This was my 3rd time at PAX East, and my first time going all 4 days! It was a fun time, though I definitely felt like I was running out of games I was really interested in by the last day. That being said, I did get to try a lot of new stuff, and found some interesting games that were really promising! I just really love being a part of this community, talking to people about their costumes, and just generally having a fun time seeing all the sights. I got to meet some nice folks and joined some fun meetups and tournaments.

This was the first (and probably last) time taking part in the Omegathon, which is a 4-round tournament of some random video games. It always seemed like a fun time, but it was a lot of waiting around, and in fact the first game I played was one I just happened to not like very much, so it was kinda whatever...happy I got selected and had the chance to do it! Probably won't be doing it again.

Originally I was planned to do 4 cosplays this year, but I had some wardrobe malfunctions and other issues that brought that list down to two...in any case, I did a May costume from Guilty Gear on Thursday and Sunday, and a Daisy costume from Super Mario on Friday and Saturday! Fun fact: my Daisy is my fave costume of all time. Okay, but with all that out of the way, there's a lot of games to talk about, so let's get on with it!

Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

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As my first day, I spent a lot of time queuing for the Omegathon and waiting for my turn to play, so by the time I got out on the show floor, it was already into the afternoon. That being said, it was the least crowded day, so I still had a lot of opportunities to play some cool games and meet some fun people! My cosplay anchor also broke a bit so I had to spend quite a bit of time fixing it...but we got there in the end!

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So as soon as I got to PAX on the first day, I knew that one of the first games I wanted to try out was Pokopia, mostly because I was expecting it to be super crowded by the time the weekend rolled around. I was one of the first people on the expo floor on Thursday since I had media rights all weekend, so this was the first place I went. It actually wasn't too bad all weekend, but it was nice to hop right on.

Anyway, Pokopia was really fun! It's hard to get a grasp of these potentially-hundred hour games in just a pretty short demo, but I can definitely see the appeal of this one. I think I wasn't the only one who was surprised by the massive critical acclaim this game garnered when it came out, but I am absolutely not unhappy about that. Like pretty much everyone, I really like Pokémon, and I have a lot of love for many of its main and spin-off series games. This seems like one that is really impressing a lot of people, and while I won't be getting a Switch2 anytime soon, it will definitely be on my list to check out when I do. Pokémon is all about having fun and cute lil creatures and this game has both. Hard not to like it from what I tried.

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I was a big enjoyer of Backyard Baseball back in the day, I played it a decent amount, and upon revisiting it recently I found it to still be a pretty fun time. Now, I have always maintained that the 2D original look of the series is far superior to any 3D models that have came after, and looking at this new game...yeah I still feel like that.

I don't know, admittedly the demo was very short so it's hard to say what this will improve upon against the original(s). But it's not like BB01 had all that much going on, it was just a simple, fun sports game. This one looks worst and doesn't seem to have much going for it beyond just being a new entry in the series. And maybe it's just a skill issue, but I find the 3D graphics make depth perception pretty difficult to parse, so timing your swing is a bit awkward. I don't know, I'll probably just stick with the original.

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So, okay, I've heard of Disgaea, some people say it's good, so I see a familiar name with a relatively short queue, I'm like, yeah! Sure, why not, let's check it out. Apparently this was not your typical Disgaea; this was more of a musou-kinda thing. Now that's not usually my genre, admittedly, but this one was just very...whatever. Like I had no idea what I was doing, just kept hitting the same button over and over, and everything just died. It was all very disconnected too...like here's a mob of 10 enemies that will only spawn when you defeat this other mob of 10 enemies.

Kinda defeats the purpose of a musou in my opinion. Was just kinda boring for me overall. And then the boss fight in the level I played was like, this bunny girl with what must have been the legal minimum for amount of clothing while still being allowed on the expo floor? I don't know, made me feel kinda icky. How are you gonna blindside me like that? There was no dialogue in this game demo and I'm betting it was for the best. I'll pass I think.

