One of the best parts of Gamescom in Cologne, Germany —other t🌼han eating lots of currywurst and hanging out with your peers—is all the games you get to check out. I got to pick up and play many of my enduring favourites there, as well as pleꦉnty of surprising new titles.
But there were♕ also games I knew were great, but couldn’t fully appreciate because I was terrible at them. Despite my fai𝓰lures, don’t let these games pass you by. I may have been absolutely terrible at them, but they deserve to be played. More importantly, they deserve to be played properly.
Perennial Order
The first game I sucked at during Gamescom was Perennial Order. It's a brutal co-op Soulslike boss rush title where you die if you get hit only once. I was so atrocious at it that the very kind dev playing with me carried me through the game so I could see the different bosses.
Gorgeous 2D illustration-style graphics are emphasised by the minimalistic UI, ensuring that the art takes centre stage. Thereꦆ are no enemy health bars, either. Instead, you’ll have to pay attention to the visual changes to each boss to signify their different stages. There are 15 bosses in total, but they offer dif♉ferent flavours of gameplay. One is like a bullet hell, one is like a tug of war, while another is like a chess game.
The indie tea🃏m behind Perennial Order took inspiration 🌸from Hollow Knight, Shadow of the Colossus, and Titan Souls to create this beautifully punishing title to challenge players. It will launch for PlayStation 5 and PC and can be currently .
Albatroz
After I failed to survive for more than 30 seconds at a time in Perennial Orderꦿ, I jumped over to the next booth to play Albratroz. That’s right, I failed twice in a row. To be fair, part of this was my fault, and part of this was Albatroz’s fault. A💮s the game is in the early stages, it was a little temperamental.
Albatroz is an immersive exploration sim that follows the protagonist as she searches for her brother, offering an emotional narrative dealing with mental health themes. The emotive music and colourful scenery create a striking atmosphere, giving you a sense of how important this journey through such a beautiful landscape is for the protagonist. Survival sim e🦋lements come into play as you must maintain your health, thirst, and hunger, your arms and legs grow tired as you travel around, and you must manage your resources accordingly. Everything takes time, sಞuch as filling up the gas in your car or using the menu option to get unstuck.
Though some of the game has you walking, other parts have you driving—this is where I messed up. It turns out I don’t drive well. It's hardly shocking as I don’t drive in real life, either. I careened off the road a couple of times, and unfortunately, the game seemed buggier there, and I’d have to reload. If I could have driven well enough to stick to the roads, maybe I would have seen a lot more.
Though I only saw a brief snippet of Albatroz, I was really intrigued by it. I was told that different characters come into play and that you can explore old temples and even wrangle a monster or two further in. This could be one of those unforgettable indies we’ll all rave aboꦗut when it launches. Albatroz has no set launch date yet but will eventually launch for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, X🙈box Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. You can .
Endless Dungeon
The best way to sum up how terrible I was at Endless Dungeon is to explain that at the end of my session—after we had all wiped—the PR person asked us, “Whose fault was that then?”. I sat in silence, but I knew it was me. Sorry, team. Action strategy roguelikes are not for me, as it hꦑappens.
Endless Dungeon is 🐓a spiritual successor of Dungeon of the Endless, which I haven’t played. Maybe if I had, I would have fared better in this session. Though it can be played alone, it offers up to thr♛ee-player co-op, which we did at Gamescom.
We each picked our character, each of which had their own skills, and then we were set loose. I wasn’t fully aware of what we wereꩵ doing at first, and then I realised we weren’t just protecting an area but also☂ exploring it. You must carefully plan pathways through the dungeon, placing and building turrets and shields to deal with the waves of enemies that will eventually come. Fortunately for me, if you die but the rest of your team completes the level, you get revived. Unfortunately for my team, sometimes the dead weight will drag you to a loss regardless.
My failure doesn’t determine Endless Dungeon’s quality, I assure you. Like other games I played and failed at during Gamescom, I knew if one of my colleagues was playing, they would have absolutely adored it. Endless Dungeon launches on October 19 for 𒈔PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Android, and PC. If you to take it for a spin before it releases.
Paradize Project
I’m not good at survival games, and I can’t think of♔ many games that involve zombies that I’ve fared well at, so I knew straight away that Paradize Project wouldn’t be for me. Despite knowing I would be horrendous at it, to my surprise, I found it incredibly fun.
It’s a survival sandbox where you build a base, hack zombies to get them doing your dirty work, and tackle hilarious and quirky enemies. P💞aradize Project is brimming with humour, from being able to mount and ride your zombots like horses to creating funny weapons for your zombots that make them dance. The boss that I tackled during my hands-on was a giant zombie elephant. Do I need to say any more?
But it’s more than just funny. There is a deep system to the game that survival-base builder players will adore. Though you only have two zombots with you while you explore the world, collecting resources and completing objectives, you can have an infinite number back at your camp where you have various machinery running, and it is the only place you can actually craft. Eventually, your camp can bꦍecome self-sufficient with the right zombots in the right roles, and you c🐭an create the post-apocalyptic base of your dreams.
You can also mix and match the zombots you take with you, programming them to heal, attack, or defend as you wish, so you can change up how they act to suit your playstyle. You can also equip your zombots with different weapons and gear, like covering them in spikes to deal more damage. The combat has a lot of diversity to it 𒉰because of this.
Paradize Project offers an open world&mꦗdash;though with some soft locks in certain a🍷reas—that encompasses the city, the desert, the forest, and a volcano. You can play alone or with up to three others online or play two-player couch co-op.
While I wasn’t very good at surviving the zombie apocalypse, I can tell at a glance that this game will beꦑ very fun for those who enjoy the genre. Paradize Project will launch in February 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. You can .
