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...)
Beyond These Stars - Balancing Monkey Games
Following on from the success of Before We Leave, Balancing Monkey Games have returned to the city building genre with Beyond These Stars, a strategy base building game built on the back of a giant space whale called Kewa. Kewa is very much a character and being in and of themselves, so more than anything you must seek to co-exist together. With strong anti-colonial and anti-exploitation narratives and mechanics, your journey through the non-linear story of Beyond These Stars will see you making tough choices as you shape the environment and your relation to it.
Exploration and expansion are the name of the game, and as you meet other species and discover new technologies, you'll create outposts on nearby planets to help sustain your symbiotic relationship. The writing remains light and fun throughout, with different difficulties available, as well as a sandbox mode and several different scenarios
Beyond These Stars releases on the 17th of October 2026. In the meantime players can check out the demo or Wishlist it on Steam.
Box Knight - We Made A Thing Studios
Developed and published by We Made A Thing Studios, Box Knight has you brawling through a beat 'em up workplace satire. Hand-picked by the janitor, you must fight through your toxic workplace to bring the fluorescent light back to the darkness. As a roguelite, randomisation is the name of the game, with different dungeon layouts, builds, items and bosses appearing each time.
With inspirations that include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 arcade game, South Park: The Stick of Truth and The Lord of the Rings, you journey to save your co-workers who have turned into all sorts of creatures in this humorous Australian hack and slash.
Featuring an engaging art-style reminiscent of mid 2000s internet culture, Box Knight is available to purchase now on Steam.
Gateworlds - Hydrarch
Inspired by Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld, Gateworlds is a survival colony sim that allows your colonies to settle on multiple worlds by travelling through temporary portals. You must manage the needs of your colony and keep your people alive through unforgiving biomes whilst navigating relationships with a set of five fickle gods to craft, hunt, build and explore the planes.
Initially starting as a solo development effort six years ago, Gateworlds' artistic sensibilities and mechanical complexities look like they'll be both addictive and deep, with the gates especially adding an extra layer of depth and breadth to a genre that can already provide near limitless emergent replayability.
With all sorts of environments and enemies to conquer, a Gateworlds playtest is now available on Steam, where it can also be Wishlisted.
Star Catcher - Still Rain
For their first time at PAX, the six-person team at Still Rain Studio have been proud to bring Star Catcher along, a comfy solo or co-op (for up to four players) space and sky fishing adventure. With atmospheric echoes of The Outer Wilds you explore a sea of stars to capture and release lost souls at your own pace, melding with the music as you complete fishing minigames that finally make fishing fun and relaxing in a video game.
Our first thoughts after playing the demo on display was that Star Catcher seems like such a great game to play after work, particularly with a friend or three. With its peaceful nature and artistic direction, popping on the headphones while playing at PAX AUS this year gave us a well-needed brief reprieve from the intense visual and auditory stimulation of the event. And I'm sure if you watch the Steam trailer you'll understand what we're talking about.
Star Catcher is available to Wishlist on Steam.
Wonder Air: Lunara's Adventure - Tailwind Works
Flying through space and some wonderfully animated settings, players take on the role of Lunara as you explore magical fantasy worlds. These gorgeous worlds have a 3D platformer feel, reminiscent of titles on the original Playstation and Nintendo 64, and full of vibrant colours.
With inspiration from titles such as Super Mario 64, players are free to roam in whichever direction they choose. Whilst the controls may take a little bit of getting used to, players glide through the sky in all directions, with the aim of soaring through rings, collecting special spheres and linking together Chains. Players will also gather special dream fragments known as Lumina Stones.
Wonder Air: Lunara's Adventure is aiming for a 2027 release, but players can try out the demo now, and Wishlist the game on Steam.