Everything Action at Pax East 2024
PAX East made a return to Boston this past March for four packed days of gaming and geek culture. The Everything Action duo of Zach and Chris immersed themselves in the expo’s extensive list of activities, sights and experiences to keep them busy for hours. They explored the show floor, popped into panels, and visited game rooms, taking plenty of snapshots along the way. Read on as we share our thrilling adventures, offering mini-reviews and reflections on the games we played, the interesting people we met, and the many great moments we experienced!
Expo Hall
The expo hall is packed with booths with lots of stuff to play and items to shop. Here various companies showcase their newest games, hardware, and accessories to the public. Gamers can experience upcoming titles from small indie developers, publishers, and a few triple AAA companies. Tabletop fans have lots of vendors to check out with new products to see. As with previous PAX experiences, the expo hall easily took up the most time out of our trip. Most of our interviews with game companies were at the Expo Hall, so we put a lot of mileage into walking around this place. Even with a full schedule of stuff planned out for us, we made laps to catch any game that caught our attention.
Atari
Atari 2600+ and 400 Mini
On display were the Atari 2600+ and 400 Mini, modernized versions of classic Atari consoles that retained the look and feel of the originals. Both consoles retain the nostalgic charms while incorporating updated features. These devices have improved graphics and sound capabilities for an HDMI output. The 2600+ is compatible with original 2600 cartridges and includes a 10 in 1 cart of the best games from the 70s era of Atari gaming. The 400 Mini has 25 built-in games, including Lee, Berzerk, Millipede, and Star Raiders II. The 400 Mini can also read additional games through a USB flash drive for even more games to enjoy.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Much like they did for Atari’s 50th anniversary, Digital Eclipse made a game/documentary with Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story. Following the career of Jeff Minter, a unique talent in the game’s industry who has brought us games like Tempest 200 and Space Giraffe. Along with interviews with Minter and other developers and industry personalities, there are 42 of Llamasoft’s games to play, including the newly created Grid Runner: Remastered. Atari 50 was an incredible experience that was worth exploring even if you didn’t play any of the games included and this seems to be following suit. If you’re at all interested in retro gaming and gaming history, this seems like a must-play and it’s out right now on Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Series S/X and PC.
Neo Sprint
Sprint is a classic Atari title and it’s the latest game to get a modern remake with Neo Sprint. Neo Sprint keeps the top-down, single-screen gameplay of the original game and allows up to 8 players to race each other and there are several different car types available that each have different stats for speed, handling, etc. There’s also a massive track builder mode. This lets you create your circuits, which you can use to create your own Grand Prix series of races. You can also download and play tracks that other players have designed online. There’s a campaign mode to play through if you can’t get anyone else to race you that lets you complete different Cups a la Mario Kart and unlock new cars and decorative items. If that’s not enough, there’s also a Time Trial and Obstacle Course mode as well. Neo Sprint is in early access on the Atari VCS system and is coming soon to other platforms.
Lunar Lander Beyond
The classic Lunar Lander is getting a full re-imaging in the upcoming Lunar Lander Beyond this April 23rd. This demo showed the various pilots and ships that can be selected, alongside a few levels. This game’s story follows a crew of pilots performing various transportation and rescue missions while managing the stress of flying through space. This game isn’t just about flying and landing anymore, there is a stress system that affects the concentration and morale of the pilot. Making mistakes like crashing into things and failing objects causes the pilot to be stressed out and eventually suffer space madness. An overly stressed-out pilot will begin to see hallucinations that will distort the obstacles. Based on the type of ship you pick, some ships are better suited for narrow areas or have more shielding to take on more damage. There is a permadeath feature that can wipe out the squad if there are too many bad landings. Lunar Lander is set to be available for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A steam demo of it can be found here.
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
The original Wizardry was a pioneering role-playing video game released in 1981. Set in the fantasy world of the Kingdom of Llylgamyn, players create a party of adventurers and embark on a quest to explore a vast dungeon beneath the city of Trebor. Along the way, they face formidable monsters, solve puzzles, and acquire powerful treasures. Wizardry is considered one of the earliest dungeon-crawling RPGs and was developed by Andrew Greenberg and Robert Woodhead. This remastered edition by Digital Eclipse is a very enhanced port that is built with the Wizardry core engine. The original gameplay and mechanics are running simultaneously in the background while the improved visuals are displayed. You can toggle the windowed classic views and basic information displays freely, so it’s perfect to experience a trip in RPG history. It’s in Early Access now on Steam.
Dread XP
Heartworm
With the revival of low-res horror games, Heartworm is something that gamers should keep a look out to try. Inspired by atmospheric horror movies and video games, developer Vincent Adinolfi’s is a retro throwback about one girl’s battle with grief and supernatural phenomena. The game follows Sam, a young woman who has become obsessed with finding a connection to the afterlife. After searching the internet, she comes across a message board about a mysterious house in the mountains. This house is long abandoned with rumors about no one ever returning after visiting it. Desperate to overcome her grief, she ventures to the mysterious house to find that some rumors may be true. Heartworm resembles and plays like a typical PS1-era horror title. It has tank controllers, fixed camera angles, limited saving options, and cryptic clues to make gamers wander around. This is not an action horror title as Sam is armed with a camera that can momentarily stun enemies. Camera film is limited and can easily be wasted, so this one game is something that horror gaming fans want to take in slowly and carefully. Heartworm is looking to have a 2025 release time and the demo can be played here.
