I just got out of my gamescom 2025 CINDER CITY preview, thanks to NVIDIA. Let me tell you, this girl hasn’t died so many times in public, never mind in public, but CINDER CITY put me in my place.
NCSOFT brought CINDER CITY, formerly known as Project LLL, to the Gamescom show floor, but not before NVIDIA showcased it at a private event highlighting DLSS 4 and the RTX 5090 GPUs. This is where I managed to get about 20 minutes of hands-on gameplay in, complete with fighting, looting, and plenty of dying. Starting with a cut scene, the game is filled with an abundance of detail. The faces and hair in the scene were remarkably lifelike, showcasing details such as wrinkles, blemishes, and under-eye bags with precision. Faces were incredibly realistic.
From there, the player’s character is revealed to be named Seven. He appears to be a very high-tech soldier, with access to multiple weapons and gear. Your commanding officer sends you out of an airship as a last-ditch effort. Seven seems to be the one you sent out when you want the job done. In a complete Iron Man-like suit, you’re deployed from the ship, launched into a world filled with Knights, who are the enemies you face.
“Let me tell you, this girl hasn’t died so many times in public, never mind in public, but CINDER CITY put me in my place.”
All the enemies I encountered were human, possessing varying abilities. However, the trailer seems to go far beyond that. In my short time, I was shot at plenty by various guns, but I also saw massive shields I needed to maneuver around, smoke grenades, and seemingly insane enemies flailing their guns above their heads. In many shooters, I am able to run in guns blazing, but CINDER CITY seems to require some sort of strategy, unless you love replaying from your last save point…a lot.
Swapping between your weapons is easy, a simple roll of the scroll wheel, allowing you to adjust your gameplay on the fly. Full disclosure, I am a controller gamer, and keyboard and mouse threw me off. With the ability to launch grenades, use your knife, special abilities, or swap between your weapons, there is a lot to keep track of while you’re being pelted with bullets from every angle. Keyboard controls mean that a lot of these are bound in ways that aren’t so comfortable for someone like me with smaller hands. Of course, this would be solved with a Naga or other gaming mouse, but it’s something to think about.
“I worry CINDER CITY might be trying to cram too much into one game.”
My only real complaint is about the player’s moment while crouching. The visuals, while doing this, feel very unnatural and strange. Where a crouch should be lower to the ground, but in CINDER CITY, it is more halfway between standing and a squat, and then the steps in this position feel very small, more like a shuffle. These two things combined look really silly, if I’m honest, and it took away from an otherwise great-looking experience.
Again, judging by the trailer, I don’t feel like I got a real taste of what CINDER CITY is going to be. Though I got a feel for a single mission and learned a bit about my abilities and how to navigate, I really want to see more of the in-game experience later on in the story. With vehicular combat, enemies that vary from mechs to zombie-like creatures on top of the humans I fought, acid-spewing creatures, mechs—and…was that a face-hugger—I worry CINDER CITY might be trying to cram too much into one game. The trailer above feels nothing like the story I played, aside from a clip from a cutscene I saw, so I certainly want to dive deeper and see how it all comes together.
My time with CINDER CITY was short but sweet, and I think once I have some time to get my bearings, it could be an exciting shooter experience. After the demo, I found myself wanting to learn more about Seven and why he is special, as well as how everything fits together. A game that makes you want to go back is the ultimate goal.
