And so the extended weekend of gaming goodness begins. After an early start and several hours’ worth of travel to London, I arrived at The Truman Brewery. Feeling slightly worse for wear. After collecting my wristband and my lanyard, my WASD x IGN 2023 Day One experience could finally begin.
Hello WASD my old friend
My priority (after having a Maccies breakfast) was to familiarise myself with the layout of the show floor. Despite being in the same place, things had been moved about quite a bit. The games were all in similar locations but many other things like the de entrance and exit were not.
Come Get Some!
My very first port of call was the Evercade booth in the smaller exhibition area. Here they had a number of both the EXP and VS editions, along with their newest Duke Nukem-themed release. I’ve been intensely interested in these pieces of hardware for a while, so getting the chance to play them was a real treat.
I was even able to use the EXP version in TATE mode. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m a big fan of any type of hardware that allows me to play in that very specific orientation.
Once I’d had my fill of retro-inspired hardware, I headed into the main hall to play some games. I didn’t manage to play as many as I wanted because I started flagging pretty early on. In fact, by 2pm I was already heading to my hotel for some shuteye. Before that, I played the following games!
Sorry We’re Closed
One of the best parts of attending these events is discovering new games. This debut retro survival horror game from A La Mode is an early contender for my patented Best In Show list. A moody atmosphere, crunchy low-poly models, and some uniquely mature characters. Keeping my eye out for Sorry We’re Closed when it launches sometime in 2024.
Back to the Simulator
Next, I wandered over to the Powerwash Simulator booth to check out the latest expansion they had on offer. This game is well known for having some extremely out-there DLC. SpongeBob Squarepants, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider…and now Back to the Future!?!
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Delorean in need of a good clean. Back to the Future is such a fun franchise, and it’s great to see some of the more iconic elements of it in Powerwash Simulator.
A free game!
During my time walking around on the first day, I witnessed something I never had before. A live reveal of a brand new game called We Were Here Expeditions: The Friendship! This included a live countdown, and plenty of champagne after the announcement. It drew quite a crowd and was overall a fun experience. Best of all, the game is free to download and keep. Up until October 13th at least. Can’t complain about that.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
I first encountered Gori: Cuddly Carnage at the Wired Productions press event before the Arcade Paradise launch party back in August 2022. It immediately grabbed my attention thanks to the slick combat and expertly garish design. Plus, I’m a big fan of Angry Demon Studio, so seeing their next game in action is always a treat. Whilst I didn’t notice any significant changes from the version I played back then, this latest version seemed to be more stable and polished.
Throughout the day, it was also great to chat with the passionate people in attendance, including a really nice woman who has been trying to get into the industry. I’m sure she’ll go far!
Shortly after playing Gori, I decided to cut my losses and head towards my hotel room. No point in dragging my sleep-deprived zombified corpse across the floor any kind longer. I have a busy day tomorrow and I want to be fully rested for it. That was my WASD X IGN 2023 Day One experience!
WASD x IGN 2023 Content Hub
Highlights
Features
Interviews
An interview with Milk Bubbles Games | An interview with the makers of Project Diagnosis
