Kinda Funny Gamescast: Opening Night Live 2025 Review

Date: August 19, 2025
Hosts: Tim Geddes, Greg "GameOverGreggy" Miller, Blessing Adeoye Jr., Andy Cortez, Snowbike Mike

Overview

The Kinda Funny crew recaps, reacts to, and reviews the Gamescom Opening Night Live 2025 showcase. They provide in-depth analysis on the show’s highs and lows, break down their favorite (and least favorite) announcements from both the pre-show and main show, and reflect on the state of industry showcase fatigue while highlighting notable moments, unexpected reveals, and ongoing gaming trends.

Episode Highlights

General Impressions & Scores

• Show Structure:
  • Pre-show: Well-paced, energetic, and humorous; lauded by everyone for quality, humor, and strong game selection.
  • Main Show: Criticized for being long-winded, repetitive, and trend-driven with too many similar announcements and ad spots.
• Overall Reception:
  • Scores ranged from 6/10 (Mike, Greg, Blessing) to 7/10 (Andy, Tim).
  • General consensus: Good for a Gamescom, strong pre-show, but bogged down by filler and industry trends.
• Quote:
  • Greg: “I think Gamescom is often, if not always a bloated show… At that point, how many fucking games do I need to see black slime ooze up and become hands and do it? It all just runs together.” (04:00)
• Main Takeaway:
  • The showcase met expectations but rarely exceeded them—the pre-show stood out as the best segment, with several surprises and a lighter, more playful atmosphere.

Key Themes & Industry Trends

• Showcase Fatigue & Predictability:

  • Blessing remarks on the glut of similar Soulslikes, “Genshin Impact-likes,” and crafting/horror games, making showcases less impactful and more predictable.
  • Blessing: “I can kinda predict the next game that's coming up. Cool, another one of these... another Genshin Impact-like.” (13:12)

• The Value of Pre-shows:

  • Strong consensus that the pre-show had better pacing, stronger reveals, and more personality than the main event.

• Trend Analysis

  • Overabundance of Soulslike clones and “trend-chasing.”
  • The importance of distinct visual style or a clever twist for a game to stand out.
  • Showcase structuring that combines ads, indie reveals, and big budget announcements sometimes hurts momentum.

Notable Reveals, Reactions, and Quotes

Pre-Show Standouts (from 15:20)

• Bubsy 4D:

  • Hosts praise the tongue-in-cheek approach.
  • Blessing: “There’s something about the energy of this Bubsy game where... I’d play it.” (05:29)

• Dench Attack:

  • “Tony Hawk but you’re a train” went from laughable to genuinely intriguing after seeing gameplay and hearing about T. Lopes on the soundtrack.

• He-Man: Dragon Pearl of Destruction:

  • Crowd loved the presentation/toy commercial-style reveal, even if the game itself wasn’t for everyone.
  • Tim: “Let’s just get weird... Where’s my Beetleborgs game?” (20:34)

• Absolum (now Absolu):

  • Beat ‘em up roguelike praised for fresh energy and boss fights.
  • Blessing: “This is the one I’m really hoping pulls me in and changes me.” (21:52)

Main Show (from 29:45)

• Swords of Legends:

  • Applauded for wild and creative enemy designs, compared visually to Miyazaki’s works.

• Road Kings:

  • American truck sim with deep plot—unexpectedly exciting for multiple hosts.

• Sonic Racing X Pac Man Crossover:

  • Fun, crowd-pleasing DLC, notable for character crossovers.

• Void Breaker:

  • Andy: “This game is the real deal, man... destruction as a main method of game design... Loved it at Steam Next Fest.” (64:39)
  • Touted as one of the week’s most exciting releases.

Headlining Announcements

• Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (56:25)

  • TT Games returns; open world Gotham; humor and references to all Batman eras; customizable Batcave.
  • Greg: “As a huge DC fan, get back to a DC world to run around and do the LEGO superhero business.” (56:44)

• Ghosts of Yotei: Legends (105:21)

  • Four-player co-op expansion for Ghosts of Yotei, coming free for existing players.
  • Blessing: “I'm shocked that this was here... just excited that it exists.” (105:35)

• Resident Evil: Requiem (107:00)

  • Showed more background for new protagonist; praised as a positive change in tone and performance.
  • Andy: “What a wild change and improvement... this sounds awesome.” (107:25)

• Sekiro: No Defeat Anime (55:09)

  • Crunchyroll exclusive, original cast returns; everyone hyped for action and faithful translation of parry-based combat.

