PAX West 2025: Must-See Game Showcase Preview
Get ready, gamers - PAX West 2025 is packed with an incredible lineup, and this weekend we’ve got our crew headed to Seattle to feast our eyes and ears on some incredible games! Below we preview the confirmed titles making a splash in Seattle, with quick rundowns of gameplay and why they’re turning heads. From long-awaited sequels to indie innovations, here are the games you won’t want to miss:
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Summary & Gameplay: Hornet finally takes center stage in this long-awaited Metroidvania sequel. Fast, acrobatic combat and over 300 new enemies (including 40 bosses!) await in a vast insect kingdom full of dangers and secrets.
Platforms & Developer: Team Cherry, launching September 4 on all major platforms including Switch 2.
Why It Stands Out: One of the most hyped indies of the decade. Fans are finally getting hands-on time, and Hornet’s agile moveset sets a thrilling tone for this sequel.
Ys X: Proud Nordics
Summary & Gameplay: This refresh on the 2024 action-RPG from Nihon Falcom brings Adol Christin into the northern seas. The definitive edition enhances the original release with faster combat, new dungeons, and a seafaring narrative where Adol teams up with Karja to repel an undead horde.
Platforms & Developer: Falcom, localized by NIS America. Coming to PC and Switch 2 in early 2026.
Why It Stands Out: The new “Cross Action” combat system, where Adol and Karja fight in tandem, gives the series a fresh dynamic. Plus, the PAX demo includes a special boss fight challenge for bragging rights.
The Rabbit Haul
Summary & Gameplay: An indie charmer where you farm by day and defend against raccoon raiders by night. Plant crops, build defenses, and survive waves of the Trash Panda Posse trying to steal your hard-earned veggies.
Platforms & Developer: Caldera Interactive, PC first with a demo available.
Why It Stands Out: The day-night cycle blends farming sim coziness with frantic tower defense combat, all wrapped in a cute but mischievous art style.
Arcane Eats
Summary & Gameplay: A deck-building roguelike with a culinary twist. Build your deck with enchanted ingredients, spells, and utensils to cook meals for hordes of hungry mythical patrons before time runs out.
Platforms & Developer: Wonderbelly Games, PC.
Why It Stands Out: It’s part card strategy, part cooking sim, and all chaotic fun. The PAX Rising showcase is highlighting it as one of the year’s most inventive indies.
Beatdown City: Survivors
Summary & Gameplay: A sandbox survival brawler where you take on endless waves of mutants, zombies, and cyborgs in an over-the-top urban playground. Every object is a potential weapon, from pipes to pigeons.
Platforms & Developer: NuChallenger, PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Why It Stands Out: Its absurd humor and physics-driven chaos make every fight unpredictable. Watching someone suplex a zombie with a trashcan never gets old.
Blocks for Babies
Summary & Gameplay: A genre mashup that’s part physics puzzle, part FPS. Build block towers carefully, then switch into shooter mode to blast mistakes away—or fend off blocks that suddenly fight back.
Platforms & Developer: BunkSoft Interactive, PC.
Why It Stands Out: It’s hilarious, chaotic, and totally unique. A great reminder of the creativity indies bring to PAX.
Draco and the Seven Scales
Summary & Gameplay: A retro-inspired adventure in the style of classic Game Boy Advance titles. Sail the seas, raid dungeons, and collect the seven sacred scales in this mix of overworld exploration and pixel combat.
Platforms & Developer: Ice Goat Games, PC.
Why It Stands Out: A charming throwback that combines Zelda-like dungeon crawling with Wind Waker-style sailing. Nostalgia wrapped in pixel art.
Hank: Drowning On Dry Land
Summary & Gameplay: A time-bending narrative adventure where you guide Hank, a fumbling superhero, through comic panel-style puzzles and story decisions.
Platforms & Developer: My Next Games, PC.
Why It Stands Out: Clever use of comic panel storytelling and time rewind mechanics makes this a standout narrative-driven indie.
