David’s 19 Best Games From PAX East 2025

There’s nothing quite like spring in Boston. The cold weather subsides, the Common teems with people, and the Celtics compete (and struggle) for a title. Most important of all, tourists fly in from all corners to visit Boston’s Seaport for PAX East. This year was no different! PAX East 2025 has come and gone, and there were many great video games to play and discuss.

From flashy shooters to cerebral puzzlers, quirky RPGs to innovative genre-benders, creators big and small brought their brightest ideas to Boston’s show floor—and we were there to cover it all. Here’s our list of the best video games of PAX East 2025.

Note: Want to play these games for yourself? You’re in luck—many have Steam demos available through the end of PAX weekend (May 11) and, in some cases, even beyond.

Break Arts III

Break Arts III was the first game I played at PAX East 2025, and it sure made a good impression. Developed by MercuryStudio (not to be confused with MercurySteam), BA3 is the third entry in a long-running mecha-action game. Like most games starring giant mechs (Armored Core, Titanfall, etc.), you’ll boost around the battlefield, unloading rockets at enemy combatants. In a nice twist, however, Break Arts III weaves in racing mechanics, with players speeding past other mechs to vie for first place.

The racing was a joy, and the visuals were stunning in the PC build I demoed. With the ability to customize your mech and play with friends via co-op (though, surprisingly, no competitive play to my knowledge), BA3 has potential. We’ll see if the game delivers when it launches this summer.

Developer: MercuryStudio
Publisher: PLAYISM
Release Date: August 8, 2025

Mind Diver

At first, Mind Diver failed to pull me in. The game’s visuals are a bit crude, and the voice acting a bit stiff. However, the more I played this narrative adventure game, the more it sunk its hooks into me.

The premise is bonkers in the best possible way. When Lina’s boyfriend undergoes a mysterious, life-altering event after a party, she dives into her own memories to make sense of the past few days. As the player, you’ll explore these memories—literally, as the title suggests, swimming between vignettes—while reconstructing the finest of details. What objects were the couple holding during their argument? Which police officer took the woman’s statement? Why is a mysterious headset in their apartment?

It’s hard to explain, which is partially why I came away so intrigued. In one vignette, I put a fictional DVD into Lina’s boyfriend’s hands, which restored one of her memories. Other options included Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope is a consultant on the title), Immortality, and The Case of the Golden Idol—all incredible mystery games that clearly have inspired the good folks at Indoor Sunglasses. Based on my demo time, Mind Diver has all the tools to rival those greats.

Developer: Indoor Sunglasses
Publisher: PLAYISM
Release Date: TBD 2025
Is There a Demo? Try an Early Build Here.

MotionRec

Don’t let MotionRec’s cute aesthetic fool you; this challenging puzzle game left me (gleefully) scratching my head. The game centers around two core mechanics—“record” and “play.” Hit record while moving, jumping, or falling, and you’ll temporarily store those actions. Hit play, and you’ll recall those actions at will—at least until you decide to re-record or enter a new puzzle room.

The applications are endless. If a ledge is too far away to jump to, you can record yourself walking underneath it, climb back up to your initial vantage point, then hit play to “walk” across the air. If you need to scale a tall wall, you can record yourself climbing steps, then hit play for an impromptu super-jump. MotionRec is instantly accessible, yet devilishly tricky. I cannot wait to play more.

Developer: HANDSUM
Publisher: PLAYISM
Release Date: TBD 2025

Revenant’s Reach

Revenant’s Reach had the most inconspicuous booth I’ve ever seen from a PAX event. No signage, no marketing goodies, no person to greet players or press. Instead, there was a barebones booth with two laptops and two exhibitors, both of whom were busy playing the game.

As I strolled by, I caught a glimpse of the action. A quick Steam search later, I found the studio’s game: Revenant’s Reach. It looked right up my alley—a 2D side-scrolling action-platformer—so I approached, slowly, asking if I could try the game for myself. The exhibitors (one the developer, the other his friend) gladly cleared a station for me.

The developer walked me through his creation. Inspired by Strider and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Revenant’s Reach is a twitch-heavy game with a focus on grappling, parrying, and speedrunning. The game sports a low-poly 3D aesthetic evocative of early PSX games, and regularly shifts its 2D perspective (in a way that reminded me of a diorama). As he talked, I played. The platforming was tough, but fair. The combat was nuanced, but accessible. And, of course, an end-of-demo boss kicked my ass.

