It’s pedal to the metal as Stephanie, Pat, Ed, Courtney, and Brendan tackle the third, and busiest day, at PAX East 2026. It’s Saturday and in the mid-30s here in Boston, MA, so it was cold and wicked packed (as was our agendas). There were many more indie games to explore and experiences to be had, so let’s dive right in:
Brendan – Writer
I woke up for Day three of PAX feeling a bit burnt out; thankfully, my spirits were revitalized in full thanks to two outstanding demos I had the privilege to play today, Rain98 and The Secret of Weepstone. Both games, while extremely different from one another, felt almost tailor-made to suit my exact tastes with Rain98 being an atmospheric, Satoshi Kon and David Lynch-inspired visual novel while The Secret of Weepstone is a wonderful love letter to classic B/X-era Dungeons and Dragons, which is the version of DnD that I play on a weekly basis. Each of these demos were complemented by discussions with the related developers, C#4R4CT3R and Talesworth Game Studio respectively, which both genuinely felt like organic and friendly conversations rather than any sort of formal interview, which was just so awesome and satisfying to be a part of.
Pat – Chief Gaming Officer
Enter Day three of PAX. This was the busiest day on the show floor. Steph and I checked out the latest build of Cat Secretary. It’s really cool to see how much has been added and improved since last year. Right after that we went to our friends at Soft Source. I was looking forward to playing their recently announced horror games: Dreadout 3 and Broken Lore: Follow. Unfortunately, I broke Dreadout 3 twice, but it did look good. It’s the first in the series to use Unreal Engine 5, and the environments and the ghosts are creepy looking. Broken Lore: Follow is the prequel to Broken Lore: Unfollow. It tells the story of young Anne and the nightmarish traumas that haunted her while she grew up. Afterwards, I hung out with a friend that lived in the area and caught up with him before I went to my final demo: Paranormal Activity: Threshold at DreadXP. Steph played it first, and when the game started to get too scary for her, I took over. I enjoyed it. I think it’s going to be something to keep an eye on.
So…interesting thing that happened last night. While I was getting a drink at the Warframe party, I got headbutted by Baldur’s Gate 3’s Karlack, accidently of course. This led to me striking a conversation with Sam Beart. I feel honored that I have now met both Clive and Karlack, the fiery heroes of 2023.
Courtney – Social Media Director
Day three at PAX is always peak—and if you know me, you know Saturday means one thing: Warframe day.
From the art contest featuring Rocco Botte and Nick Apostolides to the latest reveal—showcasing the intense, brutal side of Voruna Prime—this panel delivered on every level. It was a perfect mix of community, creativity, and exciting updates, and it genuinely left me with that warm, “this is why I love this” feeling. I’m already looking forward to next year.
To close out the night, I made my way to video game trivia hosted by Jacob McCourt, which, as always, was a standout moment. It’s one of those events that never misses and brings the perfect energy to end a packed day.
And with that, there was only one way to wrap it all up:
Bread. Bread. Bread.
Ed – Host of Nintendo Pow Block
Day three brought many laughs, love, and fun farming. I got to experience Farmbotic by Frozen Way. I was engaged fully with the gameplay and the ease of use with the mouse and keyboard. I wanted to play more. Sadly, my time ran out, and I had to move on so that someone could get to their appointment. It was an awesome interview about the game and learning about gaming in Poland.
I went to play Spider Lily next with the team at Falsework studio, and not only was the interview fun, but the demo almost made me cry at the end—the smoothness of the game and control was incredible. The puzzles were easy and well thought out. From last years’ experience to today’s, the combination of Team Ico’s design and The Legend of Zelda‘s great control, with music that is so pure, relaxing, and well-placed in certain areas of the game, left me impressed. I put the controller down and slid down, breathless. What I experience shows so much promise and creativity. Truly, it touched me.
Gnaw was a cool Metroidvania featuring a dinosaur. It took me a while to get it, but it controlled great on the Steam Deck (which was my first time holding and playing one). I didn’t get an interview, but the demo is available on Steam, so I am going to play more when I get home. I also tried High Times, which was a fun visual novel that deals with donuts and dating. Think Coffee Talk but with love and donuts.
I also got to laugh and get into a great multiplayer with Spook-A-Boo. It was great teamwork and had funny moments, and we almost ran out of time on some of the runs. Luigi’s Mansion and Overcooked will come to mind when you play this wacky and fun game. Grim Trials, on the other hand, gave me arcade, roguelike, Nier: Automata vibes, and I was locked IN! I wanted more and cannot wait for the official release.
I also went with Courty for a Warframe interview at Digital Extremes; it was so exciting and heartfelt with laughs and love for Neva! We also ended the night by going to Video Game Trivia and ate pizza when we got back to the hotel. Now that I am full, I am taking a breather and looking forward to our last day at PAX East. I am going to be super sad because, not only is part of the team heading out, but PAX East 2026 is coming to a close, and I haven’t gotten to all the games just yet!
Steph – VP of Media Relations, Copy Editor
Today, I’ve tackled more appointments than I probably should have handled, but I was still eager to explore as many titles PAX East had to offer this year. Before my first appointment, I met up with Matt, aka. NOLAnerdcast, who will be launching his new gaming content after PAX. He is one of many wonderful people I’ve met over the course of the years while I represented Boss Rush Network. I also swung by my friends at Scalisco, who were showing off A Corgi’s Cozy Hike, which finally launched!
As Pat mentioned above, we checked out Cat Secretary. Check out our updated coverage HERE. I also got to play some demos at Soft Source. While Pat played spooky games, I tried out Grim Trials (a rogue-like who must face their sins in hex-shaped arenas under the mentorship of a Reaper), Spook-a-Boo (a fun co-op that is a mashup between Ghost Busters, Overcooked, and Luigi’s Mansion), Might Knight Legacy (a co-op action side scroller with artistic roots in those 90s flash games), and Bloodbreaker: Labyrinth of the Witch (a brutal tribute to Castlevania).
My day ended with time spent at DreadXP. There was just not enough time in the day to play all the demos; however, the time spent speaking with the devs, I feel, was time better spent. Pat, Brendan, and I chatted with Sean and Hunter (the brains behind The Secret of Weepstone) and Brian Clarke (creator of The Mortuary Assistant and the Paranormal Activity: Threshold). Then, I pigged out on pizza as I succumb to the darkness.
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