Never’s End
Summary & Gameplay: A tactical RPG where your magician draws power not just from within, but from allies and the environment around them. Grid-based combat requires strategic positioning to maximize spellcasting.
Platforms & Developer: Hypersect, PC.
Why It Stands Out: The mana system that uses surrounding NPCs and objects adds a fresh strategic wrinkle for tactics fans.
No Stone Unturned
Summary & Gameplay: A murder mystery adventure where the victim is a chicken. Yeah. Solve puzzles, interrogate suspects, and decide who’s guilty in this lighthearted detective romp.
Platforms & Developer: Wise Monkey Entertainment, PC.
Why It Stands Out: A whodunit with a sense of humor, charming art, and branching outcomes. It’s already generating plenty of word-of-mouth buzz.
Rogue Eclipse
Summary & Gameplay: A neon-soaked space roguelike where you pilot humanity’s last hope against cosmic catastrophe. Each run mixes frantic twin-stick shooting with ship upgrades and galaxy-spanning exploration.
Platforms & Developer: Huskrafts, PC.
Why It Stands Out: Think Galaga meets Hades. The quick-fire runs and slick synthwave presentation make it easy to pick up but tough to put down.
RollerGirl
Summary & Gameplay: A narrative skating adventure set in the mid-2000s. Cruise a small town on rollerblades, explore, and uncover a heartfelt coming-of-age story.
Platforms & Developer: Pushing Vertices, PC.
Why It Stands Out: Nostalgic vibes and a slower, more reflective pace offer something different from the rest of the convention floor.
Sashimi Slayer
Summary & Gameplay: An action-rhythm game where you slice sea monsters to the beat, turning them into sashimi. Best played with a custom foam sword controller for full effect.
Platforms & Developer: Shrimp Fried Rice Games, PC.
Why It Stands Out: Equal parts ridiculous and fun, it’s a crowd magnet with its alt-controller setup and high-energy soundtrack.
Table Tactics
Summary & Gameplay: A physics-based strategy game where you flick marbles and shoot arrows to topple enemy units across a tabletop battlefield.
Platforms & Developer: Unbound Creations, PC.
Why It Stands Out: Combines strategy with dexterity. It feels like a playground game reimagined as a competitive tactics title.
Terrible Lizards
Summary & Gameplay: A horror parkour game set in a decrepit dinosaur roadside attraction. Sprint, climb, and puzzle-solve to escape the lurking threats in the dark.
Platforms & Developer: WDR Studios, PC.
Why It Stands Out: Dinosaurs meet horror in a unique blend of survival and parkour. The tension and atmosphere are generating buzz.
Borderlands 4
Summary & Gameplay: The looter-shooter returns with new Vault Hunters, a fresh planet, and all the over-the-top weapons and humor the series is known for.
Platforms & Developer: Gearbox Software, 2K Games. Coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2 on October 3, 2025.
Why It Stands Out: A marquee demo on the floor. Fans are getting hands-on with new characters and abilities, with the chaos cranked to 11.
Final Fantasy Tactics: Chronicles of Ivalice
Summary & Gameplay: A full remake of the legendary tactical RPG. Choose between an enhanced mode with new features and a faithful classic mode. The robust Job system and iconic story return with HD visuals and voice acting.
Platforms & Developer: Square Enix. Coming to all major platforms on September 30, 2025.
Why It Stands Out: One of the greatest tactical RPGs ever made is back, remade with care and reverence. Developer panels at PAX are celebrating its return in style.
Final Thoughts
This year’s PAX West is bursting with creativity, nostalgia, and spectacle. From quirky indies like Sashimi Slayer and No Stone Unturned to heavyweights like Borderlands 4, Silksong and Final Fantasy Tactics, the lineup is stacked. And that’s before even mentioning the massive tabletop area, which always delivers fresh board games to discover and demo.
The countdown is nearly over - we can’t wait to to hit the show floor and share the best of PAX West 2025 with you!
