Yet another PAX East has come and gone. The annual celebration of the gaming community took place at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center from May 8th to the 11th in Massachusetts. Gamers of all kinds flocked to the big show to have the time of their lives.

I’ve attended most PAX Easts since 2012, but this was my first time going for all four days. There’s a lot to experience at PAX East, so here are my thoughts on what stood out the most.

Games

The whole point of PAX East is the games, so there were of course thousands to play. The major video games on the main part of the expo hall floor were Dune: Awakening, Elden Ring: Nightreign, and Crimson Desert. Crimson Desert is rather difficult but a lot of fun. The controls are fantastic, the world seems unique, and the character design was great. It’s definitely something worth keeping on your radar.

I didn’t bother with the line to play Dune: Awakening, but I did watch some of the gameplay. I thought it would be more of a point-and-click RTS game, but was pleasantly surprised to see players controlling a single character, performing combos with swords and firearms, and piloting ships. It turns out it’s a third-person multiplayer action-survival game that looks incredible, and I’m jealous of those who played it.

Elden Ring: Nightreign was under a dome that caused intrigue and hid gameplay footage from those passing by. It turns out that folks needed to wait in line to maybe get the chance to play the game, but were more than likely just watching one other person play. I didn’t want to wait in line for that since I likely wouldn’t actually be playing, but everyone who did play or see gameplay had nothing but great things to say about it.

With that being said, the games that I’m always much more excited for are the smaller titles and indie games. I’m very thankful that the indie presence was massive and extremely high in quality. Some of the indie games that stuck out the most to me and that I’m most excited to add to my collection include an action-RPG called Lynked: Banner of the Spark, a co-op puzzle game titled Bytebond, a fantasy rhythm game on skis known as Fresh Tracks, a rhythm RPG titled Away From Home, a side-scrolling beat ‘em up with outstanding artwork called Ra Ra Boom, and a unique platform-fighter known as Royalty Free-For-All. 

Other games worth noting include a driving platformer called Goblintown: Really Hard Driving Game, which easily had the best presentation at PAX East involving a customized food truck, an old school living room setup, and a competition. Also playable on the show floor was Ultimate Sheep Raccoon, the long-awaited sequel to Ultimate Chicken Horse that puts the adorable animal characters on bikes. One other really fun game was Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch. I had backed that on Fig several years ago, so it was good to finally see that something is coming out of it and that it’s wildly entertaining to play.

For those who know about PAX, you know it’s not all video games. The world of tabletop gaming has a large presence as well. I got the chance to demo a few board games, like Werewords, which was an absolute riot. My wife and I also purchased a couple, like Caution Signs and the 3-in-1 card games that Goosepoop Games was offering. 

Speaking of tabletop gaming, Wizards of the Coast had a massive presence to advertise their upcoming Final Fantasy set for Magic the Gathering. The Final Fantasy photo ops proved to be silly fun, and playing Apples to Apples with packs of Tarkir Dragonstorm was one of the most creative activities they could have thought of for the weekend. Plus, they let you keep the cards you opened and played with. As a long-time Magic player, it was truly nice to see.

Panels

Attending panels is always a nice and often wacky or intriguing time that allows for a break from the show floor. It’s always a tough choice between attending a panel or maximizing gameplay time, but I did manage to attend a couple of good ones this year. One touched on the Bizarre Side of the Pokémon anime, which provided plenty of big laughs and several nostalgic moments. Another was called “Who’s the Boss,” in which panelists debated who was the greatest video game villain in a tournament style bracket. Some of it was funny, while some of it was surprisingly suspenseful.

I also watched Gearbox Software’s panel to get all the juicy details on the upcoming Borderlands 4, which is looking incredible so far and that it may have the best combat system in the series. Each of these panels captivated me in their own ways.

Omegathon

The Omegaton is one of the most exciting parts of any PAX, as 32 attendees compete in a tournament that lasts the whole weekend, with each round being a different game. Something that made this PAX East feel truly special for me was that I was an Omeganaut for the first time! I got the chance to compete in front of the crowd, which was an experience like no other. I’ve been to so many PAX Easts and so many rounds of the Omegathon as an audience member, and I never would have thought I’d be up there on that stage. I was over the moon when I got that call to be an Omeganaut.

I’ll admit, I was initially upset due to how I was eliminated. Putting 50 hours into a game as practice just to mess up passing the controller between teammates is a major letdown. That being said, I still got to be in front of the audience, don the Omeganaut t-shirt and medal along with a fancy Omeganaut badge, and got to see PAX from a very different side of things. On top of that, I have been welcomed into a really cool community of Omeganauts past and present, which has been quite nice. I do hope to get lucky enough to compete again in the future and see how I do then.

Concerts

The concerts on both Thursday and Friday nights were excellent. Paul & Storm along with Jonathan Coutlon were hilarious and an absolute blast for those who have been going to PAX East for quite some time. They used to be PAX East staples, so it was nice to see them return. BioShop Infinite were simply delightful to listen to, and it’s awesome that they started out as just a group cosplay at PAX East and are now performing on the main stage. Bit Brigade blew the house down with their impressive sets featuring F-Zero and Super Mario World. I’ve seen them a number of times, and this is probably my favorite performance of theirs.

Cosplay

PAX East is a convention, afterall, so there were lots of cosplays as far as the eye could see. Some of my favorites that I managed to find were a Dugtrio group cosplay, an eerily accurate Kratos, a Rouge the Bat with a giant Master Emerald that played music from Sonic Adventure 2, and a slew of Pikmin and Borderlands characters.

My wife and I joined in on the fun by cosplaying each day. We went as Furbies on Thursday to remind folks of their childhood nightmares. For Friday, she went as her Stardew Valley farmer trolling Mayor Lewis while I went as a Pipo Monkey from Ape Escape. On Saturday, we wore our Untitled Goose Game cosplays with me as the Gardener and her as the Goose. We wrapped up the weekend on Sunday as Kiki and Tombo from Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Other Experiences

Of course, PAX East is filled with other experiences as well. Hanging out with friends and making new ones always feels magical during a weekend like this. Getting free swag and buying merchandise like collectable pins, TUBBZ Ducks, and retro video games is certainly something worth looking forward to with every PAX. Finding food at the convention is usually hit-or-miss, but a bit of a downer this year that the food trucks weren’t outside like they usually are. That being said, there were a few inside the convention center, and some even took over the spots in the convention center’s food court. While all the food I had was delicious, some of it was rather expensive for what it was. It’ll be nice if the food trucks are more present in future years.

PAX East is the most wonderful time of year for gamers. There’s always something new or exciting to take part in or look forward to. There’s nothing else quite like it. As for now, it looks like I’ll be stuck waiting until the next time I’m able to return to PAX East or attend another PAX convention.

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