Top 10 Indie Games at PAX AUS 2024

Pull up a chair and get your Steam wishlist ready as we count down our top 10 indie games at PAX Aus 2024!

PAX Aus has come to a close once again and as we return to our normal lives we can look back at the amazing games that were featured throughout the weekend. Last year we covered some of the very best indies at PAX AUS 2023 and that’s what we’re set to do again today as we count down our top 10 indie games that made their appearance at PAX AUS 2024.

PAX Top 10 Indie Games Honourable Mention: Max Mustard by Toast Interactive

I feel like it’s impossible NOT to include Max Mustard on the list. The only reason it’s not part of the numbered list is because our great and powerful leader, Ben ‘Qualbert’ Schuster is part of the social media team at Toast Interactive and we can’t show TOO much favouritism. That being said, Max Mustard stands on its own merits. Recently winning an award at the Australian Game Developer Awards for Excellence in Mixed Reality, Max Mustard is a VR platforming game where you use a VR headset to look around. While it’s a little disorientating at first, I still found it very fun to play even if I did have some depth perception trouble.

Max Mustard is available right now for Meta Quest and on Steam. Head on over and support Aussie game devs! (Also Ben literally had to eat a jar of mustard because the game got #1 on Steam wishlist so we need to make sure it was worth it.)

10. The Sacred Acorn by A Few Dragons

Starting off our list is The Sacred Acorn, where you play as a squirrel looking to save her tribe from the corruption set on destroying the world. What really drew me to The Sacred Acorn was the premise of it being a cozy souls-like game. You can expect some brutal bosses in this isometric 2D adventure game.

Unlike most of the games on the list, The Sacred Acorn is available right now on Steam. If you want to try your hand at this deceptively cute adventure game and support Aussie devs, head on over and try it out.

9. Death of a Partisan by Myshkin Entertainment

Welcome comrade, come sit, let me tell you about Death of a Partisan. Death of a Partisan sees you play as a partisan towards the end of WW2. Explore the narrative-driven, survival game as you brave the harsh winter, fight or hide from enemy forces and confront moral dilemmas in a beautiful landscape, ravaged by war.

Inspired by Soviet cinema of the era, Death of a Partisan explores the complexities of survival and the human cost of war. Unfortunately, it’s still in the very early stages of development, so you can’t play a demo of it just yet. However, you can head over here to join the mailing list and keep up to date on how the game is progressing or follow the developer on Steam to check out their other works.

8. The Last Werewolf by Unnatural Freaks Studio

Let’s change it up a little with some detective work. The Last Werewolf follows Lachie, a 20-something werewolf and investigator searching for her lost kind. Over the course of three chapters, you’ll meet a cast of characters and help solve mysteries around town.

The black and white colour scheme gives the game a noir feel, perfect for a story-driven, investigation-type game. Currently out in Early Access, the first two of the three chapters are available with the third to come at a later date. If you want to put your detective skills to the test while you search for your pack, head on over to the Steam page and give The Last Werewolf a try!

7. Box Knight by We Made a Thing Studios

With roguelikes being so popular there’s plenty out there to fit each theme. That being said, this is the first time I’ve seen one based in an office. Box Knight sees you play a mild-mannered office worker by day, but by night you become Box Knight, defender of the office realm.

While pitched as The Lord of the Rings meets The Office, I can’t help but see some inspiration from Castle Crashers in the art and character movement. Fight your way through hordes of creatures in the toxic work environment and obtain in-run stats and bonuses. With each run being different, it’s your standard roguelike affair but with an interesting theme on top. If you want to try the Box Knight demo or wishlist it, head on over to the Steam page here!

6. Untethered by True Anomaly Entertainment

Probably my biggest irrational fear is getting standard in space. Well since I’m not planning on joining NASA anytime soon, I can play Untethered to experience the fear of being standard in the great beyond.

