Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Ron: Hello and welcome to Season 6 of Stereo Geeks. We attended Toronto Game Expo 2025 and had so much fun, we had to do a recap episode. I’m Ron.

Mon: And I’m Mon.

Ron: Before we start our episode, we would like to acknowledge that the land we are recording on is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. It is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Mon: While we are making this land acknowledgement, we understand that this is not enough and that positive action is required by the people of Canada to make substantive change for the Indigenous nations and communities whose lands we now reside on.

[Music]

Ron: This is the first time we’ve attended Toronto Game Expo, though they have been around a while.

Mon: I’d not heard about the show, but I’m glad we got to go. I’ll admit, it’s always hairy covering a new event. We don’t know where the venue is, what the setup will be like, how we, the press, will be treated.

Ron: Yes, well, that was an issue for us. Media check-in started at 9am. After a particularly long work week, we weren’t really looking forward to getting up so early on Saturday, even for a game expo. We couldn’t find direct public transport so decided to cab it. And found that we were nowhere near the media entrance. Utter chaos, while it was bitterly cold and raining on our heads.

Mon: Running around like headless chickens trying to figure out where we were versus where we were supposed to be was a terrible start to our Expo experience.

Ron: One of the biggest issues with Toronto is how reliant people are on cars. If you don’t have a car, it can be hard to get to some spots. Toronto Game Expo’s loading bay entrance is definitely on that list.

Mon: Yeah. And not a sign in sight, nor a staff member around indicating where we should go. Very frustrating.

Ron: Once we got there, we had to join the line for exhibitors and vendors. Which was slow to move because only one desk was open for check-in. I must admit, I was confused because our accreditation emails told us there would be two dedicated desks just for media sign-in.

Mon: It ran smoother than I expected despite there being one line to rule them all. I noticed that VIP guests were escorted in–anyone actually working that day were on their own and had to get in line.

Ron: But the moment we were in the doors, everything was much better. We could take our soggy jackets off and the line moved quickly. We got our media badges and got to wander about. But the 9am media start was a bit strange. Most exhibitors were still setting up, so we got to see a lot of blank cardboard.

Mon: Yeah, we got some confused looks from the artists. One artist point-blank asked us if the event was actually open, and I had to explain that the Expo has staggered start times, so some of us were there, while others weren’t. But she was confused because she’d set up her table while so many others hadn’t.

Ron: A plus side to going that early was how empty it was. Those aisles seemed so wide and easy to walk through. There’s no way that we would have been able to navigate it so easily once the crowds began at 11am.

Mon: None of the gaming areas were open when we arrived. So, really, what was the point of inviting us so early? The whole point was to beat the crowds.

Ron: Yes, we saw the claw machines, which apparently you’re a huge fan of. But there was nobody there to operate them, or explain to us how we could get coins. The arcade games were also being set up when we first arrived. But we did get to play some games eventually.

Mon: Yep. I had my heart set on trying the arcade games. As soon as I read that we could play them for free, I was like, this has to be for me.

Ron: I didn’t know you were so hellbent on playing all the arcade games.

Mon: Are you kidding? I love arcade games!

Ron: We didn’t get much of an opportunity to play them growing up in India. I can only think of one evening when we had access to some arcade games. I have no clue what happened to that place after that.

Mon: I’m sad there were no free pinball machines at the Expo. Trust me, I’d still be there if there was pinball.

Ron: There technically were pinball machines at the TGE but I couldn’t figure out how we could get to them.

Mon: Now I’m sad again.

Ron: Ah, sorry about that, sis.

Mon: Nah, it’s fine. We finally got to play Mortal Kombat. How cool was that!

Ron: It was so much fun! I played first as Sub-Zero and then Liu Kang. I dominated both games! It was amazing.

Mon: I played as Scorpion, and then as Raiden. I’m so bad at games. I think I lost both times, but ooooo I had fun!

Ron: I don’t think it helped that the sunlight was shining on the screen. You could barely see the characters. But yes, the button mashing was fun. You do have to be strategic though.

Mon: Yeah. There are combo moves that we may have accidentally done.

