This year at PAX West, we had the opportunity to go hands-on with a wide variety of upcoming games in all manner of styles and genres. From visual novels about wizard school to immersive sims with a focus on confronting death, this year at PAX West really proved that gaming has something for everyone and that creative developers are always working hard to have their stories told. Listed below are just seven of the games we think you should try!
STARBITES
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Developer: IKINAGAMES
Publisher: NIS America, Inc.
Take control of a squad of mech pilots in STARBITES, a turn-based RPG inspired by Final Fantasy VI and Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Arcade Future Tone. Set on the ruined desert planet Bitter, our heroes hope to utilize their diverse machines to revive the world to a more prosperous era.
With unique Driver’s High abilities, extensive and varied skill trees, and unique skills based on your party formation, STARBITES wants to shake up conceptions about turn-based RPGs. Creator Junho Bae is set on creating a world that players want to belong to, including eventually seeing their party members as friends. And with gorgeous 2D art and 3D models to boot, the post-apocalypse has never looked so vibrant.
Coming soon to PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 1 and 2.
Never’s End
Developer: Hypersect
Publisher: Hypersect
Never’s End is a tactical RPG, with 3D art that expertly emulates 2D spritework. As evil encroaches on the land, you’ll need to possess common folk like farmers, carpenters, and more, using their humble skills to save the world. As your army’s size and skill increase, so too does the cost of maintaining your possession, forcing you to make tough decisions about when to free a reliable soldier. Heat and moisture also play a key role in combat, allowing you to manipulate the elements with special magic to freeze, reposition, or otherwise impede your foes. The inclusion of a procedurally generated world means no two campaigns will play the same.
Coming soon to PC and PlayStation 5.
Ravenwood Academy: A Wizard101 Story
Developer: KingsIsle Entertainment
Publisher: gamigo group
From the history books of the almost 20-year-old MMORPG Wizard101 comes a new gaming experience called Ravenwood Academy: A Wizard101 Story. Set decades before the events of the online game, players take the role of a transfer student attending the titular school. With a clean slate in terms of lore, the writers are excited to show a different side of the game’s magical setting: actually attending school!
Curiously, though, combat is missing from this title, making Ravenwood Academy: A Wizard101 Story more of a visual novel. The art style and events of the game make its connection to the MMORPG very clear, and with a story focused on the gravity of high school drama and moving past your mistakes, you can be sure to relate to some of the students within.
Coming soon to PC.
Ambrosia Sky
Developer: Soft Rains
Publisher: Soft Rains
Ambrosia Sky is a gorgeous new game we played at PAX West that is set in a universe where humanity has abandoned Earth in search of immortality. As Dalia, players will explore derelict labs overrun with alien fungi and learn the truth about the work that was being performed within. Armed with a chemical sprayer and water, flaming material, and conductive material, players can exploit the immersive sim elements of the game to power defunct equipment, clear out debris, and generally clean the environments you explore. A beautiful art style and some haunting storytelling moments make Ambrosia Sky one of my most anticipated titles at PAX West.
Coming soon to PC.
TetherGeist
Developer: O. and Co. Games
Publisher: O. and Co. Games
TetherGeist is a platformer where the protagonist, Mae, must use her spirit, which she can project forward a short distance, to make her way through various obstacles. Each ‘screen’ is like a self-contained puzzle, offering various consumable items that have different effects on Mae’s spirit.
The small mushroom allows you to use larger mushrooms as a sort of springboard, while the red pepper will enable you to charge through dilapidated structures. TetherGeist also feels very intuitive, relaying the effect of each ability very efficiently, allowing players to jump in without much trouble. Boasting a gorgeous pixel art style and handling very smoothly, TetherGeist is sure to be an instant classic.
Coming soon to PC.
Wolfhound
Developer: Bit Kid, Inc
Publisher: Bit Kid, Inc
Wolfhound introduces one-man army Chuck “Wolfhound” Rossetti as he attempts to infiltrate a World War II lab focused on the occult, all set within the Bermuda Triangle. Boasting a plot and art style reminiscent of the ’80s, players can platform, shoot, and slash their way through perilous bugs, zombies, and other horrific creatures.
With a focus on exploration – and the discovery of skills that aid in exploration – Wolfhound is a game that will have you poring over every suspicious-looking tile in hopes of finding a secret room. Weapon and health upgrades, save rooms, and more are all waiting to be discovered by intrepid explorers, and horrifying boss fights are sure to etch themselves in players’ memories.
Coming soon to PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
Order Automatica
Developer: New Beings
Publisher: better. publishing
Order Automatica caught my eye at PAX West due to its aesthetic, pitting two 3×3 grids of combatants against each other in tactical, auto-battler combat. Every recruitable unit seemed to be some horrible monstrosity from another tale, such as the werewolf, the fishman, or the sinister doctor or nurse. Your enemy grows stronger with each defeat, so you’ve got to ensure your own army is growing stronger too.
Like other auto-battlers, you’ll need three of the same unit to power them up, but you’ve got to set them up like a winning line in tic-tac-toe, increasing their power and the magnitude of their ability. Between the various unit effects, the ability to power up individual tiles on your grid, and the constant risk and reward of committing to a specific strategy, Order Automatica feels poised to provide hours and hours of scrutinizing and strategizing fun.
Coming soon to PC.
Although these were just a few of the games that caught my attention at PAX West, there are dozens upon dozens of unique experiences to be found each year. If you consider gaming more than a casual hobby, you owe it to yourself to visit one year to discover your next favorite game. Until then, we’re happy to highlight our favorite titles each year.
PAX West was held in Seattle, Washington, from August 29 to September 1, 2025.
