Benjamin Leatherman
Audio By Carbonatix
When thousands of Arizona gamers and geeks came to Game On Expo 2023 at the Phoenix Convention Center, they came properly dressed for the occasion. They were wearing more than just black t-shirts adorned with Sonic the Hedgehog or Mega Man, though.
Numerous cosplayers were in attendance at the three-day convention from Aug. 11 to 13, a majority of who were portrayed as characters from various popular video games. Attendees wore foam armor inspired by the “Halo” series, donned the spandex outfits of “Overwatch” villains, or even imitated the look of Mario and with a pair of coveralls and a red cap.
Cosplay has been a part of the Game On Expo since the con launched in 2015, says co-founder John Lester.
“Cosplay has always been welcome at the Expo,” he says. “Our costume contest is one of the biggest events of the weekend every year.”
And, as is the case with the costumes at many local geek events, the cosplay at Game On Expo 2023 didn’t disappoint.
Dan Cattell came all the way from Riverton, New Jersey, to show off his clever 2D costume at Game On Expo. Made from hand-painted cardboard, it recreates a pixelated Zebesian space pirate from the Super Nintendo game “Super Metroid” when viewed from the side. (Previous costumes he wore at other conventions across the U.S. have gone viral.)
Other Game On Expo attendees brought hand-crafted costumes they spent countless hours creating. Prescott cosplayer Starlit Memory, for instance, portrayed popular Nintendo heroine Princess Zelda in an elegant blue and gold gown inspired by Victorian-era fashion that took months to sew.
“I went with period fabrics for her, and knew I needed something close to her iconic blue and gold while being different enough,” the cosplayer wrote on her Instagram account. “I was able to achieve that with trim and silk taffeta, and many many beads.”
Here’s a look at the coolest costumes and cosplayers at this year’s Game On Expo.
Dan Cattell of Riverton, N.J., created this clever pixel art version of a Zebesian space pirate from the landmark Super Nintendo game “Super Metroid.”
Benjamin Leatherman
Local cosplayer, TikToker and gamer Error Paige got creative with her Mario Kart costume, becoming a human embodiment of the game’s famous Rainbow Road stage.
Benjamin Leatherman
Gilbert resident and cosplayer Cali.Daz dressed as Mithrix, the final boss from the third-person shooter game “Risk of Rain 2.”
Benjamin Leatherman
A member of the Arizona Autobots — a local cosplay group inspired by the ’80s “Transformers” cartoon — as the legendary Optimus Prime.
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Bleeding Fingers Cosplay of Casa Grande used artificial flowers and other materials to transform herself into Fearne Calloway, a faun druid from the popular tabletop gaming web series “Critical Role.”
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Josh Scott of Phoenix built a complete set of Spartan armor from the “Halo” game series, including an energy sword.
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Jessika Malic, also known as Jinx Cosplay, as the succubus Morrigan Aensland from Capcom’s arcade fighting game “Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors.”
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Johnny Carwell of Gilbert looks ready to serve up some special moves while dressed as Terry Bogard, the main protagonist of SNK’s “Fatal Fury” arcade fighting game.
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Starlit Memory of Prescott worked exhaustively to craft an original version of Princess Zelda based on Victorian-era fashion.
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Hardcore players of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 will remember this polygon version of James Bond, which was portrayed by Jake McCormick of El Mirage.
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This group is cosplaying characters from the action role-playing game “Genshin Impact,” including (from left) Dottore, Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno.
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Mesa resident Killian Davies went all out when creating this cosplay of Stolas, a Goetial demon character from the adult animated web series “Helluva Boss.”
Benjamin Leatherman
You can’t go to a geek convention these days without seeing someone cosplaying Denji, the protagonist from the phenomenally popular anime and manga series “Chainsaw Man.”
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Will Smith of Glendale spent six months prepping his cosplay of a demonic-looking cultist from Resident Evil 4.
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An impressive-looking cosplay of Spawn, the legendary comic-book antihero created by Arizona resident Todd McFarlane.
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This fan of Kobeni Higashiyama from the anime “Chainsaw Man” showed off the character’s love of the fictional fast-food joint Family Burger Restaurant.
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These cosplayers are portraying the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (left) and Zero Two from the anime series “Darling in the Franxx.”
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Kyrie Moos of San Tan Valley played Albert Wesker from Capcom’s original Resident Evil and is a member of the Umbrella Corporation Arizona Hive cosplay group inspired by the game.
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These Game On Expo attendees were portraying Yae Miko (left) and Kaveh from Genshin Impact.
Benjamin Leatherman
