Southampton Game Fest Returns

James Crawford0

You may have gone to Southampton Game Fest last year. You may even have seen the video we did (if you’re awesome). But are you ready for the sequel?

That’s right, it’s happening again! Southampton Game Festival 2: Festival Harder. No, wait, SGF2: The Fest and the Furious! That’s totally the official title of the event and not one I just made up.

The event is happening at 10:00 am this Sunday; the 22nd of May. One look at the exhibitors below and you can tell it’s going to be bigger and more entertaining than the last. Oh, and if you did go to the last you should know that there has been a bit of a venue change this year; in fact there have been multiple venue changes but that’s special secret drama and when I know more about it I will update you here.

The festival will be held at the Grand Harbour hotel on the seafront. It’s pretty classy guys, so maybe don’t wear that Sonic the Hedgehog t-shirt you’ve had since you were twelve years old and has extra holes in that it didn’t start off with. Eh, who am I kidding? I know I’ll be wearing the Watch_Dogs hat I found in a bush after last years event. It just seems appropriate.

Anyway, showing up and showing off at the event we have:

Media: Homefront Revolution
Homefront: Revolution will be shown alongside plenty of independant titles.

So plenty to get into, especially so if your thing is mundane space simulation. And in the line up of tournaments:

  • Street Fighter 5 (free entry and a £20 prize)
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies (teams of four, free entry and an £80 prize)
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee (£5 entry with the winnings split between the victors)
  • Fifa 16 (£2 entry with £20 + a football hamper for the prize)
  • Mario Kart 8 (free entry and the prize is a Mario Kart trophy)
  • A PokeGym challenge (free entry with a chance for their grand prize, whatever that is!)
  • Bomberman (free entry with a Bomberman trophy up for grabs)
  • Assetto Corsa (free entry, fastest lap gets a trophy and a t-shirt)

Also showing stuff at the game fest is:

  • A multi-table retro zone, by Retro Collect and the Dreamcast Junkyard (so revise your 90s slang!)
  • A VR showcase by Virtual Umbrella
  • A copy of Steel Battalion, complete with ridiculous extra controls that make literally no sense.
  • Twitch streamer “The Bread Wizard”
  • EJ Allen Cosplay
  • Video game prints by Funky Space Port
  • A DOOM inspired craft workshop
  • Board in the City, a board game cafe, will be exhibiting
  • The Retro Hut and Respawn Gaming, so get all your shopping in too?

More stuff may even be announced this week, so to get an up-to-date picture of what’s happening go to the Southampton Game Fest website here.

Media-SouthamptonHospitalCharityMuch like last year, Southampton Game Fest 2 is a charity event and 75% of the earnings will be going to Southampton Hospital Charity. Their aim is to “enhance the world class services provided at Southampton General Hospital and Princess Anne Hospital through fundraising activities and events, charitable donations, legacies and voluntary support. The charity can complement and enhance services and facilities, so that the very best can be provided for all.” It’s a great cause so let’s hope we can raise even more money than we did last year and call the entire day a success all round.

Frankly, if all that isn’t enough of a reason to get yourself out to the event I don’t know what is. A chance to see 100XP in the wild world of convention trolling? No? Well, on top of everything that’s on offer, anyone with a ticket will also be entitled to two free Steam games courtesy of Lots o’ Network and Who’s Gaming Now and advanced bookers are also getting an entry into a raffle which could have you walking home with a boxed SNES. Not that you didn’t already have a boxed SNES, right?

Tickets can be booked here and cost £6 in advance. Alternatively, you can buy on the door for £7.

Here’s a gallery from last year.