Last month at PAX East, we were asked by Playism if we would like to check out any of six titles they were showcasing at the event. Now, if you weren’t able to attend PAX East 2025 or have been living under a rock, PLAYISM showcased: Skateboard Knight, Outrider Mako, MOTIONREC, Mind Diver, Break Arts III, and Glaciered.

For our meeting with PLAYISM, I decided to check out the three games: Mind Diver, Break Arts III, and Glaciered, since they align most with my gaming interests.

Now, rather than jumping into the games we experience, let’s go over the ones we potentially missed out on and then give our thoughts on the games that we did check out. 

Up first is Skateboard Knight, developed by Maroru Games, a side-scrolling 2D roguelite for PC & Mac via Steam; it was described to us as, “Ride a skateboard and loosely save the world! The only operation is to move up and down the course. Easy to operate with automatic controls for sideways movement and attacks. On Steam, it is described as, “Hop on a skateboard and casually save the world! Simple controls—just move up or down the lanes. Horizontal movement and attacks are all auto!”

Now, the artwork for the game looks cool and is rather colorful compared to other roguelites. But if I am going to be honest, roguelite and side-scrolling games have become a bit stale to me. Now, this isn’t to say that they are bad games, but it feels like they are the current “it” trend. In fact, it felt like most of the games at PAX East this year were roguelites.

The second title I decided to pass on was called Outrider Mako. Outrider Mako is currently being developed by Asamado Games and is an action-adventure game with a Ghibli feel.

The game was described to us as, “Take on the role of Mako on her quest to seek out and subsequently deliver her, uh, deliverables in this top-down view 2D action game. Jump on top of your enemies and slime them with goo to stop them in their tracks! Get those deliverables delivered!”

Now this is the same description that is on Steam, but if we looked at the trailers and gameplay clips, it might have been one of the games we tried out during the event.

The third and final game that we did not get the chance to check out was called MOTIONREC, currently being developed by HANDSUM for PC. The game was described as, “MOTIONREC is a record puzzle action game that uses the power to record and replay motion trails to explore a devastated world.

Use MotionRec to unravel the mysteries of a world ruled by machines!” Again, this is yet another game that looks interesting, but the side-scrolling gameplay kind of made us feel underwhelmed. Again, if you think it might be a game you enjoy, then check it out. 

With our limited time available at PAX East, we decided to check out Mind Diver, Break Arts III, and Glaciered. Up first, let’s cover the shortest demo of them all. Going into Break Arts III, developed by MercuryStudio, I was expecting a mixture of Gundam Racing and Armored Core.

In a way, that is exactly what we got, but I’m uncertain if it was that it was the final day of PAX or something else, but something felt off. The easier races felt way too easy, while the hard races felt like you were being blindsided left and right. 

Yes, the demo did give you three different mechs to pilot, but without the ability to customize them to your own style, it felt like you were just renting a mech versus controlling one of your own. The game was beautiful and would be worth trying out when the full game is released.

The game was described to us as “The thrilling battle racing game has finally broken through the limitations of the race, and has been completely revamped as an all-rounded robot competitive sports game. With customization-centric gameplay, Robots have even more freedom and more options than ever!” Does this seem right?

Up next is an interesting undersea adventure that takes on a different approach to action-adventure. At PAX East, we sat down with Glaciered by Studio Snowblind. The demo itself was only 20 minutes long, and you had to choose between watching the opening cinematics or jumping right into the gameplay.

Choosing to watch the opening cinematic was a bit foolish since it took up a ton of time we could be exploring the world. Very rarely do we get to experience a game that is so beautifully crafted with an interesting underwater experience. The combat within the game did take a little bit to get used to, but it felt smooth and precise once we got used to it. 

The game was originally described as, “Soar the seas at the end of time. 65 million years in the future, the world has frozen over, and the oceans have been sealed under a thick layer of ice. Become a Tuai—a species that evolved from birds—and protect the Everwinter in this futuristic underwater action game.”

This description feels fairly accurate based on what we experienced. Out of all the games at PAX East 2025, this was arguably one that was in our top five new games we were most excited for. 

Last but certainly not least was Mind Diver. Now, this was a game I didn’t know what to think of at first. Out of all the demos at PAX East 2025, it was arguably one of the ones I played the most.

Within the hour-and-a-half meeting time, I spent 45 minutes on it alone. This is due to the game’s nature, and also jumping in at a point in the story that wasn’t the beginning. 

In the demo, you are required to use all the items located within the level to solve the initial puzzle, but then you will need to use them again in multiple areas in order to progress.

Now, this can be tedious and frustrating at first, but after listening to audio clues, you can start to decipher what items you will need to use to solve the fragmented memory. I will not understate how often you will need to double back for items in order to solve a clue. The game was interesting, but it felt a bit tedious.