PAX East 2020 Show Awards

By DJ Gove

Well my friends, PAX East has come and gone. It was a whirlwind weekend and it will probably take my body a week to recover from the madness. This was a very large, very hard show to cover. One of the great things about PAX is the diversity. There really is something for all tastes, no matter what console you like, what style of game, or hell maybe you only like to play card games or D&D. It“s all here and man was there a lot of it. So we are going to break this down yearbook style with The PAX East 2020 Superlatives!

Disclaimer: We could not hit everything at this show. It was impossible I am only 1 “man”“ so I am only going off what I was able to get my hands on. Here we go!

Biggest Disappointment: Sony Missing from PAX

Sony backed out of PAX east last minute due to Corona Virus concerns. As understandable that this is, Last of Us 2 was a game a lot of people desperately wanted to get their hands on. I for one would rank LOU as the best Story I have ever played through in a game and I am desperate for a follow up. To further rub salt in the wound ads for LOU 2 ran on the marquees around the convention all weekend reminding us of what we could not have.

Best Booth: Nintendo Animal Crossing

The Nintendo switch seems to run the word nowadays and was very prevalent at PAX. Exclusive Merch sold out daily within minutes and Animal Crossing Demo lines became capped before you could get through the Que. There were Switch stations a plenty and a full replica of a town complete with Tom Nook, KK and others. As everything else Nintendo does the colors were clean and appealing, and the workers at the booth were amazing.

Being on this “set”“ makes you wonder how long it will be after 2023 until they put Animal Crossing in at Nintendo land at Universal Studios. This game will sell 10 million copies easily. Releasing March 20, for the Nintendo Switch

Best of Table Top: GeekNSon

Board Game Night is big in our house. My wife and daughter love them. Whether it“s Sushi Go, Arcadia Quest, Ticket To Ride etc. we have cabinets and cabinets filled of board games ranging from quick n“ easy, to extremely advanced. PAX had games everywhere! From Cards, to miniatures. Kickstarter specials to mainstays in the field. And yet the biggest standout for me was not the games themselves, but the table you play them on. These gorgeous tables are all custom made where you can choose the wood used to build them, the play surface colors, if they have speakers and lights etc. They are pricey, but sometimes you just cannot put a price on quality, handmade, custom items.

https://www.geeknson.com/furniture/

Biggest Surprise: Fuser-Harmonix games

Upon walking up to the Fuser booth I had never heard of it, and honestly thought after the last Rock band Harmonix was out of the picture forever. Luckily there is a new DJ Mixer game coming called Fuser. Now you might be saying”¦. “Yup I remember this, DJ Hero Sucked!”“ Well you are right but this is not DJ Hero. This is a new music mixing game with online support, 100+ songs, and some really cool mechanics. The booth was a nonstop party all weekend. Very impressive setup, and a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and best part”¦. IT USES A NORMAL CONTROLLER! Coming fall 2020 to All Platforms.

Best “Souls”“ Game: GhostRunner

When Dark Souls came out it brought on a new acceptance for games that were extremely hard. Back when I was a kid we just called these Mega Man lol. And there was no shortage of hard games at PAX this year, but the hardest”¦. And possible the prettiest was GhostRunner by All in! Games. This thing was HARD!!!!!! Visually is was stunning, had a Blade Runner/Alita battle Angel type vibe to it (I said Atila in the Video because I was exhausted). Cyberpunk is always a fun genre and add the wall runs, and parkour and you have a recipe for success. Ghostrunner will be coming in 2020 and can currently be wish listed on Steam. Also coming to PS4 and Xbox One.

https://ghostrunnergame.com/

Best of Show: Streets of Rage 4

Now I know what you are thinking, and yes Animal Crossing, Magic Legends, and FF7 Remake were all at this show. And I do not give a F, this game was awesome! Every game does not need to be this grand in depth piece of software. Back in the day old guys like me lived off beat em“ up games. You“re Final Fights, Ninja Turtles, Simpsons, X-Men, Golden Axe etc., and Streets of Rage was a house hold name in the early 90“s. Well it“s back in a big bad way. Gorgeous comic style visuals. Smooth controls, a multitude of attack animations, and 5 yes 5 characters! The market needs more games like this. You kids will realize as you get older sometimes when you come home from a long day at work you just want to have 3 buttons at your disposal to punch people in the face. Well this is the game that lets you do just that. I will not apologize for going simple for my best in show, I just won“t do it. This game was simply the best. Available spring 2020 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox, and PC

So I“m sure a few people have already said “what the hell is this guy doing? Where are the Indie games?”“ well I have saved the indie games for their own list. Now anyone who has listened to a FANMEN podcast (and if you haven“t then ”¦What the Hell Man!!! So subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on twitter @Fmen37 and subscribe on Youtube) We always end things with a FANMEN Top 3: So I give you”¦. Top 3 Indie Games at PAX East 2020

Number 3: Gestalt Steam & Cinder- Metamorphosis games

As I said in my Best game breakdown I like the old school. Castlevania style games have a special place in my heart. This game has a similar feel when you pick up the controller. It handles well and has beautiful 32 bit style visuals. A mix of Victorian/Steampunk elements really made this an intriguing game not to miss. There was even a fair bit of dialog in the demo which I can appreciate. Coming 2020 for all platforms. Wish list now on STEAM.

https://metamorphosisgames.com/gestalt-steam-cinder

Number 2: Bite the Bullet- Mega Cat Studios

Bite the Bullet is a cool concept. “Hey you know the guys from contra and metal Slug sure would burn a ton of calories doing all that shooting”“ Well Mega cat games has answered that very question. And yes, yes they would. That“s why Bite the Bullet has add a new mechanic to the common run and shoot game, eating. Yes you eat the bad guys you shoot! You can reclaim health and stamina, and even get fat and slow down. They also add RPG elements allowing you to change headbands for new power sets and eat certain types/amounts of enemies to transform your character. A fun, fun game. Coming 2020 to all platforms.

https://games.megacatstudios.com/bitethebullet/

Number 1: RetroMania Wrestling- Retrosoft Studios

As you can probably tell by now, I really clung to games that remind me of the good old days. One of the best memories I have in the “Arcade Hay Day”“ was playing Wrestle Fest with my late little brothers. Man we would pump quarter, after quarter in that machine. And while this “Official Sequel”“ does not have the pull of Hulk Hogan or the Ultimate Warrior it does have the Legion of doom, and ECW originals such as the Blue Meanie (who was at the booth!) Stevie Richards, and Mr. ECW himself Tommy Dreamer. The gameplay was so faithful that I almost teared up playing it. This was an easy choice.

https://www.retromaniawrestling.com/

A BIG! Thank You to the fine folks at Comic Crusaders for allowing us to help them with coverage this past weekend. Also thanks to all of the dev who made time for us media folk. Again please go subscribe and Follow FANMEN Podcast everywhere you can.

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Edited by Al Mega