Mirror Forge
Mirror Forge, developed by MystiveDev, is a first-person psychological survival horror game. The game has a sort of Silent Hill vibe as you start out in seemingly normal environments that lead to hellish dimensions and the creatures you encounter also have a Silent Hill vibe. You make your way through the environments, collecting items, including some strange artifacts that let you do things like stun the enemies, reveal hidden areas, and solve environmental puzzles. The game has a very interesting look and a compelling storyline and it’s currently out now on Steam.
Dread Delusion
Developed by Lovely Hellplace, Dread Delusion is an open-world RPG similar to an early Elder Scrolls title. Players explore a vast landscape of magical territories and encounter strange and unusual creatures. Players take up the role of a newcomer that can restore balance and rid the land of an evil curse, or find a way to claim power for themselves. The game offers a few different ways players can customize their character. There are four classes with different advantages for attributes like brute strength, stealth, spellcasting, or charisma. The class affects how the player interacts with NPCs and what options best suit the situation. You can always stab your way through most problems, but that changes how the story unfolds. Dread Delusion is an early access mode and has been getting frequent monthly updates.
Freedom Games
GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra
We were excited last summer when GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra was announced and we got to check out the demo for this new beat ’em up at the Freedom Games booth. You get to play as Duke and there were two missions to choose from. The game has a fantastic look that feels like a throwback to 90s beat ’em ups like TMNT or The Simpsons and features lots of recognizable vehicles and characters from the series. You are mostly beating up on various COBRA troopers and you can pick up weapons like grenade launchers and assault rifles that they drop to turn the tide on them. You fight vehicles like the HISS tank and eventually, you face off against a big-name COBRA baddie like Dr. Mindbender. The game felt like how you would want a retro beat em up to feel and the full game is going to feature 4 player co-op either locally or online with Joes like Ripcord, Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Gung-Ho, and Scarlet joining Duke. The game should be out sometime this year.
Games from Poland
Once again, the game companies from Poland prove themselves as a thriving hub for captivating and interesting titles. Numerous Polish developers and publishers showcased just a few of the upcoming titles.
Haunted House Renovator
Haunted House Renovator is a part construction simulation, part house exorcist. Developed by Image Power and Plaway, Haunted House Renovator give players the chance on the role of a renovation expert tasked with restoring old, haunted houses to their former glory. Players have to carefully plan and execute renovations while
identifying and dealing with restless spirits that inhabit the house. As more of a house gets renovated, players will uncover the mysteries surrounding the haunting and work to cleanse the house of its ghostly inhabitants. Haunted House Renovator offers a unique blend of supernatural mystery and casual house-building simulation that definitely stands out from other horror titles. The game had a successful Kickstarter campaign before Pax East, so many people are looking forward to cleaning up houses and busting ghosts. You can Steam wishlist this here.
Be My Horde
Be My Horde is a Vampire Survivors-like from Polished Games but with the interesting twist that your character doesn’t directly attack enemies. You control Moriana, a necromancer who can revive slain foes and add them to her undead army. Starting with a few minions, you slowly attack and build up your army with the enemies you kill. The fact that you don’t directly attack adds an intriguing wrinkle to the Vampire Survivors style gameplay and the way you move has more of a liquid, flowing style to it and you have to position your minions so they are attacking and Moriana is out of the fray. The game has a similar, pixel-art style to other games in this burgeoning genre and we played it on a Steam Deck, where it seemed like a perfect fit. The game is looking at a Q2 release later this year and there’s a demo on Steam now to check out.
Disco Samurai
Disco Samurai comes from Pixel Fiber Games and We Dig Games and is a rhythm-based, cyberpunk action game. You play as Fox, a rebellious student who finds herself entangled in a complicated conspiracy in the cyberworld of Disco, Pennslyvania. All of Fox and her enemies’ attacks and other actions are based on the beat of the game’s excellent soundtrack and the game has a great UI that lets you see when you need to push the button. There are a variety of attack moves and defensive actions you can use and it’s a satisfying challenge to keep track of everything going on and keep track of the beat and attack properly. The fights take place in contained arenas and you can dodge around and use objects like tables to kick enemies into and destroy them. Disco Samurai should be out sometime later this year.
The Fun Pimps
7 Days Blood Moons
7 Days Blood Moons is a 4v1 survival horror video game set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Developed by The Fun Pimps and iLLOGIKA, Blood Moon challenges players to survive for seven days until a blood moon rises, where the night will unleash hordes of powerful undead creatures. Up to four human players must scavenge for resources, craft weapons, and fortify their shelters. Then face deadly waves of the undead and harsh hazards left behind. One player will take up the role of the Zombie Master, who controls the zombie horde. The Zombie master has options to spawn a range of zombie types and even take control of a zombie in the field to cause extra destruction. With each passing day, the human players are pitting their survival skills while the Zombie Master grows more powerful. We played a round, where Chris was the Zombie Master and Zach was part of the human team. For a first-time Zombie master, Chris didn’t manage to take out any survivors but managed to take out some supplies. But by the second night, it was easy for Chris to send hulking tank-like zombies in key spots to force the humans into one building, then pick off the group one by one. 7 Days Blood Moons is a spin-off title of The Fun Pimps’ 7 Days to Die, which was an open-world FPS survivor game that many action fans have loved. 7 Days Blood Moons retains much of the original and adds a fun focus on multiplayer action that can lead to exciting moments with friends. It’s in Early Access right now on Steam.
