as soon as there’s positive previews (as far as I can see most sites agree with GC) suddenly everyone’s interested again and, if you look at the likes vs. dislikes on the latest trailer, nobody’s complaining anymore.

I really think publishers are being stupid with this idea of not talking about games until they’re almost out. Sure, nobody wants to hear about a game non-stop for three years, but they’ve gone so far the other way that even massive games are being released with no proper build-up or information.

I really don’t see what was wrong with the old way of doing things. When E3 was still a think its seems like we had just the right balance of hype and information. I could understand if things were going wrong last gen but it’s this gen where the wheels have come off everything, and that’s when they changed how everything works.

Maybe take that as proof that the new way of doing things isn’t a good idea? Anyone, count me as interested for the review and final release of Silent Hill 2.
Fugu

Declining worth
I think a huge challenge to console manufacturers and games developers is that the perceived value of gaming isn’t rising in line with how much stuff actually costs. A bucket of chicken is £20+ nowadays and delivers around 30 minutes of pure bliss but a 20-to-40-hour game costing £70 seems outlandish (yes, I’m comparing delicious food to entertainment, but the standard cinema analogy is very well worn).

Ditto consoles. The PlayStation 3 was £400+ nearly 20 years ago, the PlayStation 4 was ~£350 10 years ago, but many can’t compute paying over £300 for a console in 2024. I don’t think that’s a problem that the Xbox Two X or the PlayStation 6 launching early would solve. To me, they’d be better doubling down on the current consoles and showing why these games are worth the investment, rather than rushing into the next, inevitably even more expensive generation.
Magnumstache
Currently playing: Bioshock Remastered on Steam Deck. Crashes about once per session but what a game.

GC: What are you doing with that bucket of chicken?

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The long wait
With the Switch 2 starting to enter production how likely is it that we’ll get some kind of leak as to what it looks like/what it does? I seem to remember pics or descriptions of the PlayStation 5 leaked out early, so I assume there’s a chance.

I shouldn’t really hope for it, I guess, because it’s always better to get an official announcement, but I really want to just get to the point where we know what it is and can start looking forward to it, with some real game details, and prices, and a date.

It reminds me of that old South Park episode where Cartman freezes himself until… was it the Wii or Xbox 360 comes out? If that was a possibility I’d do it.
Josh

GC: It has happened before but it’s rare and never with a Nintendo console, unless there’s one we’re forgetting.

Wrong direction
I agree with most of the recent comments over not investing in the current cycle of consoles (depending on what Nintendo do next) there just doesn’t seem a huge amount of value in the graphics upgrade when I can still play most on Game Pass and/or cloud gaming on my Xbox One S.

This is usually the time we see discounts in the mid-term cycle but it seems instead we are moving towards price hikes and updated consoles to keep price parity, instead of shifting to a cheaper refresh.

Clearly something needs to change for the industry to wake up and kickstart some new innovations but who knows right now where that will come from.
Slider_N17

Don’t tell Nintendo
Apologies if you’ve already covered or featured this, but my YouTube recommendations list today contained someone attempting a playthrough of this awesome looking remake of the first Legend Of Zelda game using the original Doom engine.

Judging by the fact the trailer claims to be two years old, but the playthoughs I’ve seen are all recent, Nintendo must either quietly approve or have somehow missed it in their perpetual IP protection crusade. Check it out before they correct that!
yourhomeisatrisk

GC: If it gets shut down now, everyone’s going to blame you!

Thou shall not Pass
I’m also impressed and looking forward to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, like fellow reader Lockstan.

I’m sure I’ve heard it is a day one Game Pass release title for the Xbox Series X/S consoles but I may have misheard. If not, it’s available to purchase for £35.99 at CDKeys. That’s almost half price. I know what I’ll be doing in September.
Chaosphere

GC: We don’t think it’s on Game Pass, but there seems to be some conflicting information online. We’ll try and double check later this week, as we’re seeing the dev at Gamescom.

Least worst disaster
Whilst watching Alien: Romulus, I noticed a few nods to Alien Isolation. I really enjoyed the movie, aside from a few minor nitpicks. I assume GC have seen it? I recall GC’s despair at Prometheus, so I hope it wasn’t a similar letdown.

I feel a sequel to Alien Isolation is warranted. In the meantime, a remaster/remake would be welcome. It’s surprising how well a 10-year-old game holds up graphically. Creative Assembly did a fantastic job recreating the look of Alien. If they could cut out some of the unnecessary missions and tighten up the pacing, it would improve the game massively. A director’s cut, if you prefer.

This guy’s entertaining reaction to playing the Crew Expendable DLC is how I experienced the game, which was complete panic.

That video was only a month ago, which typifies its cult following. It’s without a doubt the most nerve-racking game I’ve played, which is why I loved it so much.
Si
PS: Alien: Romulus is the third best Alien movie, in my opinion. I can’t split Alien/Aliens, so I suppose it’s technically second best.

GC: The third best Alien film may be the mildest compliment in cinema. It’s probably accurate but the constant stream of callbacks in the latter half of the film were so astoundingly obnoxious it ruined it for us.

Inbox also-rans
I agree with the reader that said Bully should’ve been set in the UK. I’m sure that’s what Rockstar were thinking when they made it, they just bottled out because they knew they had to appeal to the US. Shame there wasn’t a mod or something.
Taki

The weirdest thing for me in terms of Sony’s years of silence is that we’ve heard absolutely nothing about a new Uncharted. Would it really have hurt to just announce it at the same time as the movie, just to make it clear it’s not a dead franchise. A 30 second pre-rendered teaser is all you need.
Castor

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The small print
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