I loved every second of it.

We had a controller malfunction, which forced me to leave before toppling the big baddie. (I had another appointment to make.) An hour later, I came back to finish the job. Of course, the exhibitors were busy improving their own speedrunning times. No flair, no marketing spiel, no nothing. Just good-ass gameplay.

Developer: Shatter Flask Syndicate
Publisher: Shatter Flask Syndicate
Release Date: TBD

Update – Friday, May 9: The two got signage in place for Day 2.

Demonschool

I’ve been following Demonschool for years. Inspired by Persona (specifically, early entries like Revelations and Innocent Sin), this tactics RPG takes the dark, brooding aesthetic of Atlus’ hit series and adds its own creative spin. Like in Persona 1 and 2, battles are turn-based, with movements captured on an isometric grid. However, in Demonschool, you plan all moves for your turn, then execute them in a single motion. It’s a subtle change on paper, but one that feels refreshingly different with the controller in hand.

Having played Demonschool at PAX East 2023, I approached the PAX East 2025 demo with high expectations. In the latest build, a Ysbryd representative introduced me to several new mechanics, including—quite to my surprise—mini-games! From a racer inspired by developer Necrosoft’s very first title, to a bite-sized fishing QTE, to silly karaoke scenes, Demonschool seems to be balancing its dark story with plenty of levity. Add in the promise of 15(!) recruitable party members, and we could have yet another RPG banger on our hands.

Developer: Necrosoft Games
Publisher: Ysbryd Games
Release Date: Summer 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Demon Tides

I didn’t specifically demo Demon Tides at PAX East 2025, but I did play the same build as part of the February 2025 Steam Next Fest. And wow, oh wow, is it shaping up to be something special.

The sequel to 2021’s Demon Turf, this platformer from studio Fabraz is a radical departure from its predecessor in several ways. Gone is the “2D sprites meets 3D world” aesthetic; instead, everything is rendered in 3D. (When asked about it, the devs told me they’d gained a lot of 3D technical experience in the years since, which helped inform the decision.) The sequel also introduces a giant open world, taking inspiration from greats like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Elden Ring.

Get past the initial learning curve, and Demon Tides offers a depth of movement not seen—in my estimation, at least—since Super Mario Sunshine. If you’re hankering for a wonderfully complex sandbox, look no further.

Developer: Fabraz
Publisher: Fabraz
Release Date: TBD 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Shrine’s Legacy

Secret of Mana is, in my eyes, one of the most overrated RPGs ever. The controls are clunky, the action is repetitive, and the progression system is practically nonexistent. The soundtrack bops, and the pixel art still holds up, but otherwise, this is a game best left in the past.

Shrine’s Legacy takes heavy inspiration from Secret of Mana, so you’d be excused for thinking I came away from my demo disappointed. Surprisingly, I came away feeling the exact opposite. This is what Secret of Mana should have felt like, I thought to myself while playing. The gameplay is snappy, the puzzles are clever, and the end-of-demo boss I fought was particularly satisfying. There’s even a light progression system in the form of equippable gems, allowing you to personalize party members where Secret of Mana did not.

Is Shrine’s Legacy a genre-defining RPG? Probably not. But for those who grew up on co-op action RPGs like Secret of Mana, it’ll definitely scratch the itch and then some.

Developer: Positive Concept Games
Publisher: indie.io
Release Date: TBD
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Love Eternal

Love Eternal was another great Ysbryd-published game I demoed at this year’s show. A “precision platformer” developed by a pair of siblings, Love Eternal mixes the slow-burn horror that Ysbryd is known for with the pixel-perfect 2D platforming of Celeste.

Right before a young girl sits down with her family for supper, the phone rings. The girl heads into the other room to answer, only to get a dial tone. Upon returning to the kitchen, she finds her family gone—the door wide open. Following after them, she’s transported to a nightmarish world marked by constant doom and terror.

That’s just the setup to Love Eternal’s story, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m hungry for more. The gameplay is equally good, tasking players with flipping gravity, collecting gems (which instantly refresh your abilities), and avoiding deadly spikes. Check it out for yourself when the game—fingers crossed—releases later this year.

