Well, here we are. I got to go see the new blasters in person! See the video for trying out the blasters, and below I’ll have my thoughts on what was there!

Blaster Thoughts

• The Perses (which somehow I didn’t record) feels absolutely perfect. It’s got the right form factor, is comfortable to hold, and is easy to fire (and fire with control, if you’re not heavy on the trigger). 50 rounds, a large door for reloading, and a tab you can pull to pop the hopper completely out? I realize that the Nemesis is the go-to Rival blaster for Humans v Zombies now, but the Perses is a proper replacement in every sense.
• The CS-50 Titan is large and in charge. The 50-round drum works extremely well, the giant spinning barrel is silly, and it has a decent rate of fire. $100 for a large chunk of plastic is a bit much, but it’s still a fun blaster. It may not be the choice for “serious gameplay”, but then again how often do I take gameplay seriously?
• The Revoltinator is also a fun kind of silly, with lights and sounds in addition to the semi-auto dart blasting. I personally would still use my Revreaper first, but as far as Zombie Strike blasters go, it’s a solid offering.
• The Mega Megalodon is perfect. Good power, slam-fire capabilities, compact size. This is the kind of blaster that, if megas provide any benefits in your game types (working against shields, special zombies, etc), would actually disrupt the game quite a bit.
• Microshots are fun, collectible Jolts. Do I really need to say more?
• The Fortnite blasters are perfect for the young target demographic. As an older Nerf fan, I am not exactly in that target demographic. And the Super Soakers, while serviceable, don’t exactly add anything new to that area of toys. But Hasbro may have these blasters out just in time to ride the tail end of the Fortnite wave – with the large number of battle royale games out there, it is a limited timeframe to operate in.

Other Things on Display

• As silly as the Porcupine that fires Nerf darts may be, I REALLY WANT THE BIG ONE. I also want to somehow strap the big one to my body so I can fire giant darts everywhere. Is that too weird of me? I hope not.
• As others may have noted, there was a nice display for Avengers: Endgame with “Toys coming soon” on it. Nope, you don’t get to find any plot secrets just yet.
• There have been plenty of silly games over the past few years, from pies to the face to bathroom humor. This year, we have lie detectors, Connect Four and Battleship pong, and handheld table tennis. Oh, and a “Slow Race” game.
• As always, Transformers are a big sell, as are the Power Rangers (now that Hasbro will be selling the toys after getting the license last year), Star Wars, Playdoh, My Little Pony, and the other brands.
• SERIOUSLY, CAN I GET THE GIANT PORCUPINE????