Gamescom 2018 was one hell of a convention. There were so many fantastic games to see, play – and most importantly, write and talk about. Just like every year, we singled out the best games we could get our hands on, both around the show floor and behind closed doors.
Here are the 20 nominees for GamersPack “Best of Show Gamescom 2018” awards, followed by the 6 best games of Gamescom 2018.
Best Games of Gamescom 2018 Nominees
- Anthem
- Ape Out
- Breach
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
- Control
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Devil May Cry 5
- Devil’s Hunt
- Dying Light 2
- Gris
- Hitman 2
- Metro Exodus
- Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
- My Friend Pedro
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- RAGE 2
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Spider-Man
- Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
- Team Sonic Racing
Best Games of Gamescom 2018 Winners
Ape Out
Apes have always had a special place in the world of video games, from Donkey Kong to Overwatch’s Winston. Ape Out’s orange protagonist might not be as iconic as the other two primates, but it’s probably the most fun we’ve ever had playing one.
The music and rampage blend into what the developer calls rhythmic violence, which is the perfect way of describing the game. The violence caught us by surprise at first, but the frenetic drums that keep beating in the background push you ever forwards in a combination of stealth and punching guards into a bloody paste.
Thanks to the soundtrack, beautiful visuals, and intuitive controls, we had a blast helping our ape escape from the list of nominees and into the first of our winners.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Even after four games in the Black Ops universe, Treyarch manages to surprise Call of Duty fans. What Black Ops 4 might lack in single-player, it makes up for in new multiplayer content. And let’s face it – the campaign was never why people played Call of Duty.
The simple yet ingenious “Pick 10” system is back once again, so players can easily customize their layout before a match, but it’s new stuff that really impressed us. Healing yourself during combat and the new recharging active abilities add another layer of tactics to the usual run-and-gun of multiplayer. Also, the new Heist mode sends a surge of nostalgia through the brain of anyone who played classic Counter-Strike.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 does the series proud, and we are eagerly waiting to try the new Zombie Mode, as well as Treyarch’s take on the popular Battle Royale genre, with a Call of Duty twist.
My Friend Pedro
The titular Pedro in My Friend Pedro is a talking banana that urges you to kill people. That alone was enough for us to give the game a nomination, but it was the off-the-charts insanity that is the combat that secured its place on this final list.
My Friend Pedro is the kind of game that’s both satisfying and disappointing: Satisfying because shooting a hail of bullets through gangsters while doing backflips off a motorcycle is just that; and disappointing because they are now all dead, and there were so many other wonderful, creative ways we could have horribly maimed and killed them.
We will definitely be trying them all once the game is out, on March 2019.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the sequel to the instant-classic Ori and the Blind Forest, which we all really love. From what we’ve seen at Gamescom, the sequel builds upon every aspect of the original.
Will of the Wisps tells a compelling story through its gameplay and visuals, which we’re sure will make us cry once we see it all the way through. Ori’s new abilities invite you to keep exploring the beautiful levels, and it’s easy to lose yourself in the art style and music.
We’re ready to jump back into the world of Ori and the Will of Wisps, with its touching story and gameplay, the minute the game is released, sometime in 2019.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s place on this list was pretty much guaranteed from the second we started its Gamescom demo. The combination of From Software’s trademarked brutal difficulty and fast swordplay left us both exhausted exhilarated.
Sekiro offers a vast range of abilities, from grappling hooks to flamethrower arms, and adds an exciting new spin to the souls-like genre. The ability to literally die twice or more might make the game sounds a bit forgiving, but trust us – you’ll be glad for those extra lives once you play it for yourselves.
The Japanese settings are beautiful, with imaginative enemy design and fluid animations. Taking down those enemies with a well-timed parry feels excellent, and we just can’t wait to see the full game at its release.
Best Game of Gamescom 2018 – Community Choice
The games above are all the games we, the GamersPack crew decided were the best of the bunch; the ones we most enjoyed seeing in action. However, we also asked you, our community, to tell us which was the game you are most excited about coming out of Gamescom 2018. And you did.
The best game of Gamescom 2018, according to the GamersPack community is…
Cyberpunk 2077
Surprise! Well, no, not really. I bet you could have seen it coming a mile away.
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year. After it’s announcement at E3, people were eager for any piece of new information about the game CD Projekt RED could offer.
One huge piece of information was on display at Gamescom 2018: a 50-minute demo shown only to the press. Luckily for all of you, the demo was quickly released to the public as well, and we could all sit together and gawk and the awesome combat, the living open world and that one gang boss with a freaking light bulb instead of a face.
Hopefully, you all are happy with your choice for the best game of Gamescom 2018. The Cyberpunk team was delighted to receive your award, as you can see in the image below.