Developer: brlka
Publisher: Ysbryd Games
Release Date: Summer 2025

Neon Inferno

I played a bunch of solid brawlers at PAX East 2025, but perhaps the most thrilling was Neon Inferno. Tucked within the Retroware booth next to cheeky names like The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest, the game immediately stood out thanks to its gorgeous pixel art and neon-laden backdrops.

Upon closer inspection, I found the game had more to offer than just slick vibes. Beyond the typical beat-em-up loop (move, dodge, kill, repeat), Neon Inferno adds an interesting wrinkle in how it plays with dimension. With the tap of a button, you’ll shoot bullets left or right like a standard action game; however, squeeze the right bumper before shooting, and your character will aim at the backdrop.

This multi-plane dynamic allows for interesting combat scenarios. In one segment, I took cover behind a car in the foreground while engaging in a shootout with foes in the background. Later, I fought a boss who could navigate between both spaces. While the standard “medium” difficulty felt a tad easy and the dodge a bit sluggish, Neon Inferno did more than enough to hook me. Add in a parry mechanic, which lets you slow down time and redirect bullets for increased damage, and this has all the makings of a great time.

Developer: Zenovia Interactive
Publisher: Retroware
Release Date: TBD 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Monster Train 2

There’s not much to say about Monster Train 2 (at least in a quick, concise blurb) other than that it’s Monster Train but refreshed. New cards, clans, visuals, synergies, modes… new everything.

To some, that may sound underwhelming. But the original Monster Train was a hit for a reason, and there’s little reason to fix what ain’t broke. There’s a delicate art to innovating while preserving the fundamentals—and based on my recent hands-on time, developer Shiny Shoe seems up to the task.

The mechanics of Monster Train 2 may feel familiar, but the sequel is poised to deliver all-new thrills. The clans from the original Monster Train are gone, replaced with a new set of five to keep returning players on their toes. I was more of a Slay the Spire fan myself, but after half an hour with Shiny Shoe’s latest, I may well be converted. Monster Train 2 plays as smooth as butter, and it hits storefronts later this month.

Developer: Shiny Shoe
Publisher: Big Fan Games
Release Date: May 21, 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Fresh Tracks

Fresh Tracks is a beautiful blend of the music-rhythm and roguelike genres. Set in a snow-covered land, the game puts you in control of the adventurer Skaii as you ski from one trail to the next. Movement takes place on a set of Guitar Hero-esque rails, with obstacles you must learn to weave between, jump over, and duck under, all to the beat of the track.

Between tracks, you’ll upgrade your abilities, select between branching paths, and even swap out your current hero for another companion. All the while, the game’s soundtrack reacts to your choices. Pick one hero, and you’ll hear EDM tracks; switch to another, and you’ll hear heavy-metal versions of those same songs. Traditional roguelike principles apply too. Fail at a track, and you’ll restart at the beginning of a run. However, you’ll retain certain abilities and, of course, your improved knowledge of tracks.

The final game promises 28 songs that’ll take the average player a good chunk of time to complete. Fresh Tracks doesn’t have a firm release date; that said, a representative for the game told me to expect a formal announcement—as well as a Steam demo for folks at home—within the next few weeks.

Developer: Buffalo Buffalo
Publisher: Buffalo Buffalo
Release Date: TBD 2025
Is There a Demo? Not Yet, But Coming Soon.

Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson

If you couldn’t tell from the other entries on this list, three of my favorite genres are RPGs, deckbuilders, and rhythm games. While I encountered many at PAX East 2025, only one game thought (and successfully managed) to combine all three. Enter Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson.

Out this summer, Fretless merges beat-based timing with turn-based combat. Much like the Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi franchises, you’ll hit the “A” button at just the right moment to deal extra damage or lessen incoming attacks. Unlike Nintendo’s hit franchises, however, your timing is guided by the strumming of your acoustic guitar.

Each turn, you select a chain of cards from a deck of cards. Some cards deal damage, while others add to your shield number. Some deal area-of-effect damage, while others focus on concentrated damage to a single enemy. As you play through the campaign (which the devs estimate to be about 10 hours), you’ll unlock new cards, super moves, equipment and more.

