Thousands of gamers descended on the UK capital to attend that the UKs biggest gaming expo as the nights draw in earlier and there’s a chill in the air marking the commencement of EGX 2023.
This year’s event was held once again at the Excel in London, which seems to be the event’s new home now, EGX 2023 is the fifth in a row at the Excel and looks to be heading back again in 2024 as well.
Read more: EGX 2022 roundup – Indie Mood for a Good Time
This was my 13th EGX, so it’s safe to say I know what a good and bad one looks like. I have followed it from its heyday at Earl’s Court, to its move to the NEC in Birmingham and now back to London’s Excel.
The Fan Experience
This year I also paid to attend. I shelled for two superpasses totalling £132 covering the full four days of the expo, rather than applying for press passes as I have with past years.
Once again the big two, Xbox and PlayStation were missing in action, along with firms like 2K, EA and even Bandai Namco. This has been a real trend at the show since its move to the Excel; impacting the show no matter how you look at it.
With the old ‘pandemic’ excuse not cutting it anymore, events like PAX and Gamescom have bounced back and are all going great guns now.
This is often where I would say those indie knights in shiny armour; ride in to save the day. However this year’s indie side felt a lot smaller than past years oddly, though there were plenty of games on show. It just didn’t feel the same.
Community Angle
Gone was last year’s feeling of the whole thing having a more classic EGX Rezzed vibe. Instead this year’s show really doubled down on the community angle with a lot more hosted talks on a number of stages across the show.
Ranging from legendary developers like Sam Lake and Peter Molyneux taking to the main stage. To the Eurogamer YouTube team of Ian Higton, Aoife Wilson and Zoe Delahunty-Light having a number of challenge face-offs across the weekend on another stage, as well as meet and greets with fans.
There was also a standalone eSports arena where you could watch the best Street Fighter and Tekken players throw down for a chance to take home a beefy cash prize pot. Or if you wanted more of an insight into getting into the industry itself, there was even a careers stage with developers giving chats on a numbers of disciplines and career paths.
AAA Absence
This is all good and well, but let’s be honest you go to an expo to play the biggest and latest titles. There were a handful of new titles on the AAA side of things, but not many seven by my count.
It was really the Sega and Nintendo show with both publishers having the biggest booths on the floor. Nintendo had Super Mario Wonder -playable for the first time in the UK. And that was it, as they turned up with only one game.
Whereas Sega on the other hand had Sonic Superstars, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica all playable.
It was honestly shocking how much open space there was on the show floor once again this year. This isn’t a new issue by a long shot, but given how the show has evolved it’s only right that its biggest sections gets some room to breathe.
That is, instead of their new sponsor TikTok, who had a huge stand bang in the middle of the show floor that was basically a private lounge for their guests, and not show goers.
Beyond these there where dribs and drabs of AAA titles; like Square Enix having the Back to the Future DLC for Power Wash Simulator and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was playable from Ubisoft. But again like Nintendo it was the only game at the show from them and was on the Switch of all things too.
Taking a Seat
Playseat were showing off their new racing rigs with the help of the new Forza Motorsport. Though by no means think this was an Xbox stand, regardless of what EGX will have you believe.
Once again the expo landed the same weekend as the new Call of Duty beta so this was on show. Well, once it had gone live. So most of Thursday the stand was playing Warzone waiting for Activision to flip the global switch to play, plus it was only playable on PC. I’ll be honest – this says everything that needs said I think on the AAA front.
Other than maybe seven or eight NEW titles if you were looking for AAA thrills, you would have been a bit let down.
It’s once again worth giving a shout out to the board and table top game section – which had a strong showing with a HUGE amount of games – not only to buy, but also lose hours learning and playing over the weekend.
EGX 2023 Goes Back to the Past
There was also the retro zone which featured both arcade cabs and home hardware; with the likes of 16 player Halo 2 Deathmatch running on the original Xbox. Duke controller included.
There was also host of other classics from yesteryear on their original hardware. The highlight having to be a fully working, full fat Outrun and Afterburner arcade cabinet.
For those looking to pick up a momentum of the show, the retail area was yet again a bit of a shock to the system, as beyond overpriced POP’s, artwork, light up masks and those goddamned plastic swords, there wasn’t really anything worth splashing the cash on.
Though easily the longest queues of the whole weekend could be found at the Five Nights at Freddy‘s pizza van, which is understandable as you got a free slice or two for queueing. This was easily a lot of peoples highlight from the looks of it.
The Specsavers stand did give it a run for its longest queue crown as they were running a Sonic based competition. This hosted a fairly long queue over the weekend and made me question a lot of things. Like, why a pizza van and an opticians are drawing the most people at a gaming expo.
