PAX West 2023? More like feet hurt simulator!
Long Gone Days
It’s been 8 years since Long Gone Days was revealed. Since then, we covered the Kickstarter and Early Access demos. After chatting with Samantha, I was intrigued enough to check out the latest version of the game and it’s looks closer to the final version releasing October 18th. The demo serves as the introduction to the story. You play as Rourke, a soldier conscripted into an underground private military group called The Core. During the demo, you’ll walk around, talk to NPCs, engage in a sniping mission, battle encounters, and even take on a side quest. The turn based RPG combat was accessible and The visuals and UI seem to be the biggest improvement. I am looking forward to seeing how the full game is when it releases next month.
Pepper Grinder
Nobody ever said a pirate’s life was an easy one. Pepper, our titular seafaring hero, opens the game shipwrecked and robbed of her treasure by a rival group called the Narlings. Unfortunately for them, they left you with your trust drill that you’ll use to reclaim your stolen loot. I’m always a fan of when a platformer offers a new way to traverse its levels, and Pepper Grinder’s signature drill is a novel way to shake things up. You’ll use your drill to burrow into sandpiles and essentially build speed and momentum to launch yourself to your destination. Putting on your best Jaws impression, you’ll also fight enemies this way by digging deep and shooting to the surface to take them out. I cannot stress enough how satisfying it is to drill through objects in this game. The whole thing controls super tight and there was never a moment where I felt like the controls fought against me when making tight jumps. The game is no stranger to puzzles either, as you’ll find various rooms that require intricate switch flipping to help open your way to the next area. It wasn’t present in the demo, but the jewels you can pick up in levels can be used to power up Pepper or her drill, along with opening hidden paths on the world map. After a hectic platforming section where I had to quickly avoid dangerous landmines embedded in the sand, my demo ended in an explosive finale as I tunneled my way upwards and explosions followed. You’ll be able to zip around and reclaim your loot when Pepper Grinder releases next year.
Pacific Drive
If you tell me you’ve got a game that’s set in “The Zone” and there are anomalies hanging around, and general weird vibes to the whole thing, then god dammit I’m in. Pacific Drive is a run-based survival game set in the Pacific Northwest; you find yourself stuck in the Zone and unfortunately the only way out is to go through it. The basic loop of the game is exploring areas of the Olympic Exclusion Zone as you solve its mysteries, all while scavenging to keep your trusty car in working order as you dig deeper into the Zone. Your car is integral to the entire experience of Pacific Drive; you can interact with basically every aspect of it. I was told this was done to make the car more personable to each player and it definitely worked on me as I left my demo with a few stories of moments with my car that were unique to me such as one moment where I pulled up on some anomalies to swipe an item they were guarding, but because I hadn’t put the car in park when I came scrambling back to my car (anomalies in full chase behind me) it was rolling down the hill. I somehow managed to hop in the car, put it in park and toss the item in my trunk before taking off before noticing that I couldn’t see where the anomalies were behind me because I didn’t close the trunk so I was effectively driving semi-blind. It was definitely a highlight of my demo until a Zone Storm hit and I had to gun it in my car to safety, and because I had been distracted working on my car’s engine while the storm was closing in I didn’t notice it till the last second. Like before, I had forgotten to lower my car hood so I was once again driving blind through danger. It’s safe to say I definitely didn’t make it, but Pacific Drive still left a hell of an impression on me by the end of my run. Exploring the Zone, scavenging for resources to upgrade my car and getting into unintentional hijinks was great fun and can’t wait to experience more of it when Pacific Drive launches next year.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
It’s been a minute since the last sidescrolling Super Mario Bros. game, with its previous entry being New Super Mario Bros. U all the way back in 2012; so you can definitely say we’ve been long overdue for a new one. The formula is the same you know from years past, but a huge shakeup is the inclusion of “Wonder Seeds”. These items can be picked up in a level and drastically transform the stage into a psychedelic experience that is probably the closest any one of these games have gotten to the zaniness of Rayman Legends. Additionally, you can now acquire “badges” that you can equip that give you a different perk when playing such as a grappling hook, a high jump triggered by crouching, or even a sensor that alerts you when you’re near hidden objects. It’s an interesting addition that’s sure to make you rethink how to approach certain levels. It wouldn’t be a Mario game without new power-ups either and the ones we got to try might be some of my favorites in a long while. The drill and elephant power-ups in particular were a blast, as the drill let you dig through objects or even hide underground while the other turned you into a lumbering elephant that smashed everything in its way. The entire demo was a total delight and I can’t wait to play more when it releases next month.
