The China Mail - Chinese tiger, French berets and space cannons mark Gamescom 2025

Here are some of the highlights of the occasion, which draws more than 300,000 people each year to the city on the Rhine.

- 'Black Myth' outshines 'Call of Duty' -

Announced with video of a towering tiger straddled by a grim bearded warrior, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" -- the follow-up to 2024's smash hit "Wukong" -- had more gamers leaping out of their seats than the next instalment in the long-running "Call of Duty" shooter series.

The second game from Chinese developers Game Science was acclaimed by the audience at Gamescom's Tuesday opening night, with cheers far outstripping those for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7".

Anticipation is high based on "Wukong", which sold more than 25 million copies to become 2024's biggest gaming success story.

Game Science calls the upcoming title a new chapter in a broader sequence drawing on Chinese mythology, rather than a direct follow-on to the original -- itself adapted from the 16th-Century novel "Journey to the West".

The developers have yet to let on about a release date.

- 'Hollow Knight: Silksong' -

After a years-long wait for the sequel to a beloved indie hit, fans finally got their hands on "Hollow Knight: Silksong" at Gamescom, ahead of a September 4 release on PC and consoles.

Developed by a small Australian indie studio, "Silksong" sees the return of the original game's diminutive grey hero with huge black eyes.

Queues to test out the game got so long that organisers had to restrict access, handing out tickets for lucky fans to show up at a given time slot.

"I'm only here at Gamescom to see 'Resident Evil' and 'Silksong'... now nobody can get in and play without a ticket," complained Jens Ragas, 45, adding that he loved the original game as a way to connect with his 11-year-old son.

More than five million people had added "Silksong" to their wishlists on games publishing platform Steam ahead of Gamescom, a rarely attained figure that is a sign of fans' powerful appetite.

The first "Hollow Knight" has sold more than nine million copies since its 2017 release, according to specialist data firm Alinea Analytics.

- Red berets, striped shirts -

No shortage of spiky-haired anime heroes, giant robots and sword-wielding warriors were visible among Gamescom attendees who dressed up for the occasion.

But one look popped up over and over again in the vast halls of the Cologne convention centre: the red berets and striped shirts of the exceedingly French smash hit "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33".

Sometimes sported by the Belle Epoque-influenced game's protagonists, the outfits have gone viral since its April release and subsequent four million copies sold.

Fans swayed to a live rendition by the game's composer on opening night and took to the stage themselves to offer karaoke versions of the acclaimed soundtrack.

Many visitors expected the title from Montpellier-based studio Sandfall Interactive to clinch "Best Game" at the Game Awards -- the medium's equivalent to the Oscars -- on December 11 in Los Angeles.

- German bunker -

Slap bang in the middle of the indie games hall was a stand laid out to resemble a gloomy German bunker, drawing in large numbers of curious gamers.

With levers that can be pulled to load shells and crank wheels to turn to aim at alien spacecraft, the team behind the German game "Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant" ("Planetary defence cannon commander", PVKK) pulled out all the stops with the full-scale recreation of the environment they will drop players into on release in 2026.

The stand is "more about the satisfaction of pressing buttons than anything else", said Rene Habermann, 37, who led production on the game.

But the larger-than-life simulator did not give many clues as to the idiosyncratic game's story, which involves a rebellion from within an oppressive regime.

Z.Ma--ThChM