Gamescom 2024: Our Hype Picks

VIDEO GAMES! They’re great, aren’t they? We think so, and so does Geoff Keighley, who presented this years Gamescom pre-show. During the 2 hour show, we were treated to numerous trailers and teasers for various upcoming video games. All of them had us excited, but some of them had us VERY excited. The announcement of one of them almost made me cry, because it was a very unexpected continuation of one of my favorite gaming series of all time. Can you guess what it was? Read on and find out! Here are some of the Gamescom reveals that had us the most hyped. IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, before any arguments break out!

Borderlands 4

Here at Creeperhost, we love our co-op games. Whether we’re creating a cyberpunk dystopia (yes) in FTB Neotech, rocking out in Deep Rock Galactic or running a convoy in American Truck Simulator, you’ll often find us gaming together after hours. The Borderlands series, of course, is an all-time fave. We’re like one big gun-totin’ happy family. And nothing made us happier than seeing this Borderlands 4 teaser trailer shown off at Gamescom. Check it out below! Psycho Bandit, baby!

Directive 8020

I’ve been hyped for the new Dark Pictures season ever since the little teaser at the end of The Devil In Me, and Directive 8020 does not look set to disappoint. From the sounds of things, Supermassive Games are mixing up the playstyle somewhat, and instead of just reaction events and scripted setpieces, we’ll also be dealing with a persistent enemy stalking you that can presumably kill you in unscripted sequences. Life is Strange meets Alien: Isolation. Either way, I can’t wait!

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Speaking of Life is Strange, Bloom & Rage is the next game from developer Don't Nod. As someone who knows someone who grew up as a teenage girl in 90s America, this game is basically about me. It looks like the comic Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang, which I loved, meets Life is Strange, meets Yellowjackets meets all sorts. I’m a sucker for ‘90s ‘we started a band and then weird stuff happened’ stories, and I’m a big Don't Nod fan, so this is one I can’t wait for. 

King of Meat

What a title. What. A. Title. Another co-op game that’s on the Creeperhost team radar, King of Meat looks like Fall Guys meets Minecraft meets Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom (more on Indy later!) where you, as a team, compete in nefarious user-created dungeons and assault courses in order to presumably come out on top as the King of Meat. Looks awesome.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7

Who doesn’t love a Civ game? I once played a single round of V that lasted 18 straight hours. I had to actively ban myself from playing the series for a while when I had work deadlines at The NoSleep Podcast. With 7 coming up though, I’m going to break my self-imposed exile and dive in once again. What civilizations are you hoping for? Let us know in the comments below!

Dune: Awakening

During the show, we were treated to a five minute gameplay reveal of Dune: Awakening, Funcom’s upcoming Dune-based open-world MMO. There’s a lot of sand, a lot of cool tech, a lot of fear being the mind-killer, and some sandworms. I can’t wait to explore Arrakis, hoard Spice, and bury other players in sand so only their head pokes out, then leave them there in the hot sun (caveat: this is not a confirmed feature). The important question is though; will it support dedicated servers???

Reanimal

This brand new IP looks like the game I always wanted Little Nightmares to be; Tarsier Studios with the reigns completely off, going all out in being as terrifying as possible and also having a severely horrifying sheep in it. I’m so glad that Tarsier are seemingly able to make the game they wanted to make, free of any constraints. Plus it has online and local co-op, but a strong focus on single player as well, so good on them. Prepare to be scared.

Little Nightmares III

Then on the other hand, we have Little Nightmares 3 itself. I have to admit, Reanimal looks closer to my personal kind of horror game, but only from a taste perspective. Little Nightmares III looks to continue the series high bar, although from the aesthetic it almost looks like a new game instead of a direct sequel to the previous Little Nightmares titles. It’s by Supermassive Games though, and I’ve yet to dislike a single thing they’ve made, so I’m excited for this one even if it isn’t quite what I would’ve expected from a new Little Nightmares game back when 2 had just released. 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Oh boy, am I ready for another Indiana Jones game. I love Indy games. The point n click ones, Emperor’s Tomb, Infernal Machine, Lego Indy, even Staff of Kings on the Wii that nobody ever seems to remember. At first I was sceptical about Great Circle being first person, but it looks like they’ve captured a mixture of first and third perspectives really well. Troy Baker sounds fantastic as Indy, the game looks beautiful, and it’s out this year, which I didn’t expect. 

Mafia: The Old Country

This was the announcement that almost caused me to cry tears of joy. I love love love the Mafia series of games, all three of them. We just got a mere glimpse of what’s on offer here, with a cinematic teaser trailer, but I’m already dying for more. I think a prequel is absolutely the right direction to go with the series too. Mafia 3 portrayed a fantastic swansong to the collapse of ‘classic’ organized crime, but new stories set in and around the era predating and covering Mafia 1 and 2 could lead to a whole revival of the series. Now we just need a new LA Noire game to be announced too.

Bonus: Secret Level

Love, Death & Robots creator Tim Wheeler teared up when he revealed this on stage. I don’t blame him. This must have been a dream project to work on for anyone who loves video games. It’s not a game itself, it’s an anthology show, but, well, if you haven’t heard about it already, just watch the trailer. I got actual chills. A much-needed reminder that video games should be all about celebration and joy. 

So there you go! There was a bunch of other cool stuff shown too, like Monster Hunter: Wilds, Batman: Arkham Shadow, Marvel Rivals (which I am definitely going to be playing day one) and new Starfield, Diablo and Call of Duty reveals, but these were our top picks from the show. What got you hyped? Talk to us on X @creeperhost or comment below and let us know!