This year’s Gamescom was overwhelmed by the open world genre (little surprise there), but we also saw some interesting throwbacks. Age of Empires 4 – a sequel twelve years in the making –  made an appearance, as well as the retro inspired Cuphead with some new multiplayer videos. There was also more info on the inception and inspiration behind the classically inspired RPG Battle Chasers: Nightwar, produced by THQ Nordic.

But there were a few games the made impressions on us and stole most of the spotlight, so let’s crack into them.

DESTINY 2

It would surprise no one to see Destiny 2 putting in a big showing with its release just around the corner, but we would have liked to see a little more than we already have. We did get to see a demo of what a Flashpoint would look like in Destiny 2 – PvE events that players can choose to jump into with other players – but there was little to differentiate it from many other MMO world events like those that Rift was based around.

When asked about the loot system for heroics – arguably the issue players are most interested in – Destiny 2’s community manager dodged the question. He said rewards will be a big part of the game, but gave nothing in the way of specifics, and he addressed none of the issues of Destiny regarding constant grinding to maintain power levels.

It felt like a missed opportunity to connect with the fanbase about what they were most concerned with. However, the community manager was quick to say that there would be lots of lore – something Bungee has been touting for some time – and that many of the issues fans had with Destiny lore and story would be fixed in Destiny 2. We’ll have to wait for the release to see if it’s enough.

BIOMUTANT

We’ve already covered our excitement about this game, but it’s fair to say that it made a splash at Gamescom. Another offering by THQ Nordic, Biomutant looks familiar enough to be exciting, trendy enough to be popular, and unique enough to be making waves. Featuring a player-designed, anthropomorphic, mutating raccoon as the main character in a post-apocalyptic setting that is for once verdant, vibrant, and full of life, Biomutant might be a breath of fresh air in a generation of sequels.

It also offers an open-world, a crafting system, and a number of vessels which include a jet-ski and a giant robot hand. This is all coupled with the 60s comic-style balloons that appear above enemies when you smash them.

STAR CITIZEN

Star Citizen continues to garner loads of attention, some of it for their process, some of it for their promises, and some of it for their technology. At gamescom, it was mostly about the technology.

CIG (the developers behind Star Citizen) focused on showing off the newest updates in 3.0 along with changes they’re making to interaction and group play. This includes a pipboy like interface known as the mobiglass which tracks oxygen levels and serves as the tracker in-game, but CIG also showed off that it could be used to call fellow players in game and even face time.

The faceware technology CIG is working on is certainly interesting, allowing players with cameras to have their avatars match their own facial tics and expressions while interacting online, but CIG also seemed far more interested in showing off what they could do with technology than what players could do in game. Unless, of course, you are just that interested in VR face-time.

MONSTER HUNTER 4

It has been awhile since we’ve since Monster Hunter in its prime, but Monster Hunter Worlds is shaping up to be just that. After years of being released on sub-par graphical systems like the Wii or 3DS, Monster Hunter Worlds will premiere on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

The gameplay from gamescom showed the game looking gorgeous and exciting in only the way that a romp through fields and mountains to slay dragons can be. The animations of the characters were smooth and spiraling death attacks from a variety of weapons looked exciting and terrifying.

Monster Hunter Worlds also shows a departure from the traditional single-player and group systems in that players can simply shoot up a flare to invite any nearby hunters to join the fray. Suffice to say, we have high hopes for this title.