We’re only a day away from one of the biggest gaming conventions in the world and while we might not yet have our backpacks full of snacks so we don’t pass out from waiting in lines, our finger-hearts are full of button-pressing anticipation at the games that will be featured at PAX East 2015. With almost no time to recover from the Game Developers Conference, we’ll be serving to you readers everything we’re able to get our hands on from PAX. We’ll take you through our experiences playing unreleased titles both indie and AAA, discussing panels, interviewing developers, and so much more!
But before all of that, let’s take a look at some of the unreleased titles that will be featured at PAX we’re most excited about:
Adr1ft
505 Games
PS4, XBox One, PC
Adr1ft describes itself as a FPX (First Person Experience) in which you control an astronaut whose awoken in the wreckage of a space station with no memory whatsoever. That might sound bleak but your EVA suit is also damaged and is leaking oxygen. So it’s even bleaker, really. Straight from 505 Games‘ website:
The player fights to stay alive by exploring the wreckage for precious resources, and overcomes the challenges of an unforgiving environment to repair the damaged emergency escape vehicle and safely return home.
From the trailer, it seems we’ll apparently be controlling a character named Alex Oshita (pun intended?) judging from the HUD at the bottom left on the screen. You’ll also notice quite a lot of plant life, leaves, flower petals, and vines growing around the space station wreckage. This is most definitely not as simple as repairing an escape vehicle to get you back to earth. As you’ll see from the trailer below, this game looks beautiful, cerebral, and intense.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
Intelligent Systems
Nintendo 3DS
It’s a turn-based strategy game where you control a group of elite soldiers called S.T.E.A.M. (Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace) led by Abraham Lincoln set in a 3D steampunk/comic book London. I can only imagine how many pants had to be changed after it was pitched. If that wasn’t enough, it supports Amiibos allowing you to bring in to the fight Marth, Ike, Robin, and Lucina (all from the same developer’s Fire Emblem series). It’s not often nowadays we see a well done turn-based strategy game let alone one that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
Square Enix
PS4, XBox One
The long-awaited and deeply desired RPG was finally announced last year as an HD port for next-gen consoles. Us westerners will finally experience what the craze was all about on Japanese PSPs in 2011. Square Enix is no stranger to experimenting with new design elements and Final Fantasy Type-0 not only seems to be extremely indicative of that, but also somewhat of an inspiration for what’s to come for the RPG super series.
Halo 5: Guardians
343 Industries
XBox One
The transition from Halo 3 to Halo 4 was seamless. 343 has kept all the fun of the franchise while improving on revolutionary and bar-setting shooter mechanics. To say fans of the series are excited to see what 343 will bring to Microsoft’s next-gen console is a massive understatement. Not to mention the new multiplayer features.
Necropolis
Harebrained Schemes
PC
Welcome to Necropolis – a game of brutal combat and survival, set in a magical deathtrap that shifts and reconstructs itself around you. Will you find the exit, or die trying?*
*SPOILERS: You’ll probably die trying.
Harebrained Schemes is boasting a roguelike that seems like the lovechild of Baldur’s Gate and Dead Souls. It promises to punish you for button-mashing and an environment that shifts and changes depending on your actions. The minimalist yet dark animations seem to speak volumes for the title’s tone. Take a look.
Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment
PC
Blizzard has lorded over some of the greatest and most revolutionary games of their respective genres. World of Warcraft has seen fame like no other and Starcraft is still one of the most respected competitive games to date. Their announcement of Overwatch, their upcoming new IP, truly shook the gaming community from it’s slumber and it looks like we’ll be able to get a first look at PAX. An ounce of fighting game, an ounce of MOBA, and filled to the brim with crisp and fluid visuals, this is adding up to be a cocktail of epic proportions that will once again keep Blizzard on the pedestal of game design they very much deserve.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red
PS4, XBox One, PC
CD Projekt Red has been very clear about one thing about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: It’s big. No, like really big, though. A huge world map, a ton of side quests, over 3,000 lines of dialogue, this might keep us very well into the next morning and leave our friends and family worried about us. Below is the gameplay trailer, but our very own Lee Burkett covered the 35-minute gameplay demo which you can find here.
This isn’t even everything at PAX East 2015. We’ll be giving you our first impressions of these titles as well as a cacophony of others that are sure to overwhelm us in the expo hall. Stay tuned with us every day this weekend to boil the waters of your already steaming hype!