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Now we're getting to the real good games, heck yeah! Canvas City, this one is so cool. It's an SRPG with a distinctive Jet Set Radio panache, which is an insanely cool combination. But what's great about Canvas City is how it incorporates elements of skating and skater culture into its gameplay. Movement is super important here; you can grind down rails to increase your range, or perform tricks off ramps to gain more actions in combat.

It's aesthetically cool, obviously, but also it really works thematically in gameplay. By the end of the demo I was already envisioning all the possibilities and techniques for attacking multiple enemies at once while escaping unscatched. This is definitely an SRPG that rewards careful consideration and a deep understanding of how its mechanisms work. One to keep an eye on, for sure.

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Admittedly, I've known about this one for a while, but since they showed up again at PAX East 2026, I wanted to give the game another try. And yeah, it's still just as addictive and enthralling of a puzzle game as when I first tried it back in 2024. What I really love about falling block games is that the best ones all have their own little unique elements that, once you understand that, you kinda get everything else, since the fundamentals are something you're probably already used to.

In Collapsus, you have a set amount of chances to delete a block from the screen, and you can rotate the puzzle board beforehand to change which direction blocks fall from. It's so simple but absolutely has potential for insanely deep gameplay and some fascinating multiplayer applications. Watching two skills players go head-to-head in this game is a sight to behold...

This game is available right this very second on itch.io as a Pay What You Want purchasing model, and any purchase of $1 or greater will come with a Steam key when the full game releases! It is well worth your time to do so, I assure you. You can do that here!

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One of my many toxic traits is that I am far too suggestable. So if someone notices me looking at their game booth at PAX, and they start talking to me, the chances I am going to end up trying their game reach nearly 100%, even if there's very little chance I think I'll actually like it. So what's wrong with that, you might ask. Well, unfortunately, I want to include all the games I tried on this page, and that includes stuff like this...

This was sold to me as a mobile gacha game, which I hope my face didn't wince when they said that, but as a mobile gacha game where your choices matter, or something like that. Truth be told I don't really remember. I just remember that I was trying to get the demo over with as quickly as possible. The game was...entirely unremarkable. I remember you moved around on hexagons I think, battles were turn based...writing was kinda bad? I don't know. It passed from my mind as swiftly as it entered. If I didn't write it down I would have had a hard time finding it.

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This was billed to me as one part turn-based RPG, one part Kerbal Space Program...now I never played Kerbal Space Program and never really thought it would be my thing, so of course I spent the entire 20 minute demo trying to properly launch, land, and orbit a spaceship. I have no idea what the rest of the game is like, but that part was kinda fun! I can't imagine I would have gotten too much more out of it, but I did actually find an appreciation for orbital mechanics and space flight that I never had before.

Or rather, I did appreciate it before, but I just gained a deeper understanding of it. Anyway, this game was developed by some friends of my Omegathon partner, so I checked it out on that basis. I'm not sure if it's the type of game I'd want to play for much longer than a demo, but I can definitely see this being appealing to a lot of people! If you like space flight, I'd say it's worth taking a look at. I unfortunately have no idea what the actual combat of the game is like so I can't offer any insight there...

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I'm a sentimentalist at heart, so if I even make a small connection with someone, I'll usually end up rooting for them until the end of the earth. Nocternum is probably a pretty good example of that. This is kinda like a top down shooter in the style of Binding of Isaac, but with less of an emphasis on roguelite elements (though there are some still here as far as I understand) and more on community building and a well-defined narrative.

I'm much more of a fan of this game's simple black-and-white color scheme than I am some of its contemporaries, so there's definitely hope there. I'm not sure how much I like top-down bullet hell games...I liked Journey of the Prarie King in Stardew Valley, does that count? This one seems kinda promising though, and the devs were absolutely wonderful people who I spoke with for quite a long time about game development and their inspirations. It was really great getting to know them. I enjoyed enough of what I played of it and I really hope it delivers on the promises of a tightly-defined narrative! Looking forward to seeing how it noc-turns out.

