All the way back in July, PAX announced the 2024 winners of the Aus Industry Showcase and I picked a couple that I was excited to get some hands on time with at PAX Aus 2024. Well, the good news is that I've managed to brave the crowds to check out some of these games. The bad news is I'm not entirely sure if they were worth the wait.
This game was my most anticipated for this year. The style seemed unique and it was billing itself as a mix of Max Payne and Hotline Miami. This is a bold assertion, comparing yourself to two series with such critical and audience acclaim. The thing is, for the most part, the gameplay appears to pull it off. There is a slight grinding of mechanics when you've been dashing and firing in a cocaine fuelled rage, only to pump the brakes as you dive around in slow motion or use an "execution move" which is when the two styles seem most at odds. The story, from what I can see, is your typical dystopian fare which gives you a couple of nice chuckles in the flavour text but this serves more as connecting tissue for the gameplay than anything meaty I could sink my teeth into. The developers did let me know that there are fully voiced acted cutscenes but they had been removed for the purposes of the PAX demo. From what I played I had fun, and the fun gameplay may be enough for some. For my money, however, I'll likely just replay Hotline Miami again. I hope I am made to look a fool by this game, come release.
From my most anticipated game of the year to one that I wasn't expecting to have a chance to play. This booth was one of the busiest I'd ever seen in the indie section on the first day of PAX, so my hopes were not high. However, while I was in line, chatting with the marketing guy and watching the trailer, I found myself getting more excited to get my hands on the game. Turns out it's a Virtual Reality (VR) game so I can cross off experiencing VR on my gaming bucket list. For those that haven't had the chance to strap two small TV screens an inch from their face, it's an experience to be sure. The game itself is a nice mix of late nineties and early turn-of-the-century platformers which I found charming and comforting as I got used to physically moving my neck to move the camera. The game has been released on PS VR 2 and the Meta Quest so anyone with a headset can experience this charming throwback to when life didn't seem so hard and crushing debt was something other people concerned themselves with.
I didn't get the chance to play many of the other Aus Indie Showcase winners however, I'm busting out my little cardboard podium for just a moment if you will bear with me.
*drags podium out onto center stage, clears throat*
I personally find it hard to believe that Glade won a spot in the Indie Showcase over The Score by Tin Star Games. I have nothing against Glade, it's a well-constructed board game with pretty art and mechanics that fit together… but I'm just bored by it. I'd rather be working on an actual garden when I'm playing it. Compare that to The Score, where I have to use my improvisation skills (such as they are) and really tap into one of the things I love about Dungeons & Dragons. It seems like an exceptional game to play when you're pissed if that's a selling point for any of you.
Have any of these games piqued your interest? Are you attending PAX Aus 2024? Let us know in the comments and keep an eye on Couch Soup this weekend for everything PAX Aus.
