The Games Expo (TGX) has quickly become an interesting new contender for the title of big nerd event here in Melbourne. Even at a smaller scale to rival expos, PAX Australia or even Comic Con Oz, TGX has billed itself this year as a “full-featured” gaming convention for fans and industry alike. However, with now four years of events under their belt, has this year’s TGX made it worth mentioning in the same breath as its competitors? Yes, though perhaps in more ways than you would expect.

Please keep in mind that this review is mainly focused on the con experience from a general layman’s perspective. Aside from my terrible Bomberman skills, not a single part of my (non-existent) e-sports credibility was put on the line for competitions this year, nor did I have the time to pull up to the venue with a full cosplay kit. As such, I don’t feel like I can adequately comment on the quality of either of those experiences. I will note, though, that, based on the quantity of workshops and events alone, both parties would’ve been well-fed with tournaments, cosplay workshops and meet-ups dominating the event’s schedule across the weekend.

As far as the rest of the convention went, what immediately stood out to me from other events I’ve been to at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre was the size of the crowds. Or, at least, how small they felt. Now, let’s not get it twisted, it was still fairly populated in the shed that weekend. It was impossible not to see a few people occupying a corner or an aisle at any point on the weekend—especially at some of the more big-name indie game demos and arcade cabinets. The Rock Band set up that weekend was always host to at least one pack of nerds trying to belt out Zebrahead or classic Aussie pub rock. Even still, there were never any impossible queues or people to push through. TGX’s Artist Zone (who are we kidding here, it was an artist alley) was far from the usual convention mosh pit. In fact, we were able to move from stall to stall quite easily, even during midday peak traffic and towards the end of the expo on both days. There were a few theories we discussed as to why this might’ve been, the most likely being that the TGX weekend overlapped with the more renowned Animaga convention in Sydney. 

This had some pros and cons for any ticketholders and exhibitors this year. On one hand, with all the usual artist alley suspects up the river, there was far greater opportunity for fresh new artists to get a spotlight alongside well-known exhibitors. This also made the convention feel like it was tailored to fans older than the usual teenagers from the post-pandemic nerd boom. There were fandoms I saw at artist stalls that weekend that I haven’t seen fed in years. Final Fantasy XIII, Twenty One Pilots, so much more Evangelion than usual, I mean, for god’s sake, I saw an artist selling Merlin art. MERLIN. I think I would’ve tripped and seen X-Filesmerch displayed at some point. However, talking to some of the exhibitors this year, this opportunity didn’t necessarily translate into booming sales. One artist we spoke to at the back of the hall said they had seen almost no traffic around their side of the room. Whether this was directly from the smaller spread of ticketholders, or TGX’s decision to place a row of exhibitors near the major tournament spaces, isn’t clear. However, it does point to a larger trend of the convention’s confusing organisation. 

One of the big draws to the expo this year was the guest appearances from legendary video game composer and head of Ancient Corporation, Yuzo Koshiro—known for his work on the Streets of Rage series, among other classic titles. His Q&A panels were a great insight into game development and composition in the 90s, as well as providing an interesting perspective on the modern independent scene—at least it would’ve been for me, if these panels had been clearly listed on the website ahead of time. Instead, I found out when one of his panels was happening by stumbling into the main stage area 15 minutes before it finished. Even his live performance on the Friday didn’t have any information about it on the website until a day or two before he was set to perform. This kind of last-minute admin was all over the expo. I could only find a floor plan on the website three days prior to the actual event. Panels and competitions on the day were seemingly mistimed or delayed by several minutes—even security felt strangely low-key for an event like this. And unfortunately, though not super prevalent, a few exhibitors using blatant generative AI material in their promotion and products slipped through the cracks. 

Now, for a smaller-scale event that’s only been around for a few years, some of these are at least to be expected and, in a vacuum (AI not included), are not a big deal. However, if TGX expects to be able to match up to its “fully-featured” brethren, then they need to go beyond the big talk and step up their organisation game come next year. 

With all that about management aside, one thing I was pleased to see at the event was the breadth of indie game demos up on offer from such a variety of genres and team sizes. I rarely had an issue here, other than how hard it was to get a demo seat at quite a number of booths. As a treat, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best or most interesting games that you should keep a look out for:

Awaysis

Made by 17-BIT with talent from across the gaming industry, new and old, this is a wild but mechanically in-depth physics multiplayer dungeon crawler. This was one of the big showcases for the expo this year, and it’s easy to see why. Everything about the fantasy-themed visual design, from the UI to the heightened fantasy worlds you fight through, is top-notch. Even from the one level we played at the demo, there’s a lot of fun to be had with its blend of movement and physics-based combat mechanics. At the very least to screw over your friends out of money and health pick-ups. Also, look out for its quirky soundtrack, composed by classic Nintendo composer Hip Tanaka!

Awaysis releases later this year on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox, with its demo available now on Steam.

Slayblade 


Finally, a game that accurately replicates your primary school’s underground Beyblade league. In a world run by spinning top battles, you must fight other bladers to make your way to the top of the battle tower… if you can keep your money together. I loved the mouse control for your top—it was just the right amount of unwieldy yet tight to maneuver with. According to its developer, Henry’s House, the final game will be a short run to the top, but with the different power-ups, purchasable upgrades and opponents to fight in each playthrough, it already feels like there’ll be a lot of replay value in optimising your spending and builds. 

Slayblade releases later this year on Steam.

Foodomina

“What if Undertale was about anime food girls fighting mould” sounds like an intriguing, if derivative elevator pitch. However, from my short time with the combat demo, I can see that Lumelli Studios has managed to overhaul the shmup-RPG gameplay to something nearly unrecognisable. With a full suite of shooter mechanics and a puzzle-based sparing system, its systems kept me hooked even once I started dying over and over again. It also helped that it had some of the most gorgeous pixel art sprites out of the entire show floor. I didn’t have time to experience the two overworld demos during my short time with the game, however with the teases of cosmic horror shenanigans at the end, I’m curious to see how this game unfolds. 

Foodomina’s demo is now available on Steam, with a Kickstarter campaign for the full release coming soon.

Night Shift: 1999

A slick visual novel that dares to ask, “What would it be like to live as a broke vampire in downtown Sydney?” Set in 1990s era King’s Cross (perfect for any Honi Soit loyalist), there was such an authentic yet grimy vision to developer Georgina de Manning’s 1-bit depiction of the city. We were able to walk through a variety of different dialogue paths and eligible suitors (meals?) to try (and fail at) rizzing up. We were also told that there will be a job interview minigame in the final release, for all the brooding sickos out there wanting to replicate your failed McDonald’s applications.

Night Shift: 1999 releases later this year on itch.io and Steam, with its demo available now on both platforms.

Freefall ‘95

In the immortal classic Groundhog Day, Bill Murray asks some hicks, “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” 

“Perform a bunch of sick tricks and parkour moves while falling out of an exploding plane,” answers S-Bend Games. This was an addicting quick play on the expo floor. I kept trying to stretch out my airtime as long as I possibly could before I died. The open verticality afforded by skydiving led to some unbelievable trick chains, as I bounced from wing to turbine into a backflip before catching an escape hatch surfboard right out of Sonic Adventure 2. Perfect for anyone still looking for their modern extreme sports game fix.

Freefall ’95 releases this May on Steam, with its demo now available on Steam and itch.io.