Last week, I was given the task of attending PAX East, a festival covering all things gaming, held at the BCEC in Boston’s Seaport District. This was my first time attending PAX, and knowing I had to be on my game as a The Punished Backlog contributor, I got there bright and early before the doors officially opened on Sunday. After anxiously waiting in line alongside a large cohort of excited gamers, we descended upon the main Expo Hall and I dashed toward my first appointment, set for 10 am on the dot.
Unfortunately, it just so happened that the publisher I had a meeting with had its booth moved at the last minute, and the event map was not updated. I spent the next 30 minutes wandering around the massive convention center with my brow furrowed and my eyes peeled, asking multiple other exhibitors if they knew what happened to booth 15085. I am happy to report that after getting my full allotment of steps in before 11 am, I finally stumbled upon the booth tucked in a corner I must’ve walked by 50 times. Luckily, after that brief hiccup, my day was smooth sailing and I even had a chance to play a few great games!
Here are my reflections after a fun-filled (and eventful) day at PAX East:
My Top 3 Games of PAX East 2024
Baladins
Where else can I start but with my first demo and long-awaited 10 am appointment?
Once I made my way over to Armor Games’ booth and explained my delay, they could not have been more welcoming. Ariana from the team brought me to a special setup and personally walked me through everything Baladins has to offer.
Described as a tabletop-inspired RPG, Baladins’ gameplay was truly unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I picked my Baladin from a handful of unique classes and immediately began my journey on a colorful map marked with a few specific locations to visit on a fixed track.
Armed with a limited number of action and movement points, players must carefully pick and choose how to go about navigating the world and solving environmental puzzles. Each character has varying levels of traits like creativity, finesse, or knowledge. One of my favorite gameplay mechanics from the demo was the ability to decide how I wanted to progress by boosting different stats for specific solutions. I had the choice between scaring away or sneaking past a mysterious creature blocking my way in a cave, and though I wanted to be nice, it turned out I was way more intimidating than I was sneaky. In true TTRPG fashion, your skills are augmented by dice rolls, so even the most prepared Baladin can stumble at the hands of fate.
Though there’s no combat to be found in the game, there is a villainous dragon who promises to turn back time after a certain number of “turns” have taken place. This conflict introduces a bit of a roguelite element where you are sent back to the beginning of your adventure, but with a few more skills and items in tow. All of this can take place via co-op mode as well, a big plus for me as I’m always trying to find more RPG-style games I can play with friends.
Baladins doesn’t have a release date just yet, but it is currently set for sometime in 2024. I know I plan to keep an eye out for any updates I can find!
Slime Heroes
I owe a massive thank you to Whitethorn Games for their hospitality and kindness. Especially Lisa, who took me behind the scenes of the Whitethorn booth and hooked me up with a Slime Heroes demo (and some snacks). I absolutely left wanting more, as the energy and pace of Slime Heroes alone got me revved up and ready to go.
I was quickly dropped into a lush forest area where a dragon-like guardian was found battling baddies, and I soon found myself face to face (face to slime? Slime to slime?) with the enemies responsible for corrupting the land. The hack n’ slash combat and customizable abilities were a ton of fun to mess around with, and the creativity of being able to change your powers was a quirky but surprisingly complex endeavor.
I gained both a projectile ability and tornado ability, but the way these worked together depended on which one the player marked as a primary vs. secondary ability. It seemed as though I just grazed the tip of the iceberg, as I was told there were many more skills to be found and mastered, each with its own special characteristics based on how skills are stacked together.
There’s a lot to like here, once again including a co-op mode where you and your best slime pal can get together to save the day. I certainly hope to grab a buddy and dig in once we have a release date!
The Big Con
Of all the games I tried on the floor, none hooked me as quickly or as intensely as The Big Con. As I aimlessly wandered the expo hall, looking for something to capture my attention, I was struck by developer Mighty Yell’s booth (and the t-shirt they had for sale, featuring a skateboarding ghost shredding on the MTV logo). Upon further inspection, I realized they had a couple of open stations to demo The Big Con, and the art style alone tempted me to learn more.
I spent 15 minutes wandering around the ‘90s-themed mall setting as angsty teen Ali, attempting to pickpocket strangers and steal a child’s Furby-inspired toy so I could sell it to another desperate dad, before deciding I had seen enough. I bought the download code on the spot and booted up the adventure as soon as I got home.
After a few hours with this Doug fever dream, I did a little more research and found out that fellow Punished Backlogger Amanda Tien wrote a review of The Big Con almost three years ago. I may be behind the times, but I’m still glad I got to experience the thrill of finding this gem out of the blue—not to mention grateful that events like PAX exist to showcase smaller titles I may not have otherwise found on my own!
My Top 3 Non-Demo Experiences at PAX East 2024
Battleground Games
I am slightly embarrassed to say that at a convention with dozens of demos for new and unreleased games, a healthy percentage of my time was spent stalking the aisles of board games set up in the back of the main expo hall. That’s probably something I could’ve done at a local game store, but what I couldn’t have done was get outstanding advice and recommendations from the staff members of Battleground Games.
Not only was their selection immense (and impressive, given the team had to travel to the convention), but everyone I spoke with about the collection was friendly, knowledgeable, and excited to share their favorite picks with me. I wish I could’ve taken home more than I did, but I ended up with Evergreen, a tricky game about planting trees and harvesting sunlight that I can’t wait to try!