Toge Production
Kriegsfront Tactics
Kriegsfront Tactics is a spin-off of Toge Productions’ free mecha diorama tool, Krigesfront Battlescaper which lets you actually battle with the mecha you were previously just posing and putting in cool environments. Set in an alternate 1970s, you are basically fighting the Vietnam War, but with mechs. The game is a procedural, turn-based tactics game where you control a squad of mechs. You have a certain amount of action points each turn and you need to command your squad to take out the enemy and avoid getting taken out yourself. The game has an awesome damage system where parts of the mechs can get blown off, which can hinder their attack and movement capabilities. The main body of the mech has to be destroyed for the unit to be fully eliminated. If you’re a fan of X-Com or Battletech, Kriegsfront Tactics should be right up your alley. It has a cool mix of pixel and 3D art and you can fully customize your squad’s weaponry and look. The release date for Kriegsfront Tactics hasn’t been announced yet but there is a demo on Steam.
Whisper Mountain Outbreak
Whisper Mountain Outbreak is an isometric survival horror title set in a remote mountainous where a mining operation on Mt. Bisik mistakenly unleashed an ancient evil. Developed by Toge Productions, the game follows survivors tasked with investigating the source of the supernatural outbreak. The game features an online co-op mode where players can explore abandoned buildings, fight monsters, solve puzzles, and figure out a way to escape the mountainside. The visuals and combat gameplay in the isometric perspective are fun. You have to be aware of the spacing from all sides, making sure to not be backed into the wrong spot to get cornered. The amount of equipment the player can carry is limited, so playing in a solo game is going to be hard. We can see this being a fun multiplayer experience with people assigned to carry certain weapon types and focusing on working on aggro pulling or crowd control. This game is heavily inspired by Resident Evil 2 and has many regular undead minions, but the game adds a few Southeast Asian creature designs into the mix. This game currently is in the early development stages but you can see its progress on Steam now.
GrassHopper Studios
Shadow of the Damned: Hella Remastered
Shadow of the Damned, originally released in 2011, is coming back sometime this year with the Hella Remastered edition of the game. Featuring improved visuals for modern consoles and PCs, the main game features the same gameplay as the original cult classic. You play as Garcia Hotspur as he descends into the Underworld to rescue his lost love Paula. Joined by a sarcastic skeleton head named Johnson, Garcia battles the forces of darkness and there’s a light/dark mechanic where you need to shoot certain objects to bring light into the environment or else you won’t be able to defeat the enemies, who are empowered by the darkness. Suda51 was at PAX East in person and the game features his trademark style and wacky sense of humor. The booth was also one of the best at the show, where they set up the “Grasshopbar” next to the demo stations. Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered should be out sometime later this year.
Daedalic Entertainment
Woodo
Woodo is being developed by Yullia Prohorova and Timur Bogotof and is an extremely chill, pleasant puzzle game where you are building dioramas of cozy environments while making your way through the story where the main character is recalling memories of their childhood. You can rotate and zoom into the environment and you have a collection of various wooden pieces that you need to place in the proper location in the environment. Some items will take you to a sub-screen where you put together multiple pieces to put that one item together before placing it. The game has a wonderful, tactile look and feel and, despite its simplicity, definitely has that compulsive draw that will make you play it much longer than you expect. A release date is yet to be revealed.
Yield!
Yield! is a strategy game from Billionworlds that sees you trying to build up your kingdom after the Fall of Rome. The game takes on the 4x gameplay style of games like Civilization and you have several options for how to build up your kingdom, including combat and diplomacy. You are looking to control the different hexes on the game map, each one offering up something to improve your kingdom, like resources or a chance to upgrade certain aspects of your kingdom. You build up units and you can send them out to explore or attack rival kingdoms. The game has a unique and cool look that makes it feel like you’re looking at an actual, tactile tabletop game and it has a great tilt-shifted camera style to add to that effect. Yield! doesn’t have a release date yet but you can check out a demo on Steam.
