The marathon that is PAX West 2024 is nearing its end, and Boss Rush continues to make the best out of the time together and with others in the video game industry. From interviews to team dinners, day three at PAX West finished strong.

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

I was grateful that day three of PAX West went at a more leisurely pace. I had two appointments, one with Phoenix/HYPER REAL for SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim, and another with GRYPHLINE’s Arknights: Endfield. Both were two completely different video games, and that’s what I love most about my job at Boss Rush Network. I appreciate games of all kinds, and I enjoy speaking with the developer teams even more.

Aside from appointments, I wanted to slow down and walk the floor with friends and colleagues. I picked up a few more pins for my lanyards and even visit the tabletop section.

The day concluded with a Boss Rush dinner at Rumba. With a few drinks in hand, everyone enjoyed a tapas-style meal while discussing what brings us all together–video games. I am grateful for this community, and it’s the relationships that I will cherish the most.

David: Editor In Chief

Today, I spent less time on the journalism side of things, as my family came to visit PAX; it was fun to enjoy the convention as a fan rather than feeling like I was working, though I did score a few interviews when the opportunities were presented.

Two highlights from the day stand out. The first was taking my daughter to the Five Nights at Freddy’s VR experience where we played a pre-alpha build of Secret of the Mimic. The line snaked through a mini-build of the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place, which featured a lifelike replica of Jackie, the antagonist of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic.

Getting to play Secret of the Mimic while hearing from the game developer about what went into this particular section of the game was a treat. More importantly, my daughter (who is a huge FNAF fan) had the time of her life.

Later, I went with my wife to the Summit building to check out the tabletop gaming area. I got to demo the card game Roast, which is still in the Kickstarter phase. The game is an absolute blast to play. Keep an eye out for our full review in the coming weeks.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the team dinner. Greysun Morales from Gamerant and Rod Lloyd from Zelda Dungeon joined us, which was fantastic!

Pat: Chief Games Officer

Today, I took the opportunity to check out Raynatis over at the NIS booth. It was a fun game that about modern day wizards in Shibuya. According to the representative, the in-game Shibuya is an exact replica to the real Shibuya, shops and all.

Shortly after, Steph met up with me to check out an indie title called While Waiting. You can literally beat the game by doing nothing, but you also have a list of clues of activities you can do while you wait for whatever your goal is. Immediately after, we played a PvP dating sim called Pick Me, Pick Me. Steph and I competed to win the affection of a generative AI character. I thought the date was going great, and I was clearly doing better than Steph, but neither of us won the heart of the girl at the end, just like in real life… dating sucks.

Ed: VP, Co-Host of Nintendo Pow Block Podcast

Today was a fun yet saddening day three for me. As PAX West draws to a close, many of us are leaving on day four. It was an exhilarating time with the Boss Rush Network crew and friends of other podcasts and content creators. Nevertheless, day three was such an interesting and engaging time for me.

As for the games I got to play today, I started the day off with the beautiful stop-motion game, Feltopia. With this small six-minute demo, it was pure enjoyment and the eye-catching visual was stunning for a side-scrolling shoot’em up. I moved on to the PAX Rising area and played SacriFire. A 2-D Adventure with a mixture of PS1 Star Ocean battle arena, the look of a treasure game, and a learning curve that may take time, the game is worth it when you learn it. I also got to check Reynatis at the NIS booth; and with its fast and fluid combat, this action RPG is up to my liking. 

Outside of that, our alumni Nellie and I got to check out Soul Quest, sat down, and watched some Tekken 8 matches on the big screen (it was packed by the time we left), and we picked up some merch.

As for the final saying, Corey bought me an unexpected gift at PAX that I will always cherish and everybody, when I say he knows me, he knows me! I also picked up a Link’s Awakening on Nintendo Switch hat, and I purchased Legends Of Legacy for Nintendo Switch. With a great dinner with the crew, day three was bittersweet, but amazing.

Corey: CEO, Co-Host of Boss Rush Podcast

Day three was, again, bitter sweet. Beginning the day with a large amount of old and new friends felt like the beginning of the end in a way, but they are friends I will have for a long time after this. I had so much fun sitting with our dear friend Greysun Morales, Trivia Master Jacob McCourt, Matt Storm and Geoff Moonen of “Fun” and Games Podcast, the gang from Rusty Rupees, Spaghetto, and All Ages of Geek, and met many others. 

Once the interviews were over, I took some time for myself, hanging out with dear friends and just enjoyed a few hours with them finding pins, seeing cool card games, and experiencing PAX Rising. I am grateful for my friends and this small amount of time I got to spend with them during these few moments were the best of the trip. It is exactly what I needed at this point.

This afternoon I finally played some of the games I was aiming to play, including the action RPG Reynatis and The Behemoth’s BattleBlock Theater. Though I didn’t play as many games this trip as I would have liked, my time with the ones I did play was really fun. 

Tonight’s dinner with everyone was the highlight of the day. The team and some of our friends went to have some drinks and some fun. This was the best moment of the trip, exchanging stories, having laughs, and making more memories. These people mean more to me than most in my “real” life, and I don’t know what I would do without them. They make me feel whole, our experiences feel like they matter, and honestly like my family. I love them and wouldn’t trade them for anything. I will miss you all deeply until the next time.

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