There’s a lot to see and do at PAX Online—much like an in-person PAX, it can be difficult to know where to begin when it comes to which games to check out, what might be relevant to your preferred mode of play, and so forth.
To assist you in the week ahead, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of demos you can download and play in the “Expo Hall.” Almost all of these are available on Steam, with several titles via the Microsoft store or directly from the game’s website. We’ll be posting this in chunks for sake of manageability!
Please note that while some of the listings in the Expo Hall mentioned a demo for a particular game title, if we visited the linked “demo” page and we unable to find a demo (on the Steam page for the game, for example), we did not include that title here. That’s not to say the demos won’t be available later this week (we don’t know why it’s not there!) but we won’t be rechecking hundreds of game pages every day. Sorry! So if you know of a game you were hoping to check out but don’t see it listed here, please check out the Expo Hall listing yourself just in case right here (https://www.paxegx.com/).
30XX
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Arcade / Platform
- Release date Coming Soon
30XX combines the crisp controls and fluid movement you love from action platformers like Mega Man X, the replayability of a modern Roguelike (Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, etc) and co-op play into a single gorgeous package.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/30xx
B.ARK
- Available on Nintendo Switch
- Genre Action & Adventure / Arcade / Kids & Family / Shooter
- Release date Q4 2020
As seen on Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Tic Toc Games is proud to present, B.ARK, our newest 4-player co-op space shooter for Nintendo Switch.
In B.ARK, pilot a team of animal heroes with your family and friends as you blast your way through evil aquatic enemies in this family-friendly couch co-op space shooter! Navigate and defend our Solar System as Barker the Dog, Felicity the Cat, Lucio the Bear, and Marv the Rabbit, as they blast their way through waves of revenge-seeking aquatic mechs, known as the Dark Tide.
Each animal pilot has their own story and special attack. Fuse your special attacks with your teammates’ to create out-of-this-world combinations sure to light up your screen! Take out your fishy foes in B.ARK’s hand-animated world, filled with colorful characters to meet and planets to explore.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/bark
BLACK BOOK
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Role-Playing / Strategy
- Release date 2021
Dive into this narrative-driven RPG Adventure with card-based combat and explore a world of Slavic mythology
https://www.paxegx.com/games/black-book
BOYFRIEND DUNGEON
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch
- Genre Action & Adventure / Role-Playing
- Release date Coming Soon
Romance your swords! In this dating simulator/dungeon crawler mash up, capture the hearts of up to nine weapons (male, female, non-binary). Spend the cash you earn on romantic outings to forge precious moments with your lovers and work together to clear the rampant monster infestations, because after all, a couple that slays together, stays together.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/boyfriend-dungeon
CRICKET: JAE’S REALLY PECULIAR GAME
- Available on macOS / Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch
- Genre Action & Adventure / Kids & Family / Role-Playing
- Release date December 2022
After a devastating loss, Jae would do anything to fix the past. Blast off with your newfound friends on a journey to the gates of Yimmelia, a fabled land on the moon that’s rumored to grant any wish.
Traverse forests, explore cities, ruin a rock concert, and crash a fandom convention, all while throwing your JRPG expectations out the window.
Ram your head into things, see what happens!
Customize your battle experience with six playable characters.
Time your attacks to build your meter, unleashing powerful duo and trio attacks!
Freely interact with NPCs during conversations: stand there and take it, throw items at them, or just walk away.
Your actions have consequences—how you treat people in this world affects combat.
Hey, if you can figure out who’s playing at the rock concert, can you forward it to us so we can stay tuned?
“Stay tuned”…That’s hilarious. We’re done here.
Elemelons.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/cricket-jaes-really-peculiar-game
CRIS TALES
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X
- Genre Role-Playing
- Release date 17 November 2020
Cris Tales is a gorgeous, indie love letter to classic JRPGs with a new perspective. Peer into the past, act in the present, and watch as your choices dynamically change the future — all on one screen as you play!
https://www.paxegx.com/games/cris-tales
CROWN TRICK
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch
- Release date Q4 2020
Crown Trick is set in the daunting Nightmare Realm, a labyrinthine, underground world filled with monsters and traps. You will have to master the elements and combine dozens of skills, while planning the best strategy, to overcome deadly enemies that stand still until their plan of attack is executed. As the quest continues, you will have the opportunity to gain access to high-level skills – Familiars – secured from the elite monsters that roam the dungeon, increasing the chances of both success and survival. Create and develop a unique combat style with dozens of active and passive skills and abilities, items, and relics help create different ways to cut through enemy encounters
https://www.paxegx.com/games/crown-trick
CAKE BASH
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Fighting / Kids & Family / Party, Music & Dance
- Release date Q4 2020
Fight to be the tastiest cake in Cake Bash! A frantic four player party game where adorable drawn-to-life cakes beat the crumbs out of each other.