Reveil
Reveil is a First-person psychological thriller game centered on narrative, puzzle-solving, and exploration. Developed by Pixelsplit, the game follows Walter Thompson who wakes up in a surreal world where the past memories and present consequences have blurred. Walter has to relive an experience at the Nelson Bros Circus and confront a truth that has been kept hidden. Reveil is eerie and cryptic in all the unsettling ways that showcase that horror does not have to be gruesome to be scary. The game is filled with familiar settings that have been twisted and make you feel uneasy to explore. The game relies on puzzle-solving mini-games that aren’t big head-scratchers to solve but will give you a challenge if you are not paying attention to all the details. Reveil was released on March 6th and is available for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
New Cycle
New Cycle is a Strategy/Colony management game set in a post-apocalyptic 2073 where humanity is attempting to rebuild civilization. Developed by Core Engage, New Cycle takes technology back to pre-industrial revolution stages and lets it restart from there. Players take control of the chief of a new colony, making all the hard choices to ensure the survival of the group and help push it to the next technological development. This requires gathering resources, stockpiling materials, and pushing for more research. But you have to keep an eye on the demands of the workers, the population growth, and the morale of the colony. Everything takes careful planning and you have to compete against outside forces like a winter season, accidents, and outsiders from ruining your whole vision for the colony. The game starts out fairly simple, but can quickly spiral out of control once the first winter season hits and you run out of food to keep the colony happy. In the sandbox demo, there was a constant push to find water and manpower to keep the colony expanding and the workers happy, but the morale kept dipping because we couldn’t give out full rations for long periods of time. New Cycle is definitely for those fans of challenging city-building games who love the challenge of juggling multiple routines. The game’s gritty look and feel captures the muddy and smoked-filled machinery that the game features, so don’t expect there to be engaging bright and cheery visuals while you keep the colony from starving. New Cycle was released in Early Access for PC this past January. You can check out the Steam page here.
PHOENIXX
The Touhou Empires
Based on the bullet hell shooter series Touhou Project, The Touhou Empires is a spin-off that takes the pintsize and cutesy characters and pits them into an RTS game. Developer Neetpia has taken over 40 heroines from the series and sent them off to a warring empire. In the demo we played, we followed Reimu and Marisa, two magical girls who set off to secure and expand their territory against a rival force. The gameplay has basic RTS controls where you issue commands, explore the map, and harvest resources to build up structures. The demo gave just a quick 15 minutes of gameplay that showed a few management systems and combat tactics. There isn’t a deep complexity gathering and building, it’s a cartoony and humoristic take on anime tropes and typical RTS mechanics. The game is probably a deep cut for Western anime fans, one of those games you play to show friends the silly visuals. However, the soundtrack is being composed by Yuka Kitamura (Elden Ring, SEKIRO: Shadows Die Twice). The RTS elements are solid for having a variety of units and potential tactics to overcome enemies. The Touhou Empires is early development stages, with the demo available on Steam.
Limited Run
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland
The Rugrats are back in a new game from The MIX Games and Wallride. Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland finds Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil imagining that they are in their own video game after they see a commercial for a new Reptar game. Taking cues from Super Mario Bros. 2, the game allows you to play co-op with a friend and each baby has its own strengths and weaknesses. Chuckie has Luigi’s ability to float for a bit during jumps while Phil has Toad’s ability to dig faster. You can play the game in an 8-bit style or full HD that looks straight out of the classic animated series and it’s clear the developers are big fans of the series. The developers worked with Klasky Csupo to get references and deep cuts from the series included in the game. Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland feels like it’s shaping up to be a great, old-school platformer and it will be out sometime this year.
Undaunted Games
Forest Hills: The Last Year
There’s a bunch of asymetric horror games out there and Forest Hills: The Last Year is looking to join the fray this coming summer. The game is a 5 vs 1 first-person game where 5 players play the human “Displaced” while 1 player is a monstrous and murderous “Fiend”. The Displaced are trying to complete a series of missions, which change depending on the map you are on, and escape while the Fiend is trying to find and kill them. The human team can choose from 7 classes, each with a unique skill, and the better you work together, the longer you’ll survive. The Fiend can control minions and set traps along with directly attacking the humans. We played a round and managed to get a win for the humans, although we had one of the developers guiding us through the map.
Illfonic
Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game
Based on the cult classic 80s horror comedy, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is the latest asymmetrical game from Illfonic, who previously brought us Predator: Hunting Grounds and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. Killer Klowns is a 3 vs 7 game where 3 players take on the role of the diabolical Killer Klowns and the other 7 players are human survivors. The Klowns are trying to kill and harvest humans while the humans are trying to hide and survive and potentially take out the Klowns if they find the right weapons. The game has all the iconic characters and weaponry you’d expect from the movie, including the cotton candy and popcorn guns and the equally hilarious and terrifying cotton candy cocoons. The Klowns’ personalities are shown off in “Klownalities” where you can perform an over-the-top kill a la Mortal Kombat if you can wound a human down to a certain point. Chris played as a human while Zach got to play as a Klown and both sides had their own unique fun to them. Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is coming out on June 4th this summer.
Stone Blade Entertainment
Solforge Fusion
Solforge Fusion is a new hybrid collectible card game created from two legends in the tabletop industry, Justin Gary of Ascension and Richard Garfield of Magic: The Gathering. The game is set in the world of Solis, where powerful warriors known as the Forgeborn battle with various creatures and magical spells. Physical cards can be scanned to work with the digital version of the game. We got to speak with Justin Gary, who set us up with a playthrough of the digital game and we talked about the inspirations behind the game. The interesting gameplay mechanic that sets Solforge Fusion apart from other CCGs is the mechanic of discarding your minions, which allows them to come back in more powerful forms. The more you discard them, the more powerful they become and it leads to an interesting strategy of deciding when to replace and play certain cards. The game is divided into lanes and you and your opponent are placing cards to block and attack in those lanes. Opposing minions will attack each other and if a lane is unopposed, that player’s Forgeborn will be attacked. If you can bring your enemy Forgeborn down to 0 health, you win the match. There are lots of cool and interesting creatures to play and tons of spells and abilities to use. Your Forgeborn also has a special ability that you can utilize along with the cards in your deck. Along with taking on opponents online, there’s a hefty single-player campaign that plays like a rogue-like where you make your way through a branching path and battling CPU opponents. Solforge is a good card game for players that like the versality with their deck collecting. This is fun for players that enjoy session online whenever they have time on the go, or in person with groups. The digital version of Solforge Fusion doesn’t have a release date yet but you can play the demo on Steam and purchase the physical edition at retail shops.
