Gamescom exists in a weird space in the world of gaming showcases. It is a few months after the second biggest showcase week that we have in gaming (Summer Game Fest), and a few months before the biggest event for gaming showcases on the calendar (The Game Awards).
When both of those events are on the horizon, I am well aware that they are on the way. I usually have plenty of blog content planned out for both. Meanwhile, I had actually totally forgotten about Gamescom until the literal day it was happening.
And honestly, there is a reason for that. The awkward positioning of Gamescom means that most of the biggest reveals already happened a few months ago or are planned out for The Game Awards. So I usually don’t mind watching Gamescom stuff, but it rarely moves me all that much.
However, Gamescom does have one big advantage. Because it is the only big show like this in Europe, I think it tends to be more likely to bring out a lot of the European developers. Perhaps we have a lot of promising European games right now, because for whatever reason, this was one of the best Gamescom presentations that I can remember. This show doesn’t bring the big name surprises, but there were a lot of cool indie and AAA games shown off this past week.
I went through and watched “Opening Night Live,” the “Future Games Show,” and the “Awesome Indies Showcase” from this past week. And I came away with 16 games that really impressed me in some way. That is pretty crazy. In 2024, I only came away with 10 winners from Gamescom. In 2025, I had 11. I think the quality of the show is a big testament to how many great looking games we have coming to end this year and in 2027.
With that, here are my biggest winners from the week. As always, remember that to me, “winning” means increasing my anticipation for the game in some way. If a game I am hyped for has another good trailer that doesn’t really show me anything new, it probably isn’t making the list, or at least, isn’t going to be as high. Let’s get to it!
16. Nivalis Nights
We didn’t get a lot here, but we got just enough to make me intrigued. You don’t really tend to see cozy Cyberpunk games, but Nivalis Nights looks set to enter this unique space. You seem to manage a restaurant in a very chill city. I just really enjoyed the vibes here. It’s kind of a weird concept, cyberpunk settings don’t tend to look this peaceful, but despite the lack of gameplay, I felt like they had enough here to make it work. Time will tell, but this has plenty of potential.
15. Acornia: Mirror Worlds
Admittedly, I’m not 100% sure if this trailer would have shown up if not for the clip of “from the makers of Tinykin.” I freaking love that game, so I am hyped for anything that team is going to make.
Acornia looks nothing like I’d expect from a follow up game from Splashteam. There appears to be more of an action focus, with some light Kirby elements to the gameplay. That seemed fine. My interest piqued when I saw that there also seems to be some sort of shop/restaurant sim that is also part of the experience. Once again, this trailer mostly makes it here off developer track record, but I think Splashteam has more than enough talent to make a completely different concept from their last game work.
14. Breakaway Hockey League
This trailer isn’t that great in and of itself. There’s no gameplay shown at all, but it makes the list purely based on its concept.
Basically, this looks like the hockey version of Rematch, and that seems fun as hell. Doing Rematch with hockey will make it even faster paced, and being able to hit people seems fun too. I can’t wait to see more of how this one actually plays, but if they do it right, I know for a fact that I will love it.
13. Neon Hyperdrive
I don’t think I’d usually be interested in a rhythm driving game, but Neon Hyperdrive somehow hits a lot of notes that have me genuinely intrigued. First off, the visuals and music both seem great. The vibes are absolutely off the charts here. But I also like that there seem to be several very different gameplay loops. There is quite a bit going on here. I think that variety will serve the game well. I officially have my eyes on this one, even though it isn’t something that would generally be super up my alley.
12. Valor Mortis
My hype for this game is already through the roof, so it was going to be tough for this trailer to get much higher on my list. But even so, this trailer managed to build up my anticipation a little more than I expected. This is the first trailer from Valor Mortis to really show off the story elements of the game, and it actually seems like it could add another level to the game. The storytelling wasn’t a big draw in the Ghostrunner games for me, but it also had its moments.
But also, even more combat was shown off here, and that continues to look really freaking fun. I think Valor Mortis is going to make a ton of noise in October.
11. Showa American Story
This looks to be a game heavily inspired by the Yakuza series, but it might be even more ridiculous. That’s not a bad thing.
There is a sense of style throughout this trailer, between the music and the visuals, that gave me a lot of hope for how cinematic this might be. And honestly, I feel like the combat here has way more potential than anything I’ve ever seen from the more action-oriented Yakuza games. The trailer shows a decent amount, but I also left with a lot of questions as to how this game was going to work. That’s not a bad thing at all. I am very intrigued.
10. Elta: Defy All Gods
There wasn’t tons of gameplay here, which is usually going to stop a game from making this list, but man, there was a lot of good stuff here.
First off, the small bits of gameplay looked really good. The combat seemed weighty, but there were also some really fun looking mobility and platforming elements as well. The game also has a great art style and seemed to have some personality as well. I think this is about as much as I could ask for from a reveal trailer with minimal gameplay. It is now officially on my radar.
9. No Law
From a story perspective, I couldn’t be much less interested in this one. It looks incredibly cheesy. But from a gameplay perspective, this really does look Cyberpunk 2077 levels of good. It looks like a more linear experience, but you can fight in a myriad of ways, and they all seem really fun. This trailer did a great job of showing off some of the carnage you can dish out. I’ve been kind of skeptical about this one, but this trailer definitely sold me. I can’t wait to see more.
