While we mused previously on how developers nowadays are being very guarded whether their games are coming to mobile or not, PAX West 2018 was still filled with a ton of games that actually are coming to mobile. So many in fact that we didn’t even come close to seeing them all, but we did manage to get a glimpse of quite a few and took whatever hands-on video we were able to amongst the incredibly crowded show floor. Below you’ll find some awesome upcoming games that are definitely slated for mobile with some even coming to additional platforms beyond that.
Elder Scrolls: Blades
So what the heck is going on with Elder Scrolls: Blades? After Bethesda announced the mobile-centric entry in their legendary RPG series back at E3 in June, the game showed up for pre-order with a September 1st release date. As that date approached the pre-order page switched things up at the last minute and changed the date to September 7th. Then at a Bethesda event we attended at PAX this weekend, on the day it was SUPPOSED to have launched, the Blades presence was relegated to the exact same demo they were showing back at E3. Hmmmmmm. My guess is that they really did intend for it to launch on the 1st during PAX, but something happened and it wasn’t quite ready so they scrambled to make sure it still had a showing at PAX by just putting out that same E3 demo. We played though it and it’s fine, but all of our questions we had after E3 will likely remain unanswered until the actual full version releases, either this coming Friday or whenever Bethesda decides it’s finished.
Reigns: Game of Thrones
When the folks behind the critically acclaimed Reigns series began teasing some sort of Game of Thrones tie-in, I couldn’t think of a match that was more made in heaven. As it turned out, Reigns: Game of Thrones is indeed a real thing that’s launching in October and it was on display at PAX West this year. There’s not a lot we didn’t already cover in our preview of the game, but we took this brief above because we found it amusing that the Reigns: Game of Thrones booth was overwhelmed with people wanting to play compared to the similar booth they had last year for Reigns: Her Majesty which had just a few people shuffling through every now and then. Boy what a difference a hot IP can do for a game, eh?
Ridiculous Rugby
While I was taken by the Untitled Goose Game at PAX this year, if I had to give a game a “The Most Fun I Had Trying a Demo" award it would definitely go to Ridiculous Rugby. You might recall developer Stinger Games launching Super Jump Soccer during the World Cup earlier this year, and that was something of a preview of what Ridiculous Rugby is all about. One of the big differences is that Rugby has fully 3D polygonal character models complete with ragdoll physics, and it really makes for a better experience. Stinger has absolutely nailed the feeling of rugby where other players are trying desperately to bring you down and you’re trying desperately to power through and keep moving down the field. It’s tricky to explain but just trust me that it’s awesome. And as a bonus, as someone who doesn’t understand rugby in the slightest, I still found the game simple enough to understand. This one should be arriving before the end of the year.
Storm Boy
It was about a month ago that we posted the news about Blowfish Studios bringing the classic Australian children’s tale Storm Boy to life in video game form, and we had a chance to go hands-on with the game during PAX over the weekend. This is a case where it probably would have been helpful to have someone at the booth walking us through the demo, because as you can see from the video we were a bit lost as to what we were doing. That said, I love the art style they’ve chosen to portray the characters of Storm Boy and as best we could tell it’s a faithful telling of the story by way of cutscenes and a host of cool mini-games. I’ll be really interested to take the final product for a spin when it launches on all platforms including mobile sometime later this year.
Cube Escape: Paradox
We’re big fans of developer Rusty Lake and their self-titled Rusty Lake series of creepy adventure games, as well as their incredibly popular and more bite-sized Cube Escape games (all NINE of them!). We got a secret sneak peek of their latest project Cube Escape Paradox back at GDC in March but weren’t able to talk about it at that time. A lot has happened since then, including a successful crowdfunding campaign that hit more than twice its goal, and things are shaping up nicely for an official launch later this month. Basically, Paradox is a new Cube Escape game that comes with a companion movie featuring the same environments and story elements as the game. The production quality of the movie is off the charts and it’s super fun to be able to watch the movie and then go play the game and see familiar stuff from the film. Cube Escape Paradox, both movie and game, will be arriving on September 20th and the game is up for pre-order right now. Also be sure to check out the very unsettling official trailer.
Summoners Fate
Summoners Fate is an upcoming game from d20 Studios that’s described as “a tactical CCG meets dungeon crawl adventure that’s about defeating your opponent in the most creative ways possible." It really sounds like it’s going for an absurd amount of variety in terms of things you can do, which include: “Summon hordes of skeletal legions to overrun your opponent; Hurl squirrels at your enemies; Mutate forest creatures into humanoid warriors or enchant them with a detonate spell to turn them into furry satchel charges; and Blow your opponents mind by gravity blasting their forces across the map and pitting their own forces against them." Summoners Fate will be coming to desktop and mobile and will have cross-platform online play, and it should be arriving at some point early next year with a public beta happening sometime this year.
Fugl
It feels like we’ve been talking about Fugl for years, and that’s because we have! Originally announced back in 2014, Fugl is an absolutely gorgeous game about flying around as a bird and more or less enjoying the beautiful open world that’s been created around you. When we saw the game at GDC 2016 there was a new VR version and the game itself was said to be “nearly complete," and then when we saw it at GDC 2017 a year later it was also supposed to be “nearly complete." Well the good news is that although the release window continues to slide on down the line, Fugl does somehow look better and better each time we see it, this PAX demo being no exception. Apparently now the release is pegged for early next year, but I’ll believe it when I see it. What I do know is that I’ll be spending a ton of time flying around this magical world whenever the heck Fugl does end up releasing.
What the Golf?
We had a chance to play an early version of What the Golf? during GDC this past March, and had an absolute blast playing its absurd take on this normally pretty calm sport. Since that time the game has become quite an internet sensation with its wacky not-quite-golfing mechanics, and this was easily one of the busiest booths with one of the most raucous crowds on the entire PAX show floor. Basically it takes the very basic idea of golf and throws as much physics-based wackiness at it as possible. What the Golf? is supposed to launch before the end of the year and this is one that, based on the incredible amount of laughing I’ve done both playing and just watching people play it, you’re going to want to keep an eye out for.
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two is perhaps one of the most clever game ideas I’ve ever seen. The idea is that it’s a puzzle adventure game that two people play at the same time, but with each person in different areas of the game. You’ll have to communicate with one another in order to solve the puzzles and move on in the game. It’s coming to iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PC and Mac and will be totally playable across all of those platforms. In the video we shot at PAX you can see two players trying to talk through solving some of the game’s puzzles, with their backs turned to each other so as not to cheat. It’s a really rad idea and I look forward to playing through this one if I can track down a friend when it arrives early next year.