BUCK
Let’s Revolution!
Let’s Revolution! comes from animation studio Buck, who previously worked on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse and various commercial projects. We met with Michael Highland, the Creative Director for games at BUCK. Highland explained how BUCK has a big roaster of artists and creative minds and wanted to use that for a new medium. They did a small game jam within the company, resulting in the initial steps of Let’s Revolution!’s creation. You can tell that an animation studio was behind the game, as it features tons of personality and incredibly detailed and smooth animation from the characters. The kingdom of Beebom is under the rule of a despotic and narcissistic king and you are part of a revolution to overthrow him and free the kingdom. The game takes cues from Minesweeper, where you are uncovering tiles and the surrounding tiles have numbers that give you an idea of what is around you. Your main goal on each map is to find the King and chase him to the next map and you can try to path out the most direct route to him or explore and uncover useful items. There are enemies hidden around the map, so you have to be careful about where you move. Each character you play has unique abilities that will help you reveal tiles and attack enemies and you can get several different weapons and items that you can use as well. The game is already out on Steam and it’s coming to consoles on April 11th.
The Behemoth
The Behemoth is a staple of PAX East and they had a veritable arcade for their booth, with machines for all their great games, including Castle Crashers Remastered, Alien Hominid HD, Alien Hominid: Invasion, Back off Barbarian, and Battleblock Theater (which hasn’t been at PAX in five years). There’s a new patch for Alien Hominid Invasion coming in April that is adding new content and some bug and quality of life changes.
Midwest Games
Duck Paradox
Duck Paradox was developed by Magic Games and is a wacky roguelike platformer where you are trying to rescue your beloved pet duck across the multiverse. Each stage features Dr. Paraduck trying to find where her pet duck is located and, once located, battle a swarm of evil ducks flowing out of another dimension. Along with the enemies, there are some environmental and platforming puzzles that you sometimes need to solve to get to your duck. You can find several different weapons and upgrades throughout the levels and you can choose a perk or upgrade after completing each stage but in roguelike fashion, you lose all the perks you collected if you die and you won’t necessarily see the same upgrades or perks in your next run. Another wrinkle that sets Duck Paradox apart from other games is that your bullets ricochet off the wall, and once they do, they are deadly to you, so you have to be aware of that along with the enemies and environmental hazards. The game seems like it’s going to be a fun but challenging rougelike that will fill the void in your heart when WB rips Duck Game off storefronts in May along with all the other Adult Swim Games. You can play a demo of Duck Paradox now on Steam and it’s out on July 19th this year.
Ra Ra Boom
A modern beat ’em up from Gylee Games, Ra Ra Boom sees up to four players teaming up as Ninja Cheerleaders to defend the Earth from robotic invaders threatening to destroy it. You can choose from several characters, which of them with unique skills, weapons, and characteristics, and you can unlock upgrades for combos as you progress. The game has gorgeous, hand-drawn art and animation and each of the characters feel unique. The story goes more in-depth than other beat em-ups, taking time to dig into the characters’ relationships and offering up some drama along with the over-the-top action. The gameplay features a horizontal lane-based system for combat, where the enemies attack on a certain lane and you can position yourself in that lane so that you know you are going to be able to attack them properly. Along with melee attacks, each character has a ranged attack, which adds a cool option to your combat strategy. There are some fast-paced chase sequences and massive bosses to fight and it seems like something that will be a must-play for beat em up fans. Ra Ra Boom currently doesn’t have a release date but it should be sometime this year.
Dunkin Donuts
Oddly, in all the years PAX East has been in Boston, Boston staple Dunkin Donuts has never really had a presence at the con but they were there this year with an interactive booth where you could play Dunkin Invaders. Featuring a massive interactive screen, you throw a ball at targets to try and get the most points and put yourself at the top of the leaderboard. It was unusual to play something that required that much physical activity but it was a fun way to promote the brand and fit into the gaming fun of the con. After you played the game, you got a gift card and could choose an item of Dunkin swag, like a lanyard, bucket hat, fanny pack, and more. Depending on how well you timed things and how good the booth staff’s memory was, some people were getting tons of gift cards and swag.
Null Games
Tape to Tape
A throwback to arcade sports games like Blades of Steel, Tape to Tape is a fast-paced and fun hockey game. Featuring a roster of goofy made-up teams, with crazy-themed characters to match, the game features up to four players able to play locally or online. Along with the multiplayer, the game is actually a roguelite and features an incredibly robust single-player campaign where you choose a team and then progress through matches, hiring new players and managing your roster, visiting the “Bladesmith” to upgrade equipment and even playing dirty by doing things like bribing the refs. The game has a fantastic graphic style that gives the players tons of personality and it’s a game that is easy to pick up and play and has that great couch co-op feel where you’re cheering, trash-talking and shoving your friends as you play. The game is in Early Access now and the full release is on May 3rd this year.