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I can always tell when a game has the potential to emotionally destroy me...not like that's very hard admittedly. But I am certainly expecting that from Fishbowl. Games that touch on grief and loss have always gotten to me in a profound way, and this one seems like it's gonna deliver on a similar scale. I liked the poem-making aspect of it, that was something I really enjoyed from the intro to Night in the Woods actually, so I hope that is something we see a bunch and not just as a one off.

The demo was relatively short but from what I tried of it I can tell it has a lot of potential. Telling these kind of stories with nuance can be hard, but I think the devs are up to the task from what I've seen so far. Looking forward to trying this one out! In fact, as of time of writing, this game is out right now! You should give it a shot! I know I will be.

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I know the FF6 style of retro-RPG has never really gone out of style, but it's been a lil bit since I've seen one that wears its inspiration on its sleeve so proudly. From an aesthetic point of view, I can understand if you are a big fan of the game and want to emulate that style, I mean it was very foundational for a lot of people and the genre as a whole.

That being said, this one, in the demo at least, didn't do a whole lot to make me feel like I was playing anything other than a kinda generic retro-styled RPG. It's hard for this kind of game to make an impact on the player without a significant hook, I think, something to differentiate it from others. I don't really think Terra Nova had that from the time I played. The devs were super nice, and I really hope I'm wrong! But I also have a lot of other classic RPGs that I need to try first before I would consider getting around to something like this.

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And on the absolute opposite end of the RPG spectrum, we have Never's End, which was one of the stars of the show for me. Okay, you know I love grid-based, SRPG combat, but man, this game's elemental system and potential applications of it are absolutely fascinating. I love how instead of affecting opponents with attacks directly, you alter the environment to control the entire battlefield.

So you can reduce the heat of one tile to increase the heat of another, making one area of the map windy, or foggy, or freezing an enemy, or blowing them off a high cliff...it's truly ingenious and it seems so deep and nuanced that my mind was racing considering how you could impact your surroundings, and what effect that might have on enemies, and on and on and on. One of the most exciting premises for an SRPG I've ever played. If the full game expands on this demo in a meaningful way while keeping the style and creativity, we could have a masterpiece on our hands.

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Jai-Alai Heroes is a indie-cade game two player sports game, developed for arcade cabinets only, and only available to play in a handful of places across the USA at the moment. To be honest, when I heard the idea that it was only being made into an arcade cabinet title, I was a little puzzled. But whatever, who cares, I'm not a business person. The game is cool!

I love the pastel, kinda vaporwave color pallette of this game. And I love that it is giving a seriously underappreciated sport (Jai-Alai is super cool!!) some much-needed representation. And this game has a lot of skill-expression to it, while also being easy enough to pick up and have fun with. It would be hard for me to recommend someone to just buy a whole cabinet just to purchase this game, but if you happen to find yourself in the proximity of one, definitely check it out!

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Even though I do like arcade-like style games, I haven't really played that many proper arcade games, and high-score chasing titles have never been my cup of tea really. That being said, I like the visuals of this one, it kinda reminds me of Tempest in a way, with some more 3D controls and more emphasis on dodging vs. destroying enemies. It's pretty neat! I like the vector-arcade vibes of it.

I just don't think it's the type of game I would really get into and obsessed with. So like maybe I'd try it a few times? But I don't think I'd play it beyond a passing curiosity. But if you are into arcade games I could see it being a good time for score attack fans! Maybe just not for me...

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This is pretty neat...I do love a horror-adjacent escape room, that is to say, I absolutely adored the first act of Inscryption. I think the gameplay here-making little bento box puzzles to feed a carnivourous, endlessly-hungering French chef monster thing-is pretty fun, you make lil boxes with randomly generated ingredients. I will say, I think my biggest concern is if this game has enough punch to deliver a consistently satisfying roguelite experience.

Like, packing a bento box by trying to tetris different shaped ingredients into it is pretty fun, I just wonder how much meat there is on the bone there, if you pardon the pun. Could be really cool! I'll be checking up on it for sure, but I hope that the escape room element brings a lot to the table as well.

