PAX East 2026
On Day three of PAX East, I was lucky enough to have an appointment at the DreadXP booth where they had several upcoming games showcased. While there were plenty of great games available, as a massive fan of dungeon crawlers and old school Dungeons and Dragons, it’s no surprise that my attention was primarily drawn to The Secret of Weepstone.
Clearly a love-letter to B/X-era D&D, every element of The Secret of Weepstone‘s presentation, from the expressive hand-drawn creature illustrations to the meticulously crafted map screen, exudes the same sense of unbridled adventure present within the pages of classic modules such as The Keep on the Borderlands. It honestly felt surreal to be walking through such an accurate representation of how I always imagined a proper dungeon to be; I can’t wait to plunder my way through as many dungeons as the full release is willing to throw my way.
The essence of B/X is also captured in far more than just the presentation with the The Secret of Weepstone featuring swift and lethal turn-based combat, poignant room descriptions, and what I expect to be a plethora of increasingly obtuse puzzles (I say this with affection, mind you). The feeling of exploring the dungeon during the demo was incredibly immersive, and I always managed to feel rewarded for exploring, though I wouldn’t be surprised to be punished for this sense of curiosity in the full game; what would D&D be without some treacherous traps designed to catch overly confident parties by surprise, after all?
Following my time with the demo I was able to speak with Sean, the lead developer, and Hunter, the lead writer, and what started as a conversation about my experience with the demo rapidly shifted into us collectively gushing about our favorite modules, discussing the importance of lethality, and ruminating on THAC0 and why it’s not a good fit for The Secret of Weepstone (they actually have an official post covering this topic, which you can read here). Sean and Hunter have spent years playing D&D together and their passion for tabletop role-playing was immediately apparent from the moment we started talking; it would be difficult to imagine two better individuals to helm this sort of project.
As someone who has dabbled with dozens of D&D games over the years, from classics such as Eye of the Beholder to more recent titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, I have always found that these video game adaptations, while fun and enjoyable in their own way, lack that perfect balance of lethality and creativity that makes B/X my absolute favorite tabletop role-playing experience; it is truly difficult to express how excited I am to get my hands on the full release of The Secret of Weepstone. Based purely on my short time with the demo, as well as some incredibly earnest discussion with the developers at Talesworth Game Studio, I have full confidence that this title is going to be something truly special for those who it has been carefully crafted for.
If The Secret of Weepstone sounds interesting to you, be sure to check out the demo on Steam and/or the reveal trailer below!
Boss Rush Gamescast – A Gameplay Deep Dive Discussion Podcast
Boss Rush Gamescast is the gameplay deep dive discussion podcast from Boss Rush Network. Every other week, a panel of hosts and friends from across the internet take a deeper dive into the games they’ve been playing—featuring light spoilers, fun segments, and great conversations. New episodes drop every other Tuesday, with Patreon members getting early access one week in advance.
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Featured Image Source: Talesworth Game Studio
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