Gamescom Opening Night Live: Updates from the showcase including Final Fantasy and Gears of War previews

That's the magic of Gamescom.

We've arguably heard plenty about the new Onimusha at this point, but hey, there's a new expanded demo!

Hi, Kris! And hi, Bob, I guess!

Disney is backing the painting adventure game Murals, which definitely is not Epic Mickey.

Was that Bob Mortimer's voice in the trailer for Murals? Sure sounded like it.

(Oh, hi, don't mind me. I'm quietly gatecrashing this party.)

Valor Mortis: Zombies, 19th-century soldiers and creepy mysteries abound. 

Please tell me it's at least AA. At least AA!

You're the main character in an indie horror game. I'm so sorry.

Mat... I have some bad news.

That first-person blinking sim was perceptum, coming spring 2027.

It's impressive that they managed to fully digitize my living room and where I'm liveblogging ONL from...

I don't like horror games when you can see the characters blinking... 

Shh, the horror games are starting.

Yeah, those Palworld lawyers are seething.

Surfing otters, monster battles, a lil' litigious a premise. It's Aniimo.

Trains, rollercoasters... we'll call this ONL pre-show bit the Simulator Sessions.

The expensive reason is accurate. (But we're definitely going to mention it at least five more times.)

Just to be clear: There will be no 🙅 GTA VI 🙅 trailers today. That's coming Thursday at 3PM ET, exclusively on Netflix for a total of six hours for some strange and likely very expensive reason.

Sup, Worms.

Worms: Galactic Tactics, coming next year.

Yep. A blast from the past. Literally. *looks to camera*

Is this... Worms?

We are into the pre-show; Kyle Bosman is Geoff's hypeman.

Agreed, I swear I saw a dinner plate shaped like an Elite D-pad, and I'm kind of obsessed.

I'd also love to see all that Xbox-IKEA furniture sometime, too. But that'll probably be on Microsoft's own stream. Boo. 

Dad Bautista.

That seems like God Of War. I mean, we have the new actor. 

Any bets on who the special guest will be? Our hint is: 

"Pandas, crazy clowns, underworld lords, souls, and the guy from G- ...yeah I am not finishing that."

Green Day? G-Dragon? God of War? GODZILLA??

Pony Island 2 is a different beast altogether. It comes from Inscryption developer Daniel Mullins, and it features his brand of dark, mind-melting humor in a mystical world of mixed mechanics and dueling genres. Whatever it is, Pony Island 2 is not a game about ponies, Mullins warns. 

There's no release date for it yet, so maybe that'll come in tonight's show? Apparently, the new trailer will feature some guy that everyone is going to freak out over, so that's cool.

Yeah, Townfall looks fun/terrifying. It also looks like a time portal back to the early '90s UK. 

It's such an amazing time for horror media, so I know we're gonna get some good spooks at ONL. Silent Hill: Townfall and Pony Island 2: Panda Circus are both on the docket, which is a great sign already. Townfall is due out next month, on September 23, and I can't wait to explore its foggy seaside village. I recall you enjoyed the demo, Mat!

This year's ONL is sold-out. Brace yourselves, for there will be whooping.

That said, I'm pretty into it.

All I know about Warlock is that the teaser trailer uses Tool to great effect 🤘 Also, I like the protagonist's purple eyeball.

I mean, besides the existence of an Eldritch Blast. We don't know a lot....

Any thoughts on the new DnD game, Warlock? 

I blame Avowed for reigniting my love of fantasy RPGs, so maybe now's my time to dive in. BG3 can't be beat, though.

I mean, it's a CDPR thing. So it's a long adventure. I wonder how much I'll like it post-Baldur's Gate 3, though. 

I should play Witcher, huh?

Cloud's new hair textures aside, I'm stoked to see the first live-action gameplay trailer for Fable, a title that is somehow, thankfully, still in production at Xbox. It's been in development hell for around a decade (since the time of Fable: Legends, technically), and it's being handled by Playground Games. Playground is one of a few studios that Xbox didn't shut down in its round of mass layoffs this summer, and Fable is still due out on February 23, 2027, last we checked.

Calling it Songs of the Past, too. Bit meta.

I'm so intrigued by the new Witcher 3 DLC. It's mind-boggling that we're getting more W3 stuff, but I am certainly not mad.

It's how they keep me watchin', Jessica.

Happy Gamescom, all! One reveal is confirmed, at least: a Final Fantasy VII Revelation... something. That one's just for you, Mat.

We know that Microsoft will show off Persona 4 Revival on its Xbox broadcast tomorrow, but I'm still holding out hope we'll see a little more of the remake during ONL.

Let's get this thing started! This year's Gamescom starts in earnest tomorrow and runs through Sunday August 30, but the biggest gaming headlines usually come from Opening Night Live (ONL). What are we expecting?