We attended Gamescom 2023 and got to play many upcoming titles across the gaming landscape – AAA, indie and everything inbetween. In this mini-series of articles, NantenJex will be sharing his thoughts on the games he played from his hands-on experience and providing important information on each of the titles. Trailers and links to each of the games Steam pages (or closest equivalent) will be included in this article (although many are coming to multiple platforms so if you want to get the title on a platform other than Steam then please check your systems digital store).
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Windows
- Release Date: November 8th 2023
- Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2375550/Like_a_Dragon_Gaiden_The_Man_Who_Erased_His_Name/
ERASE YOUR PAST TO PROTECT YOUR FUTURE Once a legendary yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu faked his own death and abandoned his name for the sake of protecting his family. Now, he is thrust into conflict by a mysterious figure attempting to drive him out of hiding.
The latest entry in the Like a Dragon franchise (formerly known as the Yakuza series), The Man Who Erased His Name stars the super spy, definitely-not-Kiryu, Joryu who is tasked with infilitrating a secret crime ring located on a boat out in the Japan sea. For fans of the Like a Dragon series, this game has everything you would expect it to have. There’s ton of side content to participate in from random missions to black jack, poker, darts and other mini-games. You can also dress Joryu up in a variety of different clothing options, both for his casual wear and his combat gear for when he fights in the collosseum, a central part of the game.
The biggest change this time around is in the combat. While all the basic combat staples of the series are here, Joryu comes equipped with several pieces of spy gear to assit him. This includes grenades in the shape of cigars and automatic drones that can be called down to attack random enemies. The best abilities however come in the form of Joryu’s Spider-man’s styled restraining string – where he can tie his enemies up to paralyze them or swing them around himself for a big AOE attack – and his Shadow the Hedgehog-esque rocket boots – where Joryu skates across the ground at high-speeds, knocking over everyone in his path. It is all very goofy and silly and just adds a bit or extra fun to the combat system. For anyone who missed the old style of Like a Dragon before it became an RPG series, then this game will be right up your alley (although I suspect many of you already know that).
Fashion Dreamer
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
- Release Date: November 3rd 2023
- Steam link: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/fashion-dreamer-switch/
Enter a virtual world of fashion fantasies made real, where coordination and communication mix like never before. Your new life as an influencer awaits!
Fashion Dreamer is the latest game from Syn Symphonia, most known for the Style Savvy / Style Boutique series on the Nintendo DS / 3DS. While under a different name, this game is essentially the next title in that franchise but this time it has a much heavier focus on interacting with other players. Obviously inspired by the social media era, Fashion Dreamer tasks the player with becoming an influencer, designing the best outfits possible for other characters and generating likes from this. While the game is perfectly playable offline in its single-player camapign, the game is designed to be played online – so much so that online was the only option that they let me play!
The actual dressing up part of the series is still in tact here, and is actually much snappier than previous entires. With the addition of new sorting options, it makes finding the right outfit a breeze. When dressing up NPCs, the game will also give you their preference in its own menu (with the option to dive into your inventory if you so choose) which speeds up the process even more. There are a lot of clothing options to chose from and each outfit can be customised with new colours and patterns that can be unlocked by doing missions. It is a very in-depth system that feels like a natural evolution of what came before it.
There have been many other changes to the core gameplay however that Style Savvy fans should be aware of. For example, there is no longer a strict rating system in place. Each character has a preference for how they would want to be dressed and the closer you can match their request the better rewards you will get, but there doesn’t appear to be a fail state anymore. Characters will accept whatever outfit you give them, you just may not receive a lot of likes for your outfit of choice (or given how people are like online, maybe making the stupidest outfit is the way forward). The NPCs will be constantly changing their outfits however, as when you dress them up they will show up in someone elses game dressed up in your outfit, and that person may chose to change their clothes and then send them back. So you may run into the same NPC every other day in a completely new change of clothes.
Ultimately, Fashion Dreamer will rely heavily on its community to survive. While offline modes are there, its clear that this game was designed with online first in mind, so just bear that in mind yourself if you are interested.
