My appreciation for Montreal ComicCon runs deep. As seen in the picture above, I’ve been to pretty much every iteration in the last 10+ years. I’ve also had the honor and pleasure to cover them as media for most of them. This year, my anticipation was through the roof, because it was announced that there would be a lot of videogame actors as guests, and some very famous ones. With all of this in mind, I spent those 3 days (from July 3rd to 5th) with the same energy as always, and I was not disappointed at all.

Neil Newbon
Troy Baker

Important names of the industry

I love being able to go to the convention and really meet up with people that are really recognizable figures of the industry. In the previous iterations, I’ve had the pleasure to talk with Elias Toufexis (Deus Ex), Charles Martinet (voice of Mario for most of the games), Nolan North (Uncharted games), Maggie Robertson (Resident Evil 9, Baldur’s Gate 3), etc. This year, I was blown away by the fact that one of the biggest voice actor in the industry was present : Troy Baker. From the Uncharted games to The Last of Us and Indiana Jones, the man has done it all. He is one of the man I wanted to meet once in my life, and I did it. It will be a moment I will always remember.

I also had the honor to talk with Yuri Lowenthal, the voice behind Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel videogames made by Insomniac. He is an actor that through my years of listening to podcasts, everyone was talking about the fact that he is a very gentle, funny, down to Earth man that is just easy to talk to. They were not wrong. He is a gentleman, and someone I’m glad I was able to meet and take a picture with.

Those were only the 2 people I was able to meet. In terms of representation of the videogames industry and voice actors, the presence of Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3) was a highlight. His panel was very interesting. He talked a lot about his experience in the industry, while being a very active participant in the table-top RPG/Dungeons & Dragons community. In addition to him, I was also able to go to panels where Nadji Jeter (Miles Morales in the Insomniac Marvel games) was the guest. Same situation for David Kaye (voice of Clank in the Ratchet & Clank games).

Games on the main floor

Every year, an important part of the main show floor of ComicCon is the Indie Game Zone. This is where a multitude of indie game developers come to show us the games they are working on and try them. Montreal is recognized as a region where there are many indie game studio (and major ones), so the list of games is always very interesting, comprising many styles for every kind of gamers. This year was no exception.

I discovered the studio Clever Plays about 10 years ago, in one of the first (if not, very first) ComicCon I have ever attended. Back then, they were working on a game called Leap of Fate, which was basically an isometric action roguelite game, that made an impression on me. As soon as I was able to, after playing a demo there, I purchased it, and played it a ton. To see the studio back in action, releasing a very different game, really pleased me. Happy Bastards is a tactical RPG, with a very…uncommon art style. It was a really early demo, but it showed a lot of promise.

Last year, I discovered a game in development called Croak, which is in the vein of difficult platformers like Super Meat Boy and Celeste. Its unique characteristic though comes from its art style, which is very reminiscent to Cuphead. There are no Metroid-vania gameplay in there, you already have access to all of your abilities : move, jump and use your tongue. Have fun, go through the obstacles and challenge yourself with the collectibles. A demo is still available on the Steam page. This is the game that I need the most to keep an eye on, especially that I heard between the lines that it should get released soon. Right now, we only have an official “2026” release window.

Roguelite has been a very common buzzword recently. It is a genre that many gamers really appreciate, and it’s been used with many genre. This year, there is an original concept that I have never seen before : a roguelike singleplayer 2-D fighter ! This is what Poly Fighter consists of. It comes from a very small team that are just very passionate gamers, especially regarding fighting games. They created something very original. Another game to keep an eye on.

I tried many other games, but another one that stuck with me is called Surfpunk. The game is made by Double Stallion, the studio that released in 2023 the game CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story. This time, they are going the co-op action game route, with a very nice surf aesthetics. Looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. It was pleasant to see the last year (like Croak), and see the evolution.

Impossible to avoid cosplay at ComicCon!

With an event like ComicCon, it is impossible to avoid cosplay made by the attendees. Being a center of popular culture, we admire the work of dozens and dozens of people celebrating their love for anime, manga, videogames, superheroes, horror, etc. Here are the ones that I saw with my own eyes that I really appreciated.

Another rendez-vous for next year!

Going to ComicCon is for me really an appointment. It is my happy place, where most of the things I love reunite. I am glad I was able to go this year. For sure, I am reserving my first weekend of 2027 to come back. Kudos to the organizers and I can’t wait for next summer.