Cookie Brigade
In the lead-up to PAX, I received countless PR emails (flex?) asking me to stop by different booths for a quick demo and chat. Only one, however, offered me cookies. Needless to say, I immediately booked a time with the Cookie Brigade to see what this was all about, and I’m glad I did.
Founded in 2007, Cookie Brigade started as a project simply to do good and put smiles on the faces of attendees at PAX by handing out free cookies to hungry passers-by. As the interest and attention grew, Cookie Brigade started collecting donations in exchange for their yummy treats and in turn sent the proceeds to charities like Child’s Play.
This year, for the first time, this awesome charity initiative had a full-blown booth at PAX and was able to raise over $118,000, the team’s highest one-day total ever. Since its inception, Cookie Brigade has raised over $1,000,000 for charity, and it’s no surprise to me since their booth was one of my absolute favorites to visit.
Not only is the organization doing good, but its cookies, as expected, were delicious. I got my hands on a cherry jubilee and was very disappointed that I didn’t have an entire carton full. They also had a collection of trinkets available for purchase, with none more coveted than the cookie tin/sewing kit pin that featured a chance to be bamboozled by a mimic instead of a selection of baked goods.
The brigade even had a “life-sized” mimic that I personally fed my donation to, then watched as it gobbled it up and spit out a few goodies. (Shoutout to the good sport who was tucked away in the mimic and thanked me for my participation.)
Cookie Brigade brought the fun, the swag, and the treats, all for a good cause. Check them out!
Pikachu
They say never meet your heroes, but boy are they wrong!
Quick Hits
- Whitethorn had several other games on display that I got some quick peeks at. Botany Manor is a first-person exploration puzzle game that requires the player to traverse a castle-like home to learn how to grow and care for a variety of flowers and plants. Our own David Silbert demoed the game at PAX East 2023, and has a review dropping next week. Stay tuned for our final thoughts!
- Another Whitethorn title, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island strands players on a mysterious island filled with hints and links to Greek Gods that need to be explored and unpacked. Like Botany Manor, this game seems like the perfect example of a highly creative and engaging (yet extremely calm and relaxing) title that can appeal to nearly anyone.
- I was able to play a short demo of A Corgi’s Cozy Hike and, as I hoped, the game was exactly what it sounds like. I romped around a bright and colorful world as a cheerful Corgi for roughly five minutes, collecting bones and exploring the scenery, enjoying every second. This adventure seems like one that will fit right in with other cozy video games we’ve featured, and the best part is that a percentage of the revenue made goes directly to animal shelters.
- Another game I only had a short amount of time with was Fera: The Sundered Tribes. The art style alone had me intrigued, but its description as “an enthralling mixture of monster hunting survival action RPG with village building and tribe management in a unique post-apocalyptic fantastical world of untamed magic and ancient secrets” made it especially hard to pass up. Given my limited exposure, I can’t speak to too much of the adventure, but there was a dog-like creature I was able to pet, and that’s enough for me to be invested.
- My friend and I had a chance to try out Bread & Fred, and as evidenced by our non-stop laughter, I was not disappointed. Released last year, this co-op platformer features two adorable penguins trying to climb a snowy mountain with the minor caveat that they happen to be tethered together. In the same vein as Unravel, this mechanic leads to a lot of giggles and a serious need to communicate with your partner to accomplish anything in-game. We didn’t make it very far (clearly because of a lack of effective communication), but I definitely want to give this game a fair shot at home.
- I didn’t expect to be wowed by a racing game in the year 2024, but something about NeoSprint hooked me right away. This offering from Atari uses an isometric view and cartoony-style graphics to make it seem like players are controlling RC cars at high speed through twisty-turny tracks. This gives the game an accessible, arcade-style feel, but the courses were not as simple to navigate as they seemed at first glance. NeoSprint also boasts several game modes, including a track customizer and a campaign where players can unlock upgrades for their cars. Though I wasn’t familiar with the game before PAX, this quickly became one of my most anticipated titles after spending just a few minutes with the demo.
- Animal Well seemed to have a popular demo area, so I went to check it out and was left very intrigued by what I played. A dark and atmospheric Metroidvania, Animal Well promises a ”dense puzzle box world with tons of secrets.” I felt like I only scratched the surface of what the game had to offer, but the creepy visuals and slick movement definitely had me wanting to stay in the world longer. Count me among those eagerly awaiting Animal Well’s May 9 release!
- Events like this are certainly well-known for showcasing the best of the best when it comes to cosplay. I didn’t feel like asking strangers if I could take photos of them, so I don’t have any visual evidence, but I want to give special recognition to the person dressed as Doug Dimmadome (owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome), of course complete with comically large hat. They even handed out Dimmadollars to several convention-goers, and though I wasn’t lucky enough to get any, I very much commend their commitment to the bit.
- Probably the most impressive thing I saw at PAX was an entire corner of the expo floor dedicated to creators who are currently in school. I was lucky enough to chat with a student from Cornell University who showed off a handful of games being developed by the school’s Development in Games Association. These experiences fit right in with the indie titles they were sharing a room with, and showed a ton of promise that the next great developers are knocking on the door. I wish I had known you could go to school for this!
That’s a Wrap on PAX!
All in all, I had a great time at PAX, not just playing games but also meeting new people and soaking in all the great experiences it had to offer. I only wish I had more time to spend, but there’s always next year! Maybe I’ll see you on the floor; I’ll be the one dressed as a The Punished Backlog contributor. Come say hi!