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Oh Rain98, my beloved, my despised. I think this game is absolutely gorgeous. I love the lo-fi blue monochromatic look. I love the rainy haze of the setting and the visuals. I like the idea of a sorta psyhcological horror y2k visual novel. It seems very neat. I want to see more of this game cause it's real pretty!

However, I am not really a fan of the tsundere dating sim type of game where a person just derides you over and over and then you fall in love I guess? That's where I see this going and the thought terrifies me. I already hate myself enough, I don't need my romantic partner getting in on the action! And there's part of the demo where you have to put this girl's socks on for her, which...I mean I just don't know why? It's not my thing for sure let's just put it that way. So I'm worried the direction this game seems to be going. But it's so pretty! So I will cautiously hope for the best and pray I'm not disappointed.

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This game was described to me as a "Rage-Inducing, One Button Puzzle Game" which I found to be not so accurate since I didn't find it all that rage-generating. It's basically just a little blowfish toy travelling through a series of Rube Goldberg machines, which you activate in various ways by pressing the space bar. It's very simple, and maybe this is just my own problem, but I was drawn to it from the outside as it looked like a modern version of The Incredible Machine, which struck my fancy.

You don't actually build any of the courses though, you just press the button at the right time. I don't know, it felt more like a mobile game to me, which is fine, but it didn't thrill me too much. It was very simple so if that's your jam, maybe look into it? Could be fun to pass the time for a bit? But yeah I don't think I'll be checking it out.

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In Oh Apollo, you are a priestess to a bisexual problematic twink Greek God. You're either sold on the premise immediately or you're not.

This is basically a lighthearted management simulator, trying to intepret Apollo's wishes while keeping both the gods and the people happy. It's a pretty good premise, and the writing was fun from what I experienced. I'm a big fan of Greek folklore so I'm always down for more of that. And I like the colors! It's another one of those games with a neat premise, just gotta see how it fares over a full game. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out though, give me more hot mess Apollo and I will never complain...

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This game was giving me Tron vibes, which I'm sure was the intention, but it's actually more of a sleek arcade like kinda fighting game? You have to crash your car into the weak spots on other's vehicles while trying to avoid the same thing happening to you. So some Tron energy, I guess. Very stylish and you can tell it has potential for a lot of really cool skill expression. There was one of the devs playing this while I was demoing it and the way they were moving their little, uh, Fin car thing was a humbling experience for sure.

Kind of ends up with the same sentiment as I feel about a lot of arcade games, I don't think there will be any story mode here, looks more like an endless high-score chase, but while the demo was pretty linear, it looks like level design in the game's trailer is a lot more varied. So I think if they really go nuts with that it could be really cool to check out. And maybe I'm just a little sad I was so bad at this game, aha...

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It was kinda crazy seeing this game in the wild like it was just some normal indie game no one has ever heard of! So if you happen to be not from BL for some reason and reached this page by accident, you might not know, but this has received a lot of praise and attention on this game logging site called Backloggd. And I can definitely see where that praise is coming from by trying the demo.

I love detective games and Ace Attorney, so this one is already right up my alley, but it had some really funny writing and a unique twist on the courtroom type of game that made it really engaging. The game is also real pretty; I had the pleasure with speaking with the artist behind the 2D designs and they were absolutely delightful as well. Point is, if you are here, you probably know this is a good one already. And the first episode is out now! And it's free! You can go play this right at this very moment in time! You should go do that!

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Another Daisy day! I actually didn't get the chance to play much today due to a combo of some really long wait times, some really long demos, and attending a couple of panels and meetups and whatnot. But though the quantity was low, the quality was actually quite good, for the most part! So that was nice.

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From the studio that brought you "Remember the NES?", please allow me to introduce "Remember the GBA?" Okay so that's actually a bit unfair, Mina I think is a decent step up in terms of unique identity compared to Shovel Knight. The demo actually demontrated some pretty cool mechanics, I think the whole underground traversal thing opens up a lot of cool gameplay possibilities.