Take Paper Mario, add Slay the Spire, and sprinkle on some Guitar Hero, and you have a vague sense of what Fretless is about. But that comparison fails to capture the full charm on display. Thankfully, the game’s out soon—and you can play a generous demo now to tide you over.

Developer: Ritual Studios
Publisher: Playdigious Originals
Release Date: Summer 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Update – Thursday, May 15: Fretless has been delayed. Originally slated for May 22, the game will now release sometime this summer so that Ritual Studios can add a bit more polish. Godspeed!

Aether & Iron

Aether & Iron takes inspiration from many genres. Mechanically, it plays a bit like Disco Elysium or Citizen Sleeper: You read sprawling screens of text, pass or fail skill checks, and explore a world full of dangers and vices. Narratively, though, it has far more in common with noir works like Chandler’s The Big Sleep or Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.

You play as Gia, a private investigator navigating the seedy underbelly of a futuristic New York City. Right from the premise, I was hooked. I grew up on hardboiled fiction, yet it’s hard to ignore that the majority of the genre is dominated by men. The prospect of playing as a woman—one written and voiced with great care—immediately elevated Aether & Iron to “you son of a gun, I’m in” status. (The lead writer told me the game contains about 300,000 words of dialogue, 90% of which will be fully voiced.)

As with any great RPG, you’ll assemble a team of compatriots to aid you in your quest. Unlike most narrative adventure games, however, Aether & Iron features tactical turn-based combat, not unlike XCOM. In my demo, I fended off a gangster in a high-stakes car chase using a mix of attacks and movement abilities. I wasn’t nearly as impressed by the combat, but if the developers can polish up the mechanics as well as everything else at the heart of Aether & Iron, we could be in for something special.

Developer: Seismic Squirrel
Publisher: Seismic Squirrel
Release Date: TBD 2025

Be My Horde

After wading through a massive crowd of attendees early Saturday morning, perhaps it was fate that I stumbled upon Be My Horde.

A Vampire Survivors-like, Be My Horde differentiates itself from the rest of the genre thanks to a unique spin. You play as Moriana, a necromancer with the power to resurrect fallen soldiers. Starting with a small contingent of troops, you’ll kill incoming waves of enemies, turn them into reanimated corpses, and slowly but surely grow your undead army.

During my demo, I converted peasants, barbarians, and knights into tools of destruction. In true Vampire Survivors fashion, the auto-battle action was surprisingly cathartic (despite me clearly playing the bad gal), and I made it through several waves before I had to rush to another appointment.

Be My Horde has been in early access since 2024, with a big update coming within the next few weeks. According to a studio representative on site, we can expect a full 1.0 release sometime later this year.

Developer: Polished Games
Publisher: Polished Games
Release Date: Out Now in Early Access; 1.0 Release TBD 2025
MSRP: $4.99

Strings Theory

Strings Theory is a simple-looking puzzle game that quickly ramps up the complexity. You take control of various “strings” with the power to manipulate the environment in different ways. Telly, an L-shaped string, can push walls to create floor blocks. Isaac, a moon-shaped string, can phase between surfaces and traverse inaccessible floor blocks. Norm and Sal, meanwhile, are a pair of brain-shaped strings that can pair up, split apart, and pull blocks toward one another.

While initial levels introduce you to individual strings, eventually you must leverage all three characters—well, four more accurately—to progress. I played on a Nintendo Switch, and the game seemed perfect for quick bursts of brain power before bed or on the go.

Developer: BeautifulBee
Publisher: BeautifulBee
Release Date: Out Now
MSRP: $14.99

Perfect Tides: Station to Station

Perfect Tides: Station to Station was easily the best game I played during Day 3 of PAX East 2025. A slice-of-life point-and-click starring a teenage girl navigating young adulthood, Station to Station pulled me in with its terrific writing, expressive pixel art, and wonderfully realized characters.

There’s no clear “call to action” in Station to Station. No murder in a small town. No aliens descending upon Earth. The game is grounded in the mundane nature of everyday life—from living with slobs for roommates, to walking to work, to having a stilted conversation in a relationship you know won’t last. Life is the journey, and that’s thrilling enough.

According to the game’s writer, Station to Station consists of over 200,000 words and should take players about 15 hours to complete. What she didn’t tell me, but I was delighted to discover, was that Station to Station is actually a sequel. The original Perfect Tides released in 2022, and I can’t wait to buy and savor it.

