I love attending events, the buzz of a convention hall is something that can’t be missed. The last event I attended was EGX back in 2018 before the world got turned upside down with the pandemic. During post-pandemic, I was building up the courage to venture to a big event again and Insomnia 70 sounded like the right place to start. It’s a gaming festival and was located right on my doorstep so I would be silly not to attend. I have heard things about Insomnia but never attended one, my little brother went to one a while ago and he said it was brilliant. With that in mind, I managed to get a hold of Press Tickets and made my way to the event.
History
Founded in 1999, the Insomnia Gaming Festival originated as the I-series; a small LAN event where gamers could come together and play together. This event heavily focuses on bringing the community together in one location for a weekend of non-stop gaming for the full weekend. The event has expanded over the years and gamers from all walks of life can feel welcome to celebrate video games and pop culture. Insomnia Gaming Festival can be seen as more than just a video gaming expo thanks to the accommodation of Tabletop games, Merchandise stores, Cosplay and much more.
The Venue
I have been to the NEC multiple times in the past for various events and I do believe it is the perfect place for gaming conventions. The Halls are huge which means you can get a lot out of it, in Insomnia’s case there were multiple stages, a huge amount of gaming space, interactive experience and VR spaces. My first thoughts were excited as I couldn’t wait to see what the event had on offer and to my surprise, I got around the whole thing in just under three hours, this was really surprising as with EGX it would normally take me the whole day to get around and I normally worry that I’m not going to fit everything in but with Insomnia I was starting to worry if I could drag out a whole day at the event.
We made our way through the market portion of the event and stumbled across various gaming merch, pop culture and tabletop goodies. I could have easily spent a lot of money at these as there was much on offer that I wanted however my inner adult kicked in a put a stop to the spending spree. After I visited all the stores I wandered over to where the interaction zombie experience was and enquired about it. For £15 you got a 30-minute full immersive experience that any fan of zombie apocalypses would love to take part in. This was put on by the incredible people over at Zombie Infection who are the largest provider in the UK for live immersion when it comes to Zombies. You can find them here at www.zombieinfection.co.uk, if you loved or missed out on them at Insomnia 70. There were numerous VR experiences going on that were super fun and catered for everyone, racing simulators had various competitions running throughout the event and even the Army showed up and ran some activities like a BB gun shooting range.
One thing I was glad I did was to download the mobile app as it kept me updated on everything that was going on while I was at the event. What talks were on, a map of the venue and some little achievements that you could earn by completing tasks at the event. This was neat as it gave me something else to do while waiting for talks, cosplay competitions and tournaments to start. On top of this you had content creators present that you could meet and interact with as well as voice actors from the hit series Resident Evil as well as Geralt of Rivia himself. Please see list of voice actors that were present:
- Doug Cockle: Geralt of Rivia
- Nicole Tompkins: Jill Valentine
- Maggie Robertson: Lady Dimitrescu
- STEPHANIE PANISELLO: Claire Redfield
- NICK APOSTOLIDES: Leon S Kennedy
- NEIL NEWBON: Karl Heisenberg
- ESTELLE ELLIS: Krystal
For a small fee, you were able to get these wonderful people’s autographs and photos and maybe a quick chat in the process. These conventions are a brilliant place to be able to meet the fantastic actors and actresses that bring these beloved characters to life in video games and other media.
I loved seeing all the different PC builds that were on display as well as getting a nice supply of Yorkshire Tea and Monster Energy for free at the event. The food was a bit on the pricey side but that’s to be expected. The big selling point for Insomnia for me was the huge areas dedicated to playing games. You could bring your own PC if you bought the right ticket or rent one out, this way you are able to participate in all the fun and not miss out. The tournaments and competitions (if you felt brave enough) were a nice thing to be able to watch or take part in. They had games like Fortnite, League of Legends, and Fall Guys to name a few that you were able to play and show off your skills. The main stage had a good array of shows going on throughout the weekend which I manage to attend and really enjoy. All in all, for my first time going to an Insomnia event it was different to what I’m used to but what started off as a worry due to me thinking that there wouldn’t be enough on offer turned into a fun-filled day with a lot of laughs, enjoyment and gaming.
Conclusion
i70 was a good day out, there was enough going on for me to fill my time. The location of the venue is fantastic as it’s easily accessible by public transport and car. We only spent £5 on parking at the NEC which is super cheap and it’s covered the whole day. If you were planning to stay for the full weekend there are hotels and onsite camping that keep you local so you don’t miss a thing or have to worry about transport for the weekend. If I was going to go to do Insomnia again, I think I would look into doing the package that involved the Lan area and maybe even take my own PC down. This way it would allow me to participate in more activities and make the most out of my time at Insomnia. Though if you just wanted to head down for the day, Insomnia caters for that too. There were a lot of merchandise stores, an area to play games and a dedicated tabletop area. Alongside the numerous stages that had things happening throughout the day and the meet and greet with creators and voice actors Insomnia 70 was a grand first event to come back to after COVID and one I will look at attending again in the future. Roll on i71 for more gaming fun.
If you enjoy games and gaming and want more NEWS from the Gaming World Click Here
