PAX East 2023: 15 of our favorites from this year’s show

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2023 has no shortage of big, blockbuster games on the horizon. It’s a year where Final Fantasy, Zelda, and Diablo are all getting new entries. Yet coming back from PAX East 2023, I kept thinking about the smaller games now littering my release radar.

Honestly, this is a major appeal of PAX, at least to media and the games vying for their attention. It’s a time where we’re in town for a few larger projects, like a panel or a big hands-on, but we then have a lot of time to fill with various booths and games we might not have known much about going in.

So, my list of favorite games I saw at PAX East 2023 reflects that. Some of these entries feel entirely expected, as they’re the most obvious candidates. However, others are surprise hits I barely knew about going into the weekend. All of them are great, even the few that didn’t manage to make the cut or that I couldn’t find time for in my schedule. Even in 2023, PAX East reminded me that there’s no shortage of interesting games arriving in the near-future. I hope you look into at least a few, and I’ll add in Steam page links so you can wishlist anything you want to follow.

This was easily my most anticipated demo going into PAX East 2023, and it did not disappoint. Mina the Hollower feels like a full foot-forward for Yacht Club, applying a similar blend of nostalgic reverence and modern updates to the Game Boy era.

Despite looking like it was from that time, though, I was constantly surprised at how modern it felt. The action was fast, and Mina has so many tools at her disposal, despite a limited control scheme. This studio has been defined by Shovel Knight for a long time, but I think they’ve found an excellent new addition to the crew in Mina.

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