PAX PRIME 2014: The Best of the Indie Mega Booth

ndie Mega Booth is quickly becoming the premier attraction at PAX, vastly growing bigger in size with each passing event, and there’s a good reason for that—the games showcased are easily the best of the show.

What’s slowly becoming a growing tradition with us, we set a course to plot as much Mega Booth territory that we possibly could, charting new games to play, and getting intimate with familiar software from the previous shows. We’re here to pour our guts out over the games that have left us the most smitten—including our choice for the Golden Zonkie of the show!

So strap in, and get set, here’s our tour of all the new must-see games at the booth this year!

The first game in development since the studio jumped ship over to Sony, Ska Studios has embraced the wind of change as they tweak the familiar action motifs of their work and expand it into a 2D open-world rogue title named Salt and Sanctuary.

Choosing from a list of available classes based around the typical balance of strengths and weaknesses, players will venture into various dungeons and strongholds, collecting precious deposits of salt in order to upgrade their base skills to a point in where they’ll stand a chance against the stacking odds of the undead monsters around them.

The combat is similar to that of the Dishwasher Samurai, only much slower, demanding an acute level of attention to the deliberate physics and composure in attacks to a manner that’s comparable to Dark Souls. One false move is enough to prove fatal, and the rogue-like nature of the game is capable of some serious punishment, the most effective way to survive is to camp at designated bonfires which also serve as the precious conduits to which you can improve your stats. The gap between these areas can be few and far between at times, which can lead to the vexing decision of back-tracking or pressing forward, or keeping close by to the one safe haven you know exists.

Salt and Sanctuary will test your resolve against the temptation to go farther, but never to a point where standing up to the difficulty felt like a diminutive exercise; look for it on PS$ some time later this year.

Even though video games are struggling to be recognized as a respectable media form that can also be capable of the deepest artistic expressions ever created today—we can’t forget that they’re also allowed to be stupid, and fun, without any message or insight needing to be gained in the process.

Rockets, Rockets, Rockets is one of those ideal games, a pure multiplayer fueled venture that embraces the natural competitive spirit. Gameplay involves players dog-fighting their own rocket ship against each other to the death through a mix of nonsensical speeds, and exaggerative missile fire frenetically coloring the screen with explosions by the second.

The control and maneuverability of the Rockets could only best be described like steering a stack of butter along the surface of a hotplate, the slippery turns and counter-steering and well you can pilot your craft under these conditions is one of the biggest factors to stay on top in Rockets, Rockets, Rockets.

Each player ship equipped with both, direct fire from the front, and bomb deployment from the bottom of their vessel. Defending is simply just a matter of how zippy and accurate players can evade the chaotic onslaught of rocket fire on screen, or an exhaustible instant shield that will protect against any damage as long as it’s active.

The colors and neon vapor trails that constantly light up the screen make it a blast for anyone involved whether they’re in the middle of the fray, or watching in the background as they await their next turn, Rockets, Rockets, Rockets is a beautiful title romanticizes multiplayer chaos in all of the best ways, it’s on Steam now, bring some friends.

When a game grants you with any kind of power, it does so with the goal of making anyone who playing the game to feel more empowered than anything else that exists within it. Titan Souls is a game that epitomizes the exact opposite, it pit players in the role of a hero that’s mortally vulnerable against any threat around him at all times, and is his only means of defense is being a speedy evasive roll and a bow and arrow—singular, as in, one arrow.

Exploring the temple ruins, players will come across various rooms that each house an insidious boss, designed with its own distinctive combat style and patterns that can only be conquered by nothing less than flawless victory. The demanding structure and it’s intolerance for any mistake, no matter how small may sound like a potential exercise of rinsing and repeating, but the immersion and adrenaline from every attempt only work to fuel the aspiration to go on, each and every time.

Even though this was a demo on the show floor, the experience of going through failure after failure before I was finally able to reach a success became an incredibly personal experience that fueled me a desire to rush to the next room that awaited me. Sure, that confident devil-may-care entrance may have killed me within seconds, but getting back up, and testing my mettle was one of the most engaging affairs I’ve went through in a long time—expect it to hit PS4 and Vita real soon.

The life style of a game developer is one filled with economic hardship, and the political compromises within the creative threshold in order to avoid being another casualty to bankruptcy.

So, it’s not too often we see a game that incorporate social commentary on the culture behind the career into direct gameplay, and that what makes The Magic Circle so delightfully intriguing. Following a similar sense of dynamics and direction to another game that’s similar to it, The Stanley Parable; The Magic Circle is able to up the ante by actually featuring a gameplay system with its own set of rules (or ironically, lack of, so to speak) and a skill set to play them, while still remaining consistent with the messages it’s trying to convey.

Moving around in the first person, players are given the meta-cipher perspective of playing this pseudo-social experiment of a nameless avatar that’s under the mercy of the changing whims and ideas of the developer and producer, who constantly interrupt any progress being made as they consistently clashing over the most petulant details of their creative differences. Underneath all of that however, exists a bug that’s seemingly become sentient, and more importantly, disenchanted with the developers themselves—this is where the game really picked up. Exploring the world requires that you break it so to speak, by hacking the physical code that composes is, and choosing different inputs or functions for it instead, in order to further your own understanding over what’s exactly going on.

I can’t really going into too much detail considering that’s where the real fun of the title is, but The Magic Circle manages to be a thought-provoking experience that doesn’t forget that it’s also a game, one that’s actually fun to get into. Hopefully the irony of unfinished game about an unfinished game doesn’t break your brain, but The magic Circle should be hitting Steam sometime in 2015.

