Crafting and Sailing and Falling in Love: My 2019 PAX “Best Ofs” in a Nutshell

This year I went to PAX West having scheduled a series of appointments to see some Indie titles that I have been anxious to see since they were first announced and I set alarms to remind me of the sign ups for Nintendo’s Warp Pipe Pass that could get me in to play the demos of the upcoming Link’s Awakening remake and Luigi’s Mansion 3, two of my most awaited Switch titles of the year (both of which I loved but won’t be covering here today). I was a woman on a mission.

After coming back from PAX and an amazing weekend workshop on Inclusion and Diversity in Livestreaming and E-Sports at UC-Irvine I finally have time to sit down and reflect on the games that I saw at PAX. So here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.

Spiritfarer by Thunder Lotus Games was the one titles that was announced at E3 that I knew I was going to have to play no matter what. In Spiritfarer you play as Stella, the ferrymaster, who is in charge of shepharding the spirits of the deceased into the afterlife. As ferrymaster, Stella finds that they must also help the spirits prepare for that trip and house them on the ferry until their time to pass over has come.

In the brief time that I had with the game I found myself completely enamored. Chatting with the wonderful team at Thunder Lotus about their design process, the fact that the spirits in game as representative of loved ones of the team members who have passed away,  and the cultural research that goes into the backgrounds of each of the spirits on the ferry. I have to admit that my interest in this game is a selfish one. I am interested in finding a game that can make the concept of death less frightening to children (specifically to my own child) and the absolutely lovely way that Thunder Lotus makes death and passage to the afterlife seem both natural and peaceful is reassuring. I was pleasantly surprised to see that you also have the potential to share a hug with the spirits on the ferry, but only with their consent. And they don’t always consent.

Stella is a patient ferry person who takes the time to make sure that the spirits in their charge are ready to pass on and for that patience they are rewarded with something that they can take with them (no spoilers). Spiritfarer also a co-op mode where a second player can join Stella on their quests as an adorably fluffy cat named Daffodil. I have to admit that I went into this demo with high expectations, but did not suspect that I would be brought to tears by it’s beauty and sensitivity or that children might not be the only ones who might come to a better understanding of mortality through this game.

Forthcoming: 2020

As a lover of puzzle games with a unique twist A Fold Apart by Lightning Rod Games was extremely appealing to me. In this game you have to bring two long distance lovers together through a series of puzzles that involve folding and flipping levels to change their physical proximity. When I first saw the game mentioned online I was a bit hesitant because despite the allure of the puzzles the screenshots showed what could be read as a man and woman, but seeing the demo and the images at their booth revealed that the game is actually going to allow us to choose same sex and even non-binary couples as well. It was definitely a relief to see that these kinds of diverse options were available even at this stage of development.

The story in A Fold Apart unfolds in a far too familiar way for anyone who has ever been in a long distance relationship. We see endearments and discussions of days carried out via text messages and video calls and the miscommunication that can go along with that. While the demo that I played felt brief it ultimately left me hopeful and I can’t wait to play the full game at launch!

Forthcoming: 2020

After seeing Red Blue Games’ Sparklite in Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase a few weeks ago I couldn’t wait to play the action-adventure games that promised procedurally generated worlds and inventive game play. The game offers a female protagonist that is working to take down the mining industry that seems hellbent on destroying the world of Geodia by stealing all of it’s life force, Sparklite.

The portion of the game that I was given to play demonstrated not only the battle system but scratched my odd desire to grind by giving me the chance to run around upgrading my guns, machines, and more. This brightly colored, top down game was a lot of fun to have hands on with and I can’t wait to play through this in co-op mode with my daughter!

Forthcoming: Fall 2019

And because I simply can’t seem to resist any game that gives me to chance to farm and build finding the time to demo Lemonbomb Entertainment’s Stranded Sails was an absolute must. Stranded Sails is an open world farming simulator…what is there not to love about those 4 words together when describing a video game?!?

The game opens with you shipwrecked on a deserted island with your father, the captain of the ship. You then spend your time finding the other crew members and building a farm to sustain yourself and the crew while you rebuild your ship in the hopes of eventually escaping the island. You also get to survive the dangers of the islands, solve puzzles, learn to cook, and expand the camp all while questing around the island. One of the only things that could make this game any better (so far) would be if it had couch co-op or online multiplayer, but alas, it is a single player experience.

Forthcoming: October 2019

And what would any games con be without a pleasant surprise or two? Two of the games that I just happened upon that were definitely pleasant surprises were Alien Trap’s crafting adventure game (notice a them here?) Wytchwood and Bloom Media Digital’s dating simulator set in a retirement home, Later Daters.

While dating simulators are not usually my thing (my recent fascination with Dream Daddy excluded), I was drawn to Later Daters because the concept of a dating simulator set in a retirement home just seemed novel to me. The demo drew me further in because there seemed to be some mysterious things going on with the other residents of the complex that started to unfold on the very day that we were moving in (in game). Later Daters is definitely something that I can’t wait to learn more about once it launches later this fall.

Wytchwood was hidden way back in the corner of the PAX 10 (games voted the top 10 at the show) section that would have been easily missed if I hadn’t been looking to escape the main drag. In this beautifully colored game you play an old witch walking through the countryside in a world based on gothic fables and fairytales collecting the materials that you need to craft magic potions and the like. The game is set to launch later this year.

If this sampling is any indication of what the indie game market has to offer us in the coming year it is pretty clear that we will be busy. I personally can’t wait to see these full games at launch!