PAX West 2025: 11 Games You Should Add to Your Wishlist

PAX West has wrapped up this year, and our team on the ground spent the entire four-day weekend looking all the latest in gaming. From unexpected indies to eagerly anticipated titles, here's a roundup of all the cool games Editor in Chief Andrew Otton and Features Editor Robert Scarpinito saw in Seattle.

Blocks for Babies

Have you ever wanted to whip out a super shotgun to clear out some blocks in Tetris? Then Blocks for Babies is exactly what you're looking for. It blends DOOM with Tetris in more clever ways than you might think. Certain blocks can only be cleared in first-person gameplay, adding an extra layer of strategy while you're laying tiles.

Additionally, boss battles impact both gameplay modes. For example, the boss in the PAX demo moved like the old-school game Snake in Tetris mode, dropping specific blocks you have to clear quickly. Meanwhile, in first-person, you can shoot specific blocks in the snake to do more damage as the snake flies about.

You can find a demo for it (and add it to your wishlist) on Steam.

Unyielder

This is the first of three games from Shueisha Games on this list, so strap in. Unyielder is all octane, no oxygen. This first-person shooter roguelike is all about quick reflexes, precise timing, and the rule of cool. You get power ups as you progress in a run, with basic ones like faster reload times and more interesting ones like the ability to infinitely reload a clip. Suddenly, that rocket launcher that loads one rocket at a time becomes an endless barrage of carnage. 

The secret to satisfaction here, though, is the parry system. It's one giant boss rush, and each boss has multiple attacks that can be countered. If you time your shots correctly, you'll interrupt the enemy and make them vulnerable to damage. There are five playable characters, but the one I tried had a grappling hook that I used to zip around the battlefield.

I'm instantly sold, and it's looking like it'll come out within the year. You can wishlist it on Steam here.

Ninja Gaiden 4

Ninja Gaiden 4 is the only AAA game on this list, solely because I didn't have enough time to finish the entire preview build. However, what I played was nothing short of refined and exciting. It continues the franchise's history of fast-paced, cutthroat action, and something that really caught my eye was the Bloodraven meter on the new extra-edgy protagonist Yakumo.

This meter can be tapped into by holding down a shoulder button, amplifying your damage and changing your combos. Unlike other action games, this isn't a one-time activation situation. It can be turned on or off at a whim as long as you have enough left, opening the door for some interesting strategies and—more importantly—sick-looking combos.

Throw in a dark, hyper-futuristic neo-Tokyo setting and I'll be there. Ninja Gaiden 4 will hit Xbox Game Pass along with PlayStation 5 on Oct. 21.

Bakudo

There's something so satisfying about a game that takes basic sports and cranks everything up to 11,000. Bakudo is still in early development by Sayil Games under Shueisha's publishing arm, and it's basically a sci-fi dodgeball boss rush. You play as a character who just entered Bakudo Academy, but there's a major conspiracy under it all.

The story and presentation give me Kill La Kill vibes, and the gameplay is merciless. Catching the enemy's ball requires you to read their movements and react quickly, and sometimes you'll need to curve the ball to get past their defenses. Certain attacks require you to parry instead of catching, opening the door for high-powered spikes if you can time it perfectly.

Bakudo is equal parts charming and brutal, and you can wishlist it on Steam—just don't expect it to release within the next year.

Cat Secretary

Cats have been having a moment in video games, and Good Story Guild is looking to ride that wave with its upcoming game Cat Secretary. It leans more toward the playfulness of Little Kitty, Big City, but it also has a little bite with its silly yet scathing commentary on capitalism.

You work as a cute little business cat in a company where almost everyone has been replaced with AI robots. Naturally, they need someone to do things that only organic creatures can handle, like sorting files and making coffee, which you do during the day. By night, it seems like you'll be skulking around and helping a rat potentially sabotage the company? Honestly, I'm unsure, but I'm along for the ride.

If you want to get your paws on Cat Secretary, you can wishlist it on Steam.

Arcane Eats

Arcane Eats takes a formula perfected by Slay the Spire and applies it to the culinary arts to fantastic results. There's a level of tongue-in-cheek humor here that makes everything feel light and breezy, and it's so mechanically sound that the rules of the game feel intuitive.

You have three burners to manage, and you can stack skillets of food on top of each other for a bigger "attack" against a customer's hunger. The longer they wait, though, the more mental damage they'll do to you, so you have to thread the needle between building up numbers and turn management.

