In a recent episode of the Single Player Experience Podcast, I talked about the best games that I played during my first day at Pax and I gave my Day 1 Awards. We talked about indies like 30xx, Chicken Police, And Lost Eidolons. We also talked about the AAA games that I played like Prince of Persia, Tekken 8, Persona 5 Tactical, and more. Before we closed out that episode I gave my Day 1 MVP award. In this episode, I’m going to do the same thing with the games that I played on Day 2. Here are the Pax West 2023 Day 2 Awards!
Let’s get into it.
Most Unique Game: Ebenezer and The Invisible World
The first game that I want to talk about is the most unique game that I’ve seen on Day 2. It’s Ebenezer and The Invisible World. A game by Orbit Studio. This is an interview that I had with the director of Orbit Studio.
Here’s my impression after going hands-on with the game. Ebenezer and The Invisible World is a cool video game with a unique concept. The game is a colorful action-filled Metroidvania that has tight platformer elements. The combat is surprisingly layered and fun. There are plenty of weapons that you can unlock, the platforming is precise with a bit of a challenging bite to it.
The environment has some ghost and Halloween elements and of course many Christmas themes. Ebenezer and The Invisible World seems like a cool addition to the sparse library of Christmas video games. I only got to play about a half hour of the game but it was enough to make me want to play more.
Other Dope Games I played:
First Dwarf:
Here is their description of the game: “First Dwarf is an immersive action RPG with base-building elements, which will test your survival and exploration skills in a fantasy open world, sprawling on islands floating in the sky.”
Here is my impression after the demo. First Drawf is a cool mixture of a lot of genres. It has some city-building elements, some narrative beats, and some combat.
You go around mining materials, constructing buildings for different purposes, and destroying enemies’ nests. The crafting system is well done and fun. It takes elements of other base building games that I played with some unique buildings.
Combat was probably the weakest point in the game. Instead of just spamming the attack button, you have to attack within the timed window. Overall though despite the combat maybe not being for me, I walked away thinking that I could drain lots of hours playing First Dwarf.
Atari Roundup:
Next up I want to give a special shout-out to Atari. I spoke with some of the leads from the company and their new direction not only impressed me but made me extremely hopeful about Atari’s comeback.
They are putting out a new version of their classic console, The Atari 2600+.
Here are some of the features of the new console: The Atari 2600+ is an updated version of the iconic Atari 2600 and has been enhanced in the following ways:
1. Plays both Atari 2600 and 7800 game cartridges
2. HDMI output makes it easy to connect
3. Widescreen mode
4. Enlarged cartridge socket reduces sticking
5. Atari logo lights up when being played
The system comes with a CX40+ Joystick which has been lovingly recreated to the same specifications as the original, and a 10-in-1 game cartridge featuring some of Atari’s most famous games: Adventure®, Combat®, Dodge ‘Em™, Haunted House®, Maze Craze™, Missile Command®, RealSports® Volleyball, Surround™, Video Pinball™, Yars’ Revenge®.
Atari is also giving some indie studios some of their classic IPs to Remake. I’m loving this new direction for the company and It’s nice to see this historical company making a comeback.
MVP award of Day 2:
The day 2 MVP award goes to the most addictive game that I played all day and that’s Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship. This is a game made by Zing Games a studio helmed by Ding Ye. With their latest game, they came up with something I haven’t seen before in a game.
Here is their description: “Take command of the last ship in a zombie-filled world and defend against endless waves of the undead. Build turrets, lead your crew, and upgrade the ship while gathering loot in this exciting “Tower Defense-on-wheels zombie survival roguelite” game. The fate of humanity rests in your hands!”
My impression of the game. I never thought I’d play a Rougelite Zombie game where you play as a Tower defense on wheels. After I did though I’m salivating to experience more of it. You go around in a rolling Mech/tank taking down as many zombies as you can before they take down your vehicle. You earn updated weapons and assemble a crew to get stronger and go on longer runs. I’m a sucker for a good Roguelite game and this one has the makings of a must-play game.
Overall Day 2 impressions:
My first day was filled with a lot of variety. There was some Roguelite games, some fighting games, a zombie game, and some Roguelike games. As a person who thoroughly enjoys games of those genres, I had a blast and I now have many titles to look out for. I like that each game had its own unique twist on familiar tropes.
So that’s it for my Day 2 impression of PaxWest. It was a good time and it made me look forward to a solid list of RPGs. Stay tuned for more PaxWest Impressions right here and on the Single Player Experience Podcast!
Check out our Day 1 Impressions and the Day 1 MVP!
Until next time stay safe, keep gaming, and enjoy the Single Player Experience.
Hear about the episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4vJW0BD8wjA451q0GMnqvU
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