PAX West showcased a ton of awesome games this year. And while most were revealed ahead of the convention, with several major publishers making their presence known, the main draw for me was the indie scene. Whether it featured charming visuals, an engaging story, or some unique spin on old mechanics, nearly every indie game I played earned a slot on my ever-growing Steam wishlist.
There were six games in particular that proved to be more exciting than the rest. Below, I go into detail about those six and why they’re all worth adding to your Steam wishlist. These are upcoming games that are not in an alpha or beta state–it would be unfair to judge games that could still fundamentally change against games that are already rapidly approaching a launch date.
Wolfhound
Developer: Bit Kid
Release Date: 2027
Genre: Action
Players: 1
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Wolfhound. Its retro, pixel-based art and explosive action were an easy sell. Bit Kid’s lore-based spin on 2D metroidvania styled gameplay, however, was an added bonus. Because I was a controlling Chuck “Wolfhound” Rossetti, a soldier living during an alternate version of World War II, all of my abilities were practical extensions of real-world items. Instead of being able to roll into a ball like Samus, for instance, Chuck unlocks the use of knee pads to move through tight spaces.
Some of Wolfhound, like the need to reload your guns or landmines damaging everyone and not just enemies, are based in reality. Others, like mutant bugs and a zombie-infested Nazi base, obviously are not. The former keeps the game’s story somewhat grounded and provides stakes to combat, while the latter largely contributes to the game’s campy, action movie vibe.
I enjoyed platforming around the map, and feeling a sense of reward for carefully timing my jumps to avoid traps and monsters. The shooting reminded me of Contra but with a reload mechanic adding another layer of complexity; it can lead to exhilarating moments, like when your ammo runs out during a fight or you manage to kill an enemy with one bullet left in the chamber. . A few key areas were more frustrating than I expected, partially due to a high enemy spawn rate near ladders and pits–lead developer James Petruzzi discussed toning down this aspect during my playthrough, so that may change with the full release. That said, most of my time was spent trying to lay waste to whatever crossed my path before comically dying during a tricky boss fight.
In this early state, Wolfhound feels great to play. I look forward to exploring its maze-like environments, battling tough bosses, and ultimately taking the fight to the Nazi army come next year.
Blocks for Babies
Developer: BunkSoft Interactive
Release Date: TBA
Genre: Rogelike, Puzzle, Shooter
Players: 1
When I got the invite to play a “Tetris meets Doom” roguelike called Blocks for Babies, I didn’t know what to expect. Was it going to be a puzzle game? How would the line-clearing mechanics work in a shooter? And who were these babies that the game’s title speaks of? Most of my questions were answered within a few hilarious moments of play.
The goal of Blocks for Babies is to help Flapper, a baby, clean up his blocks. This is done in two ways, with one method following the other. Initially, you start with the traditional Tetris-inspired gameplay–you maneuver falling tetrominos to stack them in a manner that creates patterns and lets you clear lines. Upgrades that help make things easier are unlocked along the way, such as “Live in the Moment”, an ability that slows time whenever you clear three lines.
Blocks for Babies switches up the formula a bit by making some of the blocks of the falling tetrominos corrupted, requiring you to switch to the first-person mode. This transition occurs when you pick a location on the grid, shifting your perspective to a first-person view so you can fight the now-sentient corrupted blocks without dying. If you succeed, you’ll go back to “Tetris.”
Rinse and repeat until you fight the stage boss. Win and you move on to the next stage. Lose and it’s game over.
Blocks for Babies might sound simple. But this whacky combination of genres works surprisingly well; I got a kick out of the constant back and forth between modes. I also enjoyed some of the game’s strategic aspects. Fighting a boss that requires you to drop tetrominos into certain sections of its body before being able to shoot it was exciting, and power-ups that helped deal with corruption prior to pulling out a gun feels novel to Tetris, even if such mechanics are quite common in shooters. As it stands, Blocks for Babies is one of my favorite games from PAX.
Valor Mortis
Developer: One More Level
Genre: Souls-like
Release Date: October 13
Players: 1
Valor Mortis has been on my radar for some time. If not for the game’s intriguing story–which involves a seemingly undead soldier that fought for Napoleon struggling to contend with a mysterious plague–then for its engaging first-person combat. Inspired by the art of fencing, players will battle enemies using a range of melee weapons in close-quarters fights. There are also ranged weapons and supernatural powers, most of which are unlocked as you move through Valor Mortis’ world.
That all sounds fine on paper. It’s another story to actually play it for yourself. And while the demo from PAX is the same one from Steam, the devs were able to give some context to the on-screen action. For example, they explained how the goal wasn’t to overwhelm players with a ton of enemies; there’s a flow to the attacking, dodging and parrying that works best in small groups. That’s not to say that there won’t be moments where you’re attacked by multiple enemies. Just that the challenge is tied to managing your offensive and defensive moves with proper timing.
My takeaway was that Valor Mortis is an engaging experience that feels like a cross between Dishonored and BioShock. It’s challenging, demanding, and at times frightening. What was most important though was that it was always entertaining. If the full game expands on what the demo provides in meaningful ways, I can see Valor Mortis being one of the year’s standout titles come October.
God Save Birmingham
Developer: Ocean Drive Studio
Release Date: TBA
Genre: Survival Sim
Players: 1 (for now)
God Save Birmingham might be one of the most realistic survival games I’ve ever played. And I say that being fully aware that it takes place during a zombie apocalypse. The main reason is its stellar physics-based gameplay, where nearly every object can be moved or manipulated to affect everything else. Pushing a bench against a door can temporarily prevent zombies from entering a room, for example, and when fleeing attackers, it’s possible to trip over objects and have your weapon knocked from your hand as you collide with the ground.
As a survival game, you’ll also have to contend with hunger, thirst, fatigue, broken bones, a variety of illnesses, and more. What makes this aspect interesting is how it incorporates the physics system. Every action–from cooking food to dressing a wound–not only directly contributes to your state of being, but is also performed in real time. Before you can cut up your shirt to make cloth for a bandage, for instance, you’ll need to take it off. If you do so when it’s cold, you could get sick. But ignoring a wound for too long could lead to other complications.
Ocean Drive Studio has done a great job of weaving these systems together to create a brutally challenging and often exciting survival game. And that’s to say nothing of the game’s historically researched depiction of 14th-century England–everything from the town’s layout to the agriculture has been recreated in-game–its gorgeous visuals, or the solid combat mechanics. God Save Birmingham stole the show at PAX in more ways than one.
Note: While the demo we played was based on the game’s closed beta, God Save Birmingham is currently feature complete. We don’t see it changing fundamentally outside of new content that fans vote on during its Early Access launch.
Crop
Developer: Carbonara Games
Genre: Farming Sim, Horror
Release Date: TBA
Players: 1
I’m usually not a big fan of farming sims. Crop, on the other hand, feels like something out of Twin Peaks; everything seems normal until you wake up in the back of a trunk with amnesia. Or you find what appears to be human remains while tending to your veggies.
Crop is part farming sim, part investigative thriller. And if my demo was any indication, a scary good time for those looking to harvest more than just, well, crops.
Truckful
Developer: MythicOwl
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: October 9
Players: 1
Truckful is similar to Crop in how it hides something sinister under familiar gameplay mechanics. As a car-delivery service, it’s your job to take people and items to different locations on an ever-expanding map. The catch is that there are mysterious forces that seek to hinder this task. Chief among them is a large sentient truck that aims to run you off the road, permanently.
Truckful looked amazing and was fun to play. That said, it was the mystery surrounding your delivery service (and what felt like a haunted forest) that made me add it to my wishlist.