This game is made by a small team in Seattle, and you can wishlist it on Steam. After all, don't you want to beat the first food-judge boss, Guy Fairy?

OPUS: Prism Peaks

Visual-novel (adjacent?) fans might recognize the previous game from Taiwanese developers SIGONO, called OPUS: Echo of Starsong. I remember it being well received by critics, so I wanted to see what the hype was about with the new project from SIGONO, which is being published by Shueisha.

The demo I played was roughly 20 minutes, and the caliber of storytelling here felt next level. The protagonist goes through a lot of ups and downs in that short time, immediately creating an complex character that left me wanting to learn more about him. And that doesn't even get into the sudden appearance of a cursed girl he's reluctantly helping.

OPUS: Prism Peak is giving Life Is Strange vibes with its third-person light puzzle solving and a focus on narrative, and I'm keeping an eye on its Steam page as it gets closer to release.

Rabbit Haul

When I first heard about Rabbit Haul, it felt like the perfect mix of games made just for me. It's part farming sim, part tower defense, and you even have to restore a town as your "base" for upgrades. That's a trifecta that will get me more than interested immediately.

The overarching goal is to rebuild your hometown and you do so by growing crops on your farm to rebuild the town's economy and food reserves. The plants you grow all have different values and effects, which will come into effect when it turns to night.

At night, your farm is descended on by hungry raccoons hellbent and eating your food stores. Thankfully, you can fight back with weapons and the plants you grow will try to defend themselves as well.

It's an utterly charming game that was absolutely swarmed whenever I saw it at PAX West. Wishlist Rabbit Haul on Steam, I bet you won't regret it if these are your types of games.

No Stone Unturned

In No Stone Unturned you set out to answer the age old question: Why did the chicken cross the road? You play the squirrel Detective Cox who is there to investigate the murder of said chicken found right next to the road.

No Stone Unturned is a detective game with a quirky story with funny characters and a lot of mystery. There's the overarching case of the chicken, but there's more to learn about the town you'll find yourself in.

While gathering clues, you'll encounter all kinds of people and puzzles, as well as a bunch of classic mini-games that will remind you immediately of WarioWare. 

Everything I saw in the 20ish minute demo was clever and had more than a few chuckles in it. I love the way it looks, and I can't wait to sit down and soak it all in. Check it out on Steam.

War of the Western Deep

War of the Western Deep is a classic adventure game set in the graphic novel series, Beyond the Western Deep. It caught my eye last year at PAX West, and I was excited to see it return this year.

You play as Mirren (voiced by Samantha Béart, who you may know as Karlach from Baldur's Gate III), a royal courier sent out to send an important letter by the king. Your peaceful kingdom of Sunsgrove is about to be invaded secretly by your neighbors, and you need to travel into soon-to-be enemy territory to deliver that letter.

The first thing you'll notice it is visually striking, with absolutely gorgeous artwork. What's even better is how it's all hand-animated artwork, which makes for a beautiful image on screen.

There's also some combat that really shows off the beautiful animations. Combat is very reminiscent of something like Punch-Out!!, where it's about timing attacks and dodges with your opponent while managing a stamina bar for your movements. The crisp, flowing animations make it a delight to take in.

I'm a sucker for narrative heavy games and this looks amazing, so I can't wait to immerse myself in the world of Western Deep. I've certainly got it on my Steam wishlist.

Nocturnal 2

Nocturnal 2 is the game that made us turn our head the most and we knew we had to check it out. Look through the game in motion on the Steam page trailer and the other screenshots, and you'll get a good reason why.

Annoyingly, I had not heard or seen the first game, Nocturnal, which released in 2023. This is a sequel to that, and it looks to be a bigger and more beefed-up version of that game. The first was a sidescrolling action platformer, which the sequel also is but adds in some metroidvania elements on top.

It's obviously gorgeous to look at, but the combat has a decent amount going for it as well. It's more slow and deliberate, so don't go in thinking something like the speed of Dead Cells. Parrying and dodging out of the way to get your swings in is the key a lot of the times, as is knocking enemies into the air and slamming them into the ground. I didn't have a ton of time with the game, but I imagine juggling enemies and bouncing them off walls/the ground will play a big role into making big combos.

In any case, if you're looking for a new action platformer after, say, Silksong, keep an eye on Nocturnal 2. You can wishlist it here.