Ocean Drive Studio
Blackout Protocol
We played roguelike Blackout Protocol co-op at last year’s PAX East and this year Ocean Drive Studio was highlighting the single player of the game. You play as an agent of the S2P Corporation, whose Section 13 facility has been overrun by its mutated experiments. You need to dive deep into the facility and try to clear out the infestation. Each character you can choose from has different abilities and choose a weapon loadout that suits your playstyle. As you progress through the levels, you’ll find upgrades and abilities that will help you progress in that run but, if you die, you have to restart without those abilities and find new ones. The game has a great style that invokes things like The X-Files or Area 51 and the top-down gameplay is fast-paced and challenging. In both co-op and single-player, Blackout Protocol seems like a great roguelike shooter and it’s currently available in Early Access on Steam and continues to add new features and gameplay tweaks.
Jofsoft Corporation
Pizza Bandit
Pizza Bandit is an interesting mix of Gears of War-style third-person action with Payday-style heists. Operating out of a run-down pizzeria, your actual job is a time-traveling bounty hunter and you take jobs across different eras to earn cash. There are all kinds of threats throughout time, from bizarre mutants to full-on Terminator-style robots but you have an extremely customizable arsenal of weapons at your disposal and an incredibly useful dodge roll to get out of the way of enemy attacks. You can call down mobile pizza machines that act as upgrade and refill stations as well. The game can be played solo or with up to 4 players and it definitely feels like it needs to be played with a crew a la Payday as the mission we played had you trying to maintain a drill going into a safe while also dealing with enemies and trying to collect various objects, which is extremely difficult by yourself but probably much easier with a team. The shooting and gameplay feel really solid and if you’re a Gears fan, you’ll probably feel right at home, although it doesn’t have some mechanics like a chainsaw on the gun or the active reload feature. Pizza Bandit doesn’t have a release date yet.
Biñho
We’ve played quite a few dexterity games at various PAX cons, most notably the beloved Crokinole and Klask and Biñho feels like it could be a contender in that arena. Setup like a miniature version of soccer (or football), pegs represent your “players” and you take turns with your opponent flicking the ball and trying to score a goal. The position of the peg players makes this more difficult than you might expect but it definitely has that competitive/sport style gameplay that Klask has, although it’s definitely less frantic and chaotic than Klask. The game already has a lively tournament scene and there are a variety of different boards you can purchase and you can also fully customize your own board and all the components. You can check out all the boards and accessories at their website.
PM Studios
ZOE Begone!
Developed by Retchy Games, ZOE Begone! is an abstract-looking shoot ’em-up that is an interesting take on a horizontally scrolling shooter. The player becomes Zoe, a small cartoon creature who is self-aware that she is a cartoon. However, its creator wants to get rid of Zoe and paints up wave after wave of enemies and obstacles to destroy her. The game features unique hand-drawn graphics and animations that may look like doodles in MS Paint. However, the frantic gameplay of dodging projectiles and switching shooting modes is a real struggle. At its core, there is some solid arcade-style action that is fun. You want to see what how fast and powerful you can upgrade Zoe to take on enemies quicker and overcome the odds. However, there is so much visual overload that it’s hard to keep track of what’s on-screen at times. ZOE Begone! could be interesting for shoot ’em-up fans who are looking for something out of the ordinary. The game is coming soon and there’s a demo to check out on Steam.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
Taking inspiration from classic games like A Link to the Past, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo is being developed by Pocket Trap and is a top down, 2D adventure game. You play as a Pippit, a budding yo-yo master who is trying to live up the famed legacy of his family, the Pipistrellos. When a rival mob family threatens his family’s company, he must team up with his auntie, Madame Pipistrello, and use his yo-you skills to take down the bad guys. The game is being billed as “yoyovania” and your yo-yo is a versatile weapon and tool to navigate the levels. The most basic attack is to flick the yo-yo out in front of you to hit enemies but there are several other tricks that let you attach to certain points and pull yourself across gaps, ride along walls and unleash a powerful charge attack. You’ll travel through 4 districts of the city and take down the mob boss threatening each area. The game looks great, with fantastic pixel based 2D art and the yo-yo offers up tons of gameplay opportunities. It does seem like a game you need to really sit down and dig into because there were a few areas we couldn’t figure out during our short time playing it. There isn’t a release date yet for Pipistrello and the Curse Yo-Yo.
Apogee
Lucid
Lucid is a fantastic new Metroidvania being developed by the one-man development studio, The Matte Black Studio. We got to play through the demo with Eric of The Matte Black Studio and learned about some of the media that influenced the game’s look and games that inspired the gameplay, like Celeste, Super Metroid, and Mega Man X. You play as Oenn, an aspiring “Sentinel” who is looking to save the world Aedyn from a sinister “dissonance” that is destroying it. Oenn can utilize the power of Crystal Arts, which gives him new combat and movement abilities that let him progress further into the world. The game has a fantastic pixel art look with beautiful animations and the game feels buttery smooth, with sections of fast, flowing action and others that require pinpoint platforming. Lucid is coming soon but there’s no release date yet.
