Our Review of PAX South 2019
We got to visit PAX South over the weekend and saw some super fun games. Resident Evil 2 and Days Gone both had large areas devoted to them, but – as always – we found ourselves drawn to the smaller, indie titles. PAX South seems to be getting more and more of these each year. We captured some of our time with each game so check out our videos below!
The Spirit of Katamari Lives in Wattam
I have not played game like Wattam in a long time. The game begins with a single, boxy character in an empty field with a rock. The rock games to life, spouts limbs, and begins walking around. You have to catch the rock and hold hands with it. Then, as the rock, you have to hold hands with the boxy guy. Then both characters need to hold hands with a third character. Then you realize that Wattam is a game about holding hands.
My portion wasn’t cooperative, but it looks like later stages allow two players to work together to unite the characters on the board. I’m not sure I totally understand why you need to hold hands, but who cares when the animation is this cute and the music is this good (sorry I didn’t capture the music, but it’s just like Katamari’s). This game is as cute and fun as any game I’ve ever seen.
Police Stories Looks Like Sega’s Crackdown, But Deadly Serious
I liked my quick play of Police Stories. The game looks a lot like Crackdown (the old Sega version, not the newer Xbox one) but requires a lot more deliberation. As you move through the level, you can’t shoot villains unless they shoot first. On top of that, you have to avoid shooting innocent civilians completely (or revive them if you do, as you can see in the playthrough below). On top of that, you have to lock up anybody you manage to subdue or they’ll come back after you. The game really reminded me of a cooperative Hotline Miami, to make a more current reference, and may provide a cool, unusual cooperative experience.
Sole Feels Like Journey (and Rime, and Flower, and ….)
I took a few minutes to play through some of Sole, in which I played a ball of light making my way through a nicely rendered, darkened world. I rolled quickly through the environment with plant life sprouting up around me and brief puzzles popping up in front of me. Gameplay seemed very simple but lyrical, and the visuals and audio really connect to provide a sweeping experience. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t capture the music because the score was beautiful and very reminiscent of Journey. If you liked that game, you’ll like where Sole is headed.
Inner Friend Seems Like a 3-D Limbo
Inner Friend has been out for a little while but I hadn’t had a chance to play it until PAX. Two levels were available: an abandoned gym and a hair salon. I tried the gym, but I took a wrong turn and fell into negative space. The hair salon turned out to be a better choice. The creepy salon was an unusual environment for my odd little protagonist, a shimmering, childlike being. I moved through the shop by shattering mirrors until I encountered the shop’s resident, a freaky hair monster with clippers. The monster chased me through the shops in a spooky and exciting sequence we captured below. Inner Friend looks like a fun title that I want to get to know more about.
TOEJAM AND EARL is back!
I heard rumors of a Toejam and Earl remake but I had no idea how close to launch it was. I got to spend a few minutes with the game and loved it. If you liked the original game (or the much maligned but genuinely awesome Toejam and Earl 3), you’re going to love this one.
Toejam and Earl looks a lot like the original game with a lot of the original earthlings reappearing. In my short playthrough, I saw the opera singer, that carrot who can read your presents, a creepy looking cupid, and that bouncy red devil. There were plenty of new residents also, like the caveman featured below and this guy who wants to have a PaRappa-style (rhythm-matching) dance off with you.
The game has four players rather than two, but otherwise the levels are extremely reminiscent of the original game. I didn’t capture it here, but it looked like there were about a dozen or so possibly characters. On top of that, the characters interact with each other in unique ways with a great deal of dialogue (that didn’t seem to repeat in this playthrough).
The game is apparently playable online as well as couch coop (and possibly even both). Levels are also randomly generated each game which provides a lot of potential replay value. I was thrilled to see so much of the spirit of the original game captured here and I’ll definitely look for the title when it launches March 1st.