Other than platforming, it just gives players a short invulnerability period, and what that means is that the dev can go really crazy with making the players master that. The demo was pretty simple but I see a lot of potential here and I do think it has the potential to really feel like it's own thing instead of just a polished version of an older classic. I'm still a little skeptical, but I did kinda like Shovel Knight well enough, and everything I've seen so far compared to Shovel Knight's opening indicates this will be an improvement on that, so reason to be excited I guess. High hopes!

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This is the type of game that Ninjabunny will play in 3 years and say "it's actually even better than every Fire Emblem and Tearring Saga game combined." No but honestly, I see this as a real, uh SRPG fan's SRPG. Playing the demo, I tried to read through all the helpful text prompts, and maybe I'm just illiterate or skipped over stuff but accident, but there was still a lot of things I didn't quite understand.

In fact I almost lost in the demo...but we got there in the end. It's hexagonal, which will surely make every fan of the genre happy, but it was just kinda confusing to me. I reserve the right to change my mind about this one in the future! Also I wasn't really a fan of the art style, neither the 3D or 2D sections. Animation was also kinda poor. But all that can be forgiven if it delivers an excellent turn-based tactics experience. I can see that being a possibility. I can also see the story being real dumb. So who knows.

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These are the same guys behind Unsent, which I tried last year and actually quite liked! And is now in early access. (I will never buy a game in early access under any circumstances.) So when I found out they would have another game this year, this time a cozy lil fishing simulator, I thought yeah, I'll check it out! This one didn't do as much for me I'm afraid.

My demo was kinda buggy, which is unfortunate, since I coudn't get any of the fish to bite no matter what I did. But nevertheless, from the demo I played, I just really wasn't feeling it. Like I like a fishing mini game as much as the next person! But if it's going to be a fishing mega game...I feel like I need more than what was shown to me here. Like I can fish in Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing...and also do like 100 other things. I'll stick with those, sorry guys. But hey! I am looking forward to Unsent still! Hope it gets finished soon.

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Holy heck, I waited in line FOREVER for this game. I was behind just 1 person! I was like, okay, sure, I'm down. How the heck did they take an hour and a half on this demo??? I thought the expo hall was going to close before I got to it. So going in I was already in a bit of a bad mood.

When I say that this is the only game that has ever made me tear up on the expo hall floor before, you might think "No big deal, Pali is a emotional wreck." Which okay, fair enough. But I can usually hold it together in public at least. This one, or the demo at least, is something really special. I love the concept-you are a Conduit, the last person who people will speak to before they die, and its your job to help them recover their memories and move on, while also trying to do the same. I love the art, and I'm usually not a fan of this kinda horror-adjacent art style, but Schrodinger's Call is such a full-package demo. Excellent aesthetics, great sound design, clever writing...it could have it all. It's coming out in just a few months! I really hope I can play it then. Easily shot up to the top end of my wishlist. This is going to destroy me.

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This was a nice little palate cleanser after the emotionally devestating game above, and it was actually just what I needed. This is a cute and fun puzzle platformer with cute writing and a neat little premise, where you freeze and unfreeze items in space in order to find your true love and confess your deepest and darkest feelings!!

It's fun and cute, and I think the puzzles allow for a lot of neat little tricks and puzzles. There's a lot, a LOT of potential here, with just a few power-ups, the game really lets your mind run wild with how they might be utilized in the full game. I like puzzles, I like platformers, I like cute things, this one is absolutely right up my alley.

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My final day at PAX! I felt like at this point I got to try most of what I was really interested in...although looking at a list of PAX East games on Steam, I was suddenly filled with the feeling I was missing out on so much! So maybe I should check that page next time BEFORE I go instead of after...but yeah, did my May again, my anchor broke again, I fixed it again, and all was well. Totsugeki!!