Pick your favourite cake and battle in a variety of lifelike arenas with unique goals – cover yourself in sweeties or hurl fruit into a pie, there’s plenty for everyone!
To cool down, try an assortment of minigame treats – roast perfect marshmallows, pipe the finest frosting, or be the last flan standing in Fork Knife.
Guide your cakes through the bakery as they dress to impress the customer in Get Tasty! Buy delicious toppings in a series of games to be the chosen one…
You could also just play your favourite mode again and again, it’s up to you!
Compete on the same screen, find challengers online or battle well-baked bots. It’s time to get out of the oven and into the fray!
https://www.paxegx.com/games/cake-bash
CASTLESTORM II
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Arcade / Strategy
- Release date Out now
Aim your catapults! Command your troops! Bloody the battlefield!
CastleStorm II levels up gaming’s greatest genre mishmash with ruthless destruction powered by Unreal 4, plus a whole new metagame of strategic, tactical conquest.
The heroes of the Kingdom confront the vile forces of the Undead, and you’ll plot your path to triumph for both sides in two epic story-driven campaigns. But not without some hands-on chaotic carnage and delightful devastation!
CastleStorm II returns to a classic fantasy land of medieval madness, rife with heroic knights, enchanting sorceresses, glorious griffins…and sheep. But a new threat rises – literally…as in, from the grave. Walking corpses. Headless horsemen. ZOMBIE sheep. All-around nasty necromancy. You get the picture.
Build an entire empire through gameplay that engages your inner hardcore strategist…then command – even CONTROL – your soldiers en route to triumph!
https://www.paxegx.com/games/castlestorm-ii
DANDY ACE
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Arcade
- ESRB Rating Everyone
- Release date February 2021
Dandy Ace is an over the top fast-paced roguelike experience that follows a fabulous magician seeking to combine and use his magical cards while fighting and looting his way to defeat the Green-Eyed Illusionist, Lele, who has imprisoned him in a cursed mirror. While battling your way through Lele’s ever changing palace, combine different cards with more than a thousand possibilities, each with their own playstyles and powers. Every run provides new challenges and combinations for players to explore as they progress closer to Lele.
Play as Dandy Ace, the amazing hero, and survive the challenges of the extravagant, lavish and ever changing palace created to defeat him filled with bizarre creatures and outrageous bosses. Find all of the magical cards, gather shards and gold, and get help from his assistants and unconventional allies.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/dandy-ace
DISJUNCTION
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Role-Playing / Shooter
- Release date Coming Soon
- Following the arrest of a prominent community leader, New York stands in disarray. Suspicions and allegations run rife throughout the city, as an insidious drug known as ‘Shard’ spreads throughout the underworld. With the city’s future in doubt, three hardened citizens rise to discover the truth and uncover a conspiracy threatening to alter the city’s fate.Inspired by tech noir classics, Disjunction is an intensely atmospheric stealth-action RPG that follows a trinity of interwoven narratives, and features a reactive story where your actions have real, persistent consequences. Choose your playstyle and use an arsenal of futuristic tech, cybernetic upgrades and weapons to blast through levels in brutally fast combat, or take a silent approach by using stealth and non-lethal takedowns to leave without a trace. Nobody needs to die… unless you decide they must.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/disjunction
FIRE TONIGHT
- Available on macOS / Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch
- Genre Puzzle
- Release date Q1 2021
Maya and Devin are separated in a city on fire. In the year 1990, before cell phones or Internet. They’re on their own, wondering about the choices that brought them here, how they met, and what the future might hold.
Inspired by Information Society’s song of the same name, Fire Tonight is a lighthearted but thoughtful walk through the story of a relationship. A story about believing in each other when the whole world tries to keep them apart.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/fire-tonight
FURY UNLEASHED
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Arcade / Platform / Shooter
- Release date Out now
Fury Unleashed combo-driven roguelite platformer where you shoot your way through the pages of an ever-changing comic book and get more powerful the more dead-on your play is. Your goal is to find out why John Kowalsky, creator of acclaimed Fury Unleashed series, is having a creativity crisis and see if you can help him deal with it.