Walter Woods – Dark and Deep
Dark and Deep is an immersive mystery title that tells a gripping narrative of a conspiracy podcast that opens a connection to cosmic horrors. Players control Samuel Judge, a listener to a podcast called “Dark and Deep”. Things start to become unsettling when Samuel notices the stories from the podcast have crossed over to his home. As his familiar settings begin to turn on him, he discovers magical picture frames that allow him to peer into another existence and reveal the hidden creatures that dwell within it. Now Samuel has to find the truth in the conspiracies it’s too late. This is Walter Woods’ first major title and he has been a fan of supernatural mysteries and the stuff that does bump in the night. Dark and Deep is targeted to be released this August and a demo is available on Steam.
Nintendo
Nintendo was one of the last-minute additions to this year’s show and many people thought they would reveal something big at their booth. However, instead of a surprise game reveal, they had many fun Pokémon photo ops, a few demo kiosks of previously released games, and a large Pokémon mural. The line for the photo ops were kind of long, but worth it if your favorite Pokémon was there. How often do you get to take a picture with a giant-sized Pikachu mascot? Well, turns out if you don’t mind a plastic version, there wasn’t a wait over at the Pokémon Labs booth, where we got a selfie. The Pokémon mural was of Pokémon Scarlet, where a professional artist began painting the middle portion and attendees can doodle with chalk on each end of it. It was nice to walk by once and while to see new sketches on the side and strange creations that puzzled people. I think Pax East needs to have more community doodling stuff cause some of these attendees have great talent.
Chintzy Ink
My Familiar
Welcome to Wish City, where the anamorphic citizens are always up for a fight. Players take up the role of a newcomer to Wish City, washed up from the gutters, and has to battle mean inhabitants to figure out what happened to their past. Along the way, the player will recruit new party members to their side to take on the corruption within Wish City. My Familiar has strong influences to 80s and 90s Saturday morning cartoons that instantly grabbed our attention. The developers are part of the generation that grew up watching anamorphic shows like Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, Street Sharks, and Biker Mice from Mars, and it heavily inspired them for the concept of the game. The game is closer to Mother series as it’s a turn-based RPG with a focus on trippy storytelling. The presentation is solid with slick visuals and a funky score that gives it a very fresh feel. There is a short demo available on Steam that showcases the basic combat mechanics and a few characters.
Wise Wizard Games
Sherlock Solitaire
Sherlock Solitaire is a new card game by Peter Scholtz and Wise Wizard Games. This game’s mechanics are based on the matching elements of solitaire and the deduction reasoning based on Sherlock Holmes. Players take on the role as Sherlock Holmes or two players can be Holmes and Watsons, as they find Professor Moriarty’s secret agents among a group. You’ll need to collect and build sets of cards that will help reveal more clues for the investigation or remove injuries. The game challenges the player’s ability to come up with good patterns and make the best choices to avoid danger. The game is available now.
Joystick Venture
Big Boy Boxing
Big Boy Boxing is a new boxing title being developed by Soupmasters and takes inspiration from the Punch-Out!! series. The game follows a rising boxing champion who has to take on increasingly difficult foes in the ring, all who have unique attacks and dirty tricks. Big Boy Boxing leans into retro aesthetics with hand-animated pixel art that feels like something out of Tiny Toons. In the brief demo, we took on 4 of the 15 boxers, each time having new tricks and gimmicks that made the fights a little bit different each time. The game’s animation are slick but can be distracting as you figure out where certain attacks will be coming. Big Boy Boxing is currently in early development, with an alpha demo available on Steam. Fans of retro boxing games should take a look if they got what it takes to lace up those boxing gloves and prepare not to laugh so hard while they box.
AntonBlast
AntonBlast is a retro platformer that is reminiscent of the Game Boy Advance era. Developed by Summitsphere, em>AntonBlast follows Dynamite Anton, a ‘destruction’ worker on a quest for vengeance after Satan steals his prized Spirit collection. Anton will venture through sprawling worlds, wielding a mighty hammer to smash through obstacles and blow up anything left standing. We got to talk to members of Summitsphere, where we learned that AntonBlast is a reimagining of their title “Antonball Deluxe”. They grew up playing lots of Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games and wanted to recapture that same look and feel in their work.AntonBlast looks like a must-play for fans of the Wario titles and the demo can be downloaded here.
Funcom
Dune: Awakening
Developed by Funcom, Dune: Awakening is an upcoming open-world survival MMO video game set in the Dune universe. Set in the desert world of Arrakis, the game challenges players to survive the harsh conditions, manage supplies, and build up their factions. The spice is still the most vital resource and harvesting it will bring opportunities to make a name for yourself or a target on your head. Only concept trailers were shown at the booth, but there were small activities for the crowd. Every few hours there were trivia rounds where people tried their best at deep Dune lore (it’s dense and unforgiving terms!) and a photo booth. However, the real prize for us was seeing the AMC Dune popcorn bucket. Nothing was inside, but food should not come out of that thing. Just look at Chris’ face. Hunger was not the word that came to mind.
