The second day of gamescom asia was a great look into the first-ever Entertainment Zone with early access being given to media outlets and Super Fan ticket holders. While I was enjoying all the booths without the long lines, I couldn’t help but think how so much more amazing it would be to see it all crowded with fellow gamers, geeks, and nerds. Day 3 of gamescom asia 2023 opens it all up to the public and it was one heck of an experience. Here are the highlights.
It’s showtime at the gamescom asia 2023 main stage
Given that this is the very first time gamescom asia is doing an in-person event on this scale, it was a special moment to see how gamers, developers, media, and geeks alike all just came together to celebrate the industry we all love. The 3 programs on the main stage offered a little bit of everything for everyone who attended.
Skull and Bones’ Tech Art: Building Ships & Making Waves
The first segment had Ubisoft Singapore Lead Technical Director Kris Kirkpatrick go on stage to provide insights on the technology they’ve used in creating an immersive pirate-themed world. Looking at behind-the-scenes development has always been an interesting peek into the hard work that goes into all the games we play.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was a taste of how Ubisoft is able to create impressive ocean and ship physics. From what I saw in Kikrpatrick’s presentation, Skull and Bones will be a significant step forward from a technical and visual perspective. While there isn’t much news of when the final release will be, I’m still fairly excited and hopeful for Skull and Bones. Kirkpatrick’s presentation was a great reinforcement and assurance that it’s not completely lost at sea yet.
Let’s Play! With Ryōzō Tsujimoto, Producer of the Monster Hunter series
As a massive fan of the Monster Hunter franchise, the second program, was an absolute treat to witness. The premise was simple, Tsujimoto plays Monster Hunter Rise with content creators. He was joined by The Joomers, Tashbunny, and Highgai. While a lot of fans were expecting some sort of teaser for the next mainline Monster Hunter release in time for the 20th anniversary in 2024, witnessing one of the core creators of the franchise play a hunt live on stage was amazing in itself.
For the first hunt, Tsujimoto and the crew decided to go all out and take on the Elder Dragon, Velkhana. This is also where the crowd got to confirm that Tsujimoto uses the Hammer class. Like a lot. Things were going pretty well actually. Tsujimoto wasted no time and just bolted through the forest to fight. The group was doing a lot of damage up until Highgai fainted which ended it all. At this point, I didn’t even realize that all 3 of the faints were used up already. A testament to how frantic a hunt can be when all 4 players are firing on all cylinders. After a brief reset, they decided to take on another Elder Dragon, Malzeno. This one faired much better as the group was able to take it down without any faints in sight. Best believe that throughout the 2 hunts, the crowd was hyped.
Throughout the whole thing, you can just tell how much Tsujimoto loves the franchise and its fans. When playfully asking who in the crowd has played the recently released Monster Hunter Now and nearly everyone in the crowd raised their hands, he had the biggest smile on his face. Before leaving the stage, he promised that there are a few things Capcom is brewing up in time for the 20th anniversary. We talked to him more about it and his role as a Producer in this interview.
Cosplay Fashion Show – Walk of Valor and Might in collaboration with Singapore Cosplay Club
The cosplay scene in Singapore is one of the best in the world and so, gamescom asia 2023 wouldn’t be complete if they didn’t set the stage for the most dedicated cosplayers to show off their talent. This wasn’t a contest to see who did it best or who embodied their chosen character the most. It was a time and space for cosplayers to come together and appreciate the unique costume designs they cooked up. Some of my favorites include a bunch of Ada Wongs, Leon Kennedy, and Albert Wesker. Being a fan of Resident Evil is probably a big reason why. There were also cosplays from The Legend of Zelda, Nier, Bayonetta, and Street Fighter. However, probably my most memorable one is when someone cosplayed as Yoru from Valorant and he did the default walk the clone skill would do. That got the crowd fired up when we all realized it at first.
My biggest takeaway from this program was just how much the cosplay community supports each other. When some of the people on stage were having minor complications with their costumes or they looked like they were getting nervous, the crowd wasted no time in cheering them on. It was this sense of camaraderie that really made the Fashion Show so special. I even got to chat with some cosplayers who were watching with me in the crowd and they mentioned how the ultimate goal is to really lift each other up to continue growing the community.
Speaking of cosplayers and people embodying different characters, various meet and greets were also set up which includes the Philippines’ own Kitz Cua and Charess in the lineup alongside Su Ling Chan, Voice Actor for Honkai: Star Rail’s Bailu and Craig Lee Thomas, Voice Actor for Honkai: Star Rail’s Luocha.
Enter the Entertainment Zone
Over 100 different game titles were available to try out in gamescom asia 2023. This ranged from highly anticipated AAA releases, unique VR titles, noteworthy multiplayer experiences, and a booming indie game scene.
Of course, the PlayStation booth was crowded with people lining up to try the Amazing, Spectacular, and Ultimate Spider-Man 2 that was just recently released. Additionally, Gran Turismo 6 VR was a wild ride, Just Dance 2024 brings in more of what fans have come to expect, and aspiring players of EA SPORTS™ FC 24 competed with one another to win some potential goodies.
The Ubisoft booth featured Skull and Bones and Assassin’s Creed Mirage. They gave out a lot of freebies such as posters, temporary tattoos, pins, and stickers. There was also a highly detailed display model of the Black Pearl ship. While there were no opportunities to try out the game itself, it was still nice to see that the studio still believes in Skull and Bones and it has only made me more curious for the final product.
I was also able to try out S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl for myself and see what all the fuss is about. This was a franchise that I’ve always heard about and know how prestige of a pedigree it has in PC gaming but I never got the chance to play for myself. After my hands-on time, I was able to chat with Creative Director Maria Grygorovych as she shared their experience developing a sequel worthy of the franchise. Stay tuned for that.
Amplitude Studios’ Endless Dungeon had an area dedicated to letting gamescom asia attendees try out the new co-op tower defense twin-stick shooter. We’ve had our hands on this one for quite some time already. So far, we’ve been loving every bit of it. A fun, challenging, and easy-to-pick-up-hard-to-master game that is sure to provide a lot of great times with your friends.
But of course, we can’t forget about the indie scene. Indie Zone by Indie Wavemakers had a massive turnout of gamers eager to try out what’s up and coming in the indie space. There were over 30 developers who showed up to present what they’ve been working on. If you want to check some of them out for yourself, you can visit gamescom asia 2023’s Steam Festival page.
To cap such a successful day, the Wave Party by Indie Wavemakers and SGGA was held where exhibitors, media, developers, and industry leaders gathered around to network and celebrate the weekend.
gamescom asia 2023 truly embodies the “work hard, play hard” statement. Fans, gamers, developers, and industry insiders all coming together in a space meant to celebrate, appreciate, and grow the gaming space in Southeast Asia. There are a lot of good things coming in the future and gamescom asia plays a large part in why a lot of it will happen.