Insomnia Gaming Festival first started in 1999. What once began as an LAN community gathering, the event has grown into a celebration of all things gaming which takes place multiple times a year. I was lucky enough to attend the most recent Insomnia, which took place 8th-10th September at the National Exhibition Center (NEC), Birmingham. And there were plenty of ways to be entertained during the three-day event, with new and upcoming games, cosplay and e-sports competitions and the very memorable Zombie Infection Live experience.
Tekken 8
There probably wasn’t anything new in this Tekken 8 demo for anyone who had access to their closed network testing. However, this was the first hands-on publicly available in the UK. The demo offered a first-to-three VS match. With a roster consisting of 16 iconic fighters and 4 arenas, it is safe to say that this was just a small glimpse of what Tekken 8 plans to slam on the table. The most notable return to the franchise roster is Jun Kazama. Jun is arguably essential to the narrative, yet hasn’t been a playable character since Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (2011); her last mainline appearance being in Tekken 2 (1995).
The visual enhancements are instantly noticeable, and not just through the extra attention to detail on character’s outfits or lack of. Rage Arts are more cinematic than Tekken 7, the entire screen glowing with the special move unique to each fighter. These snappy cutscenes interspersed throughout the fight were fluid, and seamlessly shift back into gameplay. In addition to the Rage Art mechanic, there is a Rage State that allows you to deal more damage. This is automatically triggered when health drops below a certain point. There is also a chance to regain a small amount of health in Tekken 8, achieved by blocking a heavy combo and then dealing damage.
There is also the addition of Heat State, represented as a gauge beneath the health bar. However, I didn’t quite have the time to figure out the intricacies of this system and instead seemed to enjoy using it all at once in a Heat Smash (not a euphemism). Tekken 8 is perhaps the most beginner friendly installment in the series. Keeping the traditional control scheme with a novel’s worth of input combos, the easy combo mode from Tekken 7 has been blended with the assist mode. Pressing L1 opens an on screen trick list. This is small yet useful, prompting simple inputs for brutal combos.
Tekken 8 is set to release 26th January 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
IndieVerse
As well as the big hitters, Insomnia also showcased a number of titles from independent developers. These games varied in stages of development – some still in the earlier steps of the process, others already released and ready for purchase. A few of my highlights are listed below.
Hex Racer
The premise of Hex Racer is as simple as its controls. Accelerating with the right trigger and controlling movement with the left stick, you guide the ship through a number of randomly generated courses. Avoid asteroids and fly through checkpoints to earn points, as soon as you crash, it’s game over. Hex Racer uses its aggravation as its replayability factor. Whenever a run is cut short there’s something you could do better, a way to improve or a different approach for you to try. There’s is a story mode which will be available on full release, in which you will unlock more ships and space maps to race through. You can find out more on Hex Racer‘s Steam page.
Ascend
Although still in the earlier stages of development, Ascend already has a world begging to be explored. Boasting a colourful artstyle similar to that of Immortals: Fenyx Rising, Ascend manages to capture the more intricate details too, while maintaining an essence all of its own. You follow the journey of Aurora. In search of what lies above, you travel through luscious landscapes adorned with animals, magnificent statues and various puzzles in order to ascend the mountain. The demo puzzle required you to connect a sequence of light beams, in order to unlock the gateway leading to the next area. Yet the most challenging moment for myself was getting to grips with keyboard and mouse controls, although controller compatibility is in the works. Discover more about Aurora and Ascend on Miami Avlon’s website.
Lucy Dreaming
Lucy Dreaming is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Tall Story Games. In the game you play as Lucy, a girl who’s having trouble falling asleep due to nightmares which find her there. The demo played out in Lucy’s house, and while only a short section of the 90’s inspired title, the dry sense of humour comes through in the dialogue. Especially the line “this must be one of those ‘not included in the demo’ rooms” from Lucy when I tried to access a locked door. There are a selection of actions on screen such as “look at” or “use.” You point-and-click on the desired action and then chose the item with which you’d like to interact. The pixel art-style is pleasant to look at and turns a simple bedroom into a blast of nostalgia as you help Lucy find solutions for the monsters which haunt her dreams. Lucy Dreaming is out now and is available on Steam, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
Tranzfuser
Brought to you by UK Games Talent and Finance CIC, Tranzfuser is part of an effort to support the up and coming developers of the UK. Now in their 8th year, Tranzfuser works as a type of talent contest between teams of fresh graduates. Throughout the program, the teams receive funding from the company, as well as being connected with a variety of industry professionals, who are able to offer their advice and expertise.