Ron: Those combo moves culminated in some violent actions. Oofff. But so fun.

Mon: Especially when one character was close to death and the game announced “Finish Him!”

Ron: Iconic! And we finally got to experience it in real life.

Mon: What did we do next?

Ron: We tried Guitar Freaks, but couldn’t get it to work at all.

Mon: Oh yeah. How did we miss every single beat?

Ron: There comes a time in your life when you need to acknowledge that you’re not very good at certain things. Music-related games are on the top of that list.

Mon: Aye, that’s fair. I tried Jubeat right after that. I thought I was killing it with the beats, but then it said FAILED in big, bold letters. Like how? How did I go so wrong?

Ron: Tell me how you lost Jubeat? I was recording you and you were hitting those buttons at the right time. They kept lighting up green! That game is rigged.

Mon: So true. I keep forgetting we had a gala time playing that car game. I really loved the two-player games. I got to play with you, which is my favourite thing to do.

Ron: Yes! It was called Steering Champ. There were multiple stages and each stage was like a whole different game. We had a wheel and a pedal each to play with.

Mon: Too many stages. But I liked the stage where we were grabbing gold coins. Noice!

Ron: I made an ill-advised run at Donkey Kong and Ms Pac Man. I was terrible at both of them. Or maybe I was a bit tired by then?

Mon: Oh yeah! Let’s go with that theory, boo.

Ron: We ended our arcade games with House of the Dead II.

Mon: Gory, gruesome, but jolly good fun.

Ron: That game we were pretty good at. Except for the two… incidents.

Mon: We don’t talk about that.

Ron: If we had tried to include a disclaimer saying that no innocents were hurt during the playing of this game, that would have been a lie. Those poor civilians. We swear, we thought you were zombies.

Ron: Elsewhere, we tried our hands at nerf guns!

Mon: First time handling nerf guns. Mine was jammed for the longest time, and I was like, ok, this is just how I roll.

Ron: Mine was not and I was still a disaster at it. The GameStop team was very fun though. And they took cute pictures for us.

Mon: Awwww. They were amazing. So friendly and energetic. When my nerf gun finally unjammed, I got one duck. One! Not a real duck, people.

Ron: Aside from the arcade games, we wanted to check out the game developers who were showcasing their own work. There were some independent Canadian developers who we got to meet. That was the biggest highlight for me.

Mon: Absolutely. The first indie game we stopped at was Kitten Cup Studio’s adorable cat game, Pekoe. The game had such a cute display, we stopped to take a picture but then developer Len Predko invited us to play the game. Of course, I took a seat. It’s such a calming game. Basically, you own a tea shop and make tea for your customers, who happen to be cats. There was also very soothing music to listen to, and I was given cat-ear headphones to experience the music.

Mon: I started off only having cinnamon flavouring for the tea but the customer loved it. Then I made the tragic mistake of telling my cat customer I liked swimming. She was not happy!

Ron: What a hilarious way to end your time with the game. I understand Pekoe is already available on Steam. So that’s what we’ll be getting next.

Mon: We then landed up at the table for Galactic Shogun. The art was gorgeous and the cards were so fetching with the steel backing.

Ron: But the developer, Peter Luo, explained to us that those were the fancy versions of the cards. The regular versions aren’t as shiny. Still beautiful though.

Mon: I’m afraid poor Peter had his work cut out with us.

Ron: Yes. We didn’t know what a social deduction game was. We’ve never played Mafia, which he compared Galactic Shogun to. He had to explain the whole concept from scratch. I can’t say I completely understand it.

Mon: No, me neither. There’s some subterfuge involved and some people are helping others, while some characters are out to get you. But the mechanics were lost on me.

Ron: We stopped at Angry Peasants’ table next. The co-founder, Wurst, told us about the game Bunker Down! with art created by Alejandra Laria. We got to see a prototype of the game so it wasn’t the final art. But the game itself has a hilarious concept.

Mon: While most fantasy games are about playing the powerful dwarf, or wizard, in Bunker Down! you play the hapless villagers who are trying to live through the magical people’s nonsense.

Ron: That’s so hilarious to me. But I’ve never been very good at dice games and role-playing games still feel alien to me. Cool concept though.

