PAX East 2019 Game Reviews and Recommendations
We have just returned from another crazy weekend of PAX! Here is our list of games that we had the chance to try and wanted you all to know about :D
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Bee Simulator — https://beesimulator.com/
I was immediately drawn to Bee Simulator when I saw a young boy playing with his mom watching behind. PAX can be an overwhelming place for kids, and I love when they get to try games before all the pushy adults shove their way forward. Bee Simulator is exactly what it sounds like: a game where you get to experience the world through the eyes of a bee. You search for pollen, compete in races, and ‘dance’ with your fellow bees. The gameplay is soothing and as a native New Yorker I’m a sucker for games that use my city (the game takes place in Central Park). There is additionally a split-screen mode where you can either play cooperatively or competitively with a fellow bee. Sometimes I feel like a lot of simulators are just carbon copies of ideas done in the past, but I feel like Bee Simulator has created something unique in the space.
Boyfriend Dungeon — http://www.boyfrienddungeon.com/
If you’ve been on the subreddit at all in the past year, then you’ve probably heard about Boyfriend Dungeon. The folks at Kitfox Games led a successful Kickstarter last year to fund this game and also took some time to do an AMA on the subreddit! Boyfriend Dungeon is a mix of a dungeon crawler and dating simulator, where you romance and date your weapons (who turn into a variety of date-able characters), and as you date them they become more powerful. This game is an incredibly inclusive dating simulator; you are not limited in who you romance, and there is a wide range of characters and how they identify. I was able to try out the game at PAX, romancing both Sunder and Valeria while also kicking butt in the dungeon. The fighting and gameplay is fun and challenging and I absolutely adore the art style and music. I’m excited to see how the weapons evolve and how that changes gameplay in later levels, and how each romance twists and turns (I’m super ready to romance the cat character). Be on the lookout for this game as it hopefully will release later this year!
Come to the Sun — http://www.closetothesungame.com/
Come to the Sun is a horror game from the company Storm in the Teacup, set in a imaginary steampunk world where Nikola Tesla beat Albert Einstein. Your character, journalist Rose Archer, journeys to visit her scientist sister Ada aboard Tesla’s Helios (a place where the greatest scientific minds meet). The game had a ‘Bioshock’ type of environment that I really loved. The devs noted that they weren’t specifically aiming for this in it’s development, but that they were honored to be compared to a game they all enjoyed. The story was really interesting and I found myself wanting to learn more after the brief demo. The team also had a small part of the demo be a chase scene from later in the game, and it had my heart racing. I’m not usually a horror game person, but the mix of story with horror make this game a bit more accessible to a scaredy-cat like me!
Crash Team Racing — https://www.crashbandicoot.com/crashteamracing
Do you like Mario Kart? Do you like Crash characters? Then you’ll probably enjoy CBR. The items were a bit confusing (partly because we only got to play two rounds due to long lines), but the game feels very similarly to how previous CTR games played. I appreciate having a racing game on the PlayStation since that is the console most of my friends own, and I’m especially glad that it will have split screen (why don’t more console games have split screen?????). The characters are super cute and I played both games as the polar bear because why not.
Drinking Quest — http://www.drinkingquest.com/
This year I started my first ever D&D campaign and immediately fell in love with the style and humor that can be found in playing an RPG with a group of friends. Drinking Quest is a great new addition to our tabletop game nights, featuring many RPG qualities in addition to drinking (an activity we partake in very often). The game features four quests (plus two bonus quests if you try the ‘Liquor Before Humor’ version that I did) that a crew of up to four adventurers go on (we ended up teaming up to create four duos, so up to eight people can play in total) to earn XP and defeat enemies. You pick from a variety of characters to fill out character sheets (which feels a lot like setting up a D&D game) and then go off to fight on your quests, stopping at the shop in between each quest to pick up needed items. My personal favorite character is Daiquirin, whose signature catchphrase is “I’m immortal and bored, let’s make a drink out of MAGIC” (we’ve all been there) and has a signature drink of a deadly daiquiri (that gives her “UNHOLY DESTRUCTIVE FORCE”), which is my own personal signature drink IRL as well. If your character dies, you have to chug your drink in order to revive yourself. I appreciate that the game gives options in the rules for what to do if someone is not drinking in your party, or if someone may need to step back from the alcohol (thanks for thinking of that!). This game is really funny with a good group of friends who are willing to RPG their hearts out and also drink to their own deaths. If you really want to +1 your whole experience, use some dungeon terrain pieces and miniatures from D&D to create a game board in the world. Highly recommend as an addition to any card game night.
