We've played plenty of ID@Xbox games at Gamescom

Microsoft kept most of their big titles strictly hands off, so we decided to play lots of interesting indie games instead.

One of the things that was slightly disappointing about this year's Gamescom, was how few of the games you could actually try. Ubisoft would rather spend half an hour talking about the weather and lighting effects in Assassin's Creed Shadows than letting us play as samurais, and even a game like Starfield: Shattered Space, which is less than a month away from launch, was strictly "look, don't touch."

Luckily, I got the chance to play plenty of games while at Xbox's gigantic booth, which filled about half an exhibition hall. While people were queuing up to try the next major games such as Star Wars Outlaws, there was plenty of space to try the many exciting indie titles on display, and that's exactly what I did. Without further ado, here are my five highlights.

Star Trucker (3 Sep, 2024)

One of the games that lured me in early was Star Trucker. I hadn't heard about the game beforehand, but when I saw the picture of a massive space truck flying through some sort of warp gate, I just knew that I had to try it.

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that at least some of the appeal of a game like Euro Truck Simulator (and actual truck driving as well) is the sense controlling a huge motorised beast with just a few tiny levers, buttons and pedals, as well as being the uncrowned king of the road. Star Trucker perfectly captures all of this, but trades the lonely road for the even lonelier space.

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Before I could make my first delivery, I had to repair holes, call my dispatcher over the radio, check my gauges and much more. These simple operations help connect you to your vehicle - in fact, you almost become one with it since there is no character model visible when viewing your ship in third person.

I only had time for a single delivery, but it was quite fun. The game nearly turned into Pilot Wings, as it was all about precision flying (not easy with a large space truck!) and having perfect timing, when dropping off the cargo in a specific zone. You get scored on your delivery, which affects your overall payment, and unfortunately I ended up with zero space bucks, due to my less than stellar handling.

Due to my short playing time of only about 15 minutes, I can't say if the game will remain fun, but the trucker feeling is definitely already in place.

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Date Everything (TBA)

Another popular simulator genre is dating sims, and during the last couple of years we've dated everything from printers to Lovecraftian monsters. Even so, Date Everything manages to up it a notch.

The upcoming release from a studio consisting mostly of voice actors, initially puts you in a bind by confining you to your house. This doesn't mean you should light the fireplace, strategically place the cushions on the couch and invite people over. No, instead you have to date the things in your home. As in your stuff. Finally, we can devote all of our time and love to our prized possessions instead of other people.

My brief preview was a mixed bag. The fireplace taught me pickup lines, but I failed to ignite any flames myself. It went better with the charming globe who dreamed of seeing the whole world, but had never been outside her small town. I thought we had some chemistry, and she even provided me with my first quest.

Unfortunately, just as I was about to declare my love for the toaster, the demo ended, leaving me hungry for more.

Descenders Next (Coming soon)

And here I was thinking that Riders Republic was intense, but the new Descenders game far surpasses it. The graphics may look like one of those PC games that came packed with your cereal in the early-00s, but the sense of speed and control is marvelous. When a snowboarding game has you frantically searching for a non-existent brake button, you're definitely on to something. The fact that I made it down safely felt like an accomplishment in itself - now I just need to master the many, many tricks you can do with Descenders Next's free and responsive movement system. The preview demo only had snowboarding, but the full game will also have downhill skateboarding.

Creatures of Ava (7 Aug, 2024)

Creatures of Ava released earlier this month, but I will still highlight it, as it managed to impress me quite a lot during my brief play session. The world is absolutely gorgeous, looking a bit like a mix between Horizon Forbidden West and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it's always great to see someone other than Game Freak introducing creature catching mechanics. But what impressed me the most were actually the puzzles and combat that, at least in the session I played, involved connecting enemies or objects with a magical beam - it was very gratifying and intuitive. If you have a Game Pass subscription, you should definitely check it out.

Spirit of the North 2 (Coming soon)

After playing half a dozen games in under two hours, I was on my way to a new appointment, when a bunch of shiny pins caught my eyes. This was still early in Gamescom, so I hadn't yet become overburdened with merchandise, and I immediately went for the sweet loot. Alas, it turned out to be a trap! Out from the shadows stepped the game's producer, and he immediately let me know that no things in life are free, and that I had to try the game.

In the end, the pin wasn't worth the trouble, but the whole situation actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the game, Spirit of the North 2, proved to be very enjoyable.

Just as in the first game, you control an adventurous fox on a magical quest to restore a beautiful, but quite desolate world, to its former glory by solving puzzles and exploring the world. The sneaky producer compared the game to Stray, and while the controls are in some way similar, you have more control of your jumps and movement in this game, which is a good thing as there will be more platform challenges than in its predecessor. The game seems very charming and well-made, but unlike the other games I tried, it lacks a unique hook. Hopefully, the overall quality will be high enough to attract players without having to lure them in with shiny trinkets.