PAX East Picks ‘23: Part 2
In this second installment of PAX East Picks, we check out an adorable mouse, a chatty engineer, cute cats, and a musically inclined Metroidvania!
Mina the Hollower
Yacht Club Games
Originally Kickstarted and funded in February 2022, Mina the Hollower is a fresh new adventure from the creators of Shovel Knight. Inspired by Game Boy Color games, Mina the Hollower is a challenging 2D action game with plenty of precision platforming and careful combat. During the one-hour demo, I was able to really sink my teeth into the level that was provided. At first, I really struggled with Mina’s ability to burrow underground (essentially a dodge) with its timing. Luckily, after a few deaths, I was able to get a better handling of the fluidity between dodging hazards, defeating foes, and earning currency to eventually upgrade Mina. The beautiful Game Boy Color artstyle, similar to the original Link’s Awakening, was a fun outing and a unique style that hasn’t been replicated in modern games. Pair this with the great score, customizations of weapons, and variety of modifiers, Mina is shaping up to be an incredible indie game in the works. Mina the Hollower has no release date, but is planned for PC, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
In a beautifully cinematic environment, you play as Jack Leary, an engineer on an isolated mining base on Mars. During this 15-minute demo, I was able to follow Jack along a linear path, trying to get out of a facility that has unexpectedly shut down. The ominous undertone was a bit underwhelming, but it quickly piqued once I found a few video diaries from another character. Though the story is very limited due to the nature of the demo, these videos turned me around and made me want to find out more about the lore of the game and what’s happening in the depths of Mars. Fort Solis is scheduled for a Summer 2023/ Q3 2023 release date on PC and PlayStation 5.
Wild Woods is a fun couch co-op action game that can house up to four players. The adorable catch to this game is that each player is a cute brave little cat charged with defending a wooden wagon along its route. While en route to your destination, players must collect wood to stoke the flames on the wagon, uncover berries to regain health, and find gold to upgrade the wagon. During this short demo, my caravan and I were able to easily defeat all the enemies, upgrade our wagon several times, and defeat the boss at the end of the level. Though it did skew a bit easy, I was having fun in the moment. This seems like a great family-friendly adventure for all ages, but has enough adjustability and variability to engage older players. Wild Woods is planned to release on PC in 2023.
In one of the I-didn’t-realize-this-game-existed moments, 9 Years of Shadows is a stunningly eye-capturing pixel art Metroidvania. Within the game, you play as Europa, charged with brining light back into the world of darkness. In addition to the fantastic art style, the game bolsters an impressive soundtrack, which can even be utilized to help defeat enemies within the rhythmic patterns. This pairing of music, art style, and upgrades seems to be an incredible pairing that I am super excited to see more of. 9 Years of Shadows is currently available for PC and will be released on Nintendo Switch in Q3 2023.
For more of PAX East impressions, listen to our PAX East ‘23 Day One Breakdown episodes of the Six One Indiecast. And of course, check back here for highlights from the rest of the weekend!
Written by Harry Loizides