The Tranzfuser section gained a lot of attention at Insomnia, with developers proudly showcasing their games. There were a number of intriguing games, and the community would then have the tough choice of casting their votes on which they thought strongest. Due to the significant popularity of the Tranzfuser section, I didn’t get play time with all the games. That being said, there were a couple I did play which stood out for their unique ideas and ambition.
Sincognito
Sincognito is a PVP murder sim with a twist; as the clever title suggests, you play as a sin in incognito. One of the 5-15 players is an impostor, and a physical manifestation of one of the seven deadly sins. Each of these manifestations have their own skills and powers. You will work together to avoid being murdered and deduce who the Sinner is. I wasn’t playing online, and instead was the impostor among the AI. Stealth is recommended, however an element of gameplay I struggle with, resulting in me being one of the lower scorers due to my run-and-claw technique. The graphics here match the tone – dark and gloomy. While a release isn’t planned until 2024, Sincognito has a demo available to play on Steam.
Miniature Mayhem
I’m unsure whether it was the game itself which stood out to me or the developers pure enthusiasm for the future of their game. In short, a crazy scientist has failed his crazy science experiments, and for crazy science reasons there are now hundreds of tiny chickens running around. It is the players duty to eliminate these tiny enemies using the weapons provided. The demo took place inside of a jukebox, and future map ideas include different everyday items to turn into a minefield of miniature adversaries. You can keep an eye out for updates and see the teaser trailer on Miniature Mayhem‘s Steam page.
Retro Corner
Tucked away not far from the main event stage was the Retro Corner. Set up by Gaming Retro Button, this area had a collection of old-school arcade machines, older generations of PlayStations and I spotted an old SNES out in the wild. This area provided the opportunity for people to try their hand at arcade Guitar Hero or point light guns at a good old-fashioned block TV. While providing entertainment for older gamers as well as a chance to reminisce, this was also a hotspot for parents to show their offspring games of yore.
A personal highlight here was to play Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 on PlayStation 2. Even if not a fan favourite of the series, the original games skated past me in my childhood. Therefore I found it interesting to see the transition, especially in comparison to the 2020 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 remasters and how they have since polished and built around the controls. My morbid side was also delighted, as the over-the-top blood splatters every time you bailed were an unknown feature to me.
Zombie Checkpoint
Finally it is time to talk about the juicy brains and rotting flesh of the zombie outbreak at Insomnia Gaming Festival. Presented by Zombie Infection, Zombie Checkpoint was a self-contained one-off for i71, which used a combination of lighting, sound, and most importantly, live actors to achieve the terror of a zombie apocalypse. The experience was roughly 30 minutes, but time flies when you’re slaying the undead. The experience began following a short yet detailed health and safety brief, and staff were on hand (and in character) throughout.
Our squad was tasked with keeping one of the only remaining quarantine areas infection free. We were to do this using our key cards, each of which had a number. This number would display on a screen along with a colour. We then had to battle our way through the living corpses to scan the correct colour checkpoint, ensuring the door was locked, then make our way back to repeat the cycle. Once we had received our orders, we stepped through to the armoury to retrieve our weapons. And then we were ready for carnage.
Live Action Zombies
The live actors portraying the reanimated dead bodies were, ironically, the beating heart of the production. There were only a handful of actors, yet at no point did the space feel empty. I was always looking over my shoulder; a feeling intensified as the stubborn zombies refused to stay down, grabbing through the fences and appearing around corners when you’d least expect them. Despite the weather being warm and humid, the SFX makeup won the battle against the sweat. When the bloody lumps of protruding rotted flesh are paired with white contact lenses, it creates an immense satisfaction shooting the stumbling corpse between the eyes.
That brings us to the age old question: how do you kill a zombie? Luckily for the actors, real weaponry isn’t used at Zombie Infection. Instead the firearms are loaded with what seems to be compressed air, emitting the sound of gunfire which pierces the air as you pull the trigger. Even though the handgun I was using ran out of ammo, the human staff on duty were able to resolve this within a matter of seconds and equipped me with a new loadout. Overall, the experience was thrilling, albeit over sooner than I would have liked (I realise I am unlikely to say that in the event of an actual outbreak. Maybe.)
Zombie Infection provides award-winning, live-action zombie experiences in various locations around the UK. If you want to test your own survival skills, you can find out more on their website.
