PAX Rising - The Indie Games of PAX AUS 2019
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Our roundup of the best indie games from PAX AUS 2019
PAX RISING: The Indie Games of PAX AUS 2019 (Cont...)
Chaos Tavern – DragonBear Studios
A wizard has sold you a magical tavern with an elvish clientele, and you must work together as a team of up to four (can also play single player) to serve the correct food, drinks and potions to the fantasy customers to keep them happy. With similarities to the classic Tapper, a game that had you serving drinks, or more recently Overcooked, this co-op game can become quite frantic as you progress through the levels. The visuals have a cute and colourful Nintendo-style to them as your characters run around serving customers and fighting off invaders and thieves. Upon completing each day, the takings can be used for upgrades for both your characters and the tavern. Multi-tasking and co-operation are key in this family friendly game.
For more info, visit chaostavern.com
Brimstone Brawlers – Ategig
Brimstone Brawlers is a top-down (somewhat isometric) arena brawler set in the Victorian era town of Brimstone. With primarily Victorian period characters as well as a range of Scooby Doo inspired monsters, up to four players locally, or up to twelve online, face off against each other in a battle to the death. The twelve characters each have unique skills that can be used for combat, in locations that have their own environmental dangers, such as trains and rooftops that you can fall from. The characters themselves (in the selection screen) have a Borderlands visual style, whilst the fast-paced game has a colour scheme reminiscent of League of Legends or Overwatch. With a range of maps and game modes, Brimstone Brawlers is a heap of fun with a group of mates or online.
For more info, visit, brimstonebrawlers.com or add it to your Steam Wishlist
Metal Heads – Nathan Francis
Metal Heads is an eight player Mario Party style party game featuring 30 levels with which to compete with your friends. The mini-games are varied enough to allow players of differing skill sets to be competitive. One mini-game has you avoiding lasers, another has you on a multi-coloured dance floor trying to find your way to the correct coloured square, and another has you traversing spinning cogs. Using one of Metal Head's cute, customizable characters, the pulse-pounding metal music will be sure to keep things turned up to eleven.
For more info, visit www.metalheadsgame.com or add it so your Steam Wishlist
Squidgies Takeover – Giant Margarita
This Lemmings style puzzler tasks gamers with guiding the little Squidgies to a portal that sends them to their new home. Like Lemmings, the Squidgies have a range of abilities (that are gradually introduced) and can be used a limited number of times in order to guide the characters to their goal — swinging, flinging and floating as many Squidgies as you can to the portal. Like any classic Nintendo game, Squidgies Takeover is full of vibrant colours, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the puzzles are simple. Some of them certainly are, but the difficulty ramps up as you progress. I wish I had a Nintendo Switch.
For more info, visit squidgiestakeover.com
I’d also like to give an honourable mention to Moving Marvels. Although the Android and iOS title isn’t a game, the Augmented Reality title was able to bring the artwork present at the event to life. Through the AR feature, these amazing artworks suddenly begin moving once the software is activated. An artwork of a city was instantly transformed on screen to one bustling with activity, a train circling the city. And a Melbourne tram was transformed into a robotic machine. Brilliantly done!
Apologies to games such as Damsel, Ticket to Earth and Heist, which I have mentioned in previous years, but are available now on Steam and continue to be improved by their developers. It is wonderful to see these developers continue to interact with the gaming community even after release of their games.