Evolution — https://www.northstargames.com/products/evolution
I had met the lovely ladies of North Star Games last PAX when they were just showing the card game version of Evolution. In January, they released the full online version of the game and I fell in love. The game is available on iOS, Android and Steam and is addictive. You play the game as a species of animal that needs to evolve to stay alive at a watering hole. You can become a carnivore and eat the competition, or build protections to defend a herbivore against vicious enemies. I’ve found that the people in the game are incredibly friendly and helpful in team chat, which was useful as I am a bit of a tabletop game noob. Additionally, the game has a wide range of diverse character avatars, which was not something they needed to do for the game itself but makes it feel inclusive and I greatly appreciate that. If you’re looking for a fun multiplayer card game with an enjoyable (and challenging!) single player campaign, this should be high on your list.
Half Past Fate — http://serenityforge.com/games/halfpastfate
Half Past Fate is a 3D-pixel romantic narrative game where you follow three pairs as they navigate their relationships. The art style of the game is super cute and each level you play on has little puzzles to solve by interacting with other characters on the map. The demo was only for one character as he figured out hanging with a friend at a coffee shop, but the developers told me that the three main stories interact in different ways. I’m really intrigued by this one, and it seems to be a little indie game that will go a long way.
Kingdom Come Deliverance DLC — https://store.steampowered.com/app/379430/Kingdom_Come_Deliverance/
Kingdom Come Deliverance is releasing a new DLC where you play as Theresa, a woman who saved your main character within the main game. You take her through the starting zone and view it from a new perspective and watch how the story unfolds in the starting zone (which is something your character doesn’t get to see in the main game). Theresa is a different kind of fighter (since her character doesn’t have access to armor or heavy weapons), and instead is a stealthy attacker who utilizes a bow in ranged situations. She also has a new addition; her trusty dog companion. The dog is able to sniff out clues to quests, find treasure, or distract enemies so that Theresa can sneak up and attack or shoot them from afar. Henry (the main character) is able to get his own dog companion later in the game, so the mechanics you practice in this moment assist later on. While this DLC looks exciting and a new direction from the game, I wish that they gave more options to play a female character within the base game to begin with (but that’s just how I feel with most RPGs).
Later Daters — http://www.laterdatersgame.com/
Later Daters is a dating simulator that takes place in a senior residence community. The background of this game helps give it a new perspective on dating simulators: since your character is older and is dating older people, their life experiences really shape how your relationship grows. You get to pick the appearance of your character as well as your character’s background story, which gives a bit more life to who you are compared to traditional dating sims (which often revolve around a set main character). In talking with Later Dater’s executive producer Miriam Verburg, it was clear to me that she cares about giving players a unique story that doesn’t feel like other games on the market. The game will have multiple episodes to chronicle the players time, and I’m excited by the diverse characters and wonderful artwork. Looking forward to this one!
Moving Out — https://store.steampowered.com/app/996770/Moving_Out/
I feel like there needs to be a new genre of games called “Games that Test Your Relationships”. The obvious choice for this would be Overcooked (which luckily my boyfriend and I can coordinate without tooooooo much frustration), but new title ‘Moving Out’ could easily join that genre as well. The premise of the game is that you and your team are part of a moving company helping to place items from different locations into a moving truck. Since it isn’t timed to win (you’re timed and awarded a score), it doesn’t feel as hectic as Overcooked but the goofy physics of the characters add to some fun. There were two standard levels at PAX (a house and a workplace moving), but also a haunted house moving that included some fun mechanics where the chairs would run off! I thought this game was really cute and could be a fun co-op game to bring out with friends who may not play as many games. I attached the steam link to this write-up, but they have also announced for the Nintendo Switch!
