A media pass was made available to yetanothergamingblog for this event. That fact absolutely did not affect our views and opinions, but, for the purposes of transparency, I thought it important to mention.

This has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a while. After feeling utterly deflated by EGX in 2024, I’ve been yearning for something in the same vein of EGX Rezzed. If the death of E3 is going to also kill off major game events, replace them with smaller shows focussed on the fledgling indie space. 

Literally, on the train home from EGX, I was searching WASD, which had grown year by year and seemingly filled the void my beloved Rezzed has left. Then it closed. For good. Fortunately, the London Games Festival stepped in, and announced “New Game Plus”.

Starting Over

At £15 for a day ticket, and £25 for a two day ticket, New Game Plus billed itself as a game discovery event. Hence the name, I guess. This was a small scale, indie-focussed event. Every developer presence had the same footing; one screen, one console. The one-man development team of STRIKER! had the same space to operate as Funko Fusion. That’s cool, to me.

Let me just say, I’ve not been to an event that has felt this alive for a while. I got to the London Museum Spaces about 15 minutes before doors opened, and there were about 40 people ready to go. Within an hour, the two floors were packed. And you could see that this meant something to people. Maps handed out at the entrance were being crossed off by attendees trying to see it all. There was a buzz. A real, organic buzz.

The selection of games was really impressive, too. Just about every genre you can think of was represented, and there was a really decent number available. 80 titles to play, at an event in its first year. There was no headliner, likely by design, but the games were allowed to speak for themselves. As I said last week, I came away from my visit with a handful of games on my list to keep an eye on. I’m confident that the majority of people in attendance found something to look forward to. 

Teething problems

The key thing worth remembering is that it’s that: it’s in its first year. This felt like a debut. A little unsure in some places, a little conservative in others. I’ve been monitoring how this has been marketed since its announcement, and it was really lovely to see both days eventually sell out. I’ll say this; it felt oversold. There wasn’t the hour-long wait for anything that I experienced at EGX. If you wanted to play something, at most you were waiting the length of the demo itself, while the person currently playing it got hands on.

It was all very busy, though. The space of the rooms they were set up in VS the amount of space required for the games and monitors themselves left a very narrow gap for people to actually walk through. If you’re in a group, you’re going to want to stick with your people. There was a VR title in the corner which got quite busy. The multiplayer games were positioned towards the back, which I suspect was by design. But, by 12ish, it started to feel very claustrophobic.

Image Credit: Film London

New Game Plus really did try be a gaming event, more than just a games show. There was a stage with talks and presentations about getting into the industry, a live recording of the Press X To Continue podcast; these are the sort of things that are commonplace in gaming expos, and I commend them for putting them on. I’d question having that space directly in front of an area holding about 60 games, mind. It comes back to the rooms they had access to. At other events, a separate space would exist for panels and the like. They just don’t have that here. Maybe in 2026 we’ll see a reconfiguration or relocation that makes these work. Here and now, it felt like a little bit of a miss.

Successful foundations

My gripes, ultimate, come back to that same root: this was a first attempt. And it was a really nice one. I’m pleased this show exists. I’m really pleased I attended. It didn’t completely blow me away, nor did I feel reinvigorated in the way I did at the Eurogamer Expo back in 2011. Those days are gone, I think. But I feel really good about this. 

As I walked away from the building, there was a row of coaches waiting to take school and college trips away. It dawned on me that a large number of people attending were kids, likely visiting something like this for the first time. That’s, ultimately, what this is about. And what I alluded to last time around. A new generation of developers and writers will have been motivated here. And, in 2026, they’ll want to come back. Hopefully New Game Plus will have learned from their first go, and next year will be ready to deliver a belter.

Featured Image Credit: London Games Festival