It might seem strange to some that another massive videogames show opens its doors so soon after E3, but Gamescom in Cologne is a huge deal. Not only does it give European gamers a chance to see many of the games for 2019 and beyond, without having to cross the Atlantic, it also gives games publishers and developers a chance to demo games that are later in their development cycle.

For us, this often means that we get to play segments of games that we could only previously stare at or be talked through. E3 is often the best place to see the very latest games, Gamescom is often the first place you can actually play them for yourself.

Here then are our top 12 games of Gamescom 2019.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

  • Release date: March 2020
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

At Gamescom, the Bloodlines 2 team focused on the ray tracing aspects of the forthcoming, long-awaited sequel to the best suck-em-up around. It will support the realistic lighting tech introduced by Nvidia's GeForce RTX graphics cards and, likely, the next generation of consoles from Xbox and PlayStation: Project Scarlett and PS5.

Blair Witch

  • Release date: 30 August 2019
  • Format(s): Xbox One, PC

Blooper Team, the developer behind Layers of Fear and Observer, seem to be the ideal choice to finally bring the Blair Witch franchise to gaming. The Gamescom demo was terrifying for all the right reasons and the spirit of the original film has been captured superbly.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

  • Release date: 30 August 2019
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Another imminent horror game comes from the maker of Until Dawn - one of the best interactive fiction games around. Expect a similarly scary ride, as your decisions can mean life or death for the terrorised lead characters. More games in the Dark Pictures Anthology are clearly planned.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

  • Release date: 3 March 2020
  • Format(s): PS4

We've had plenty of remasters during this generation of gaming but this is more a completely reimagined remake of one of the best Final Fantasy RPGs around. Indeed, our gameplay demo was enough to give us the feeling of an entirely new game in the series.

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

  • Release date: 4 October 2019
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia

We'll admit, we didn't really play Wildlands much after launch as it didn't offer anywhere near as good a single-player experience as it did co-op. Breakpoint promises to be different, with a better focus and tuning for solo play.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

  • Release date: 25 October 2019
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Another game we got to play with Nvidia's ray tracing tech in full force, the latest Call of Duty seems to be a real return to form for the franchise. More realistic and tangible in weaponry and location, the decision to craft a grittier game could end up being a masterstroke for Activision.

Death Stranding

  • Release date: 8 November 2019
  • Format(s): PS4

Finally, we have an idea of how gameplay works. Sort of. A new Death Stranding demo (and trailer) appeared at Gamescom 2019 and, while the concept is still vague and odd, there is plenty of gameplay in Kojima's next possible masterpiece.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War

  • Release date: Early 2020
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Anybody who has played the previous Zombie Army trilogy will know what to expect from the fourth outing. The action has ramped up, of course, with more weapons and character customisations than ever before. And, similar traps to those found in sister game Strange Brigade really adds to the fun.

Marvel Avengers

  • Release date: 15 May 2020
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia

Finally, we got to play Crystal Dynamics' take on the Avengers - at least the opening tutorial - and any fears we originally had were dispelled. Each of the heroes feels different without you having to learn all-new controller configurations each time and we are assured that the "on-rails" style of the prologue is not representative of the final missions in the game.

Watch Dogs Legion

  • Release date: 6 March 2020
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia

Our gameplay session of Watch Dogs Legion turned into a hilarious, madcap chase through the streets of Central London, but not before we got to fully try out the excellent recruitment mechanics. The idea of being able to approach and recruit any NPC in the entire game is not only a great idea, it really works in practice too. Superb.

Disintegration

  • Release date: 2020
  • Format(s): Ps4, Xbox One, PC

Devised by one of the co-creators of the original Halo, Disintegration brings something new to the first-person shooter genre. Your character rides on a grav-cycle, so hovers above the battlefield, while soldiers under your control fight on the ground. It's a great gameplay concept that combines FPS with RTS in an intuitive way.

Cyberpunk 2077

  • Release date: 16 April 2020
  • Format(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia

What can be said about Cyberpunk 2077 that hasn't been before? That's it will be coming to Google Stadia, that's what. The highly-anticipated RPG from the developer of The Witcher 3 will be coming to the cloud gaming platform in 2020 too, albeit later than its console and PC releases.