Hard flash games have been a staple in the gaming landscape for quite a while, and many of these tests of patience and sanity have made their jumps to handhelds, personal computers and consoles alike. The original N was one such game, seeing release on a number of platforms and spawning two sequels; N+ and now, the all-new N++.

As far as action games go, N++ is as basic as it gets; run and jump through a single-screen gauntlet, flick the door switch and reach the end of the stage as quickly as possible. Players also collect gold pieces to enhance their scores.

Easy, right? Well sure, until you feel the controls for the first time. This ninja obviously has zero leg strength but can still jump due to anti-gravity shoes or something along those lines, because the control is about some of the most floaty that I've seen in ages. Yet, it's inherently flawed physics plays to its challenge in a more than acceptable way; these floattastic inputs don't take a whole lot of practise to nail down and transforms N++ from a mildly interesting exercise in careful platforming into a fervent, focused time-sink that will have players saying, “Okay... just one more time.”

Add to that hundreds of missions, 4-player race and DIY level creators and N++ might just be a game to addict, infuriate – but more importantly, entertain – most, if not all who play it.

The Mobile market in one that has really exploded in the last seven years or so and in dong so has also legitimized itself as an honest-to-goodness gaming platform between the Apple and Android app marketplaces.

Reformed from their previous incarnation, Gaijin (the people behind Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien; a title that snagged a perfect score here on Press Pause Radio), Choice Provisions is set to release their latest work, Destructamundo, to both the iTunes App Store and the Android Marketplace.

In Destructamundo, you play the role of an alien demolitions worker tasked with eradicating planetary systems at the whim of your commanding officer. The goal is to destroy as much as possible with as little effort as you can, leaving nothing behind. Take out the whole system and bonuses can be collected to boost your overall score. The higher the better.

Setting off chain reactions is challenging but satisfying. It's almost like a circular, explosive, reverse Pythagorian Switch, with the end result being empty space devoid of the civilization that once existed there. Its minimalist presentation and snappy UI also makes thing very clear to see and easy to navigate from game start to app-exit.

Perhaps the best thing about Destructamundo is its unflinching, hilarious sense of humour, which comes as no surprise from the people who brought us Shorty's Milk Brine (it could be worse...) Your CO will say stuff that will tickle your funny bone deep – it did for me, and that was almost all it took. For great kinetic puzzle action on your mobile device, make sure to check out Destructamundo.

Double Dragon is a retro enthusiast staple. Anyone who had an NES as a kid, will almost invariably and universally grin and nod slowly at the drop of the name. With so many beat-em-up since then, including the awesome Double Dragon Neon, Where could you go with a genre that has been...? “Beaten” to death? (Sorry.) How about throwing straight turn-based RPG-style combat into the mix? Hell yeah, why not?!

Enter Treachery in Beatdown City, from Nuchallenger games. Its brawling action with menu-based combat called the COMBO system. Your fighter has an action bar and action points assigned to the various attacks that you have at your disposal, and up to three attacks can be chained together to beat down the fools that stand in your way. Up to three techniques can be chained together so long as your fighting points allow for it. With successful combos or enough time, these points and the three slots in your action gauge will replenish.

For actions requiring no combat, such as breaking mailboxes and vending machines for healing items, a real-time punch is also available so that, if needed, you can take off mid-fight for a pick-me-up.

Everything about Treachery in Beatdown City screams neo-retro, with some pretty hilarious caricatures n glorious low-def pixel art. It's pretty addictive, very engrossing and something you need to check out, especially if you're a fan of the dying genre that is the beat-em-up.

Ever since it was shown shortly after the PS4 saw its own debut, Space Warrior Galak-Z: The Dimensional has been a brightly shining beacon on my radar screen, especially because of my less-than subtle love for all things shooting. Finally after over a year of wait, I was finally able to get hands on.

Galak-Z isnt your typical shooting game. There's a lot of nuance and exploration required in addition to the obvious shooting component which almost gives Galak-Z a bit of a Metroidvania feel to it, for lack of a better analogy. The biggest thing that sets Galak-Z apart from every other shooting game out there is its completely procedurally-generated 80's-anime-inspired “episodic” structure (generated right down to the episode's fictitious writer), which guarantees a different game every single time you load it up. One mission might have you infiltrating a space cruiser to destroy its cargo while others have you dogfighting in space with several enemy ships at once.

Hot off the heels of Luftrausers, Galak-Z sure took some getting used to, especially since, at its core, Galak-Z has the same basic visual perspective as Vlambeer's earlier 2014 release. Movement takes pace by pointing the left analog stick in the desired direction and applying thrust as needed. Players also have access to a strong boost which flings your ship along at a zippy pace. Firing is your typical cross-button fare with missiles mapped to circle and an evasive manoeuvre, called the Juke, mapped to square.

Shooting is obviously the name of the game, but often times, being more reserved with what is fired and when will get you further; there are times that willy-nilly laser fire will awaken beasts that want nothing but your demise at the hands of its enraged, bare-clawed self. Enemy forces are also pretty smart, formulating tactics and generally making life miserable for the fools that take their clever AI for granted, but they don't often get along with other factions either, meaning that players can lure them to another alien force to have them take each other out while the main objective is attempted.

It's pretty good stuff... and also difficult; 17-Bit's Company Owner/Creative Lead Jake Kazdal set out to make Galak-Z a game that looks fantastic (and it does) but also forces a player to hone their skill in an environment that only holds your hand when it as been blown clean off. Galak-Z is definitely one to look out for, coming soon to PS4, PS Vita and Steam!