Developer: Three Bees
Publisher: Three Bees
Release Date: TBD 2026
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Bytebond

I demoed Bytebond alongside fellow Punished Backlog writer Zack Gulinello (my partner in crime for PAX Day 3). A representative for the game sold us almost instantly by comparing it to Hazelight’s sublime co-op adventure Split Fiction.

In Bytebond, you play as two BB-8-shaped robots (“Disney doesn’t know we exist yet,” the rep joked), exchanging electrical power to progress from one biome to the next. Each robot can absorb or discharge power; absorbing inflates your robot’s size, but allows you to power certain platforms or switches. Like in Split Fiction, the action takes place via split-screen, occasionally converging into a single, shared screen.

The puzzles felt great, requiring us to give and take power, take turns squeezing through doors, and even battle enemies. We completed the first biome feeling challenged but satisfied, and the representative promised five additional biomes waiting for players in the final game. If the rest of Bytebond is as strong as what we demoed, co-op fans have something special to look forward to.

Developer: DVD Unicorns
Publisher: Anshar Publishing
Release Date: TBD 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Constance

Our team loves a good Metroidvania game, and Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight is arguably the best to ever do it. While the lack of meaningful updates on the sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, continues to break our collective hearts, there are plenty of capable Metroidvanias to enjoy in the interim.

Constance has all the makings of a terrific Metroidvania: fun traversal, tight controls, satisfying bosses, and a well-tuned difficulty. It’s also the closest I’ve seen a game emulate the Hollow Knight vibe without feeling like a carbon copy. Like Team Cherry’s epic, Constance features moody backdrops, expressive enemies, and gorgeous hand-drawn art. However, the game differentiates itself by ditching the greyscale of Hollow Knight, swapping the knight’s nail for an artist’s paintbrush, and embracing a richer color palette.

Constance also incorporates several clever quality-of-life features. The in-game screenshot feature pioneered by Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown makes its way here as “photos,” which makes intuitive sense in a game about art. Another nice feature: Upon dying, you can either respawn at your last save room or revive in your current room with your health capped at 60%. It’s a very Demons’ Souls-esque mechanic, one designed to allow extra agency for persistent players. The representative on site likened the experience to Celeste, with many difficult yet rewarding side challenges to pursue.

In short, Constance takes inspiration from some absolute giants and somehow still feels fresh. I hadn’t heard of the game before, but I’m certainly following it now.

Developer: btf
Publisher: btf, ByteRockers’ Games
Release Date: Q4 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

Gigasword

Gigasword is the feel-good story we need more of in this industry. Developed largely as a side project by a solo developer over the course of several years, the game recently got funding by securing a publisher (Akupara Games) and launching a successful Kickstarter campaign.

As Zack played through a lengthy demo for the game, I asked the game’s developer, Jack, about the process of bringing his indie to life. He explained (while dressed as Ezra, the hero of Gigasword) that everything—the art, the music, the programming, the design—was a labor of love. He’d taken inspiration from two iconic series, Zelda and Metroid, and combined his favorite elements of both.

Playing through the demo myself on Sunday, I see what Jack meant. The game’s world is structured like a Metroidvania, but features intricate dungeons with puzzles that would feel right at home in a 2D Zelda. Using your weapon, the titular GigaSword, you’ll push boxes, open doors, trigger switches, and more. Ezra is far more nimble without his sword, but cannot attack, which allows for some interesting puzzle box scenarios.

My demo time clocked in at 50 minutes—a sizable vertical slice by all accounts. While the combat had some wonky elements (hurtboxes didn’t always play nice when dodging), the vast majority of my time was terrific. I can’t wait to see and play more.

Developer: Studio Hybrid
Publisher: Akupara Games
Release Date: TBD 2025
Is There a Demo? You Bet.

What Were Your Favorite Games of PAX East 2025?

That’s a wrap on our “Best of PAX” list. Attended the show? Let us know your personal favorites in the comments below.

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We’ll have much more PAX East 2025 coverage to share over the coming days. For now, check out our preview of Channel37’s The Last Caretaker, a first-person survival game inspired by greats like Subnautica and Breath of the Wild. For more demo recs, check out these recommendations fellow PAX attendee Zack Gulinello.