Look, I love video game announcements as much as the next person who’s desperate to fill a hole in their heart. I’ve spent years trying, but I’m sure one day I’ll finally have enough video games to make myself feel like I’ve lived a fulfilling life. So please believe me when I say that I’m not being negative just for the sake of being negative. I mean, obviously I am, but I do in fact love video game announcements.
I don’t miss E3 as an event to attend, because it was a dark corner of Hell, but I do miss feeling excited by all the new game announcements happening at once like a rain of future expenses. And I still love a good Sony State of Play. I still love a good Nintendo Direct. I still love a good… third Xbox thing. But there’s just something about this year’s Gamescom that’s making me so deeply, existentially sad.
There’s not one specific reason Gamescom is bumming me out, and I’ve had some trouble putting my finger on it. It’s not the quality of all the games announced – I haven’t played any of them and some of them look fantastic. Resident Evil Requiem will scare the crap out of me when that big lady (who may or may not be Lisa Trevor) crawls through the door.
And, honestly, I have to give credit to Capcom for changing gears a bit and this time making a humungous woman who doesn’t cause fans to say “step on me.” Other games like Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight look incredible, and I’m 100% on board with Matt Berry playing Bane. Hell, I’d pay good money for Matt Berry to play Lisa Trevor.
But then there are the games I’m excited about but feel… odd. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines may have far too much punctuation in its title but it’s one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played. I still think about how each different vampire clan can vastly change the way you progress and how the story unfolds. So, I was delighted to learn that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is actually, finally coming out and shockingly coming soon.
But Gaming Just Kind Of Sucks As An Industry Right Now
But then I found out that I’m going to need to spend $30 extra to get all the clans in the game on release day. I know that’s likely a business decision to claw back what has been a very long and very expensive development cycle, but do you want review bombs? This is how you get review bombs and people waiting for a sale six months from release.
I’d rather you lied to me and released it as DLC a year later than asking me to buy two-thirds of a game and then immediately buy the rest of the game on top of it. I don’t think that was a decision the publisher came by easily, but hoo boy does it pop my balloon.
We all know times are tough in the industry, but it’s almost like everyone is trying so hard to smile through the chaos that their teeth are cracking. The whole opening night stream of Gamescom felt weird to me. Not bad, but still weird. Obviously, it can’t be focused on people who lost their jobs – I’m not a complete moron – but a few of the presentations might as well have been for games titled ‘Is This Anything?’ Soulslikes running together.
Shooters that look like other shooters that have been taken offline because it didn’t do as well as a different shooter they were imitating. I want everything to do well, because I want people to keep their jobs. But it’s ironic that one of the happiest moments was a performance of music from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a top ten all-time depressing game.
It’s like making a romantic playlist and the highlight is the theme from Requiem for a Dream. That’s some incredible music! No doubt! But, I don’t know if I want that to be the most uplifting part of the night?
Games Are Expensive And Some Might Never Even Come Out
Yes, I’m being facetious, but it feels so strange that some companies simply shut down questions about layoffs, as if ignoring the problem might make it go away. I understand that’s not what you want to be asked when you’re showing off fancy expansions and new ports of your games.
But shutting it down just feels like people at the top trying very hard to just push through it and ignore the real problems facing developers, big and small. When I hear stories about, for example, BioShock 4’s staff going through layoffs it’s hard for me to get excited about other games that may or may not drop their developers like a bad habit.
It only makes me worry about that company’s staff and what will happen if they don’t sell infinite copies or ship within the right timeline. I know that reshuffling happens at any developer or studio that can’t get a game out the door, but the fact it’s happening so many places is a cloud over things. Pretending it’s not raining doesn’t keep you from getting soaked.
And that says nothing about price increases. The Switch 2 is already expensive. The original Switch is now somehow more expensive than it was before the Switch 2 came out. The PlayStation 5 line is also going to cost more. There’s an Xbox handheld coming and they’re being real quiet about the cost, leaks notwithstanding.
Between tariffs, mass unemployment, the fear of a recession, and global politics that seems to oscillate between ‘diversity is pretty good’ and ‘Mein Kampf isn’t that bad’, everyone’s business plan is now on shuffle and consumers don’t know what to even expect anymore. Will you be able to afford gifts for Christmas? Stay tuned! Maybe you can get half a game? Would you like half a game? It’s $60, but maybe we can let you pay $70 to play it a day early.
That all said, there are absolutely a lot of games to be excited about here. I’m not bummed out because there won’t be something fun to play for the rest of the year, I’m bummed because Gamescom this year almost feels like having your birthday on the same day your grandma died.
As people are joyfully texting you, ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!’, you have to focus on the logistics of a funeral which takes up just a little more mental space, believe it or not. You’ll respond with a heart emoji to the text, but you aren’t really feeling heart emoji energy, you know? I get that metaphor is very specific, but that’s only because this actually happened to me a few years ago.
I suppose Gamescom bums me out this year because there’s just so much effort being put into sidestepping any and all problems in the industry. It’s a trade show, so this isn’t surprising. I just don’t know if what I’m seeing really fills me with the confidence that it’s all going to be okay. That’s kind of a sad place to land and I wish I was more positive, because I love this artform more than I love most people I know. Again, there are games they’ve shown that are exciting (see: Matt Berry).
It’s not about whether or not these releases will be good. It’s not about whether there will be something fun coming up this month, next month, and ever after. I’m not worried about that, although I am probably in a loud minority of people who are all set on parrying for a while. It’s honestly that something in the air makes it all feel a little smaller, a little sadder, and a little more anxious, and I’m worried things will only go downhill from here. RIP Grandma.