• Onimusha: Way of the Sword (61:27)

  • Keen interest, but concern that visuals on RE Engine feel flat compared to Resident Evil benchmarks.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Full Recap (45:33 / 47:47)

  • Mike details a major shift for the franchise:
    • Four-player co-op campaign (PvE “endgame” mode in open-world map Avalon with up to 32 players).
    • XP shared across campaign, multiplayer, and zombies; new 20v20 skirmish mode; biggest round-based zombies mode ever.
  • Mike: “Four player co-op across all of the different ladders of Call of Duty... The big one is this end game they're teasing.” (47:47)
  • Andy: “For this to be able to experience [the campaign] with friends is even cooler. Like that's super surprising.” (49:57)

• Hollow Knight: Silksong News & Team Cherry Reveal (43:36)

  • Trailer confirmed launch “this year”; Team Cherry hosting their own event with likely major reveals imminent.
  • Tim: “For them to open this show hyping up Team Cherry's own thing... is a really powerful move.” (13:38)

• Black Myth: New Sequel Teased (108:22)

  • Single-player ARPG confirmed; new protagonist and theme; likely years away.

• Cult of the Lamb Major Expansion Announced (98:34)

  • Greg: “I would want it to [pull me back in], but I doubt it... For me to play, it would be like, let's start over.”

Memorable Moments & Banter

• Running Jokes:
  • Semi-truck/Optimus Prime confusion, road sim games, sunflower seed bucket card reveal (Mike), Tim’s inability to describe trucks.
• Greg breaking Hollow Knight “news” with a Cisco parody skit:
  • “I am indeed doing Hollow knight silk thong. That's what's been taking so long!” (42:56)
• SeaWorld concert tangent:
  • Removing “animal shows” for 2000s rappers—“I think this is all a distraction because they didn't change a thing. I think they're still up these fish.” (101:00)
• World of Tanks “Heat” tanks suddenly going F1 speeds:
  • Blessing: “I was like, tanks don’t go that fast. There’s no way this is World of Tanks.” (104:50)
• Void Breaker Hyped
  • Multiple hosts declare this the indie to play right now.

Segment Timestamps

• General Impressions & Scoring: 04:00–11:49
• Pre-Show Deep Dive: 15:20–24:40
• Main Show Game-by-Game: 24:40–45:33
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Full Details: 45:33–52:00
• Major Reveal Breakdowns (Lego Batman, Onimusha, RE, Ghosts of Yotei, Cult of the Lamb): 56:25–100:37
• Ad Breaks / Sponsor Segments: [Skipped]
• Final Reacts, Q&A/Superchats: 111:07–End

Quickfire Reactions to Game Announcements

| Game/Reveal | Host Reaction | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Bubsy 4D | “If they’re putting out Bubsy 4D, they’re in on the joke.” – Tim | 15:47 | | Dench Attack (Train Skater) | “This looks awesome.” – Greg | 18:59 | | He-Man Beat ‘Em Up | “Love the presentation, but not for me.” – Greg | 19:52 | | Valor Mortis | “First-person Soulslike, Ghostrunner devs. Super surprising and cool.” – Andy | 24:46 | | Road Kings (Truck Sim) | “Not the truck game, having a whole ass plot.” – Greg | 31:17 | | Swords of Legends | “How can we out-weird the last Soulslike? This is how.” – Andy | 30:04 | | Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight | “Exciting to see TT Games doing something like this again.” – Greg | 56:44 | | Void Breaker | "This game is the real deal, man... destruction as a main method" – Andy | 64:39 | | Call of Duty Black Ops 7 | “Four player co-op never done before for the campaign, tied into multiplayer/zombies.” – Mike | 47:52 | | Resident Evil Requiem | “What a wild change and improvement from Ethan Winters.” – Andy | 107:25 | | Ghosts of Yotei: Legends | “Just excited that it exists. Did not expect like this.” – Blessing | 105:35 | | Sekiro: No Defeat Anime | “Crazy. Very, very awesome. Super stoked to see this.” – Andy | 55:19 |

Closing Thoughts

• Showcase structure, game fatigue/trend-chasing, and long runtimes remain pain points for everyone—but multiple standout games gave the 2025 Opening Night Live some staying power.
• Pre-show format lauded as a blueprint for future showcases.
• Several reveals (Lego Batman, Void Breaker, Ghosts of Yotei Legends) seen as genuine positives; indie and mid-tier games often outshined bigger announcements.
• The crew’s trademark banter, running jokes, and rapid-fire hot takes made for an entertaining, insight-rich review of one of the year’s biggest gaming events.

Key Quotes:

• “Are we grading on a curve? This is, I think, the best Gamescom I’ve watched, maybe ever.” – Andy Cortez (11:21)
• “Getting Ghost of Yotei Legends, like, that’s a big deal... That’s pretty cool.” – Tim Geddes (10:31)
• “More consequential announcements than expected.” – Tim Geddes (10:33)
• “Void Breaker’s the game. Don’t forget it. Void Breaker. It’s out now.” – Andy Cortez (116:08)

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