After two long years, PAX Aus was finally able to reopen its doors in Melbourne this year, and welcomed people in person again this past weekend (October 8-10).
While this year’s event was perhaps a little quieter than usual – unlike previous years, big titles and major publishers were quite rare – there was still plenty of cool tech and games on display. .
Below, we’ve rounded up some of our PAX Aus 2022 highlights from our time at the show.
Red Bull’s immersive VR racing setup
At the Red Bull Gaming Ground (opens in a new tab) stand, attendees to this year’s show could experience what it’s like to be a professional Formula 1 driver without ever needing to hit the tracks. Simply put on VR goggles and sit on a replica driver’s seat frame and you’re good to go. In this setup, you could feel the rumble under your back and the bouncing around the track. Racing games are getting more and more realistic, and it feels like a snapshot of what a future avenue of racing could be (crash-free).
Cult of the Lamb PlayStation Custom Controller
This custom-made PlayStation DualSense controller is unfortunately not for sale, but its Worship of the Lamb (opens in a new tab) aesthetics are on point. There is fluffy wool on the handles to represent the lamb, the supreme chief. It also has the red eyeball of the waiting saint, always watching and knowing everything, while the controllers are the eyes of the cult leader watching your journey. And of course, the boring standard PlayStation buttons have been replaced with the appropriate runes to help you complete your next cult ritual.
Neon Genesis Evangelion PC by Asus
Evangelion fans will be delighted to find that the Asus Republic of Gamers (opens in a new tab) builds a PC inspired by EVA-01. It’s coated in Shinji’s signature classic green and purple EVA color, and its EVA is etched on both the inside of the case and on the front panel, which is continuously illuminated with RGB lights. It really was as if a mech had turned into a PC unit. All it took was the iconic exploding theme music to bring back childhood nostalgia. If you want to get your hands on this stunning piece of art, be prepared to shell out around AU$8,000.
The godfather of Hojo Studio
Join the pigeon mafia and poop on unsuspecting citizens to complete your missions. The Godfather (opens in a new tab) is a hilarious roguelike indie game set to release early next year. You play as a pigeon on a mission to poop on enemy citizens of the herd, the better to take over a neighborhood overrun by nasty human laundry. You have to dive, fly and dodge cockatoos and drone police to do the mob’s dirty work. Every shit brings you one step closer to reclaiming what is rightfully the pigeon’s property.
Aftershock PC Water Cooled Taro Bobba Platform
It’s cute. It’s pastel purple. It’s bubble tea! PC Aftershock The water-cooled boba system could be spotted from afar, even with crowds of people ogling it. There was taro-inspired purple boba tea swirling around in its cooling system, and it was realistic enough to make us crave a hit of the milky drink. (Unfortunately, there was no real bubble tea for sale at the Aftershock stand.)
Aftershock showcased several other off-world custom PC builds at PAX, but this one took the cake as our favorite of the show. If it wasn’t AU$7,500 it would have been in my suitcase, but alas, one can only dream.
The incredible adventures of the chicken
In this Australian-made indie platformer adventure game (opens in a new tab), you must complete each level and collect chicken eggs (without breaking them). Imagine a cooperative Super Mario Sunshine game but with birds and more chaos. The game may look like a piece of cake, but I promise you it’s not. Eggs are extremely fragile and like to fall off platforms. Add a second player to the mix and you’ll be screaming as you accidentally gut your precious egg with Thor’s hammer while trying to help your teammate. The game is currently available on Steam and is expected to release on console in the coming months.
Valve Vapor Bridge
The highly anticipated steam bridge hasn’t made its way to Australia for official distribution yet, but there was one available. Just one. It wasn’t an official stand from Valve or any hardware company, but came via indie game developer Witch Beam (creators of Unpacking) using it to show off their upcoming title. Time (opens in a new tab). I don’t know if the Tempopo team did this on purpose, but there was a gaggle of people trying to play the Steam Deck. Brilliant marketing technique? Yes.
HTC Vive Powered VR Laser Tag
Laser tag is unquestionably the game of champions, fire it up in VR and you’ll have a wonderfully chaotic experience. Imagine being completely immersed in a cyberpunk-like world where you have to shoot lasers and dodge to win… while someone walks through a wall and accidentally crashes into you in real life. Long live (opens in a new tab) is the HTC-affiliated VR system trying to get Australians excited about the future and present of the virtual reality space. Lines for the two-minute demo were easily 30-60 minutes long. Are Australians excited? Oh yeah. However, for people with poor vision and glasses, you may need to do a little extra work to avoid feeling a blurry sense of reality with VR glasses.
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