{"id":1885,"date":"2023-04-03T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/?p=1885"},"modified":"2023-04-02T18:44:30","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T18:44:30","slug":"doomsayer-goes-to-pax-east-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/03\/doomsayer-goes-to-pax-east-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Doomsayer Goes to Pax East 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PRAISE!!!\u00a0 PRAISE AND BE MERRY!!!\u00a0 The conventions have returned to us.\u00a0 No longer will we huddle around computers hoping the next live stream event gives a morsel of new games.\u00a0 No, now we can go to conventions, put our own hands on the controllers and play new titles.\u00a0 I, for one, ventured to the grand city of Boston to experience PAX East for the first time in years.\u00a0 So many games to try.\u00a0 Alas, I did not get to all of them, but I will tell you about the ones I did play.\u00a0 I present some<\/em> of the games from PAX EAST 2023!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alone in the Dark<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, when I saw a demo for the Alone in the Dark reboot on the PAX floor, I immediately jumped in line.\u00a0 My appetite for heart-pounding horror has certainly been satiated with the recent Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remakes, but I am always hungry for more.\u00a0 The demo for Alone in the Dark<\/em> was brief but appeared to be a prologue to the main story.\u00a0 As someone who had always planned on playing the new title, the demo certainly didn\u2019t unsell me which is probably the best it was going to do.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Yet I have a warning for Pieces Interactive.\u00a0 Take heed, do not just throw random horror imagery around with little care.\u00a0 The demo had both creepy statues and gruesome swamp monsters; both seem to have little connection.\u00a0 Take Silent Hill 2<\/em> as an example; most of the monsters represent James\u2019s guilt and frustration.\u00a0 The game wouldn\u2019t have the same impact if Konami just used random ghouls and monsters.\u00a0 I hope the Alone in the Dark<\/em> demo is merely trying to drum up excitement for the full game.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Undisputed<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t say I am known for my opinions on sports games, and games aiming to be realistic or simulators are not really my jam.\u00a0 So you may be confused as to why I tried Undisputed<\/em>, a boxing simulator at PAX.\u00a0 Well, I do try to make an effort to play more than just survival horror games, but I must confess the line for Undisputed<\/em> was near the Alone in the Dark<\/em> demo.\u00a0 Despite the two of us meeting out of convenience, I will admit I enjoyed my time with Undisputed<\/em>.\u00a0 Punches were meaty and weighty.\u00a0 There is definitely some finesse involved in dancing around your opponent\u2019s jab.\u00a0 If you are a fan of boxing or more technical sports games, give Undisputed<\/em> a try.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Wrestling Story<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the serious simulated end of gaming, we go to something more lighthearted and playful: Wrestling Story<\/em>.\u00a0 This game is a Paper Mario-<\/em>style <\/em>RPG revolving around a world built on wrestling.\u00a0 Five wrestling heels have taken over the land and it is your job as the young upstart to topple their empires by wrestling everyone.\u00a0 Equipped with power slams and dropkicks, you must fight the minions of the heels in this turn-based RPG.\u00a0 The tongue-in-cheek dialogue and over-the-top bravado had me smiling the whole demo.\u00a0 Highly suggest keeping an eye on this title.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Road 96: Mile Zero<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I must admit, I was initially confused when I started playing the demo for Road 96: Mile Zero<\/em>.\u00a0 I had heard about Road 96<\/em> as a choose-your-own-adventure game where you are hitchhiking across the country.\u00a0 I was fully prepared for Mile Zero<\/em> to be a slow-paced character-focused title, but that was not what I played.\u00a0 The demo for Road 96: Mile Zero<\/em> was more of a rhythm skating game where you had to skate around obstacles in time with a rocking soundtrack.\u00a0 I had a great time with the demo regardless of the differentiating tones between the two games.\u00a0 I am certainly not opposed to the genre shift, more just bewildered.\u00a0 Road 96: Mile Zero<\/em> is out in early April.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Nocturnal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next game is Nocturnal<\/em>, a 2D side scroller similar to Dark Souls.\u00a0 <\/em>Now must confess, I don\u2019t like reviewing Souls-likes at conventions.\u00a0 I prefer to sit back, relax my shoulders, and wade into the world and combat system of these Souls-likes.\u00a0 Standing there on the convention floor trying to get to grips with the combat is not ideal for me.\u00a0 However, where I think Nocturnal<\/em> stands out is in its fire puzzle mechanics.\u00a0 There is a black mist that is deadly to your character, but it can be warded off by fire.\u00a0 You can temporarily light your sword on fire and use it to ignite enemies or torches scattered across the world.\u00a0 It’s a neat mechanic; if you love your 2D Souls-likes, check out Nocturnal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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System Shock<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take heed, fans of System Shock<\/em>.\u00a0 I walked away from the System Shock<\/em> demo lacking confidence in the title.\u00a0 Immersive sims are probably not best experienced on a convention floor, but messy is the only word I could use to describe the demo.\u00a0 I am not one to call out textures, but I remember some doughnuts that looked like they were from the PS2.\u00a0 I had to guess the code to the lock on the first door.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like ripping apart the work of the developers, but it would not surprise me if the System Shock<\/em> remake gets delayed.\u00a0 I hope for everyone’s sake it does.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Anger Foot<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can only imagine the developers hate this statement, but it is pretty easy to describe Anger Foot<\/em> as first-person Hotline Miami<\/em>.\u00a0 Much like Devolver Digital\u2019s crown jewel, Anger Foot <\/em>is fast, frenetic, and violent.\u00a0 Death is also never permanent as the game throws you back into the fire upon death.\u00a0 However, the two games differ in more ways than just camera angles.\u00a0 Anger Foot <\/em>has a goofy charm as you kick doors into your foes; it also trades Hotline Miami<\/em>\u2019s neon haze of the 80s for a more grimy slime coating of the 2000s.\u00a0 I am always willing to try out games Devolver chooses to champion, so I most definitely will be trying Anger Foot<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Slay the Princess<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I must confess, I didn\u2019t get a chance to play this one on the convention floor.\u00a0 I had only heard this one was gaining cult appeal, so I tried the demo on Steam.\u00a0 In Slay the Princess,<\/em> you are an adventurer who is tasked by a mysterious narrator to go to a cabin and kill a princess.\u00a0 In a choose-your-own-adventure style, you decide how to handle the puzzling princess and her strange situation.\u00a0 However, no matter the outcome with the princess, in the next chapter you awaken in the same forest you started in.\u00a0 So Slay the Princess is mixing some elements of a creepy visual novel, Stanley Parable<\/em>-style self-awareness, and some sort of Groundhog Day<\/em> time loops.\u00a0 It has certainly piqued my interest.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It has been three years since the last time I ventured to PAX East.\u00a0 It felt great to see all the small indie developers show off games I had never heard of.\u00a0 It is so easy to get bogged down by the cynical business side of gaming.\u00a0 However, talking with passionate developers always reminds me why I still enjoy this hobby.\u00a0 Even if I am the guy standing atop my soapbox shouting the end will come from excessive greed.\u00a0 Maybe the industry can be saved by these hopeful developers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRAISE!!!\u00a0 PRAISE AND BE MERRY!!!\u00a0 The conventions have returned to us.\u00a0 No longer will we huddle around computers hoping the next live stream event gives a morsel of new games.\u00a0 No, now we can go to conventions, put our own hands on the controllers and play new titles.\u00a0 I, for one, ventured to the grand… Continue reading Doomsayer Goes to Pax East 2023<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-opinion","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1885"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1899,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885\/revisions\/1899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}