SteamWorld Build
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Windows
- Release Date: December 1st 2023
- Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424860/Bish_Bash_Bots/
In SteamWorld Build, you must escape a dying planet by building a mining town to dig up vital long-lost technology. Meet the ever-growing needs of your citizens, trade resources and defend your mine from the creatures that lurk below.
The next entry in the SteamWorld franchise, this entry takes the series into the sim building genre as players work to build a desert mining town and deal with all the problems associated with that. Admittedly, I did not play this game a lot. While I love the SteamWorld series, SimCity type games have never really been a big genre for me and from what I did experience of this title it very much falls into that mold. You start with a train station that all buildings must connect to via a road system, and then you build residence for the locals and other amenities to keep those locals happy. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a game like this, but with an a fun robotically rustic setting.
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip
- Platforms: Windows
- Release Date: TBC
- Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2238040/Tiny_Terrys_Turbo_Trip/
Terry wants to become instantly famous by launching himself into space using his new car. Doing something this cool and reckless will surely make him the talk of the town.
Terry wants a car and he’s willing to take on any job as long as they offer a car as a part of the package. That said, ideally the job he gets would be fine with him not actually doing the work required. After all, he just wants the car. This is the type of silly nonsense you can expect in Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip, a game that takes much of its DNA from Simpson’s Hit and Run but with a very goofy and silly vibe that had me grinning from ear to ear the whole time.
In the world of Tiny Terry people don’t get hurt when you, let’s say, hit them with a wrench or run them over with a car. It’s more of an inconvieniance for them. So the player has complete freedom to just be an absolute menace around town as you drive your turbo taxi the wrong way down a freeway or up a vertical road into space. You can even participate in bumper cars with rival car enthusiasts. It’s a big sandbox to goof around in with silly dialogue and fun secrets to discover. It seems like this will be a light-hearted romp when it fully releases and it’s a game I’m looking forward to spending more time with.
The Precinct
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series S/X, Windows
- Release Date: TBC
- Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/
Averno City, 1983. Gangs rule the streets and your father lies restless in his grave. Clean up the city, uncover the truth, and embark on thrilling vehicle chases through destructible environments in this neon-noir action sandbox police game.
There are a lot of detective games out there with L.A. Noire and Ace Attorney Investigations but very few games where you play as a simple police officer. That’s the hole that The Precinct aims to fill and I think it has done so with exceptional skill. There are a lot of things I could praise The Precinct for but I think the part of the game that most impressed me was its dedication to the role play. This is a game made for anyone who was ever curious about the day to day life of a by-the-books beat cop and has several gameplay features to accomodate. The best example I can give for this is inregards to how arresting criminals works. If you stop a crime, the player has the option themselves to put the criminal in handcuffs, arrest them, drive them back to the station, book them in officially at the front desk and secort them into jail. You don’t get anything for doing this, in fact if you don’t care about any of this then the second you put the handcuffs on the criminal you can leave and an AI ally will deal with criminal in your stead. It’s entirely up to the player and how immersed into the role of police officer you want to be, and that impressed me a lot.
The world of The Precinct has been made to feel alive. All of the NPCs in the world can be stopped and checked for IDs and their personal belonging can be confiscated. Some of them might have narcotics or illegal goods on them and it’s up to the player to either book them or overlook it. Procedural crimes can break out over town and the AI cops will react accordingly to it. You could be on your way to one crime scene and see a fellow officer going the opposite direction to a different crime scene. Chose to follow them and there will be a crime happening. It’s not just for show. Your AI allies are even competent enough to stop crimes on their own and reap the rewards instead. It makes you feel like your part of a force and not just a solo action hero from some 80s movie.
