PAX West 2025: An Indie Showcase

There were some really big names at PAX West 2025 this year. Gearbox had a massive booth for their highly anticipated looter-shooter Borderlands 4. Nintendo had two giant setups, one for the new Pokémon game, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, alongside Kirby Air Riders, a sequel that's twenty-two years in the making. Capcom was showing off Resident Evil Requiem. Larian had one of the coolest-looking Mindflayer cosplayers I've ever seen, taking pictures with fans. Unsurprisingly, these booths were a constant corral of ravenous fans waiting to get just a taste of what's to come from the biggest franchises the world has ever known.

Even with all of these AAA brands present, I've never felt that huge publishers were what PAX West was ever really about. For that, you have to focus on the indie games surrounding the big names holding court at the center of the show. I'm happy to report that they, too, were consistently siphoning people in and out of their spaces, with the indie side of PAX seeing a crowd of people excited to try what these brilliant teams have to offer. I'm proud to say that I was one of these many bodies cramming into every corner of the Seattle Convention Center, and I got to play tons of fantastic games made by teams of varying shapes and sizes. From animal-based detective noir adventures to authoritarian simulators, PAX West had it all.

Stardust Frontier

Developer: Effort Games

I'm not usually much for mech games. Something about being a big robot and shooting missiles at other big robots, even if you throw in a laser sword, was never all that appealing to me. That said, two things really stood out to me with Effort Games' mech battler: the beautiful 16-bit graphics, and the fact that you had to play it with your phone. I approached the booth with some trepidation about whether or not my biases would get in the way of my enjoyment, and I walked away with a really good feeling and an awesome experience.

Stardust Frontier puts you in one of four pilot seats for a giant mech. Each player gets a different limb: one of two arms, a torso, and legs. You must work collaboratively with your teammates to predict what your enemy is going to do and take them down. Both your mech and the enemy mech have light and heavy attacks, along with the ability to defend and charge up larger attacks for more damage. How well you do on these tasks is dictated by the completion of WarioWare-style mini games. Each game is a hectic few seconds of connecting wires, tilting your phone to pilot little tanks, blasting asteroids, and fixing wave frequencies to prevent meltdowns. These mini games are not only frantic fun, but they're gorgeously stylized and match the panicked tone of the mech fights perfectly. Every member of your crew must decide whether or not to defend against an oncoming attack, or choose a limb of the enemy mech to fight against.

This is where I found myself really enjoying Stardust Frontier. It forces collaboration between the party; which limb you attack, when you defend, and whether or not you fix your overheating mech are chosen independently of each other. Simultaneously, your choices are responsible for the fate of your fellow pilots. Since I was by myself, I sat down with a group of three friends, introduced myself, and off we went. The assignment was firmly understood, and we coordinated flawlessly to one-shot two of the enemy mechs opposing us, a feat in which one of the devs commented, "I haven't seen anyone else do that, I didn't know it was possible." We shared some frantic strategies and exchanged some laughs, we defeated the boss of the demo, congratulated each other, and went our separate ways. It was an incredible interaction between me and a group of strangers that reminded me what gaming was all about.

Allowing Stardust Frontier to be controlled with your phone means that Effort Games is trying to create something that's accessible for everyone, in the same vein as Jackbox Games. Not only that, but one copy can be shared among multiple people, so it's perfect for parties or to jump in a game with friends over Steam.

Stardust Frontier is hopefully going to be released towards the end of Q1 2026, and it can be wishlisted on Steam now!

No Stone Unturned

Developer: Wise Monkey Entertainment Ltd

Now this is a good one.

No Stone Unturned is a murder-mystery, noir, narrative-driven game created by Gareth Owens, a man of many talents who has ghostwritten for tons of different projects throughout the years. His story is itself fascinating enough to base a narrative around: he started writing at 12 years old and lied about his age to get into screenwriting professionally, building his portfolio from there. His years of writing experience and creativity shine brightly, right from the tagline for No Stone Unturned. It dares to ask the age-old question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

You are Detective Cox, a cunning amnesiac fox who wakes up on the side of the road to find the corpse of a chicken, brutally murdered. Detective Cox, driven by his need to solve these mysteries, goes on an adventure to figure out why, exactly, did this chicken cross the road? On your way, you will meet quirky characters, traverse interesting environments, and solve puzzles to figure out exactly what happened in this murder most fowl (a joke made immediately within the game itself, setting up the tone perfectly for what was to come.)