To reach it, you’ll have to learn to combat various enemies spanning through three comic book worlds, make use of randomized items you find on your way, and trade with various characters. You’ll die repeatedly, but you’ll also grow stronger every time, thanks to ink you’ve collected from fallen enemies. Ultimately, you’ll dive into your creator’s long forgotten sketchbook, where it all started from.
Fury Unleashed has launched on May 8 this year and scored metacritic values of 76-80 across all platforms (Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Steam).
https://www.paxegx.com/games/fury-unleashed
And just for the sake of being thorough, here are the games in the Expo Hall that, while they don’t have a demo available, are still coming to (or are already available on) the Nintendo Switch and therefore may be relevant to your interests:
ADVENTURES OF PIP
- Release date Coming Soon
Adventures of Pip revitalized the classic side-scrolling action platformer genre back in 2015, and now Pip is adventuring on Nintendo Switch! Pip — the ultimate digital underdog – is a lowly single pixel in a 32-bit world who proves that you can’t judge a hero by the fidelity of his shaders.
Evolve Pip from a single pixel by absorbing pixels from his fallen foes. Each evolution and devolution comes with their own abilities! Enjoy dynamic 2D pixel environments with lovingly detailed animations, backgrounds, and characters! Relish epic music by Jake “”Virt”” Kaufman, composer for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero and Shovel Knight.”
https://www.paxegx.com/games/adventures-of-pip
ALIEN HOMINID INVASION
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Shooter
- Release date Out now
Alien Hominid Invasion is a co-op run ‘n’ gun game packed with chaos, mayhem, and a whole lot of explosions. Beam down to invade randomly-assembled neighborhoods and face the unending swarm of enemy Agents!
https://www.paxegx.com/games/alien-hominid-invasion
ANNO: MUTATIONEM
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure
- Release date Coming Soon
Welcome to the neon-covered, 2D-meets-3D Cyberpunk world of ANNO: Mutationem. In this Action-Adventure game with RPG elements you become Ann: a highly skilled combat-trained lone wolf on a personal mission in a giant Metropolis, full of sinister mega-corporations, mysterious fringe groups and creatures more bizarre than words can express.
Coming soon for PC & PS4!
Features
1: Unique 2D-to-3D gameplay, seamless switching between 2D Action n’ Platforming and 3D Exploration to interact with the world and its inhabitants
2: Ann will slash, shoot, combo, grenade-throw & ground-pound her way thru hordes of enemies and huge bosses.
3: Exploring diverse locations such as huge cities & complex underground structures, players are free to go as they please, returning to previous areas and unlock new events.
4: A grand story befitting a rich and dark cyberpunk décor, featuring our main hero Ann and her trusty hacker side-kick Ayane
5: Collect, buy or craft items & upgrade Ann’s s stats, skills and gear. Use chips to modify any kind of weapon you find.
Coming soon on PlayStation, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox
https://www.paxegx.com/games/anno-mutationem
ARY AND THE SECRET OF SEASONS
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4
- Genre Action & Adventure / Kids & Family / Platform / Puzzle / Role-Playing
- Release date Out now
Take control of the seasons and use them to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and discover the beautiful world of Valdi.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/ary-and-the-secret-of-seasons
BLIND FATE: EDO NO YAMI
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Platform
- Release date Coming Soon
In the dark and machine-ridden New Edo period, the Shogunate rules over Japan with an iron fist. You are the instrument of its justice.
You are Yami, the cyber samurai – a bionic creature of metal and hatred. Your duty is to enforce the law and protect citizens from bloodthirsty robotic monsters known as the Youkai. Follow orders, obey, and eliminate threats… Such has always been your purpose.
A single mistake cost you your sight so you must now learn to “perceive” the world in a new way.
Embark on a journey of discovery in a strange land inhabited by mythological beings from Japanese folklore and killer robots. Learn to fight relying solely on sounds, vibrations, and heat emission.
