Gamescom 2022 let us see and play a bunch of exciting upcoming Xbox games — here are our picks of some of the best games from the Cologne show.
The Gamescom Opening Night Live show wasn’t what you might call an all-timer, but it did have plenty to show us all the same, including some rather special games that our on-site team would get to see more of and play at the show itself. We’ve got plenty more to bring you based on everything we got to see on the show floor, but in the meantime, here’s a quick rundown of some of the standout games from Gamescom 2022, three of which are coming to Xbox Game Pass in the not-too-distant future.
The Callisto Protocol
Dead Space creator Glen Schofield’s new action-horror game The Callisto Protocol looked amazing in the new gameplay footage that debuted at Gamescom Opening Night Live, but the team had even more to share with press at the event itself with extended presentations behind closed doors. We’ll have more to share about the game soon — including an interview about this stunning new IP — but for now, suffice to say that The Callisto Protocol this week shot from being a game we were pretty excited for to being one of our most anticipated releases of the year. Dead Space fans aren’t going to want to miss this one, and it’s seemingly still on track to meet its December 2nd release date.
Friends vs. Friends
The trailer for this card-based shooter didn’t exactly blow us away at Opening Night Live, but it turns out it’s something you really need to go hands-on with in order to appreciate its appeal. Tom and Kes both cited this small-scale (1v1 or 2v2) competitive shooter as one of the best things they played at the show, and mentioning it in the same breath as local multiplayer great TowerFall is high praise indeed. As well as an evolving deck of cards that trigger potent effects, Friends vs. Friends takes inspiration from competitive fighting games, with three lives per player and rounds resetting after one player/team wipes out the other, turning it into a chaotic best-of-five set. With full online play, a bunch of cards and characters offering plenty of build synergy, and the promise of &ld