PAX Rising - The Indie Games of PAX AUS 2026
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We sent James, Brett and William off to the show floor to see what was on offer at this year's event.
PAX Rising - The Indie Games of PAX AUS 2026 (cont...)
Planetsmith - Incandescent Games
We sat down with Ken Ward from Incandescent Games to talk about their six year development journey building a voxel survival game where the world is a planet. With inspirations from Minecraft and No Man's Sky, Ken wanted to create a block-based survival game where you're not limited to just one world, but can take to the skies with a spaceship and explore the solar system.
It was fascinating nerding out and talking about the technology behind Planetsmith, including achieving world curvature through hexagons, the different versions of procedural planet and biome generation that had been developed, and the classic survival gameplay of exploring, collecting resources, crafting and fighting bosses and enemies.
Along with Incandescent Games providing a fascinating peak behind the curtain of Planetsmith's development on their YouTube channel, PlanetSmith is available to Wishlist on Steam.
My Arms are Longer Now - Toot Games
Developed off the back of a game jam, My Arms are Longer Now sees you stealthily snake your unsettlingly long arm around levels to fulfill its kleptomaniac fantasies. With a lot of the team members having comedy backgrounds, along with voices provided by Aussie comedians, this PG-rated arm-twister will have you committing crime like it's going out of style.
As you slither your way through nonlinear levels that look like they come straight out of an Adult Swim show, you'll unlock new cosmetics for your arm and complete different side quests in this Australiana adventure. There might even be a foot mode available in the final release.
With two and a half years of development and around four hours of appendage driven action available, My Arms are Longer Now is targeting a Q1 2027 release window, and is available to Wishlist on Steam.
Rain98 - C#4R4CT3R
With a melancholic ambience and a visual style reminiscent of 80's and 90's anime, this psychological thriller introduces you to Reina, a complicated, strange and sometimes scary girl who will have you doubting reality as you attempt to save the world from destruction. Having been developed by a team of twenty over the last 18 months, including around ten artists, Rain98's visual style and atmospheric audio design elicit a very strong nostalgic and introspective experience as you journey further into the horror thriller narrative.
Presented through the lens of a visual novel, and with over twenty hours of content, you'll spend your time trying to understand and relate to Reina, engaging in a variety of minigames, uncovering easter eggs from 90's Japan, and relaxing to dulcet lo-fi beats and visuals in a story where choices matter; between all the horror that is.
Targeting a release window of 2027, Rain98 is available to Wishlist on Steam and a generous demo will be available soon.
Canvas City - Disc 2 Games
Jet Set Radio meets an XCOM-style turn-based strategy is the best way to describe this indie title from New Zealand. Players will take on the role of a team of skaters as they grind rails, launch off ramps and battle rival crews to paint the town red - well, actually - yellow, pink, cyan and purple.
Players build a team of dancers, musicians and artists, each with their own set of abilities in order to tag the city and claim it as their own. You'll be collecting Style points and controlling important locations in your rebellion against the ACU corporation and rival gangs. Along with the different characters that you can recruit, performing certain tricks will grant advantages and buffs to your crew, allowing players to play the game in their own way.
While a release date has not been announced, the team is aiming for 2027. A demo is available now and fans can Wishlist Canvas City on Steam now.
Dungeon Baller - Lazy Bones
Video game pinball has always been a fun experience. I spent hours playing the tables on Pinball Dreams on my Amiga 500 and even enjoyed some time out with 3D Pinball on Windows 95. Of course, pinball games are somewhat one dimensional, which is probably why there aren't too many currently on the market. That is where Dungeon Baller comes in, as a Pinball Roguelike that changes up the mechanics.
Players select from one of eight different heroes and over 200 items to take on each of the different levels and the bosses within in order to free the souls of the cursed pinball machine. Players shoot the heroes like a pinball into the machine and then use the flippers to keep him alive to complete the level objectives. Whilst bouncing around, players can activate the special abilities and items collected during runs. Combined with an easy to use backpack management system for your hero's gear, the pinball mechanic works remarkably well with the RPG elements. I can see this game becoming the next Ball x Pit.
Dungeon Baller is scheduled for a March 2027 release, but players can check out the demo and Wishlist the game on Steam.
The Order of the Damned - Little Dragon Interactive
In The Order of the Damned, players take on the role of a knight who has been possessed by a spectre. One of the first things we noticed about this story-driven side scrolling RPG was the stunning use of colour, shadows and depth in the beautiful, yet dark, Arthurian setting.
Using Celtic history as an inspiration for the game, players explore a land that is in ruins. By using your trusty sword and shield, or by harnessing the spectre that haunts you to unleash some powerful attacks, players will take on all manner of enemies, pushing through to destroy an ancient darkness. The Order of the Damned has a deep narrative, beautiful visuals and simple controls, and we're looking forward to seeing more of this first project from Little Dragon Interactive.
Wishlist The Order of the Damned on Steam.