Carve a path through the darkness with your deadly katana and the devastating hand cannon. There, in the depth of the shadows, you will find the roots of an unsuspected evil.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/blind-fate-edo-no-yami
BLAZING CHROME
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Platform / Shooter
- Release date Out now
The world is under the machines domination, putting the few humans alive on the edge of total extermination. Bring your best pal and kick some metal butts to free the humankind while enjoying a classic run’n’gun, fully loaded with action and exciting fights. Between Contra and Metal Slug, Blazing Chrome is made by and for arcade and action fans.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/blazing-chrome
BROKEN ROADS
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Role-Playing
- Release date Q4 2021
Broken Roads is a narrative-driven RPG that brings exploration, strategic turn-based combat and meaningful philosophical choices to an all-new Australian post-apocalyptic setting.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/broken-roads
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTOR: THE WALKING DEAD
- Available on Android / iOS / Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X
- Genre Arcade / Platform / Puzzle / Simulation / Strategy
- Release date 2020
Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead combines the legendary and challenging puzzle gameplay of Bridge Constructor™ with the post-apocalyptic zombie universe of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Join a group of survivors as they fight against hordes of undead walkers and a hostile human community. Build bridges and other constructions through bleak landscapes and ruined structures. Team up with fan-favorite characters like Daryl, Michonne and Eugene, and create safe passage for iconic vehicles from the series. Use movable level objects, explosives and baits to your advantage as you lure walkers into lethal traps and guide your survivors to safety. Enjoy the physics-based frenzy and ragdoll animations as walkers succumb to the forces of gravity.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/bridge-constructor-the-walking-dead
CLOUDPUNK
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Role-Playing
- Release date 15 October 2020
A neon-noir story in a rain-drenched cyberpunk metropolis. It’s your first night on the job working for the Cloudpunk delivery service. Two rules: Don’t miss a delivery and don’t ask what’s in the package.
Https://www.paxegx.com/games/cloudpunk
DARK DEVOTION
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4
- Genre Action & Adventure / Platform
- Release date Out now
The eternal suffering of The Templars is both a blessing and a curse – salvation is born through sacrifice, and no sacrifice is too great to praise your God. A mystical temple teeming with a strange life-like energy of its own awaits you on your sacred crusade of suffering and redemption that will take you to the depths of traditions spanning centuries – and leave you questioning your faith and your own existence.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/dark-devotion
DEGREES OF SEPARATION
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Kids & Family / Platform / Puzzle
- Release date Out now
A puzzle platformer where cooperation is built into every move. Two contrasting souls fall in love but are separated by an enigmatic force.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/degrees-of-seperation
ENDER LILIES: QUIETUS OF THE KNIGHTS
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure
- ESRB Rating Teen
- PEGI Rating PEGI 12
- Release date Q4 2020
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights is a challenging dark fantasy metroidvania fairy tale coming to Steam and consoles this winter.
Follow Lily, the last surviving priestess, across a land devastated by an endless and cursed rain turning everyone into the undead. Purify the living dead and summon their spirits to protect her on a journey accented by haunting strains from Ghost in the Shell, Cytus, and DEEMO veteran musical group Mili.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/ender-lilies-quietus-of-the-knights
FALLEN LEGION REVENANTS
- Available on Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4
- Genre Platform / Role-Playing
- Release date 2021
Your choices will decide the fates of many! Manipulate the castle above and lead heroes into battle in the world below in this real-time action RPG!
https://www.paxegx.com/games/fallen-legion-revenants
FIGHT CRAB
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch
- Genre Action & Adventure / Fighting / Simulation
- ESRB Rating Everyone 10+
- PEGI Rating PEGI 12
- Release date 15 September 2020
Fight Crab is an over-the-top physics-based, 3D action battle game that combines giant crustaceans, insane weaponry, and intense claw-to-claw combat into one hilarious, must-play game.
You are a crab. Embark on a world tour of devastation, flipping over as many crabs as possible in a quest to be crowned lord of the crustaceans!
• Claw through 7 Tutorial stages and a Campaign Mode with 34 stages spread out across 7 chapters
• 23 types of playable crab, 48 different weapons, and 11 unique battle arenas
• A variety of matchmaking options including 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, and both offline and online co-op and versus battle modes
• Level up your crab, recruit new crabs, and purchase deadly new weapons
• Unlock special Skills like the fabled Kanihameha, the devastating Crab Copter, and more
• Use the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con™ motion controls to freely manipulate limbs to punch, grab, and flip your way to victory
https://www.paxegx.com/games/fight-crab
FORECLOSED
- Available on Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Genre Action & Adventure / Shooter
- Release date Q2 2021
Foreclosed is an action-shooter set in a comic book world with a gorgeous Cyberpunk aesthetic. Follow the events of Evan Kapnos in this story-driven and action packed comic book styled game and discover how losing your identity is all too possible.
https://www.paxegx.com/games/foreclosed
Stay tuned for more demo listings tomorrow as well as our first impressions in the coming week on as many of these titles as we can possibly manage!
