It has almost been almost a month since PAX West 2022 started. Typically, we try to post coverage as soon as possible, Sadly, due to unforeseen life circumstances and ongoing ones, we have not been able to do so in a timely manner. Earlier this month, we covered Hyde’s Haunt & Seek, Bayonetta 3, Splatoon 3, Toy Sports, Goat Simulator 3, Gungrave G.O.R.E, Dragon Ball The Breakers, and Mount & Blade II. If you need a refresher or missed any of the coverage, all the titles above are linked to their corresponding articles. Now, we look to tie up loose ends by covering some of the other titles we previewed at PAX West 2022.
Now, by no means are these lesser titles that are undeserving of their own articles; it’s more that we feel like we do not have enough to say to make individual ones. So what games remain for us to cover from PAX West 2022? In this roundup, we will cover Dread XP’s Mirror Forge and The Mortuary Assistant. Then we will cover Hamster’s Playground, Lies of P, Lost Eidolons, and Blackout Protocol. We will then end with Sprawl, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, and three Thunderful Games (Worldless, Togges, and Planet of Lana).
Dread XP at PAX West 2022
When we met with Dread XP at PAX West 2022, we were hoping to preview Sucker for Love 2 and see new content from My Friendly Neighborhood. Sadly, neither of these options were available, however, we did get to preview Dread XP’s upcoming game Mirror Forge; additionally, we got to check out their released title The Mortuary Assistant. If you know anything about me, I’m very easy to jumpscare with horror games. Mirror Forge was no exception to this rule.
With Mirror Forge, the player is required to search the area for clues while trying to avoid any of the demonic beings. The thing that shows the way must also be used to stun demonic beings. Without a sense of direction, we did get lost a few times and almost died on multiple occasions. Once we found our way to a storefront, that’s when things go really scary. The lights started to flicker, things dashed out of sight, and, then things would suddenly appear. After receiving a creepy phone call, a portal to a different dimension appeared. Once there, we were required to solve a block puzzle. Upon solving the puzzle, we encountered a demonic being that chased us throughout the level. If grabbed in the slightest we’d be forced to restart.
After clearing the Mirror Forge demo, we decided to The Mortuary Assistant a try. Although the concept of the game was intriguing, the recent death of a loved one definitely made the game rather uncomfortable to play. Add in the spooky elements and we were forced to put it down and walk away. Additionally, the item management system made moving and manipulating objects a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.
A Puppet, Hamster, Aliens, and Wolves Oh My!
Lies of P
During the PAX West 2022 weekend, Souls fanatics had the opportunity to check out Neowiz’s Lies of P at the AMD booth. Upon starting the demo, players could choose between two levels. The level we chose had a steampunk version of London that we could roam around. Similar to other Soulsbourne games, we had to avoid enemy attacks or die and become a bundle of sticks.
Unlike other souls games, Lies of P features a grappling hook that could pull us to enemies. The character’s movement felt robotic which changed up the style of combat in an interesting way. If you liked Bloodbourne, then you will enjoy Lies of P. Honestly, this will be a must-buy for us when it releases in 2023.
Hamster Playground
What do hamsters and children have in common? They both like playgrounds! In Hamster Playground, players get to design their own little hamster and compete in various activities. For the PAX West 2022 demo, only a few hamsters were available to choose between but each had its own cute look. When doing races, players are required to complete an assortment of mini-games to get their hamster to move. Once the hamster reaches the end of the course, they are the winner. The mini-games consist of matching, hitting a specific marker, and other things.
Hamster Playground is free to play with only special cosmetics costing money. Be careful, their cuteness can be addicting.
Blackout Protocol
Blackout Protocol is a co-op top-down shooter. Earlier in the day, we injured our left arm, making it difficult to play the game. Because of this, we asked the developers to show us the game. For the first few attempts, the Ocean Drive Studio developer showed us how one can clear waves; sadly, due to not playing co-op, the first wave overpowered him. In fact, in all the runs we attempted, jointly or solo we couldn’t make it past the first room.
This game is meant to be played cooperatively. Blackout Protocol is currently in early access in steam.
Lost Eidolons
Right before we saw Blackout Protocol, we had the opportunity to see Lost Eidolons. Fans of turn-based tactical RPGs, will enjoy this game based on its combat system. In the demo, we were required to flee from dire wolves. Surrounded, we were required to take on the two blocking our path from fleeing. When combating the wolves, players’ movements work similarly to that of DND. If a unit moves past an enemy in a certain way, the enemy will turn to face them.