Idahoan Foods
We always get a kick out of seeing what kinds of companies want a turn to grab the attention of gamers, and we were unprepared for the Idahoan Foods booth. For those who would like instant mashed potatoes, Idahoan Foods is pretty much the brand for adding hot water in a packet for a quick potato dish. They released a new shredder potato snack last year and gave out free samples of four flavors. They even gave out whole cups for people to take freely. There was also a gaming station where people could chill and sign up for giveaways, but the crown jewel of that booth was the potato photo booth. It was a couch designed like a baked potato, with pillows shaped like butter pads. We were excited to just sit on that thing, but then they whipped out utensil props and we instantly queued up.
Mountain Dew
Speaking of gamer foods, one of the original gamer sodas set up shop and allowed people to win prizes. There was a booth that had three prize mini-games, but you could only play this randomized game if you won a ticket from the spin wheel. Most people won Mountain Dew point cards or a bottle of Mountain Dew. None of the sodas they gave out were cold, and that would have been a nice treat after walking around so much.
RPG Zone
The RPG Zone at every PAX is a fun detour for us and probably the main draw for lots of people visiting the con. If you have a group of fellow role players, you can play rounds of D&D along with more eclectic games like The Fury of Dracula, Dallas, Star Trek, James Bond, and Marvel Super Heroes. There are tons of rule books available to sign out and play and you can spend hours at the con creating your own adventure in whatever world you decide to explore. We always love seeing what strange IP someone felt warranted a full-blown tabletop RPG and always try to stop in for a bit at each PAX to check things out.
Console Gaming Rooms
Tucked in the east wing of the convention center were rooms dedicated to console gaming for attendees to enjoy. Whenever people needed to sit and play some familiar favorites or try something different, the console rooms were a great section to explore. Groups of gamers came to huddle around TVs, pitting their skills or jokingly messing around. The more competitive players lined up for tournaments where onlookers crowded around to size up the challengers. The classic gaming room was filled with popular retro games and consoles. Some placards explained a quick history of the consoles and a few popular titles. After experiencing the new generations of games in the Expo Hall, it’s nice to get a reminder how of far games have come whenever we revisit these rooms.
Panels
Panels are a great way to hear insights on industry chatter, geeky trends, and behind-the-scenes stories. We sat for a panel about diversity and charity streaming that helps gamers in NYC and beyond. It was an interesting panel that gathered people who used the power of gaming to bring ideas together and support mental health for those with limited means. We also attended a Killer Klowns panel with the Chiodo Bro. Hosted by James Willems, the devs of Illfonic and the Chiodo Bro came to talk about the inspiration behind the movie and the concept of the video game.
PAX’s 20th Anniversary Concert
After a busy two days, it was nice to relax and groove out to live music. No controllers to hold, and no thinking about gameplay. And a nice break from talking loudly. This concert brought in Videri String Quartet, Insaneintherain, and Dom Palombi’s Game Night. There were special appearances by 88Bit, Mega Ran, and Jer of Skatune Network.
Every band was amazing to hear live and the audience loved every beat. The music took people through landscapes of familiar theme songs, battle tunes, and fun remixes. You learned a few things about the history and the passion of these musicians as they prepared each song and introduced the next person. Nerdy music hits on a personal and universal level that only a few mediums can do.
After Con events
When you need a break from the general crowds or want to find a good spot to catch up with friends, having an off-site place to meet is always good. This year, we took things a bit easy from the heavy partying scenes but still had a great time doing small events. Here are just two of the things we did away from the convention building.
Red Bull Arcade
Opened once again for PAX, the Red Bull Arcade is a 21+ arcade lounge with free-play arcade machines and Red Bull theme drinks. We stopped by the late afternoon for a boozy energized drink and checked out some classics. There was a streaming event taking place where speed runners were raising money for charity, and attendees could sign up to attempt. The line of games has changed since the last time we were here, there were a few emulation cabs that could play pretty much anything before the seventh generation of video game consoles.
Mecha Ramen
You can’t go wrong with Mecha Ramen for a stylish setting and a hot meal. It’s geeky and flavorful and will satisfy hunger nerds. We walked in and noticed Chong Li already calling us out, so we knew it was going to be a good time here. we went at the right times without a reservation, but this place gets packed quickly, so get a reservation in case you want to check it out on a Friday or Saturday evening.
Board Game Night
We largely played a lot of digital games whenever we go to Pax East, so we changed it up with a nice and casual board game night to unwind. We roamed the free play tabletop area and unplugged the selection for something quick and easy to play. We thought the game Spots would be a very fast game about matching dice with the number of spots on an animal. But like Yahtzee, the dice will not be in everyone’s favor. We were making bold moves that would try to end the game fast, but it backfired and caused us restart attempts. Don’t let the simple art fool you, Spots is a game that makes you yell at your friends.
Last thoughts
PAX East was another grand nerdy experience to cover. We always enjoy our time in Boston and see what need games are being offered. It was fun to see the community come to celebrate the 20th anniversary and meet so many people who all share the same passions under one roof. This show focused more on the smaller developers and publishers, with bigger named companies taking a step back since the gaming industry is going through some major changes. However, change is good and there could be more amazing stuff to see next time we return to East in May next year.