November 3rd 2024.
Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend one of the most exciting events in the UK - the MCM x EGX expo at ExCel London. As a fan of both video games and pop culture, I was thrilled to see these two shows come together for the first time ever. I've been to both MCM Comic Con and EGX separately in the past, and I have to say, this mash-up was truly something special.
Accompanied by my son, who shares my love for all things geeky, we joined the tens of thousands of attendees at the three-day long exhibition. While the major players in the gaming industry were not present, there was still a decent showing from other developers and publishers. We were treated to a Tekken 8 tournament, a Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 stand, and a panel with the English voice actors from the newly released Metaphor: ReFantazio game.
Our first stop was the family gaming zone, where we got to play Astro Bot - a game we both love but have yet to add to our collection. My son had a blast playing the Go-Go Archipelago stage and defeating Captain Pincher. We then moved on to the Ravensburg stand, where we got to try out Disney Lorcana and even received a shiny Kristoff promotional card for playing.
The expo also had a wide variety of vendors selling everything from gaming energy drinks to Sylvanian Families. We couldn't resist picking up some Pokémon cards from a cool vending machine, along with a Scorbunny plush and an X-Men comic for myself.
Lego was also a big presence at the expo, promoting various products and games. We got to play Lego Fortnite and Lego Horizon Adventures, which will be released soon. There were also awesome Lego displays of popular sets like Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, and Minecraft. And for those who wanted a more hands-on experience, there was a dedicated area where they could build and take home figures from popular games like Fortnite.
One of our favorite areas was the Retro Rhythm zone, where we got to play classic games like Donkey Konga on the GameCube, DJ Hero, Guitar Hero, and Taiko: Drum Master on the PlayStation 2. We even joined in on a game of Halo: Combat Evolved with other attendees in the system link area.
After exploring two huge exhibition halls, we stumbled upon the gamerbus - a hit from last year's show. Unfortunately, we couldn't go inside as the systems and consoles were overheating. We also missed out on the miniature figures painting, as it was fully booked for the day.
But we did get to visit the Niantic stand, where we had a great conversation with the team about their games Pokemon Go and Pikmin Bloom. They were interested in hearing people's personal stories and friendships made through these games, and even gave my son some Pokemon Go goodies.
Finally, I got to play a game that was just for me - Knights In Tight Spaces by Ground Shatter. It's a mix of turn-based tactics, deck building, and small-scale skirmishes on isometric battlefields - basically, my dream game. I had previously played their game Fights in Tight Spaces, but Knights takes it to the next level with its different classes and party members.
Overall, I think combining MCM Comic Con and EGX was a fantastic idea. And I hope more companies take notice and return to the show in the future. The next shows have already been announced, with MCM Birmingham returning in November and MCM London in May.
As a parent, it was heartwarming to see my son enjoying something we both love so much. And as a gamer, it was a dream come true to be surrounded by all things pop culture for a whole day. It's safe to say that the MCM x EGX expo mash-up was a huge success, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next year.
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