PAX East 2020 is a great opportunity to demo games ahead of their release, or to discover new games that you had no idea existed. Earlier this year, it seemed like PAX East was going to be the place to be with companies like Sony offering the first exclusive floor demo of The Last of Us Part II.
Unfortunately, everyone is trying to navigate the post-coronavirus (COVID-19) world. In effort to keep its employees safe, Sony is skipping PAX East while other companies like Square Enix and CD Projekt Red scale back their presence. It’s disappointing for sure, but we understand that safety is important.
With all of these last-minute “we’re not coming” announcements, it can be easy to feel like there’s nothing left at PAX East… and that’s where you’re wrong. This year, the list of games available for demo is vast, making it hard to figure out what to do first. To help, we’ve narrowed things down to 5 of the coolest games that we can’t wait to see at PAX East 2020!
5 games we can’t wait to see at PAX East 2020
© Bethesda
Doom Eternal
Bethesda is back at PAX East, this time with a demo of their upcoming gorefest, Doom Eternal. Scheduled to release the same day as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, being able to demo Doom Eternal can certainly be helpful when it comes to deciding which game to purchase first. Personally, we think you should buy both, but we also understand that money’s tight.
To help you make an educated purchasing decision, checking out Doom Eternal during the PAX East weekend is highly recommended! Rather than have a presence on the show floor, Bethesda will be showing Doom Eternal as part of its Bethesda Game Days event located next door to the Boston Convention Center at Laugh Boston.
If you want to catch all the action, be sure to read through the full Bethesda Game Days schedule available on Bethesda’s website, and stay tuned as we’ll let you know what we think of the demo after taking some time with it at PAX East 2020!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
© Nintendo
Speaking of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, did you know that Nintendo will have a demo of the game available at PAX East 2020? It’s true! The demo area will also be extremely easy to find given that Nintendo’s booth will feature an adorable Animal Crossing theme this year.
At the Nintendo booth you can pick up exclusive merch including an Isabelle pin, take photos with Animal Crossing characters, and line up for a chance at an Animal Crossing: New Horizons demo. For anyone lucky enough to get demo time with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ll be able to walk away with a free Tom Nook tote bag!
No matter what your PAX East plans are, you should absolutely set aside time to visit the Nintendo booth and demo Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Destroy All Humans
© THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic is bringing several demos to PAX East 2020, including one for the upcoming remake of Destroy All Humans. We’ve talked about Destroy All Humans a lot here at AllGamers and we even had the opportunity to take a look at the game behind closed doors at E3 2019.
From what we’ve seen, Destroy All Humans looks like it’s shaping up to be a phenomenal, faithful remake of the original game. Don’t believe us? You’ll be able to check out Destroy All Humans on the PAX East show floor along with other THQ Nordic games. Equally excited for SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated? It’ll be at the THQ Nordic booth as well!
To keep you at the THQ booth even longer, you can also scope out Desperados III and Darksiders Genesis. Out of all of the games THQ Nordic is bringing, we’re personally the most excited for Destroy All Humans, but you can bet we’ll be getting our hands on all of the demos on offer!
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
© Square Enix
Even though Sony will no longer be present on the show floor, and Square Enix is scaling back its participation and events, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo will still be available at the Square Enix booth (#15010). With the game a solid month away – releasing on April 10 – the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo is certainly an enticing opportunity to scope out what’s been changed and updated.
Plus, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake looks absolutely gorgeous, making the demo worthwhile purely for the sake of seeing some of your favorite characters rendered in exquisite detail. Like the Animal Crossing: New Horizons demo, lines to demo the Final Fantasy 7 Remake are bound to be long.
Despite this, everything we’ve heard about the game suggests that it’s worth the wait. Plus, you can purchase some cool goodies at the Square Enix booth to complement your experience. You may or may not see us there doing just that (ok, you totally will, we can’t help ourselves).
All of the Indie Games
© Giant Squid
It’s incredibly difficult to narrow down the overwhelming number of indie games on offer at PAX East 2020 to a single noteworthy title. Instead, we felt it’d be better to mention a handful of standouts that we’re looking forward to, while encouraging you to give some love to the indie games on offer at PAX East.
- The Pathless
- Maneater
- Chivalry 2
- Cloudpunk
- Ghostrunner
- Phogs
- Tangle Tower
- Everspace 2
- Psychonauts 2
- Fall Guys
The games listed above are just a small sample of what will be available at PAX East 2020. Even though big companies have been pulling out left and right over novel coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, that doesn’t mean this year’s PAX East will be any less enjoyable. If anything, greater focus will be placed on indie games, and you may discover some real gems as you explore the indie booths this year!