As for the gameplay itself, the game has three gameplay types – on foot, car chases and helicopter chases. The on foot sections will have players interacting with NPCs, chasing down runaway criminals and, only if it is absoluetly neccesary, using your guns. Every enemy actually has two seperate ‘health’ meters. One is their actual life and when it depletes they die and the other is a moral meter, when that depletes they surrender which the game treats as the more ideal outcome. The game wants you to play by the rules and will punish the player for shooting first, or intentionally killing civilians and other criminal behaviour. In the car chase sections, you chase down getaway drivers and earn points depending on how well you do. The points are then used to perform actions like setting up road blockades or calling in back-up. Finally, the helicopter chases are similar to the car chases except in these case you can’t shoot. It’s a lot more strategy focused where using your points effectively and relying on your allies is vital to success. Betwen it’s role-playing elements and its strategy elements, The Precinct has a lot going for it and I’m excited to see what other activities get added as development proceeds.
Wildmender
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series S/X, Windows
- Release Date: September 28th 2023
- Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1599330/Wildmender/
A desert gardening survival game. Start from a tiny spring and cultivate a blooming garden. Explore a vast world amid the sands and uncover its mysteries. Can you defend against the relentless forces of nature and mysterious wraith corruption, to bring life to a dying world?
WIldmender is an upcoming survival gardening game with the ability to play co-operatively in four player, allowing you and your friends to build your own gardens in the middle of a vast desert (and three other biomes). The game has a very intrecate gardening system with several different types of plants that all have different needs in order to survive. Some need to be planted near a water source and others prefer drier climates. Some need taking care of daily while others can last a lot longer. The gardens players build can expand out to cover the whole map so with time and energy, you can turn this desert into a luscious landscape.
Now, unfortunately, I do not have a green thumb and gardening games have never really been my thing. Growing up I did play games like Harvest Moon but in more recent years I just haven’t found myself getting into them. It’s the same case here. While I am impressed with what the developers have done, I personally couldn’t see myself getting very into this. Luckily though, Wildmender offers one of the most dynamic difficulty options I’ve ever seen in a game. You can customise basically everything so if I wanted to make it so plants grow quickly and almost never wilt then I can do that, equally if I wanted to just focus on the gardening aspect of the game then I could make those rules more strict and make the other aspects of the game easier: like the combat.
Yes, this game does have combat and that’s where the survival part comes in. Players have a hunger and thirst meter that they have to keep track of, as well as health. This can depelete during battles with these ghost like wraiths who are the cause for the lands suffering. Wildmender does have a story to it about uncovering a lost civilisation and if players wanted they can just focus on that and put the gardening aside. While this is nice I don’t think the combat is that in-depth, at least from what I’ve seen, to keep me interested for very long. From a single-player perspective, I think this game is one where it will really depend on your taste and tolerance for gardening games. In multi-player though, there’s a bit more to offer here as players can explore wherever they want on a map and set up their own gardens, making this dead world feel more alive.
Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Windows
- Release Date: 2023
- Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1550730/Ikonei_Island_An_Earthlock_Adventure/
Ikonei Island is yours to discover! Explore and gather resources. Farm the land, craft tools and gear, and build your base or a cozy home. Befriend magical creatures and fight monsters with your friends or solo!
Technically, this game is already out on Steam in Early Access but the final version of the game, and console version of the game, is set to come out sometime in the near future. Ikonei Island has you play as one of four children who wash up on an almost deserted island and have to help rebuild it, all while fighting off monsters and pirates. The combat is very limited but that’s because the main focus is on crafting. Players have to clear up debris, help rebuild towns and shrines, and grow food to feed themselves and local wildlife who will come to the players aid.
Ikonei Island has a solid gameplay loop of scavenging for materials and recipes, crafting items to help NPCs and being rewarded with frog coins, that can then be used to purchase bigger inventory space or more recipes that allow for more things to be built. The game is also rather leisurley. As mentioned, there is combat here but it’s very far a few between – the focus is more on helping to rebuild the island. Ironically, this makes the game a very relaxed and laid-back experience. A game where you can just explore and try and cross the whole island. It’s certainly a vibe but there was nothing here that really left a strong impact. It felt a little like a ‘turn my brain off and just relax’ type of game which certainly has its place on the market. Maybe things will get more intense the further into the game you go and the more mysteries of the island unravel, but after about 30mins of playing I had my fill and was ready to move on to something else.
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