We spent three long days at PAX East 2015 and Twinfinite was down in the trenches playing playing everything from AAA mega titles to single dev indie gems. This year we’re offering up two awards that highlight the games that stood out as being the best of the best and are worthy of hype going forward.
We covered the indies already so this award is about the big dogs. Of all the major releases vying for your heart, attention and most importantly of all, money; which one deserves the honor of walking away from PAX East 2015 as “Best in Show”?
Without further ado… our PAX East 2015 Overall Best of Show!
WINNER: Overwatch (Windows, Mac)
Blizzard has had a “big three” for a long time now between Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft. However when Overwatch eventually comes out, we might have to start calling it a “big four.”
Blizzard rarely allows a bad game make it through to the public, so whatever reason they had for cancelling Project Titan was probably a good one. It’s all for the best though because now we have Overwatch instead and we loved it! Knowing Blizzard, there’s probably still a ways to go before we see the final product. However even in an early stage, the game looks and feels incredibly polished. There’s already 14 playable characters, each with their own playing style and distinct personalities. Most importantly though, it’s a blast to play and builds on the great qualities shared by other class-based team shooters.
Overwatch blew us away at PAX East, had us giddy about the future, and left us with no doubt in our mind that whenever it’s released, it’s going to stay in the public eye for a good long time and for all the right reasons. Overwatch is well deserving of our illustrious PAX East 2015 Overall Best of Show Award! Congratulations Blizzard!
Honorable Mention: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Based on what we played at PAX East this year, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has all the makings of being one of this spring’s mega blockbuster games. The Witcher games have always been of top quality, but now that the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are in the mix alongside Windows PCs, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt should be the game that finally gets the word out about the franchise to the masses.
Make no bones about it though; despite it being out there on a more diverse range of platforms this time around, The Witcher 3 is still a hardcore game for hardcore gamers. It has a deep lore, deep story, and laundry list of mechanics to consider in each battle. Not to mention, it will probably go down as one of the prettiest games ever made especially on high-end PCs.
After dying to an early game Griffin boss over ten times, I can confidently report that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is still going to be challenging… and we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Honorable Mention: Gigantic (Windows 10, Xbox One)
Mega props are in order for Motiga for going out there and not being afraid to do something different with Gigantic. Creating and investing in a new IP is risky enough, but not only that, Gigantic is going out on a limb by experimenting with so many different genres that people are really passionate about. Motiga is betting on themselves with Gigantic and so far it looks like it’s going to pay out.
Gigantic is part action-RPG, part MOBA, part brawler, and all beautiful. It also exists in rare company for featuring cross platform gameplay between computers and the Xbox One. Meaning whether you’re a PC elitist or a console die-hard, everyone can play Gigantic in harmony. Not to mention it looks like it will be using a non-obtrusive (cosmetic based) free-to-play model; couple that with the wide net they are casting genre-wise, and it seems like Motiga just wants to get as many people playing this game as possible. Thankfully for Motiga, based on what we played at PAX East 2015, lots of those people will probably be staying for the long haul.
Congratulations to all of our winners and the hard working teams that made them! There were plenty of great games to choose from this year at PAX East, so picking just a couple was a tough task.
Satisfied with our picks? Thought we should have gone in a different direction? Tell us in the comments who your Best of Show was this year at PAX East!
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