Off the rip, No Stone Unturned is genuinely funny. Jokes and puns abound, taking advantage of the brilliant setup for a murder-mystery. This is all accompanied by some damn impressive voice work and beautiful 2D sprites and environments. Your time won't just be spent walking around, talking to people, and looking for clues, either. There are over 30 mini games to break up the gameplay, a few of which I had the pleasure of playing at PAX. They're fun, snappy, and share the same humor as the rest of the game. I was able to use my magnifying glass to establish the cause of death for the chicken. I played a mini-game where I had to use a mop to clean up a spill, which turned into a turn-based RPG. I had to solve a puzzle made up of moving clouds, creating a maze in the sky. I got just a little taste of what's in store, and I loved every second of it. There's a cast of ridiculous characters you'll run into, including a floating cloud that becomes immediately infatuated with Detective Cox, and an elderly raccoon who has a few choice words for the fox. Each interaction makes you anticipate the next character you meet because they're so unique and hilarious.

It's almost difficult to pin down the feel of No Stone Unturned, as it's unlike most other indie games I've played. The creativity, humor, and passion behind it is what indie games are made to be. It isn't just funny – it perfectly captures the essence of the genre it's spoofing. Gareth told me that he's currently working with the Henson puppet company to get a show off the ground based on the game, putting those fantastic industry connections to work. I, for one, will make sure to tune in when that comes to fruition. Play the demo I played, available on Steam, and tell me you won't do the same. I dare you.

Barkour

Developer: VARSAV Game Studios

Do I even have to explain why I was interested in Barkour? It's literally a combination of "bark" and "parkour." Parkour dogs. Do I have to say more? Developed by Polish game dev VARSAV Game Studios, Barkour is a stealth-action platformer seeing the player take control of Agent T.H.U.N.D.E.R, a special agent who happens to be a very good boy, on a mission to stop the forces of evil.

There's plenty of games where you get to play as a cat, with indie darlings like Stray and Little Kitty Big City coming to mind, but very few where you get to take control of the furry paws of a canine. That gaming void is something Barkour sets out to fill, with its main character – the aforementioned Agent T.H.U.N.D.E.R – being an adorable and beautifully rendered German Shepard, based on dogs who serve in the military, as well as K9 units in the police force. He's decked out in gear, wearing a utility harness that's covered in gadgets and gizmos to help him along the way. Barkour's cover artwork shows Agent T.H.U.N.D.E.R deploying a grappling hook that's straight out of Inspector Gadget, another obvious inspiration for this indie game.

Taking a page from Stray's book, your pupper-character does not talk, instead letting his intense training speak for itself. Barkour gives players agency to play however they want: if stealth is your thing, you can take advantage of the numerous climbing systems. If you would rather go in guns blazing (seriously, the dog gets a sniper rifle) and take enemies down head-on, the open level design allows you to do that as well. There are tons of mechanics at play, with the point of Barkour being a fun, light-hearted, and humorous look into the stealth action genre. Everything from the way Agent T.H.U.N.D.E.R moves and acts, to the main antagonist being a cat-lover, is designed to be entertaining first and foremost.

Barkour was developed in Unreal 5, and it is absolutely gorgeous. According to the developers, UE5 was never intended to render animals as the main characters, focusing more on the realistic lighting and skin textures of humans, so there were some serious roadblocks in the four years this game has been in development. All of their hard work has paid off, however, because everything from the environments to the dog itself looks and moves fantastically. And the best part is that it's all customizable, too!

VARSAV Game Studio is a Polish indie developer, and I was curious as to why they thought Poland has so many prolific game studios. According to one of the devs, he believes it's because of what Poland has had to endure over the last century. Stuck between warring nations, the Polish people have had to do everything they can to survive and outlast the regimes that seek to dominate them. They have taken that grit and attitude to the gaming market, and it shows with the pure ingenuity and creativity that was obviously poured into Barkour.

You can wishlist Barkour on Steam.

Fallen Tear: The Ascension

Developer: Winter Crew Studios

Metroidvanias are popular. Like, super popular. Just earlier this month, the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong literally broke pretty much every major online gaming retailer at its release. As such, any new game in the genre needs to do something pretty special to stand out and catch the attention of the broader gaming audience. The moment I saw Winter Crew Studios' Fallen Tear: The Ascension in motion, I realized this wasn't just another Metroidvania. Beautiful sprite work and animation glided across the screen in a dazzling display of ethereal high-fantasy. "This looks like it's hand-animated," I thought to myself, watching the fluid movements of the unique character as it moved across my screen.

That's because it is.

