Something for everyone? – coverage of Cracow Game Days 2019

Everything works on paper

At the outset, I would like to start by discussing the technical side of CGD, because it must be admitted that the organizers actually rose to the occasion in this field. The event was located in the modern EXPO Krakow fair facility, located at Galicyjska Street. It is a great location, because it is a bit more distant from the busy center, but not on the outskirts of the city at the same time. In addition, many popular tram and bus lines run nearby, so no one should have any problems with getting there.

Naturally, the entire area of ​​the center was not allocated to the event, because this one is impressive. Only one hall was used, which was completely stuffed with stands with computers and consoles, games without electricity, two stages and other attractions such as a stand with pop culture gadgets, a coffee point and an ASG shooting range. In turn, in the hall there is another exhibitor with gadgets (including large posters), and a few steps next to it there is a pressroom . The room may be quite modestly equipped, but at the same time properly prepared to take a breath for a while and put away your belongings. Both here and in the proper part of the fair, participants hungry for caffeine could use the almost unlimited resources of refrigerators with energy drinks from the popular brand. 

In turn, in front of the center, there was a food truck zone waiting for hungry participants. When it comes to the meals available, there was definitely a lot of care in terms of variety. So, at first glance, the organization of the event was at the right level.

E-sportsmen should be satisfied

Okay, but what was the party like? Well, it cannot be denied that the main target of the organizers were fans of online competition. It is for them that the most attractions are planned for the Cracow Game Days. The tournament stage presented the struggles of the 10th edition of the Polish Cup in Mount & Blade: Warband and the finals of the Go For It tournament – i.e. the league of Legends female teams . Participants, on the other hand, could show their skills in open tournaments of League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive . There were also less obliging and shorter competitions in the fighting games Mortal Kombat 11 and Super Smash Bros. Players thinking about professional games could also listen to a lecture devoted to just starting an e-sports career.

There were also opportunities to practice your skills outside of the competition. As part of the Free-2-Play zone, players have access to several dozen positions from Komputronik Gaming with productions: Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, LoL , Apex Legends, CS: GO , Heroes of the Storm , Overwatch , Mortal Kombat 11 and Tekken 7 . A separate zone was given to Fortnite , where a dozen additional computers with the most popular battle royale title were prepared, prepared to start playing as soon as possible. 

In my opinion, this solution did not make much sense. Fortnite as a free item could easily be installed on the rest of the equipment from the Free-2-Play zone. A lot of space would be saved. It must be admitted, however, that the duel zone in Hearthstone was stylish . Here, it is not limited to a simple display of computers, but a special corner has been prepared, stylized as a fantastic inn.

Games fair without games?

Exactly – it looks like the organizers ran out of some space in the market hall. Where do these assumptions come from? Well, I don’t see any other reason why there wasn’t enough space for an absolutely must-have item at any major video game event. Of course, I mean stations with test versions of upcoming productions. We are not talking about some whim, but something that even previous editions of Cracow Game Days provided. Anyway, the description of the event on Facebook said that the participants would be able to play selected titles before the premiere. According to the representatives of the CFA Agency behind the organization of the event, there was a mistake and the correct information was on the website of the event. All in all, this option is worse – did the organizers consciously advertise elements of the event that we will not experience, 

However, even this website raises some doubts as to the reliability of the creators of the Krakow event. In the news presenting the exhibitors, there is a mention of the Cenega company zone, in which “the latest titles and beloved by many games from the LEGO series!” Were to be found. However, this did not happen. Why? The answer to this question remains unanswered. As much as I can understand that something might not work out at the last minute, the organizers should definitely let them know in advance. Such concealment of facts is quite disgusting. Well, unless I’m wrong and Cenega’s zone was one console running Mortal Kombat 11 . I doubt such a scenario, because the mentioned fight was supposed to be the attraction of the Free-2-Play zone, and it does not solve the problem of LEGO games in no way.

Nothing special

As for the pre-release games, they somehow scored Game Days, but not as much as most probably expected. Participants could only watch the game from selected titles, accompanied by a commentary by the creators and TVGRYpl team. On Friday, i.e. on VIP Day (additional fee), the Game Days Show took place, where we could see promotional materials from the invited studios, and the creators had the opportunity to talk about them and the general condition at Gamedev. Finally, awards were given to the most ambitious, promising and most creative game.

So what could we actually play? CDP has prepared stands with the F1 2019 racer , using steering wheels as controllers, and the UglyDolls arcade : (Not) perfect adventure , being an adaptation of Paskuda ‘s animation . On the other hand, fans of the classic could use old computers and consoles such as SNES, Gamecube and Nintendo 64 in the retro zone. The gaming zone without electricity looked a bit better. The Veto store has prepared a really rich selection of popular titles to play with.

And then Mario comes in, all in white

Going to Cracow Game Days, I did not expect that Nintendo would be the biggest argument in favor of the event. Yes, the fair was saved by this Japanese company, which does not even officially operate in Poland, so in principle recognition is due to the Czech distributor – ConQuest Entertainment. The paradoxical success of the Nintendo zone is based precisely on their low interest in games in Poland. Thanks to this, although all the productions available for play have already been released, they were something completely fresh for me and many other visitors. What’s more, it must be admitted that the distributor took care of the appropriate selection of titles. On Switch consoles, you could play two fresh Super Mario Maker 2 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 and some of the popular exclusive items, such asMario Tennis Aces, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate i Yoshi’s Crafted World.

Participants could also see that, contrary to appearances, the Switch library consists of many third party ports . There were, among others, available to play. Limbo, Inside , Dead Cells , Minecraft and FIFA 19 .

No credit of trust

To sum up, the Cracow Game Days 2019 event aroused rather mixed feelings in me. I am aware that I am not in the main target group and e-sports fans probably had a great time, because the event could boast numerous attractions for fans of online struggles, arranged in a modern location. Huge compliments from me go to the Nintendo area. Only there I got involved for longer, and most importantly – I am actually considering joining the group of Switch owners.

Whips, the organizers deserve for how the issue of pre-premiere games was treated and for disinformation of visitors. Something like this should not happen and I will definitely think twice before visiting Cracow Game Days again.