Exploring the Gaming Wonders at PAX East 2024
As the Game Developers Conference concluded in San Francisco, gaming enthusiasts flocked to Boston for an exciting weekend at PAX East. The convention halls were alive with the buzz of players, cosplayers, and developers, all gathered to celebrate their shared passion for gaming. Our team was on the ground, navigating the bustling show floor to uncover the most promising upcoming titles.
Lucid: A Mesmerizing Fusion of Retro and Modern
The talk of the town at PAX East was undoubtedly Lucid, a captivating 2D action platformer by The Matte Black Studio. With its stunning pixel art and fluid gameplay reminiscent of classics like Castlevania and Ori and the Blind Forest, Lucid transports players to a vibrant Crystal-Punk world. The game’s clever use of depth of field creates an immersive experience that feels both nostalgic and cutting-edge.
Lucid‘s intricately designed levels are a treasure trove of secrets, inviting exploration in the spirit of Hollow Knight. The combat system is a satisfying blend of ranged attacks and melee combos, with a unique twist: executing sword slashes replenishes your air jumps and dashes, allowing for seamless, acrobatic sequences that keep you airborne with masterful play. The game’s impeccable feel and responsive controls make it an absolute joy to experience, solidifying its position as the surprise standout of PAX East.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days – A Gritty Zombie Survival Tale
Imagine the tense, survival-driven gameplay of The Last of Us distilled into a polished 2D side-scroller, and you’ll have a sense of what PikPok‘s Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days aims to achieve. Set in a 1980s Texas ravaged by a zombie apocalypse, players take on the roles of survivors navigating a treacherous, broken world. Scavenging for resources in abandoned homes and facing moral dilemmas are core aspects of the gameplay, as every decision carries weight and consequences.
In one gripping sequence, I ventured into an overrun police station in response to an SOS call, hoping to rescue survivors and bolster my group’s ranks. Stealth quickly gave way to a desperate fight for survival, and I found myself battered and empty-handed, the mission a grim reminder of the unforgiving nature of this world. Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days masterfully captures the tension and gravity of such choices, leaving me eager to uncover more of its harrowing narrative when it enters early access next year.
Pioneers of Pagonia: A Vibrant RTS Marvel
Pioneers of Pagonia stood out as one of the most impressive offerings at PAX, a vibrant real-time strategy game that evokes the spirit of classics like Warcraft and Banished. Players guide their settlers in establishing a thriving town, harvesting resources and constructing buildings in a lush, dynamic world. What sets Pioneers of Pagonia apart is its intricate object-based system, where every piece of wood and stone is individually gathered and utilized in construction, creating a mesmerizing dance of hundreds of mini survival crafting simulations.
The world of Pioneers of Pagonia is alive with danger, from marauding bandits to infectious werewolves, each posing unique challenges that demand strategic planning and careful resource management. The game’s versatile interface caters to both casual and hardcore players, allowing for streamlined task assignment or meticulous micromanagement. Zooming in reveals astonishing details, like individual fruits being sold at market stalls, a testament to the game’s impressive scope and attention to detail.
Fera: The Sundered Tribes – A Striking Visual Feast
Exciting Indie Games from PAX East 2023
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days
Set in a captivating open world filled with towering rocky spires and plateaus, Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days showcases some of the most intriguing creatures I encountered at the show. This game seamlessly blends an open-world village-building RPG with the classic hunt-and-harvest gameplay reminiscent of the Monster Hunter series. During my playthrough, I embarked on quests to locate missing villagers, constructed crafting stations, and successfully hunted down a giant lizard to forge a new ax from its parts.
While the concept itself is impressive, what truly stood out to me were the movement mechanics. In addition to the standard running and walking, players can soar through the skies using a glider or utilize a magical Tetherhook, akin to the Wire Bugs in Monster Hunter Rise, to swiftly traverse cliffs or maneuver around colossal monsters. Although these abilities have cooldowns, skillfully chaining them together allows for endless, speedy movement. The satisfaction of landing on top of a monster and delivering a crushing blow to its head with a hammer was unparalleled. As an avid Monster Hunter fan, this game provided the perfect fix to tide me over until the release of Monster Hunter Wilds next year.
Dustborn
At PAX, there are various indicators that a game is worth paying attention to, such as word of mouth or enthusiastic reactions from the crowd. In the case of Dustborn, it was the ever-growing line that wrapped around the booth as more and more people eagerly awaited their chance to experience the game firsthand. Developed by Red Thread Games, this genre-bending title puts you in charge of a diverse group of misfits on a road trip across an alternate-history United States, tasked with delivering a mysterious package. It masterfully combines elements of a story-driven adventure, third-person combat, and even rhythm gameplay reminiscent of Guitar Hero.
In one section I played, I searched for a mechanism to activate a robotic lift and prevent a bus from crushing my mechanic friend. Later, my crew and I found ourselves driving that very bus up the California coast, only to be stopped by fascistic state police demanding to see our papers. To bluff our way out of the situation, we had to pose as a band and deliver an impromptu performance in the form of a rhythm game. Fast forward again, and I was engaged in combat, wielding a baseball bat that could be thrown and recalled like Kratos’ Leviathan Ax to take down a group of goons. The seamless juxtaposition of genres, tied together by the characters’ natural and witty banter and a vibrant comic book-inspired art style, made for a truly captivating experience. Dustborn has the potential to be one of the most exciting games of the year when it launches on August 20th.
Slime Heroes
I was caught off guard by Slime Heroes. Within the first five minutes of playing, I found myself unexpectedly shedding tears over the story. Little did I know that I was about to experience some of the most exhilarating action on the show floor. Set in a magical forest plagued by a strange corruption, you (and a friend, if you choose) take on the role of a humble slime fighting across a vibrant overworld and puzzle-filled dungeons. Developed by Pancake Games, this game offers a charming and contemporary take on the classic mascot action-platformer genre.
From the moment I encountered my first enemy, I was astounded by the swift and responsive light/heavy/dodge combat system. My slime transformed parts of its body into a sword or anvil to punish the troublesome monsters in the forest. Skill gems grant various abilities, such as firing ranged projectiles or unleashing wind attacks on enemies. The real engagement lies in combining these gems; you can enhance your projectile attacks by infusing them with additional gems or mix in an electrical skill gem to inflict shock damage. The intuitive nature of the system compelled me to experiment with every possible combination whenever I acquired a new gem, eager to discover the results. While the exact release date for Slime Heroes remains unknown, it is confirmed to be coming to both PC and Xbox platforms.
Other Notable Titles
- Ra Ra Boom is a visually stunning beat ’em up that combines fast-paced action with cool gunplay.
- Helskate is a unique blend of Tony Hawk-style gameplay and action roguelite elements.
- Deathbound is a Soulslike game with a twist: players can switch between different characters, each with distinct abilities and weapons, on the fly.
- Be My Horde is a Vampire Survivors-inspired game where you cannot directly attack enemies; instead, you resurrect them to fight alongside you once they die.
- Phantom Fury is an explosive new boomer-shooter reminiscent of the classic Duke Nukem series.
- Heartworm is an eerie throwback to the era of Silent Hill and Parasite Eve.
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