New Game Plus is part of the weeklong London Games Festival, held every year to help promote the people in the industry and the games themselves. Over the four days, it holds events ranging from industry-based talks and game showcases to ending with a Mario Kart brunch session. It also holds a steam event, promoting the games at the festival while also discounting games that have been involved in the past.
Switching venues from last year, New Game Plus was held in Exhibition White City, a Victorian building that’s been turned into an exhibition hall and is nestled in the middle of Westfield Shopping Centre. It’s quite surreal to see such a building surrounded by huge modern structures, but it made for the perfect venue for showcasing new and upcoming indie games.
Inside were over 100 games vying for your attention over the two days it was held, from Vampire Crawlers to an amazing side-scrolling shoot ’em up called Astro Burner; there was a wide variety of different genres on show, so there’s a strong chance you’d find something that fits your style. Devolver Digital was also present to showcase their games, and they even brought the lamb from Cult of the Lamb and Volvy themselves… who knew it was actually real!
With a full schedule of stage panels covering all aspects of game development, from developer talks to exploring games’ narratives from different perspectives, it gave the event an interesting edge, as I walked away with new perspectives and knowledge that made me admire the people behind the games even more.
This being a publicly open show, I was curious to see how busy it would be considering that the event was held on a Thursday and Friday. But the show floor was heaving from opening to close, which was wonderful to see, though the negatives to this were not being able to play games straight away or not at all thanks to the volume of people. The gangways between tables did get quite rammed with bodies too, creating limited space to get through, which did dampen the experience slightly, but hopefully this is something to be addressed for next year’s event.
Speaking with London Games Festival organiser Michael French, I did bring up why the show is held during the week, and I was told it’s something they will be looking at changing for next year’s event, so let’s hope for New Game Plus to be held on at least a Saturday from 2027.
But the biggest reminder I had from the show was just how open and friendly everybody was. From the organisers to the developers, everyone embraced you with open arms to chat with you about their games or just anything that you wanted to bring up. This was the serotonin hit I needed, especially as there’s daily unrest on social platforms from or about the games industry.
There was a strong comradery atmosphere throughout the day, devs greeting devs, fans meeting their heroes, people catching up with old friends and new games being discovered. It was a joyous experience to be a part of, and this not only shows how much love there is in the industry for each other and the games but it also created a craving in me to be a part of this again in the future.
This was my first time attending New Game Plus or the London Games Festival in general, and I walked away from it with such positiveness. Gaming events have struggled in England over the last few years, so it was heartwarming to find one that not only is out to promote video games in a healthy manner but also feels like it’s got the back of video games in general. I hope this one can last for many years, as I’ll certainly be back next year with much eagerness in my step.
Please make sure to catch the rest of our New Game Plus coverage, including an interview with the Wax Heads developers, Murray Somerwollf and Rochio Tomė. Upcoming coverage includes an interview with the team behind the upcoming 3D open-world rogue-lite Rewilders and a podcast episode featuring John from Gaming in the Wild, focusing more on our experiences of the show, some of our favourite games and an interview with James Bruce from Saltstone Studios on their upcoming game Hearth and Habour.
