PAX is a bit different this year, with PAX Australia forced to merge with PAX West into a grand online-only 9-day event. The upside: more games and more game announcements for everyone! So to make your life easy, here’s all the new trailers and info from the show.
We’ll keep updating this post throughout this week and next as more trailers and info gets announced. Some games have been revealed early, while others aren’t expected to be revealed until certain panels or embargoes lift.
Fury Unleashed
A combo 2D platforming shooter, Fury Unleashed was shipped earlier this year. It’s getting a demo on Steam for the duration of the PAX/EGX/PAX Aus/global virtual convention, which means it’ll be playable until September 20.
Mr. Magic
Due out in 2021, the game is basically pitched as “what if a Christopher Nolan movie was meshed with Marvel”.
B.ARK
Announced earlier this year, B.ARK is another one of the long list of indie games that’s getting a playable demo until September 20. Thing space platforming with bunnies, bears, cats and pugs. Good for kids and families, in other words. More info on the official site here.
The Last Show of Mr. Chardish
Due out sometime this year, The Last Show of Mr. Chardish is about an actress returning to an abandoned theatre and uncovering the performances that took place. Very Gone Home and What Remains of Edith Finch.
Circadian City
A life sim that’s all about doing the things we hate doing in actual life: managing your stress, making friends, being healthy, earning money, staying fed and sleeping well.
Sounds boring, until you go to sleep and then find yourself transported into a dream world where you can be a gamer, miner, rancher, farmer or whatever it is you truly desire.
Inkulinati
Do you like putting trumpets up your ass? No? Inkulinati is for you anyway.
No Place for Bravery
A 2D action-RPG about searching for your lost daughter in a war-ravaged world. One for fans of Dead Cells and especially Salt & Sanctuary.
Button City
A low-poly adventure about an arcade and the cute animals that live in its diorama world. There’s a variety of games within, including an arcade racer, a 4v4 arcade battler to make the ultimate smoothie, dancing, and more. Also, all the animals are cute as hell. There’s an official demo on Steam if you want to check it out.
Drone Swarm
A space strategy game about controlling a mass of 32,000 sentient drones, Drone Swarm is all about battling alien fleets across the galaxy. Game’s officially out in October, but you’ll be able to try a demo until September 20. It’s available on Steam.
REKT! High Octane Stunts
Released on the Switch earlier this year, REKT! is getting a Steam release on November 6. New trailer’s below.
DiRT 5
Not technically part of PAX Online, but DiRT 5 announced that it was getting a small delay from October to November 6. It came shortly after a preview of the game’s Playgrounds mode — basically a level creator that functions a little like DOOM‘s Snapmap.
Codies said the delay was “to take advantage of the next-generation console launches which are expected in time for the holiday season”, which makes total sense now that we know the Xbox Series S (and probably X too) is launching on November 10.
Polter Pals
A game about steering the living into deadly hazards and becoming popular on LiveBurial, the afterlife’s equivalent of shitposting on social media.
Actually, that sounds brilliant. There’s a demo available on Steam here.
This Starry Void
Due out sometime this year, This Starry Void first popped up at PAX Australia in 2019. It’s from Melbourne devs Chironex Studios, and there’s an alpha gameplay trailer below. There’s no official Steam page or listing yet, but there’s a bit more info on the official site here.
There Is No Light
Due out in Q3 2021, There is No Light is an action-platformer about a civilisation that survives underground after a global collapse. Another one for fans of brutal platformers with big bosses and attack patterns. There’s a demo up on Steam if you want to check it out.
Alien Hominid Invasion
The makers of Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theatre are back. Alien Hominid Invasion is another side-scrolling action-platformer, and you’ll be able to play it for a limited period during PAX Online. It’s not available for the whole show — the official trailer notes that it’s accessible between September 12-13, and then from September 18-19. More info on the Steam page.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
Pretty sure this has nothing to do with PAX Online, but the timing worked out pretty well. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 — from Frontier Developments, not Atari — is being re-released on PC and the Switch on September 24. The original RCT 3 had some pretty shocking performance issues when your park got full, but I’m sure Frontier would have fixed some of those up. It doesn’t look like a complete remaster or remake, though.
Tennis World Tour 2
Big Ant’s back with another tennis game — and this one’s launching real soon (September 24). Again, it’s not tied into PAX Online specifically, just announced around the same time as everything else.
Still, if you like sports games then this should be interesting. Big Ant’s had a few cracks at tennis games now with the AO series. Double matches will support up to 4 players locally and online, the serve system and shot timing mechanics are improved, and there’s more animations to improve the whole presentation. If you want some tennis action on the Switch, that version launches on October 15.
There’s no new trailer yet, but you can see some livestreamed gameplay below from mid-August. The UI looks real nice too.
NICHE
A roguelike strategy game about combining genetics to survive, NICHE‘s Switch release was just announced days before PAX Online kicked off. It’s been out on Steam for a while, and the reviews there have been good, but if you’d rather play it on the Switch then you can grab it on the eShop now.
See any PAX Online games or trailers we missed? Let us know below and we’ll add them in!
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