The Epic Games Store gems at the Tokyo Game Show

Chiba, Japan–This coastal city with a rich history is located just 25 miles east of Tokyo. With one of the busiest seaports in Japan, Chiba is a commercial hub shaped by an influx of new investors and industries. Perhaps it’s this entrepreneurial spirit that has led to the city hosting the Tokyo Game Show—the biggest gaming convention in Asia—since its inception in 1996.

Originally held twice a year during spring and autumn at the Makuhari Messe convention center, the Tokyo Game Show has undergone many changes over the years. However, the scheduling format—with two business days and two public days—has been the norm for decades. This means that the event is open to members of the media and a select few visitors with special passes during business days (which are on Thursday and Friday). The general public, meanwhile, attends over the weekend.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to attend all four days of Tokyo Game Show 2024, which took place from September 26 to 29. Featuring more than 900 exhibitors and 3,000 booths—from triple-A blockbusters with gigantic stages to quirky, creative titles that are part of the Selected Indie 80—the event had everything one could ask for.

Simply put: The Tokyo Game Show broadly highlights the talents of thousands of professionals in the industry, and gives legions of fans a chance to try demos and meet with developers. Needless to say, many of the available titles and offerings piqued our interest, especially those that will be releasing soon on the Epic Games Store.

 

Day 1: Thursday - Infinity Nikki, IfSunSets, and Popucom

Tokyo Game Show kicked things off with a keynote speech from Ken Kutaragi, the former chairman and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The “creator of the PlayStation” welcomed exhibitors and organizers to the annual event, while also citing the rise of supercomputing technology and heaping praise on the success of Black Myth: Wukong, among other huge hits this year.

From there, we visited the Gryphline booth, where Popucom was being showcased. The visually striking platformer required my wife and I to switch character colors often to match the hues of obstacles and turrets. Doing so allowed us to create platforms and barriers that helped us progress through the levels. Senior marketing manager Luo Xianwei told me that the team wanted to make a game that emphasized teamwork, which is why Popucom has both local co-op and online multiplayer features.

I also tried IfSunSets, an upcoming open-world survival title from Polymorph and Smilegate. Playing as a pirate who’s marooned on an island, I gathered materials, crafted upgrades, and ventured deeper into dungeons—and as implied by the game’s name, I faced greater dangers after the sun went down, fighting off numerous zombies that battered down my base's defenses. Game director Chae Munseok gave me some tips on how best to proceed, especially if I wanted to survive until dawn.

I then played Infinity Nikki from developer Infold Games. This free-to-play title is set in a massive open-world region full of majestic vistas and landscapes. Public relations manager Zexu Shi explained that Infinity Nikki won’t keep players focused on combat at all times, as there are numerous other activities and exploration goals to keep players engaged throughout their journey. For instance, one of the main goals is to collect materials to unlock dresses. This isn't just to make a fashion statement in contests, as different attire also provides bonuses and utility effects related to fishing, harvesting, and petting animals.

 

Day 2: Friday - Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Faaast Penguin, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate, and Fate Trigger: The Novita

The second day of the Tokyo Game Show started with a bang, as we headed to the SNK booth to play Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The demo only had a handful of characters available, including series mainstays Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui, as well as newcomers Preecha and Vox Reaper. However, we also know that both Ken and Chun-Li from Street Fighter will appear as playable characters. The fighting game community should be excited—after all, this is the first Fatal Fury game in over 25 years, and it will feature iconic combatants that are part of a collaboration with Capcom.

The rest of our afternoon was a flurry of activity. We watched as several attendees duked it out on the tracks of Faaast Penguin. This action racer from Historia Inc. sees 40 penguins challenging one another in a chaotic contest to see who finishes in first place. From there, we saw several players lounging in Rocket Panda Games’ booth, completely engaged in the Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate demo. Originally released in 2013 for the Xbox 360, this ode to classic beat 'em ups has been remastered from the ground up using Unreal Engine 5.

We then closed out the day by checking out Fate Trigger: The Novita, a recently announced battle royale extravaganza from Saroasis Studios and Tencent. Cosplay photo-ops and e-sports tournaments were being held at the booth, too. Speaking with a trio of developers—Zhao Jiaheng, Qian Kun, and Liao Fanwei—I can tell that their passion for anime inspired the flashy character designs and ultimate abilities, making this action shooter one to watch out for.

