Dark Presence Set to Appear at C2E2 2020

Galloping Ghost Productions' ambitious one-on-one fighter Dark Presence—which, might I remind you, is now over 10 years in the making—will be playable at this year’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.

Yes, this is very big news.

In an Instagram post Wednesday, Galloping Ghost Arcade shared that they were performing “high end testing” on Dark Presence in preparation for the event, alongside a photo of the deluxe-style “M.A.C.K.” cabinet.

Known primarily for its use of highly fluid digitized actors in lieu of Mortal Kombats of old, Dark Presence has proven quite enigmatic since its announcement in 2008. The title, as you may imagine, blew past its projected 2009 release window. After a some minor updates in 2010, there were occasional appearances until the game was brought out on the Galloping Ghost Arcade floor for “Dark Presence Day” in 2017. (Fun fact: I think GGA has done a few of these now, and I've missed them all. Talk about a tragedy.)

The title’s presence (pun unintended) at C2E2 signals that it may very well be nearing completion. Of course, only time will tell whether Dark Presence will land in arcades soon or if it needs some more time in the oven.

All I can say now is that I want Dark Presence bad—and preferably in the near future. While I respect the development team’s commitment to perfection, I’m not sure how much longer fans like myself can hold out. The hype is, in a word, intoxicating.

Fortunately for the folks up North, C2E2 begins soon, running from February 27 to February 29 at the McCormick Place convention center, which just so happens to be the largest convention center in the North America. You satiate your burning intrigue by watching the countdown timer on the C2E2 website.

One last thing: If you get to play Dark Presence at the show, please share your thoughts with me on Twitter or Discord. I cannot even begin to articulate how insanely pumped I am for this game. (Oh wait…I wrote an article on that exact subject in August 2017.)

Please excuse me while I hyperventilate into a brown paper bag.