PAX
Sail Forth on a Freshly Frosted Adventure
When it comes to the world of gaming, the games that people recognize are typically AAA titles. Often, their indie counterparts fall into the shadow of these billion-dollar franchises and often deemed inferior. Most view the Indie gaming genre as cute pet projects rather than works or creative expressions of art. What the gaming community does not realize is the amount of passion and dedication it...[Read More]
Ambition: A Minuet in Power Hands-On Preview
We’ve previously covered upcoming indie romance roguelike Ambition: A Minuet in Power. After a successful debut showing at PAX East this year, it’s clear that the team at Joy Manufacturing Co. is making solid progress on this unique title. I recently had a chance to sit down with the PAX demo of the game for an extended session, and feel confident that this game is going to turn some heads when it...[Read More]
DOOM Eternal Hands-On Preview – One Hell of a Ride!
During PAX East 2020, Jonathan White, Matt Kowalski, and I went to the Bethesda Game Days event that happened over two days next door to PAX. The one game all three of us were most excited to play was the upcoming DOOM Eternal. While there, I did also play the new content in Fallout 76, but I will talk about that in a later post. We each got hands-on time with Doom Eternal, leaving all three of us...[Read More]
Disaster Report 4 Summer Memories PAX East Preview
Almost a week has passed since PAX East has come to a close. This year’s event was surrounded by controversy due to the fear of the spread of the Coronavirus. Just a week prior to the event, Sony announced that they were pulling out to avoid any contamination; after previous announcements, Square Enix and Capcom announced that they would not be sending their international development teams t...[Read More]
Animal Crossing New Horizons Hands-On Impressions at PAX East 2020
Every year I look forward to my trip to PAX East in Boston, and every year I look forward to what Nintendo is going to bring to the expo hall floor. I can tell you from four days of personal experience, Nintendo did not disappoint this time. Past years there was always a nice looking spot with multiple demos of different games that are either out or coming out very soon.
Hands-On With N1RV ANN-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
When Sukeban Games launched their retro-styled bartending/visual novel VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action in 2016, it became an indie and critical darling. The retro graphics style, good writing, and cyberpunk setting all combined to a make something special. Now Sukeban aims to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time with the 2020 launch of N1RV ANN-A.
Hands (and Face)-On With SoundSelf: A Technodelic
There was no way to miss the Andromeda Entertainment booth at PAX South this year. While the surrounding booths featured the typical demo layout of big screens and up-front action, Andromeda centered their booth around a tea ceremony. People walking through the hall at any time of day could see company founder Robin Arnott or one of the other employees pouring small cups of tea for folks waiting t...[Read More]
World of Horror – A PAX Hands-On Redux
Astute readers may recall last year’s PAX South hands-on with World of Horror, a black-and-white horror game that harkens back to much earlier days of computer gaming. At the time, the game was expected to be released sometime in 2019, however, that schedule slipped into 2020. For PAX South this year, that meant that World of Horror was back at the Ysbryd booth, showcasing both the school story fr...[Read More]
Hands-On With The Artful Escape
With its unique art style and a blend of side-scrolling and rhythm game mechanics, The Artful Escape made for a splashy, eye-catching demo at PAX South this year. The game places players in the shoes of Francis Vendetti, a teenage guitar prodigy preparing for his first major performance. Before that happens, however, Francis must set out on a psychedelic multidimensional journey which will inspire...[Read More]
Hands-On with Ghostrunner from PAX South
Take one part Mirror’s Edge-style seamless first-person view parkour running. Add a dash of cyberpunk design – because it’s 2020, after all! Mix in some one-hit-kill sword-swinging action, and blend it all up with a bullet-time slow-mo sauce. What comes out is Ghostrunner, an absolutely fascinating experience that this writer was able to go hands-on with during PAX South this year.
Streets of Rage 4 – A PAX South Hands-On
How do you resurrect a classic game series that’s been dormant for over twenty years? For some, the answer is a gritty reboot, and a new title that bears little resemblance to the source material save for the name. For others, it’s to craft a flawless recreation of the original. Developers Guard Crush Games and Lizardcube have chosen a middle path with their upcoming Streets of Rage 4 title, tryin...[Read More]
PAX South 2020 Overall Wrap-Up
The annual opener to the PAX show season, PAX South started off 2020 by showcasing the theme for this year’s PAX merchandise, along with some game announcements, and a few significant layout changes.