Panzer Paladin — http://panzerpaladin.com/
Panzer Paladin is the newest announcement from Tribute Games, a company who wants us to never forgot our favorite 8-bit and 16-bit classic games. The main character reminds me of Samus; a badass woman who can wear huge armor and kick butt. The mechanics of the game were a bit tough for me (I personally never owned a SNES so the controller is always confusing), but I really enjoyed the different weapons and abilities the mech has. If you lose all your health in your armor, you are still able to maneuver and fight as the main character until you regain your armor, and there are times where you must move through areas where the armor is too large. For someone who didn’t play too much retro games back in the day, I had a lot of fun (and challenges!) playing the demo and think that this will be an excellent addition to the genre.
Phogs — http://bitloomgames.com/
Growing up, I loved Catdog and secretly wished I could BE Catdog. With Phogs, I can finally live out my dream of one side of a two-headed animal. Phogs is a multiplayer game where players take on one half of a very long Pug, and must use either side of their bodies to maneuver through the world and find items to feed a hungry snake friend to move on. The game is incredibly cute, with a colorful art style and entertaining mechanics (my friend and I laughed through our entire playthrough as we moved our dog body through the worlds). There are a lot of thoughtful mechanics throughout the game, including using the body as a means of transporting a material (for example, if one dog is drinking water the water shoots out of the other dog’s mouth). This game looks like a lot of fun as a couch co-op, so keep it on your radar!
Sacrifice Your Friends
Sacrifice Your Friends is a couch co-op or online multiplayer brawler game for 2–4 people. You all land on your map and run to grab different weapons to attack your enemies. With multiple types of game mods (tournament, team, etc.) and a plethora of different characters and weapons to play with, it will have great replayability. As I also mentioned with the game ‘Moving Out’, I’m really excited about games that are accessible to my friends who may not identify as ‘gamers’. I played Sacrifice Your Friends with my full group of friends and we stuck around the booth for a little while to keep challenging each other. I can see this is a fun game to play with anyone, as the games are pretty fast-paced (just a few minutes per game) and the mechanics make a lot of sense (pick up weapons, hit friends with weapons, kill friends). Please hear me game devs: more couch co-op kthx.
Splitgate: Arena Warfare
As I mentioned in my review last year, my friend group still religiously plays Halo 3 for 8 hour shifts every couple months. It’s our big ‘hang out’ that gets everyone back together to celebrate a game we all worshipped when we were younger. While Splitgate has advertised itself as ‘Halo meets Portal’, my friend group unanimously agreed at PAX this year that the aspects that were supposed to be Halo-like were disappointing and frustrating. The indicators for taking damage were hard to read, so many weapons were overpowered, and to be honest the portal idea felt confusing and unclear even though I’ve been testing this game for a year since last PAX (perhaps better indicators for where your original portal is on a map may help?). In the end, I’m not sure I can recommend this one until they improve some of their FPS features.
Super Crush K.O. — http://www.vertexpop.com/supercrushko/
Super Crush K.O. is a fast-paced brawler set in a colorful and vibrant universe. The main character looks like an icon I would’ve loved in the 90s (and still love now because the 90s were great) and I found the combat to be super smooth. You can use ground, air, weapon or ‘super’ attacks to take out enemies, so the combinations are endless (and you are scored on, so get some legit combos in there ladies!). For people who are competitive, there will be an online ranking system and leaderboard so you can have a goal in each level beyond completion (which as someone who likes to replay games I appreciate). The game will be coming to Steam and Nintendo Switch later this year.
What The Golf — http://whatthegolf.com/
What the Golf is a golf game that is quite hard to describe. The game is constantly changing mechanics and ways to play. To be honest, the announcement trailer is probably the best way to show what the game is actually like. I found myself giggling out loud while testing out what requirements were on each golf course; am I hitting a ball normally? Am I hitting a house across a field? Am I hitting a person? WHAT AM I DOING NOW??? Each mini-golf game takes about 30 seconds — 1 minute to figure out and get through. I wasn’t too worried about my golf score (which is true for me in real life as well), but I’m sure the game could get tricky if you’re constantly going for holes in one. My only worry is what the final game will be like; will it feel like a gimmicky move of a bunch of mini-games of golf? Would I want to replay the game once I’m done? That’s something that I think I’ll have to wait and see for when the game comes out.
There were so many games at PAX and I was only there for 2 days, but I got to try a lot of stuff that I’m personally excited for across multiple genres. Anything catch your eye? Let me know what you think!
Game on ladies and gents,