Untethered is a survival sandbox game set in space. You’re an astronaut and your ship has been damaged beyond repair. But the good news is you can salvage parts of your ship to convert a nearby satellite into something that can get you to the next location. I’ve never really been a fan of sandbox survival games, but I feel like Untethered brings something new and fresh to the scene that has really made me want to play it and I’m sure many of you will enjoy it too.

Just a word of warning, opening your interface menu in-game doesn’t stop you moving in zero-G. I learned that the hard way by opening up the menu and almost floating away from the capsule. If you want to experience some space-themed sandbox goodness, you can check out the demo over on steam and wishlist Untethered!

5. Rita by SporkTank

It’s hard to find an edutainment game nowadays that doesn’t patronise the player or is built for preschoolers. Rita breaks that mold by being enjoyable and entertaining while not hand-holding the player.

Take control of a newly hatched chick named Rita who will allow you to explore your tropical island home and collect letters to solve crossword puzzles to progress through the game. Quaint and enjoyable, if you wish to explore a tropical paradise while also improving your spelling, add Rita to your wishlist.

4. Dungeons and Dining Tables by Catalyst Games

Dungeons and Dining Tables combines the two unlikely genres of dungeon exploring and home decorating. Take control of an axolotl as you explore a fantasy world of megalithic furniture mountains and kleptomaniac creatures out to ruin your day.

From what I saw of Dungeons and Dining Tables it plays super fun. The graphics are cute and the combat is smooth. It plays as a third-person hack-and-slash combat game until you return home with a collection of furniture to kit your house out and improve your stats. Fun and charming, if you want to try this fantasy home decorator, you can wishlist it on Steam!

3. Ascending Inferno by Oppolyon Studio

Do you like “hell games”? Think of games like Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy or Only Up!. Do you like breaking your controller or keyboard over your desk when a jump just doesn’t go right and you’re sent back to the bottom of the map only to wonder where your life went so wrong as you sit there in rage and despair surrounded by the broken shards of plastic of the item you most likely paid far too much for in the current economy and you contemplate giving up but you don’t want to be beaten by a dumb piece of code only to realise that the thing you just broke is actually completely busted now so you have to go buy another one only to lose track of… sorry what was I talking about again?

WELL DO I HAVE A GAME FOR YOU!?

Ascending Inferno is the latest game to hit the hell game genre. You take control of Dani, a soccer player who accidentally gets sent to Hell. While down there you run into the soul of your departed brother Vincent. Just one problem though, he’s been stuck here for so long that his soul has degraded to the point he’s lost his limbs and is now the size and shape of a soccer ball (how convenient!). Now you have to walk, kick and bunt your brother out of Hell as you climb through the layers like a reverse Dante’s Inferno.

Between the amazing visuals and awesome soundtrack, this game easily makes it to my top 3. If you have the willpower to ascend this tower of pain, then head on over to the steam page and grab it now!

2. The Drifter by Powerhoof

I don’t think we’re on Monkey Island anymore. The Drifter is a point-and-click game where you take control of a guy down on his luck and, unfortunately, gets murdered. The story continues as you try and solve your own murder while also finding out why people have been going missing.

The Drifter really does bring back memories of classic point-and-click games, from the graphics to the puzzles, it feels like it’s right out of the 90s and with an Aussie flare to boot. If you’re keen on some classic gameplay, head on over to their Steam page and wishlist it!

1. Anticitizen Red by Queebly Software

Hands down my favourite game that I saw at PAX this year was Anticitizen Red, a third-person shooter set in a dystopian future where America has taken over Australia. Taking inspiration from games like Max Payne, you must run, jump and bullet time your way around dystopian streets as you try and survive.

One of my favourite mechanics is that there’s no such thing as reloading. You pick up a gun and once the mag is empty you have to just toss the gun away. That being said, the melee weapons are where it’s at, especially the cricket bat. Taking “Hitting them for 6” quite literally, I had the most fun just running around, hitting enemies with the bat and watching them ragdoll across the map.

Full of Aussie humour and graphics that evoke memories of the PS1 and early PC gaming days, Anticitzen Red is an easy must-play. Head on over to Steam and wishlist it here!