8. Star Wars: Galactic Racer
I somehow had no idea that Star Wars: Galactic Racer was going to be a roguelike until this trailer. It’s a really bold decision, and I absolutely love it. I wish they’d spent more time selling that aspect of the game, because I’m really intrigued as to how it’s going to work. I definitely had an interest in this game, but I am now almost assuredly going to give it a go when it comes out.
Meanwhile, the racing itself still looks spectacular. The visuals and sense of speed are top-notch, and the developers do a great job of selling you on the driving mechanics as well. This one looks like it could be really good, and I’m once again kind of stunned that they made such a bold decision with the structure of the campaign.
7. Last Ditch Effort
God damn, this was epic as hell. Last Ditch Effort is a pixel art action game that leans heavily into the narrative. And both the glimpses of the story, the visuals, the action, and the music all look absolutely top notch. The closest comparison I can see to this is Replaced, but this honestly looks like it could be several levels above that. I can’t wait to see more out of this one.
6. Pony Island 2: Panda Circus
I’ve seen all the hype around Inscryption, but I just can never motivate myself to play it. I can respect that it’s weird and does different things, but it just never looks all that much fun to me.
However, the trailer for the next game from that developer, Pony Island 2: Panda Circus, looks extremely intriguing. It’s not surprising that it seems weird as hell, but that weirdness also looks really entertaining. There appear to be all sorts of odd games within the game here. There’s a game that has some Oregon Trail vibes. There’s also something that looks like a game of Case of the Golden Idol in there, and there’s plenty of other stuff going on. I don’t fully understand what Pony Island 2 is yet, but this trailer absolutely made me want to find out.
5. Path of Exile 2
Wow. I guess I’ve never seen this game in action in trailers outside of very brief clips. I cannot believe how good it looks.
ARPGs are fun enough, but they always look a little janky in motion to me. Path of Exile 2 is the exception. This has some of the smoothest combat that I’ve seen in this genre. It looks like a genuinely fun action game in its own right, well before you even think about the RPG elements. I was not interested in this at all, but this trailer made me pay attention. I’m normally skeptical of any free to play game, but I am actually happy to have a risk free way to try this one now.
4. Control Resonant
I usually love Remedy games, but I have had a tiny bit of healthy skepticism when it comes to Control Resonant. Combat is usually not the strongest element of recent Remedy games. It’s generally fine, but not the star of the show. So a game from Remedy that was much more combat focused concerned me. I felt like I saw some flaws in some of the early combat looks we’ve had of this game as well, which didn’t help.
But man, I think this trailer finally erased any tiny lingering doubts I’ve had. The combat looks so fluid and fun here. I love how many options you seem to have and how you look to be able to integrate a lot of your movement abilities with the combat. The art direction and world design are also on another level. I feel like it’s a crazy mix of Alan Wake and Control with an open world involved as well. In a world without Grand Theft Auto 6, I really think this would be on a very clear path toward winning Game of the Year. This trailer ruled.
3. Mariachi Legends
Holy crap. I knew nothing about this one, and I became all-in with just one minute of gameplay.
This basically looks like a Mexican remix of the GBA Castlevania games, but both the combat and platforming look so crisp and like they are on another level from those games. I absolutely loved the number of combos that you can seem to string together, and the way you can utilize acrobatics during combat. I’m a big Metroidvania guy, and this is probably now my #3 most anticipated Metroidvania behind just Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse and Well Dweller.
2. Witcher 3 Remastered
This really is one of the craziest stories in recent gaming. A studio randomly coming out with a free remaster and new DLC for an 11-year-old game when they have another game in the works is pretty much unheard of for a single-player game.
And this trailer makes it clear that this isn’t just some basic and lazy remaster. This is definitely closer to a “remakester.” Obviously, the visuals are being enhanced, but there seems to be an insane amount of new features and gameplay tweaks happening as well. This has similar vibes to the big update that CD Projekt Red did for Cyberpunk 2077 when Phantom Liberty came out, and those updates took that game to another level.
I have attempted to beat Witcher 3 something like three different times. Each time, I always run out of steam. I really wanted to try one more time before Witcher 4 came out, so this announcement was kind of a dream come true. CD Projekt Red is the best developer in the business right now, in my opinion. What an awesome trailer.
1. Into the Wind
Wow. This one came out of nowhere to blow me away. This is some sort of crazy cozy-sim version of Death Stranding in a really beautiful looking world.
As much as I love the concept, the gameplay itself also looks phenomenal. The type of cargo you carry greatly changes how you operate, much like Death Stranding. The driving mechanics also look incredibly fun. I really like the way the motorcycle handles based on the clips. And the fact that it can transition into a plane and you can get into aerial battles is absolutely crazy. This doesn’t look quite like anything else out there, and it is looking like a day one purchase for me.
I love when a game I’ve never heard of has me enraptured within minutes, and that’s what happened here. This was easily my favorite trailer of the weekend.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider following me on social media, or checking out The Big Nerd Gaming Podcast!
The Big Nerd Gaming Podcast on Youtube
The Big Nerd Gaming Podcast on Spotify
Big Nerd Gaming 
Leave a comment