All photos by Marielle Bokor & Julian Ramirez Fan Expo Chicago 2026 has come and gone, and while we're still missing the fun and freedom of being in our fandoms with other fans, and more than a little exhausted, we've got lots of great memories to hold onto until next year. And? Some great cosplay photos. You guys killed it, and we're glad we got the chance to meet and photograph all of your hard work.

But one weird thing - despite having Keith David, John Carpenter, and Kurt Russell on the list of celeb guests, there was no The Thing panel. For horror fans (and movie fans in general) this was pretty glaring. It's not like Fan Expo hates a reunion. We had almost the entire cast of The Boys and The Goonies AND The Hobbits, so ...what gives?

So why is this getting released now? Nostalgia, surely. But also because Aspyr parent company Embracer now owns the rights thanks to their acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises in 2022. That means there’s a possibility that more WB Lord of the Rings games will be rereleased by Aspyr, so this could be the first of many.

I haven’t played a sidescrolling beat ‘em up meets roguelike since Absolum. And while that has to be a peak example of the genre, I can certainly learn to love again with Anomaly President. Released in Early Access a couple of weeks ago, I knew right away that Anomaly President had the potential to be something great.

Time for Fan Expo. Oh Dear God. Don't worry though, we've got your back.

Starting out as a prototype in the Big Mode Game Jam in 2023, Backpack Boy has had a multi-year journey to make its way to 1.0. The first commercial game of developer Chuck & Niles Games, Backpack Boy isn’t going to redefine the sidescrolling puzzle genre, but it’s a charming game that does a whole lot of things right.