Space Problems
If I was to highlight any real issues with this year’s show, it’s that the indie guys deserve more space. I am sick and tired of squeezing into The Leftfield Collection corridor, when there is TONNES of space begging to be filled around the hall, just give them a real stand already.
It was honestly shocking how much open space there was on the show floor once again this year. This isn’t a new issue by a long shot, but given how the show has evolved it’s only right that its biggest sections gets some room to breathe instead of their new sponsor TikTok – who had a huge stand bang in the middle of the show floor that was basically a private lounge for their guests and not show goers.
Surely, this should be located out of eye shot of the public, because it adds absolutely nothing to the show whatsoever. Other than really making those inside it look like a right bunch of self-entitled knobs.
Needs More Security
My other issue is the lack of security, which may sound odd but there are reports surfacing post-show for people giving talk. Reports of speakers being harassed and heckled during their sessions, including the most well-known incident being Just Stop Oil storming the eSports stage and disrupting the Tekken final.
This isn’t an EGX 2023 issue per say, more an Excel issue really. If ReedPOP are ponying up the cash to use the halls and the like, surely the security should be up to spec for a 60,000+ people event and these incidents should be quelled quickly.
As for my personal highlight, was very much more a show of meeting people and seeing friends – which is a shame giving that it’s a gaming expo and getting time with games should be top of my list.
That said I did enjoy trying both the new Like a Dragon games. I was also really surprised by how good the new Sonic game was; being a real blast from the past with modern touches.
But with the AAA side dropping the ball again, the indie section smashed it out the park with games like The Spirit of the Samurai and Robobeats made very strong impressions, whereas more experimental titles; like Bib Goes Home – an interactive storybook, showed something new and truly wonderful.
Industry Stars
I also really enjoyed a lot of the stage sessions to be fair; such as hearing Sam Lake talk about Alan Wake 2 and Peter Molyneux voicing his hatred for Fable 3. There were chances to hear first-hand from true industry icons and was a real treat.
The Sea of Thieves team gave a standout talk. Another memorable talk saw a group of horror developers (Supermassive Games and No Code) talking about what makes a game truly scary.
There was also a real focus on the live action D&D this year too. This would normally see Oxventure doing a separately ticketed show after hours but instead there was an Introducing Natural Six session. The session was free and gave a sneak peek at the new project from Harry McEntire, Aoife Wilson, Doug Cockle, Hollie Bennett, Alex Jordan and Ben Starr ahead of its Kickstarter launch. And looks to be shaping up to be a real challenger to the Oxventure crown from what I saw.
Comedic Touch
Finally, EGX 2023 saw the return of Aussie powerhouse comedian John Robertson and his interactive videogame show The Dark Room to the stage. Sadly, John was only booked for only one session this year. Unlike last year where John amended the matinee show to cater for a younger audience and then delivered his 18+ evening show full of adult humour.
John was on top form and as sharp as always, despite having a bit of an accident moments before taking to the stage; seeing him doing a damage to his leg, but this didn’t stop the Guardian one bit as he cut down countless Darren’s trying to find the light switch, escape The Dark Room and bank the legendary £1,000 cash prize for doing so.
Although most Darren’s left with a prize selected from The Table of Wonders, including a copy of every Assassin’s Creed and the infamous Flamboyant Potato (aka pineapple).
It was also great to see John taking time to meet fans post show for a chat or a cheeky selfie, even though his injured leg had taken hold, all while the Excel staff was trying to shut show for the night.
Having seen the show a number of times, I can comfortably say no two Dark Room shows have ever been the same. Well, other than countless Darrens having to check pockets or is that Czech pockets far too often. Oh, and the iconic chorus of YA DIE, YA DIE, YA DIE!
EGX 2024
Next year’s show looks to be confirmed to take place once again at the Excel. However, EGX 2024 sees the dates moved back to 19th – 22nd September 2024.
EGX 2023 felt a lot smaller than last year’s event, to the point it honestly feels like the Excel is too big a venue for it, given the open space on the show floor. EGX 2023 was just two weeks before ReedPOPs other event MCM Comic Con which is held in the same place.
You get a feeling its being overlooked as there are already confirmed games heading to MCM Comic Con that were not at EGX. Heavy hitters like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Star Ocean – The Second Story R.
Given the lack of publishers showing support and the overall confusion of its identity, the show has some real work ahead of it to win fans back. There’s work to do get the show back where we know it should be – as a full fat four-day show and not a two-day event.
Things have changed in the world, but looking at other similar events both on the local and global stage, EGX 2023 was a true shadow of its once powerful self and that is a truly crying shame.