Last Wednesday, Gamescom released their list of 2018 award nominees, featuring 16 categories made up of numerous upcoming and previous 2018 games. But while titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man and Life is Strange 2 are up a handful of different awards, all eyes have been on a mysterious placeholder that was revealed in “Best PlayStation 4 Game,” titled Project Mephisto.
So what exactly could this game be? Speculation has bounced around between an indie title under the same name that was revealed in a forum years ago, to a few big name AAA games that would be able to rival the likes of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for the title of “Best PlayStation 4 Game.” Here are three games that could make sense.
Diablo 2 Remaster
What is Project Mephisto?
One of the first things that sprung to mind when Project Mephisto popped under “Best Console Game – Sony PlayStation 4” was a new Diablo game. Recently it was revealed that Activision Blizzard has multiple Diablo projects in the works. The news came in the form of a video in which Diablo community manager Brandy “Nevalistis” Camel talks about the future of the franchise.
Unfortunately, fans hoping for it to be Diablo 4 are likely going to be disappointed, as there is no way Blizzard gives Sony such a huge reveal months away from BlizzCon.
Instead, it is far more likely that the title could be a Diablo 2 remaster. While it was simply a DLC, Reaper of Souls was revealed at Gamescom 2013 in Germany, indicating it wouldn’t be the first time Blizzard had a major reveal take place at the show. Another interesting bit of information supporting that Project Mephisto is Diablo 2 remaster lies in the placeholder title name itself. Mephisto is actually one of the Prime Evils in Diablo 2, so using his name as a placeholder would make sense.
Mephisto also just got revealed as a new character for Heroes of the Storm. Maybe a PS4 port is on the way? Why the sudden interest in Diablo 2 huh, Blizzard? So many questions.
Marvel Avengers Title
What is Project Mephisto?
Last year, Marvel revealed its plans conquer yet another entertainment medium: video games. Marvel and Square Enix signed a multi-game deal to bring the Avengers back to games. Since they announced the partnership though, there has been little news regarding the title. What better place to announce more information than Gamescom 2018?
Similar to the possible Diablo 2 remaster, a lot of credence to this being Project Mephisto lies in the placeholder title. Mephisto is a known Marvel villain and was recently reintroduced in the recent secret empires storyline in the comics. In that story, he goes against Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Jane Foster’s Thor. A lot of these characters have become faces of both the comic and movie franchises over the past couple of years, giving the game and characters some brand recognition.
So it wouldn’t be a stretch for Project Mephisto to be a Marvel game in which players control one, or even all of these characters, similar to the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
Bloodborne 2
What is Project Mephisto?
Rumors have been running rampant regarding whether a Bloodborne 2 reveal was incoming ever since fans were shown a grisly teaser at the 2018 Game Awards. All it took was 30 seconds and an ominous message of “Shadows Die Twice” for Soulsborne fans to start speculating. In the end, that title ended up being a new IP, meaning the ending of the teaser wasn’t a message, but a title reveal instead.
Just because From is working on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice doesn’t rule out Bloodborne 2 though. In September 2016, From Software president and Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that the company was developing three new games in an interview with IGN at the Tokyo Game Show. One was pretty much confirmed to be Armored Core. Another would be a title that the creator stated would “probably be a little bit weird,” which was likely Shadows Die Twice. The third was described as a game that fans would be expecting. If that title is Bloodborne 2, it would defintely be a game fans want and expect. It would also fit in, quality wise, with the other games up for the Gamescom award that prompted this discussion.