Pain and Glory at PAX East 2024
Luis Aguasvivas, Contributing Editor
Conventions are a cornucopia of lines waiting to be inhabited by us, the attendees. Conventions are a source of pain. Attendees pay the cost with crippling feet aches as a result of waiting in long lines. This almost invariably is followed by waiting in more lines in hopes of eating artery-clogging food. Sometimes they even sit through panels in hopes of being entertained and to find leisure, but instead come to the realization of the frivolity of it all.
Even a media badge does not guarantee a way out of the waiting. Attendees’ collective feet, minds and hearts begged for mercy. In hopes of experiencing this pain in order to transcend it, and in doing so achieve glory (e.g. playing some cool games and networking), I journeyed to Boston, Massachusetts on March 21st to the 23rd to attend PAX East 2024.
This PAX East was special. The famed fan convention turned twenty in 2024. PAX East is advertised as “a celebration of gaming and gaming culture featuring thought-provoking panels, a massive expo hall filled with the best publishers and studios, new game demos, musical performances, tournaments, and a community experience.” Thousands of fans, indie developers, publishers, and content creators were present in hopes of finding their own glory.
For a few years now, Pax East has taken place in the same week as the Game Developers Conference. Perhaps as a result, at this year’s expo hall many major developers and publishers were notably absent – no Microsoft, no Sony. PAX East might be becoming the premier conference for independent developers. There were still major publishers at the show: Nintendo put together a Pokémon exclusive, Square Enix promoted Final Fantasy XIV’s newest expansion Dawntrail, Bandai Namco brought along a large prop for Sand Land, and, with arguably the best of the show (that I will describe further below), Atari. Next year’s PAX East will be held from May 8th to the 11th, with the potential to get more big-name publishers to attend.
A snapshot of Bandai Namco’s booth, advertising Sand Land with a large-scale mockup of an Akira Toriyama tank.
To attend Pax East, I braced the frigid chill winds of Boston. While at the convention I waited over 10 minutes to use the bathroom due to an individual who was looking at their phone instead of peeing. Needless to say, I hate him. I also stood in line for over 40 minutes in hopes of playing Sand Land by the contractors managing Bandai Namco’s booth, only for them to say that they needed to reboot their systems. With deep disappointment I left and resigned my place in line. No Sand Land for me. Was the pain worth it? Yes! Let me tell you why.
All was not doom and pain. I eventually got to pee after screaming at the individual playing on his phone. And I did eventually get to step into the Toriyama Akira designed tank in the Sand Land booth, though I did not play the game. Here are some of other highlights from this year’s PAX East 2024:
An arrangement of digital objects, rendered as soft wood, by the creators of Woodo.
Woodo (Daedalic Entertainment; Release date: TBA):
Woodo is the platonic ideal of a cozy game. Its aesthetics tenderly whisper “sit down and chill.” The visual presentation of the game creates an ambiance of peace and tranquility with its soft colors and Sanrio-esque characters. The setting and props are chibi wood pieces, hence the name Woodo.
Woodo is a puzzle game in the literal sense. In the demo I played you find objects and build dioramas. Picture, if you will, a digital kit builder where you as the player click on a section of the diorama and thus build it. In Woodo you are instead finding the “puzzle pieces.” Woodo is definitely a looker and is relaxing to play. The game’s cozy aesthetic will make this a big hit.
A ship fires multiple engines, facing a colossal figure, in promotional art for Lunar Lander: Beyond.
Lunar Lander: Beyond (Atari; Release date: April 23, 2024)
Lunar Lander: Beyond blew me away. It was the best game I played at PAX East 2024. Atari’s reimagining of the 1979 arcade classic, Lunar Lander: Beyond is a campaign game that will test the mettle and reflexes of players. It’s developed by Dreams Uncorporated, the makers of the RPG gem Cris Tales. Lunar Lander: Beyond animation shows how far Dreams Uncorporated’s visual style has progressed in a few short years. My enthusiasm for the game is also due to what I don’t know about the game. The game utilizes a stress system that will make each delivery a challenge. If your pilot is stressed enough they will start seeing illusions like flying pink elephants!
Atari is on a roll this year. First, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, by Digital Eclipse, and soon Lunar Lander: Beyond are games that will be remembered and appreciated by the ludo cognoscenti. Atari is taking its legacy seriously. Lunar Lander: Beyond will offer a lot of replayability. I hope to see streamers taking this game for a ride. The game of the show!
The titular Arzette is depicted swinging a sword in large arcs, set against a fantasy map.
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore (Limited Run Games; Release date: February 14, 2024)
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is inspired by the “bad” Zelda games on the Philips CD-i. The legacy of these games has become their ability to generate memes that are equally absurd as they are funny. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore leans in on this and then some. Luckily, the gameplays much better than the CD-i Zeldas. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore pulls off a weird juggling act by managing to pay homage by being funny and a bit irreverent. The buzz this game has picked up is well deserved.
A title image for The Rising Tide, with a lot of blue sky, some blue water, and some green forest.
Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide (Square Enix; Release date April 18, 2024)
I didn’t play Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide and I don’t need to. Fans of Final Fantasy XVI should expect lots of blue, and endless sky, water and blistering action combat. The Rising Tide takes place in the land of Mysidia (a call back to Final Fantasy II and IV). Here Clive and friends will venture to save Leviathan. Will it be good? Maybe. But more importantly, the Tonberries are no longer cute.
A figure stands in front of an arch, beyond which is a psychedelic eyeball, in a title image for Enter the Chronosphere
Enter the Chronosphere (Joystick Ventures; Release date: TBA)
When Enter the Chronosphere was pitched to me by a member of Joystick Ventures I was skeptical that it could deliver on what was being promised. Enter the Chronosphere is billed as a single player tactical bullet hell turn-based roguelike asymmetrical shooter. On paper, the combination of all these things should not work. But when I played it, I was surprised at how smooth and responsive the experience was. Boosting vibrant art and intuitive controls, Enter the Chronosphere demands little in terms of controls and yet gives a lot. After only ten minutes of playing the game it was apparent that Australian developer Effort Star is creating something special. The trick is in the turn-based nature of the game. Though there is a lot going on, making decisions on a turn by turn basis alleviates the cognitive load. Here is an early version of the game if this interests you: https://effort-star.itch.io/enter-the-chronosphere.
Once you get to play these games, let me know if I found glory at PAX East 2024.
