"What the f*ck is that?" I shriek during my Killing Floor 3 hands-on demo, watching in horror as another hulking Zed pulls itself up from a ledge just meters away. It's no run-of-the-mill zomboid creature, though: this is a special variant known as a Slasher. Or was it a Charger? I don't recall, because I was barking expletives at it and pumping it full of lead almost instantly.
Ankle-deep in the blackened blood of these genetic freaks of nature, I take a breath and grin. An on-screen pop up alerts me that I've just withstood the first wave of enemies in Killing Floor 3, an upcoming horde zombie shooter that looks to put the 'laugh' back in 'slaughterfest'. I'd almost forgotten how much games like these put me at ease, the ultimate stress relief after a long week at work – or in this case, a three-day Gamescom shift. The fact that my first ever Killing Floor experience was shared with the Tripwire developers themselves, chortling at my fury and cluing me in on all the cool new features? That's just the icing on the biohazardous cake.
