At PAX West 2023, our team got the chance to go hands-on with a lot of indie games across the show floor. Spanning two expo halls, the show floor for PAX West was filled with diverse genres and varied team sizes and all in all showcased just how many different stories you can tell with video games. From nostalgia-driven video games to thoughtful point-and-clicks and even one on the Play Date, we’ve got a PAX West Indie Round-Up.
Whether you’re adding them to your Steam wishlist or you’re looking for a new Nindie (Nintendo Indie) to fall in love with, here is our PAX West Indie Round-Up on games you should be on the lookout for later this year and in 2024.
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Time Flies
Minimalist in design but depth in meaning. Published by Playables, Time Flies is an indie simulation by Michael Frei and Mario von Rickenbach, the creative duo behind Kids and Plug & Play. In a similar style, Time Flies uses their black and white motif to emphasize the frailty of life through the lens of a fly.
Lifespan is determined by players choosing their region. Each is allotted a certain time which boils down to mere seconds. Guided by a bucket list, players will try to do as much as they can before the death bell tolls. Learn to play an instrument or get rich. Some tasks are intentionally vague, serving as puzzles. Additionally, it aligns with the idea of how everyone defines concepts like success, for example, differently.
Time truly flies by as seconds count down only when players move. So, plan accordingly on how best to live your buzzing life. Time Flies is a title that approaches an existentialist thought and cleverly masks it under a minimal design that is seemingly lighthearted and approachable by all.
Time Flies will be released on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2024.
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom was the biggest indie surprise I played at PAX West. Developed by Panik Arcade and published by Those Awesome Guys, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom feels like a game pulled out of the 90s. With expansive chunky landscapes, vibrant colors, and a slightly unhinged sense of humor, controlling a little yellow taxi has never been so fun or chaotic.
Using midair boosts and flips, the titular taxi must explore stages to collect enough gears to unlock further levels. Of course, sometimes the easiest way of earning gears is to carry passengers to their destinations, but each stage is full of secrets, like a cave hiding just beneath the waves. With fun maneuvers, bombastic boss fights, and a plethora of hats to unlock, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom has all the ingredients to become an instant classic.
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom will be released on PC via Steam at a TBD release date.
Enotria: The Last Song
In a spread of soulslike tiles, a few immediately come to mind. Often, players are placed in a setting that is tonally dark and gothic. Enotria: The Last Song by Jyamma Games aims to make the genre more appealing to a wider audience by utilizing color. The world is vibrant and rich with culture based on Italian folklore.
The region was sunlit with greenery from grass and trees. Colorful floral dust the area and carry a lightness that doesn’t feel as intimidating to explore. If anything, the scenery sweeps players to explore and take in the sights.
Players utilize a mask system that they can hold up to three at one time. While colorful and decorated, masks are how players will switch between playstyles. While mechanically, Entoria is familiar and intuitive to pick up for those familiar with this genre, it’s a visual invitation to venture into something a little different.
Enotria: The Last Song will be released on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series in 2024.
Cuisineer
Next up in our PAX West indie round-up is a Cozy cooking rogue-lite dungeon crawler. Cuisineer is a super cute and tasty roguelite-flavored dungeon crawler from Bettlebrew Productions and published by XSEED Games. In it, you explore a lush world and defeat monsters that are all cooking-themed with your trusty spatula, frying pan, plates, and some boba tea. With each enemy defeated, you gather delicious ingredients and bring them home to cook and serve at your restaurant as you try to bring it back to life.
The game doesn’t just put you into adorable and sometimes challenging battles through procedurally generated dungeons, it also has you form relationships in your town, decorate your restaurant, and learn new recipes along the way. While combat is key, the game has enough cozy factors to really push it into both genres.
Additionally, the fantastic 2D art and 3D animation styles that are used in the game are absolutely fantastic, with endearing and charismatic character designs that were my best in the show.
Cuisineer comes to PC via Steam on November 9, 2023.
The Star Named EOS
I’m not the biggest point-and-click narrative game fan, but every now and again, one captures my heart, and that’s what The Star Named EOS did at the show and why it finds a spot on our PAX West indie round-up. In the game, you capture photos and step back in time to experience the moments held within them between you and your mother. The game itself pushes the player to reach into your memories.
In just one level, Silver Lining Studio, the game’s developers, was able to showcase a wide variety of puzzles to help you uncover the truth about his mother’s disappearance and rediscover the beauty that is to be found in the world. Each puzzle connects with the other while using the environment of the room to
The Star Named Eos will release on PC via Steam with a release date TBD.
Mars After Midnight
From the creator of Return of the Obra Dinn and Paper, Please, Lucas Pope presents outer beings in Mars After Midnight exclusively to Playdate. In a gamescape of high-fidelity, Mars After Midnight takes players back to a simpler format with 3D effects and 2D textures.
In this multilayer social simulator of sorts, players work a door to an establishment that serves as an Off Colony Community Support Center. With the novelty of utilizing the Playdate’s crank, you’ll wind the crank to determine qualifying Martians entry and sweep messes off the service table. Reset for service that acts as a puzzle where you’ll stack items in a proper order.
Where this goes and what this amounts to is unclear at the time of play. What is certain, though, is this 1 bit visual has a lot of heart and is a promising front-runner title for the Playdate.
Mars After Midnight releases exclusively on Playdate at a release date TBD.
Fashion Dreamer
Mixing social sim with fashion sim, Fashion Dreamer is developed by syn Sophia and published by XSEED Games. In it, you set out in a virtual space bustling with people named Muses, fashion fans who are always on the lookout for new inspiration and looking for you to change their style based on their preferences. Additionally, you can interact with the Muses, letting them know that you like their style and then take inspiration from them as well.
One of the most fun elements of Fashion Dreamer is the amount of customization you have in the game. From diverse hair textures and skin tones (though you can’t change your body type), though the complexion choices are very stark in contrast with little appreciation for variation in hue. Outside of your character, you’re also able to become your own designer as you customize new clothing and accessories, clocking in at over 1400 collectible items with your favorite styles and colors. You can share your custom creations with others in the online multiplayer and hopefully get your creations trending.
When you connect to the internet, other players’ Muses will appear in your world, letting you snag whatever original outfits they’re wearing, allowing you to tell others that you like their creations and interact to help build up their following and your own.
Playing dress up and creating is always fun, and Fashion Dreamer was always a promising title, but after around 20 minutes of playtime it’s fantastic to see how it delivers on the social elements and the customization elements of fashion.
Fashion Dreamer releases on Nintendo Switch November 2, 2023.
PAX West 2023 ran from August 31 through September 4, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.