Mon: We made a few stops in between to play some PS5 games.

Ron: I got needlessly excited thinking one of the consoles was playing the PS5 game Stray. No luck.

Mon: But you did get to play a TMNT game.

Ron: Well, play is a strong word. There was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game and I was playing as Leo. I died 10 seconds into the game. I don’t even know how.

Mon: I couldn’t even get the practice session to work for Tekken 8.

Ron: All the tables said to reach out to staff if we were having a problem. Only I couldn’t see any staff. And what were we going to tell them? Please help us ensure Leonardo doesn’t die again?

Mon: Tekken was stuck or glitching, though.

Ron: Okay, true. We made one more stop at an indie game. It was called Ranita, and that is so insanely close to my name that I had to go check it out.

Mon: Indeed. Our real names are hard to find out in the wild.

Ron: Exactly. So I told the developer, Erick Moros Letondeur, about my name and he thought it was super amusing because Ranita means Little Frog in Spanish. And your name means Little Monkey. This is hilarious and I feel they’re very apt for our personalities.

Mon: Well, I wouldn’t go that far but those meanings of our names are definitely cute.

Ron: The game itself was like Mario. The little frog has to jump up to platforms without touching anything that can cause instant death. Here’s the kicker, everything causes instant death. This frog is such a lightweight.

Mon: Very funny. Erick shared a few more details about how he made the game. And unfortunately, that made me less-enthused to play the game. Erick explained that he couldn’t get coders to commit to developing the game. They would quit after a while because they were volunteers. But that meant the game wasn’t being completed. So, Erick used generative AI to teach himself to code and build the game.

Ron: I cannot believe I share a name with an AI game! I’m crushed.

Mon: Erick was very proud of himself for this accomplishment but genAI is terrible in every way. Bad for the environment. Thievery. And taking away jobs from actual people.

Ron: Erick was so sweet but this was a huge downer for us. We want games made by real people, not AI.

Mon: Let’s look at the positives. There were quite a few highlights from our time at the Expo. Tell me one of yours.

Ron: All the amazing art that we saw. Since it wasn’t too crowded, we got to appreciate the art, instead of being jostled about.

Mon: Yes, so many gorgeous art styles. Also, plenty of handicrafts. Oh, one of the crafts I was absolutely cooing over were those porcelain ghost decorations.

Ron: Oh, they were just too cute! The ones with the pizza! And there were a few who had gaming accessories. If we had space in our display cabinet, I’d have brought them home.

Mon: Adorbs. And speaking of cute things, let’s talk about the special guest.

Ron: Ok, so I’d seen on the Expo website that Leonidas, the cosplaying cat, was going to be there. I was looking for him, but I got swept away with all the other stuff. We were almost out the door when I noticed a small container on a table. I was so confused, like what is that? And why is there a tiny bed inside it? And then, I saw him. Leonidas. And he was dressed as a Jedi. He even had a little lightsaber. It was so cute. I melted.

Mon: When you pointed him out to me, I thought I was looking at a stuffed toy. And then he moved. I lost my mind.

Ron: Who wouldn’t? Such a cutie.

Mon: I hope we see Leonidas again someday. What a treat.

Ron: So, it wouldn’t be a Game Expo without gaming vendors. It was fabulous to see so many vendors. We spent a lot of time browsing through their stacks of games.

Mon: Yeah, and we got some loot as well.

Ron: Yes, but we were on a mission. One we knew could only be accomplished at the Game Expo. If not here, then nowhere else.

Mon: We finally, finally, found the PlayStation Portable game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. 7 years ago, as we were packing to move to Canada, we realised that someone had stolen a bunch of PSP games from our home. One of the stolen games was Rise of Apocalypse, the greatest game ever made. We were crushed. Our parents were crushed. The universe was unbalanced. We have been searching for it ever since and now, it’s in our hands again!

Ron: Missions accomplished, we said goodbye to a fun day out. Despite the wretched, cold, wet start, the day itself was excellent. I’m really looking forward to the next one.

Mon: Me too. Onto the next Toronto Game Expo.