Everything from the beautifully designed enemies (of which there are apparently over 150) to the inspired main character's design is done by hand. This includes the gorgeous backgrounds and backdrops, all of which were also painstakingly painted by hand. Winter Crew Studios began as an animation team that then learned how to develop so they could create something cool and unique. That love for the craft really shows during every second Fallen Tear: The Ascension is on screen. I was blown away by just how detailed each of the animations were, and while Hollow Knight was obviously an inspiration, Fallen Tear already does so much visually to stand out that any real comparisons quickly fell away.

As impressive as the visuals are, the gameplay is equally so. Fallen Tear is smooth as silk; the controls feel fantastic as you run down a variety of paths, fighting enemies along the way. One of the more interesting things the game does to set itself apart from the crowd, however, is to include something I've never seen in a Metroidvania before: a party system.

The developers of Fallen Tear: The Ascension spent a lot of time when they were younger playing JRPGs and admiring the dynamics of those party systems, and that inspiration became part of their very own game. You recruit other party members and can take up to three of them along with you. The main character is melee-focused, but mixing and matching the parties allows for greater exploration and different combat scenarios. It's an ingenious idea to help spice up a formula that, while fun, has been extremely popular for many years now.

Fallen Tear: The Ascension is one of the best-looking indie games I've played this year. Couple that with the interesting JPRG mechanics and the fun gameplay, and this indie is gearing up to be a must-play for anyone who loves the metroidvania style.

There's a seriously lengthy demo available for free on Steam, so go give it a try.

Pax Autocratica

Developer: Multiverse

A tall man wearing a black uniform and a dark red beret stood at the Pax Autocratica booth at PAX West. Emblazoned on a banner behind him was the game's daunting main character, an authoritarian amalgamation of futuristic sci-fi armor and the same red beret that the man at the booth was wearing. This man was enthusiastically screaming at people to play their game, sit down, just play it. Become the totalitarian of your dreams, see their game. "An open chair means sit down!" he shouted at me. After a brief explanation that I, in fact, had an appointment for the demo, I obeyed and took my seat.

Pax Autocratica is a fascinating concept. It is, for lack of a better term, a totalitarian simulator. You take control of the new Supreme Leader of an authoritarian regime in the Tyris System. It's your job to not only amass an army capable of taking over the galaxy, but to make sure that that army stays motivated, equipped, happy, and fed. You do this by amassing resources, by going out and exploring the galaxy with your army. When you find resources, you're able to land on a space station or planet and fight together with your forces in an arena-shooter FPS rogue-like to claim more territory in the solar system and gather material. You then take your materials back to your base and set to building an even larger base with which to conquer more territory.

On the surface, Pax Autocratica doesn't sound too significantly different from other base-building resource management games. This couldn't be further from the truth; the main thing that separates Pax Autocratica from other games in this genre is simple: control. You can control which (and how many) members of your empire come with you on the missions, which ones stay behind and build, how much or how little they're paid, how hard they're pushed while they build (this includes whipping them – yes really), what they build, how little they sleep, and how little they eat. If you're someone who enjoys keeping track of stat screens and status conditions, then Pax Autocratica is absolutely for you. If you just want to play some really cool shooting arenas and build a neat base, you can do that too. The amount of control you're given to play your way really is staggering, and one of the game's biggest strengths.

The devs at Multiverse talked with me about using games as a medium for expression. We are living in tumultuous times, and the ability to see the repercussions of your actions within Pax Autocratica hit a really strong nerve for me and a lot of others at PAX West. Every action you complete has an equal reaction – push your workers too hard, and you will get more productivity in the short term, but they will fall ill and require more resources to take care of in the long term. Whip your people into shape, and they will work faster, but they won't fight as hard for you on the battlefield, meaning less progress overall.

Multiverse reiterated to me that they did not want this game to preach anything to you; as the player, how you play will speak for itself. From the snippet I played at PAX, they're nailing the idea of weight behind each of your decisions. These people you rule have names and stories beyond just the stat blocks they represent, and you will start to become attached to them as time goes on. It's a powerful message wrapped up in a well-made, intuitive, and stylized game that's a blast to play.

Plus, the buildings that make the munitions are shaped like big guns, and that's just plain funny.

If this sounds like a game for you, Pax Autocratica has a downloadable demo available now and can be wishlisted on Steam.

I always find the most joy digging into the indies of PAX West. The entire show is a great time, from the cosplay to the tournaments, but seeing what amazing innovations and awesome experiences these scrappy teams are making really feels like the life's blood of the games industry, and they truly are the backbone of PAX. I'm pretty sure I've wishlisted every game that I played this year, which is a rare treat and definitely something worth taking note of. If any of these developers' visions spark something in you, please go show them some love. They work extremely hard to bring us these awesome games, and I'm honored to give them all a chance at PAX West every year.