 

Day 3: Saturday - Neo Berlin 2087, Commandos: Origins, and Wuthering Waves

As mentioned, Saturday and Sunday are considered public days, which meant that Makuhari Messe was packed to capacity with tens of thousands of attendees. While we did have appointments that were set up beforehand, we still had to wait in the queue to check out the booths.

Fortunately, we were able to make the most of our visit by heading to the German Pavilion. There, I spoke with Ivan Mirkovikj, CEO of Elysium Game Studio and game director of Neo Berlin 2087. Mirkovikj walked me through one of the game’s levels, where a detective named Nolan sought the missing daughter of a police chief. Set in a futuristic city, Neo Berlin 2087’s visual fidelity, seamless transitions between first-person and third-person action, and a plethora of methods to complete objectives kept me on the edge of my seat.

In the same area, Mayuko Nakagawa of Kalypso Media guided me through a mission in Commandos: Origins. As the first mainline Commandos entry in nearly 20 years, Commandos: Origins is a return to form for the franchise, one that emphasizes real-time tactical engagements. I started out by controlling a Green Beret, stealthily eliminating my opponents, before switching to a Marine that arrived onshore to flank hostiles.

Soon thereafter, I visited Kuro Games’ booth, which was also in the same hall. I watched as several attendees tackled quests and faced bosses in Wuthering Waves, a free-to-play open-world adventure game from the studio.

 

Day 4: Sunday - The Selected Indie 80 featuring Neon Blood, Bionic Bay, Esophaguys, Suzerain: Kingdom of Rizia, Steel Seed, Awaken - Astral Blade, and Sky of Tides

The last day of the Tokyo Game Show was one of the most memorable, as we made our way to Makuhari Messe’s largest exhibition hall which happened to be the location of the Indie Game Area and Selected Indie 80. The Selected Indie 80 is a remarkable new initiative that aims to promote smaller independent developers and studios by giving them free support and their own exhibition booth. The initiative is sponsored by several companies, including Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and PLAYISM.

We had a chance to try various titles, including Neon Blood, a cyberpunk crime thriller from ChaoticBrain Studios, in which I used my character’s scanning augmentation to look for clues. I also spent some time with Bionic Bay, a physics-based platformer where my character could swap positions with structures in the environment and control gravity via a mysterious device.

Speaking of physics-based gameplay, we enjoyed a romp through Esophaguys, which is brimming with creativity while also being strange beyond belief. Players control up to four old men with elongating necks. You can bite your teammates and push directional buttons to clamber up obstacles or swing across gaps. The idea is fascinating—Esophaguys was even selected as a “Sense of Wonder Night 2024” finalist at Tokyo Game Show.

After that, we checked out ESDigital Games’ booth, where we met with executive producer Alexander Kudishov. The company is set to publish several titles, such as Steel Seed, an action game where you and a drone ally battle robots, and Sky of Tides, a narrative-driven RPG set in a fractured world full of competing factions. There’s also Awaken - Astral Blade, a Metroidvania with striking visuals and fast-paced combat—and cats! Given the abundance of futuristic themes, I asked Kudishov if ESDigital Games wanted to focus solely on sci-fi concepts or settings, though he told me that it was purely coincidental.

We ended our day by taking a look at Kingdom of Rizia, downloadable content released earlier this year for the acclaimed political simulator Suzerain. The DLC focuses on your character’s rise as a monarch, leading a fledgling kingdom by allying with powerful factions and warring with unruly neighbors. I spoke with Torpor Games Managing Director Ata Sergey Novak and his colleagues about some of the DLC's new mechanics, and they discussed how real-world political movements shaped Suzerain and the world that they’re building.

The Tokyo Game Show was truly an eye-opening experience. From massive set-piece stages to the endless throngs lining up to take photos of cosplayers, there was a festive mood throughout the convention. And there were countless games to see—the creativity and passion of developers was on full display, be it a presentation for a popular series or an upcoming (and unconventional) indie game.

Keep an eye out over the next few months as these games (and more) come to the Epic Games Store.