When talking about video games, there’s no place in the world more powerful, more creative, more magical than Japan. The glistening waters of the Tokyo Bay nestle up against looming grey skyscrapers, while vibrant green trees nestle in between. Tokyo is a microcosm of the country itself, the old and the new brushing up next to each other, while nature cradles them both. Lots of the countries I visit feel hard – places born from industry and commerce often are – but the softer edges of Japan’s scenery and history make it all the more inviting, even as I’m shunning the wonders outside for the latest digital wonders inside the Tokyo Game Show 2025
Not immediately though. The entrance to the Makuhari Messe sees us snaking out and around the building, in one of the most orderly and good-natured games expo queues you’ve ever seen. Admittedly, this is the opening of the first business day, so it’s only press, devs and corporate types, but compared to the scrum at Gamescom, it’s thoroughly genteel.
That’s soon forgotten as the barrage of noise and neon lighting inside is only amplified by the corridor of tote bags, posters, fans and other paraphernalia as you walk into the Messe. It is actually in Chiba and isn’t quite in Tokyo, if we’re being honest, but let’s forget that for now. Lots of shows like to lather you up with the odd bit of tat, but the free stuff is out in force here, with many of the multitude of booths offering you a collectable prize for taking part or completing a section of their game. Am I going to play Professor Layton in Japanese in order to get a keyring? Yes. Yes, I am.
It says something that the first game I’ve played today had me hooked up to an electric shock machine. Let It Die: Inferno might not have actually killed me, but the extensive health form I had to fill out before taking part did make me question how smart I was for playing a game that’s hooked up to the electrical grid. I don’t have a pacemaker though, and if we’re being honest, I’m not that smart, so let’s carry on with the game-based torture. Getting hit here didn’t just cost HP, it cost the seat of my pants, and if you took damage… well, you took actual damage. I don’t think a game has ever taught me to be careful and block quite so quickly, though, so perhaps this is the future?
It’s fair to say that even if I was here for a month, I wouldn’t be able to play everything at this show. The number of booths, the number of games, has eclipsed anything I’ve seen before at Gamescom, GDC or EGX, and I can’t quite reason out the fact that today is a business-to-business day, so should in theory be quieter. The 30-degree heat outside slowly creeps in through the doors, and into the afternoon, the Makuhari Messe turns into a sweatbox, fuelled by the bodies of thousands of people and thousands of PCs pumping out heat. It’s still a lot of fun.
There’s a great deal of queueing though, and I can only guess that the visiting as part of the general public would only let you see one or two major games. The most popular ones here today – those on Sony’s booth or one or two of the biggest publishers – are shut closed by midday, filling their quota without a thought, and giving the lucky few a chance to lord it over their friends with tales of Resident Evil Requiem and Ghost of Yotei before release.
It’s always an odd thing to play games at a show. Just enough to titillate and build your excitement and just enough to make the remaining time until it launches utterly excruciating. For the first time in a while, a number of the titles on the TGS show floor aren’t out until 2026, and that level of separation from your initial trial until they appear almost seems unfair. It’s clear that the public at large don’t seem to feel that – interest for the show is at its height – but this is a show where I simply want to play everything I’ve seen, now. I guess I’ll have to wait like everybody else, and stop acting like a petulant child. That’s harder than you might think.
My highlights on day one have been the bevy of Monster Hunter titles over at the Capcom booth. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection and Monster Hunter Outlanders are right up my Monster Hunter street, and with Wilds currently losing out to World in our household, it’s clear that we need more Monster Hunter as soon as possible. Besides that, Morbid Metal is fantastic, with its fast-paced Roguelike combat looking and feeling amazing, while Project Motor Racing has me really hoping for a return to form for the spiritual successor to Project Cars.
What’s always nice about game shows is getting to meet up with friends, devs and PR folk – this was the first time I was able to meet our US-based writer Miguel in person! I also enjoyed being fooled by Google maps into thinking everything was ten minutes away from my hotel, but only if I was a car, and I have walked very slowly around most of Chiba today. I can thoroughly recommend the Makuhari Brewery if you’re into craft ale, and I’ve also learned that anime is thoroughly true to life, with the sound of Cicadas ringing out so loudly that I’m glad my hotel isn’t near any trees. On the seafront, I also saw a group of three Japanese students – two boys and a girl – and can only assume that they’re currently fighting demons or travelling through time, as that’s the start of every anime I’ve ever seen.
The sun set on the first day of the Tokyo Game Show a while ago – who knew that the other side of the world has a different season going on? – but it’s clear that the Japanese development scene, and the wider development community, still place TGS at the centre of their plans. As day two is close – closer perhaps than it should be – my biggest problem is working out what on earth I’m going to play. If today is anything to go on, we are truly living in a golden age of game development, and there’s a huge number of games that deserve to find an audience. I’ll do my best to find them tomorrow.
AloJapan.com