Microids at Gamescom: Five games that caught our attention at this year's show

Gamescom can be an unusual place to visit as a member of the press. We line up tons of appointments but only get a fraction of time to actually play and go hands-on with the projects in question before having to move on to a different appointment (that due to the size of the Koelnmesse) could be a 15-minute walk away. Fortunately, for myself, I had the luxury of hunkering down at the Microids booth to check out a handful of unique and different games. While you'll soon get to see interviews based on each of these projects, here's an update on the promising projects Microids has in store.

Empire of the Ants

I won't lie, this game is a tough one to wrap your head around. It's an adaptation of the famed Empire of the Ants story where a single ant takes on the challenge of leading its colony through various dangers. The folk over at Tower Five has taken this concept and turned it into a strategy-adventure hybrid, where you take on challenges that are of varying difficulty and revolve around simple exploration tasks to really complex strategic endeavours where you have to arrange and control different colonies and bases and use them to make a functioning army that can protect the wider colony and overwhelm any incoming threat.

While the wider gameplay elements proved to be a bit of a challenge to master, the one area that really stood out was without a doubt the photorealistic visuals. Playing from the perspective of a miniscule ant, this game presents a depiction of a microworld that is perhaps otherwise best shown off in the Pikmin series. The photorealistic elements however mean that what would often be a nuisance to us humans all of sudden becomes a horror in this game, and that was absolutely enforced when going face-to-face with a garden spider...

Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy

I was actually unaware of what Amerzone was when I first jumped into this game. I was unfamiliar that it was a remaster of a once-beloved adventure title, but fortunately that didn't stop me from seeing what this modern version had in store. Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy is a point-and-click adventure that is all about dispelling the mysteries of the unexplored Amazon jungle. There's a core story to follow and plenty of environmental puzzles to crack and solve, many of which will keep you on your toes as you attempt to piece together their challenges.

As this is a very hands-off experience, one where you can complete the majority of the gameplay with only one hand, the question of whether Amerzone will be able to continue to pique the interest of fans as the hours roll on is at the forefront. I will say that many of the earlier challenges and puzzles did do a lot to keep me entertained, so hopefully the developers at Microids Paris can continue to surprise on this front.

The Smurfs: Dreams

After my first day at the show, this adorable little platformer actually stood out as one of my highlights. The Smurfs: Dreams is a 3D platformer that sees the iconic tiny blue chaps facing off with the evil Gargamel after he put the Smurfs Village inhabitants under a spell that forced them into a deep sleep. The aim is to head into the dreams of the various Smurfs to - in an almost Inception-like fashion - wake them from their slumber from within.

This platformer has everything you want and need for a game of this kind to excel. It's easy to pick-up and play, has a vibrant and colourful art direction, varied thematic worlds, tons of niche and fun gameplay mechanics, exciting boss battlewahs, cooperative support, and all while playing from a more unusual isometric perspective. I won't claim this to be an Astro Bot contender, but it's definitely a platformer to watch out for.

Flint: Treasure of Oblivion

Another title that surprised and intrigued me. Flint: Treasure of Oblivion is a pirating RPG that uses turn-based strategy for its combat. It's based on the Treasure Island IP and is designed to be both partly authentic to how piracy was portrayed in the 18th century but also offering a more modern and artistic narrative direction that involves comic strips.

Flint's story and narrative approach was definitely the part of the experience that caught my attention the most, especially when adding to the fact that the developer Savage Level went to great lengths to ensure that some of the locations the game is set in are as authentic as possible. The team took trips to many famous Caribbean locations to ensure their digital interpretation was spot on, so you can be assured that this pirate RPG will offer an adventure that feels real.

Little Big Adventure: Twinsen's Quest

Lastly, we have Little Big Adventure: Twinsen's Quest. This is a remake of the famous 90s title, and admittedly that was a game I had never experienced before trying this modern adaptation. While I was assured that the gameplay is meant to be all about trial and error and that it's quite challenging, in practice it left me a little unsure. The balance and the design felt a bit too rigid and stiff, and the world felt like more of a hassle to explore than one that I want to go out of my way to uncover every secret and additional objective.

For the Little Big Adventure fans, what I can add that will no doubt turn you into a flurry is that this game will be much bigger than the original, featuring more content to explore and ways to go about doing that too. Plus, the visuals have been improved but still use a low-poly style, there's new music from the original composer, and the magic ball mechanic has been updated to make it more responsive and impactful when in action.

So, this is just a snippet of what Microids has in store for the rest of 2024 and beyond. Stay tuned for interviews with the developers of each game all on your local Gamereactor region.