See what took home the best of PAX East!
It’s hard to believe that another PAX East is behind us. Next year, the show is back in March, Mar 26-29 to be precise. It’s time to talk about what I saw at the convention that caught my eye or got my attention! It’s time to show some love!
Before we start we need to show some appreciation to all the security and enforcers at PAX East this year. I have been security for events like this and it isn’t easy. They all do a good job and deserve to be thanked for it. I’d also like to thank ReedPop and Penny Arcade for putting on another great convention. I’m sure putting on such a large event isn’t easy and this year was one of my favorite PAX East’s ever so good job everyone!
Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage Company
It sucked last year when Wild Bill’s wasn’t at PAX East because of a corporate deal but that wasn’t going to be the case this year. As long as Wild Bill’s was in attendance, they were going to be on this list and here were are! New Jersey folks have to stick together and Wild Bill’s does great work and they make some damn good beverages. They wouldn’t be in practically every convention ever held if they didn’t. Everyone grabs a cup at the convention too!
Gamer Supps
I didn’t think there would be two beverage companies on this list but you never know what’s going to be on the GamerFudge Best of PAX East awards list. They had all kinds of things at their booth, not to mention being slammed with people every time I walked over to it. I also have to say that this was the first time I have ever had Gamer Supps and I really liked it. The Lemonade was really good and so was the Blue Raspberry drink. I also grabbed a Waifu Cup so don’t judge me, you’re the one on trial here.
Gigasword-Akupara Games
I knew right after I played Gigasword that I knew it was going to be on the Best of PAX East list. I had a blast playing it and I can’t wait to play the full version when it comes out. If you had told me that Gigasword was a retro game made on the NES, I would have believed it. The puzzles were fun to solve and it didn’t feel like a chore getting from one section to another. Some metroidvania games make traveling a pain. I didn’t feel that in Gigasword. Also any game that gives out a magnet and sword keychain is ok in my book.
Skateboard Knight-Playism
This is another game that I knew right after I played it, it was going on the Best of PAX East list. Skateboard Knight is an auto-lane protection game. What I mean by that is you just move the knight up and down and then the game attacks on its own. You have to take care of everything else like upgrading, leveling up, and collecting things but attacking is off the table. I love the art style and graphics in Skateboard Knight. It’s a shame that it isn’t coming out until next year.
Shrine’s Legacy-indie.IO
I think the retro gamer in me had to put Shrine’s Legacy on the best-of list. When a really good RPG comes along you have to take notice. From what I’ve seen thus far, Shrine’s Legacy can be that game. It takes some of what other RPGs did and gives it a fresh feel. Combine that with the SNES graphics and music and you have something special.
Universus Collectable Cards-UVS Games
I didn’t know much about Universus before I stopped by their booth and saw things for myself. They have all kinds of card games and properties from all kinds of franchises. Where else can you have Godzilla fight Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan and give both of them laser guns from Star Trek. The answer is nowhere else. Anytime a Superfan’s epic teamup can happen is a good day. Ryu from Street Fighter going up against Yusuke Urameshi is fine with me. You give me Yu Yu Hakusho anything and you score points with me!
Constance- ByteRockers Games
Constance is a challenging Metroidvania with hand drawn graphics and the relationship works so well together. Having the main character do all kinds of things via paint is a cool idea as well. During the demo at the booth, I made it my business to beat a very tough boss and I’m happy to say that I did finally take it down. Constance has some of the tougher platforming I’ve seen in a Metroidvania recently so be prepared., it’s tough but worth it when you get through that tough section!
Heroes of Mount Dragon- Studio RuniQ
A modern-day beat-em-up made by a studio because they wanted to make a fun game like the games they grew up like Golden Axe or TMNT: Turtles in Time. I mentioned in the write-up that anytime a new good beat-em-up comes out, fans of the genre take notice. Combine that with a lore-filled world and online/couch co-op and cool characters and you have my attention!
The Paint and Take Section -Trans Atlantis Games
This is one of the cooler things I have seen at PAX East. I have never had the space to paint a miniature. I also never have had the patience or played tabletop games where you could paint said miniatures. That changed all on the first day of PAX East where I had all day to kill so I went to the Trans Atlantis Games booth, tried some Two Thin Coats paint and left with an axe-wielding Ogre. Now I might not be the greatest painter in the world but when I got back to my hotel room that first night and saw Sven( what I named him) all dry, he was really cool looking. I was proud of my masterpiece and hope PAX East has this cool booth again.
Freeplay Arcade-Retroware
I had no idea this was going to be a thing but when you wander around the Boston Convention Center after hours like I like to do, you find things you don’t expect to find. Case in point, the Freeplay Arcade from those Retroware guys. I walked in, started some original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and had two other people jump on and we almost beat it. The continue buttons were acting up and we ran out of time. But I did have the fourth-highest score that night so if you saw SJT initials, you saw me! There were all kinds of cool games in there and I think my leg finally woke up from being sleep playing Gimmick for an hour and a half. Please bring the Freeplay Arcade back next year!
There you have it folks! All the “Best of PAX East 2025” Award winners. Honorable mention goes to the Ysbryd Games booth for having a Sam pin from Cyberpunk Bartender Action N1RV Ann-A. I love her as a character and I think I have bought this pin every year to show Ysbryd that someone wants the game to come out. I asked again and Ysbryd said after the devs make their next game, they’re going to go back to N1RV Ann-A so that’s great to hear!
PAX East 2026 Dates
Mar 26-29 so plan accordingly. It’s usually cold in March in Boston!