Insider Stories: Experiencing the thrills of Europe's premier digital gaming exhibition

Gamescom took place over the week in Cologne or as the locals call it Koumlln It is considered the biggest show in terms of the number of exhibitors and businesses attending not to mention the sheer volume of people who attend the event from all over the world This writer was fortunate enough to attend Gamescom this year and bring to you firsthand accounts of new gaming releases and what to look forward to next yearBlack Myth WukongComplete newcomer Black Myth Wukong had some of the longest lines at Gamescom with over one hour wait time They were only outdone by Genshin Impact a game with a loyal fanbase and an everexpanding universe The game is an action RPG heavily based on Chinese Mythology It looks gorgeous during the demo you could get into the thick of boss fights and experience more of the action elements of the game The game uses Unreal 5 and as a result looks better than most current AAA titles Black Myth Wukong is scheduled to release next yearOWOOwo brings the virtual world into the real world with their haptic feedback clothing The long skintight shirt must be worn and have direct contact with your skin The skin contact takes place through sticky pads on the underside of the shirt These are the same sticky pads used at the hospital which ensure that your skin is in contact with the electrodes placed in strategic locations on the inside of the shirt It is honestly one of the most disgusting things to wear and for someone who isnrsquot in the best of shape it is not very flattering either However it does what it claims to do This writer played a game and feltevery bullet and every explosion OWO is precise enough to make you feel stabs and bullets passing through your body and coming out from the other end So as to not scar the reader we will be going with press images for this oneMonster Hunter NowThis one almost went unnoticed on the first day of Gamescom Monster Hunter Now is a new game from Nianticmdashthe same guys who made Ingress Pokeacutemon Go and the shortlived Harry Potter Wizards Unite This time they have you hunting monsters from the popular game Monster Hunter The interface is a cross between Pokemon Go and Wizards Unite It actually doesnrsquot seem like a Niantic game which is a compliment You can take on monsters solo or you can take them down in groups You donrsquot need to be in the same clan or anything you can just join any monster raid They also seemed to be moving away from the existing tower system from their previous games You can also see your player fighting the monsters in the gameStreets of Rogue 2Streets of Rogue is a topdownview indie game where you essentially go on a rampage to gain power The game feels like a more modern take on games like GTA 2 before it became all fancy and went 3D There is plenty of violence short quests and things to do all over the map and unlike GTA 2 you get to choose your player here Also all of this is randomly generated so no two experiences of playing the game will ever be the sameASUS ROG Evangelion hardwareOn the sidelines of Gamescom ASUS launched about 14 new products including a gaminggrade WiFi 7 router a few new monitors and a whole set of Evangelionbranded components with coolers graphic cards motherboards and even a fancy cabinet The entire lot was on display at their press experience area Any Anime fan would sacrifice their closest blood relative for computer gear that looks this good Asus also launched a huge textured glass mousepad called ROG Moonstone Ace L by far one of the best mouse pads I have used While most of the products on display were great there was also a bizarre product that I never thought I would ever see let alone at a ROG event It is a gamescentric Chromebook running Googlersquos OS and possibly meant to use some online streaming game service like the now defunct Stadia That product had no right to existThe Crew MotorfestUbisoft showed off a few games during Gamescom including the new Assassinrsquos Creed Mirage However for the true racing fans Ubisoft also had a playable demo of The Crew Motorfest The game is scheduled for launch next month It seems to have shed most of its past and decided to take inspiration from Forza Horizon The game features an exotic location different types of vehicles and different game modes very suspiciously like Microsoftrsquos car racing title In any case the demo was fun to ride and the game should be out soon Watch out for the reviewMicrosoft XboxXbox booked nearly half of the exhibition hall showing off all the new games headed to the Xbox in the coming year They also set up a customskinned Porsche to celebrate their Porsche edition Xbox with several options to choose from Xbox also had a preview of the new Cyberpunk expansion which presumably is coming to the Xbox and PC