Each turn, the game randomizes what types of attacks are effective against the enemy. Every character features two different types of attack types; the four we noticed in the beta were magic, archery, axe, and sword. Each turn, the play can get two critical attacks on each vital spot. Be careful, losing a character in a fight will mean permanent death. In the demo, we only lost one character due to recklessness.
Quake Inspiration and a Dark Mystery
On Monday, we met with Rogue Games to preview their upcoming games The Last Case of Benedict Fox and Spawl. When we originally booked our meeting with Rogue Games, we booked only Spawl, but after seeing the Gamescom footage we knew we had to check out The Last Case of Benedict Fox.
As someone who is not the best at platformers, we knew we’d be in for a challenge. The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a 2D sidescrolling platformer that focuses on the dark and mysterious. As the player levels up, they are able to apply new tattoos to their body to gain abilities.
The artwork for each tattoo looked beautiful, so we can’t wait to see all the possible designs. Combat in the game felt difficult at first, but that was due to not knowing the timing of the monsters’ attacks. The level designs were rather colorful despite being spooky. This game could be a fun platformer for those who like the supernatural.
After checking out The Last Case of Benedict Fox, we got to try our Sprawl. Sprawl is a game being developed by a former Quake champion. The game has an older art style similar to Quake and focuses on action and adrenaline.
Sprawl
If you have ever played Doom or Quake, you know how action-packed those games can get. With Sprawl, despite its older art style, combat in the game was fast-paced for the most part; when out of combat, the game still wants the player to perform extreme acts that would make most people second guess their actions.
Earlier we said that the game was fast-paced for the most part, but that was not true for the whole demo. After an intense battle against a squad, we managed to break the game. At first, we did not notice the issue, we would shoot at enemies preemptively and they would shoot back. It wasn’t until we were out of ammo that we discovered what had happened. If we were not aggressive towards the enemies, we would be invisible to their detection. Getting ammo is no easy task either, you must get a critical shot on an enemy or find it out in the wild to gain ammo.
As a fan of first-person shooters, Sprawl was a lot of fun. The invisibility bug made the game more interesting because we were basically playing a game of hide and seek, but with the cloak of invisibility.
Beautiful Thunderful Worlds
Last but certainly not least was our time with Thunderful Games. Originally, we went to the booth to preview The Last Hero of Nostalgia; we had been impressed with the game at PAX East 2022. Upon arriving at the booth, we were informed that the demo at PAX West 2022 was the same as the one at East. Instead, we were recommended to check out Worldless, Togges, and Planet of Lana.
Planet of Lana
Up first was Planet of Lana. Planet of Lana is an action-adventure puzzle game. While trying to play this game, there was a cute corgi nearby distracting everyone. But what we can remember is the cute interactions between the girl and her pet. On numerous occasions, we accidentally killed the pet by letting shadow creatures take it. The game’s overall controls were rather simple to understand but the game is less about movement and more about working together to protect one another. Without your partner’s help, you will get nowhere.
The game’s soundtrack and art style will entice those that enjoyed Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Sadly there was a time limit for the demo so we did not get to explore as much as we would have liked to.
Worldless
Up next was Worldless. Worldless is also a 2D Action-Adventure Platformer. Playing as an astral being, players must navigate through the level to find their way. The game features turn-based combat with the player having a limited time window in order to attack. During that time, players can deal out; the player can choose between a physical or magic attack; each enemy has a type of weakness and it is up to the player to figure out. After the player’s turn is complete, the enemy has free range to attack but the player can choose to block in certain ways.
Visually the game was impressive, but as someone who gets lost very easily, the game was a bit frustrating. If we had more time with the game, we would be able to figure it out but sadly, there was another time limit.
Togges
The last PAX West 2022 appointment we will briefly cover is the game Togges. Togges is an adventure stacking game where players create a path from a starting block and go until they gather the fruit. Once the fruit is gathered, the player is able to start another blockchain from that area.
During our playthrough, we had a few minor issues with the demo. The chain wouldn’t always realize that it was connected and we’d fall to our doom. The second issue we faced was when a fruit was collected but didn’t register as being collected; additionally, we were not able to recollect our blocks. The overall concept of the game was cute but again we did not have enough time to explore, this time due to prior meeting obligations.
Wrapping Up!
PAX West 2022 has now been over for almost a month. We are almost sad to wrap up our coverage of the event. Which of these games look the most appealing to you? If you find any of them interesting, make sure to add them to your wishlist. We want to thank all of the developers and publishers we met with at PAX West for showing off their games.
