March 26th marks the fourth and final day of PAX East 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. David, Stephanie, and Pat from the Boss Rush Network complete their journey covering various indie games and merchandise. The team interviewed game developers, purchased memorabilia, and tested upcoming games.

DAVID: Editor In Chief

What an experience these four days have been. I felt both sadness and gratitude as we wound down the expo. Getting to meet up with Pat and Stephanie was amazing and continuing to make connections with other journalists, content producers, and game developers was certainly a dream realized.

I had one final appointment today with the developers of Strayed Light (full coverage coming). I really enjoyed my time with the game and particularly appreciated the availability of the developer team to discuss their work. The game is fun to play and definitely one to watch as it gets closer to release.

The highlight of the day for me though was meeting up with Evan from Legends Cookbook. Getting to meet the creative spirit behind a Zelda product I love was awesome. Evan talked video games with me and we chatted about the industry in general. His sense of humor and kindness helped us connect immediately. These connections make PAX a truly special experience.

PAT: Co-Host of EXPCast

Today was the last day.  We only had 2 set appointments to hit up and then we would call it a day.  Steph immediately ran to A Corgi’s Cozy Hike, which was a cute, simple 3D platformer.  The really neat thing about this game is that 10% of the purchase price of the game goes directly to animal shelters.

We wandered around the center of the hall where to see if anything would catch out eye.  Steph and David went to Strayed Lights while I took the opportunity to check out Wrestle Story by Tic Toc games.  While the game is still at least a good year from being done, it showed a lot of fun and promise.  The combat is very similar to the Paper Mario series where you have to do some small actions to either cause more damage to the enemy or reduce damage to you. The game had a lot of charm in its cut scenes as well.

Steph and I regrouped and stopped at a game called Trinity Fusion, which is a rouge-like, metroidvania featuring a world broken by a multiverse, and three heroes that are working to unite their part of the multiverse.  The game had pretty graphics and the combat was smooth. I didn’t have too much time playing it though because the battery died on the Steam Deck I was playing on.

Finally we had our appointment with Yacht Club games who featured Mina the Hollower.  This is the studio’s first new game outside of Shovel Knight, and their love for retro games continues to show.  This game takes the best aspects of old school Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and even some Bloodborne.  Then, they added their own flair of hidden secrets and a nifty dig system that helps with traversal and puzzles.  At the end of the demo was a challenging boss fight.  At first, the boss seemed impossible to beat, but by watching how it moves, you can learn how to dodge and keep yourself out of reach from their range.  By my third attempt, I managed to beat them with a sliver of health left of my own.  They game was amazing, and I look forward to the full experience when it comes out. [Editor’s Note: Pat earned applause from the game dev!!!]

With that, Steph, David, and I took some last pictures, gathered our stuff, and walked out of what I would consider a successful PAX 2023.  While the games were great, I think the connections we made with the developers, other media outlet, and ourselves was the best thing to come out of this convention.

STEPHANIE: Copy Editor, Co-Host of Boss Rush Podcast

There’s isn’t much I can add that David and Pat haven’t already mentioned. I made every effort to make one last, strong lap around the Expo Hall to catch any small devs and their games. I wanted to call out Wired Productions’ Gori: Cuddly Carnage, Johnson at A Corgi’s Cozy Hike, Isaac from Crimson Herring’s Sovereign Syndicate, Luis from Fictiorama Studios’ Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099, and Celia and Eli from Yacht Club Games’ Mina the Hollower. If each day had a theme, today was the day of connection. These developers and other members of the team provide a level of depth beyond digital code that make up video games.

AAA titles from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft will always be amazing (…or at least sell because of the brand), but the indie dev and publishing scene that not only sustains the industry but also contributes to its skyrocketing growth. And we wouldn’t be experiencing these stories without them. Thank you to everyone I met at PAX East 2023. And thank you, Pat and David.

Tell us what you think! Will you be attending PAX East in the future? Are you here now? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord and Facebook.

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The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast Monday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and listen on podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening!

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