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I haven't really tried a whole bunch of these kinda roguelike deckbuilders in the past...only really Incryption comes to mind in fact. So I can't say how much this Wilderbard has to offer from a uniqueness perspective, or how different it is to Slay the Spire, etc. All I can say it that I played it and it was pretty fun. I do enjoy a card game or two, and the work is all done by a solo dev who was very nice, so I'm rooting for them!

I think the art is pretty cute, and it was pretty intuitive to get into...I'm a little salty cause my run ended right at the final boss due to some unfortunate RNG but I digress...if you like deck builders and wanna take a break from playing Slay the Spire II for 200 hours straight, maybe give this one a try! The alpha is available on itch.io right now, and you can help with someone's new project by providing some feedback if you got any.

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I was looking for this game everywhere! I saw it was supposed to be here, I looked at the booth associated with it...couldn't find it! No mention! So I thought, okay maybe it's just not here...but alas, I finally worked up the courage on the final day to say "Hey, is this game here?" And it was! They just didn't advertise it for some reason? Which is crazy, because damn this game is so good! What the heck!

It was the surreal art style that pulled me in, but the writing and the humor and the absurdist nature of the game is what hooked me. Really impressive demo! You can shapeshift in order to unlock different conversation threads, and it's kinda a game of like, understanding what the other person needs to hear and responding appropriately. It's such a cool premise, the game looks fantastic, and Lydia is such a cool character! All the designs in this game are super cool. I really am intrigued by where the story is going and I can't wait to see more of these characters. An indie darling to be, for sure! Get in on it now while you can still claim some indie cred...I think this one will be huge.

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A top-down shooter where you are a mail-delivery robot is probably the logical conclusion of that old Paperboy game from back in the day, and honestly, it kinda works? This one has a real cute art style and a pretty fun idea. The level I demoed was pretty mundane, but it was silly enough to keep a smile on my face the entire time.

What I really want to see from Mailville is for it to go absolutely crazy...I wanna see insane platforming checks, tight time limits, crazy mail delivery techs...I don't know, something about this game just makes me feel like it's going in that direction. And I would enjoy that very much! Give it an outrageous skill ceiling and some nice variety in levels and I think this could be really fun!

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Why am I here, just to suffer? Okay, so let me start off by saying this: this is, undoubtedly, the best Bubsy game ever made. Now it's a series known for being comically bad so, you know, not much of a high bar to reach, but seriously, how is Bubsy 4D? Well, it's...okay, I guess? I'm not sure.

Like, movement is actually pretty slick. I like how quickly you can cover terrain. I know it's made by the same people who made Demon Tides, which certainly has its fans, but...well I don't know, it felt very forgiving. Or maybe it was just easy to pick up? I'm not really sure. I'm certainly skeptical because, I mean, Bubsy, but I could actually see this being pretty decent. The demo level didn't really give you a feel for how important movement is going to be, so hard to say how far they will push the envelope, but I'm hoping that it ends up being a game that requires you to utilize a lot of its movement to succeed. The camera can be quite tempermental though, especially when rolling, and the guys at the booth did mention they got some feedback about that so hopefully it'll work itself out. I do love a good 3D platformer and, hey, maybe this can be one! I have...decent hopes.

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My very last game of the con was pretty anticlimactic. I saw this 2-player puzzle fighting game, looked pretty neat, asked one of the devs if I could try it out. Said yeah sure! Starts a match, just completely destroys me the entire time, and then like 3/4ths of the way through, decides to start explaining the controls and how to clear blocks. Like...thank you???

It's pretty I guess. I got basically no experience playing the actual game so who knows if its good or not. Go play Puzzle Fighter instead I guess. OR SCRAMBLE STAR CROSSING BABY!!! GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!

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That's all the games I checked out on the demo hall and my thoughts on them! I was going to say I hope this little article helped you find something new, but this is a big article at this point! Nevertheless, hopefully you came across something you might like! If you did, make sure to show some support to the devs by wishlisting, trying out the demo, or by taking a look at their itch.io page! Until next year!!

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