PaxWest 2023 - Day 3 Impressions and the Day 3 Awards 2023

In This Episode, Sebastion will go over the best games he played on Day 3 of PaxWest! He is also going to give his Day Three MVP!

In a recent episode of the Single Player Experience Podcast, I talked about the best games that I played during my Second day at Pax and I gave my Day 2 Awards. We talked about indies like 30xx, Chicken Police, And Lost Eidolons. We also talked about the AAA games that I played like Prince of Persia, Tekken 8, Persona 5 Tactical, and more. Before we closed out that episode of the Single Player Experience, I gave my Day 2 MVP award. Here, I’m going to do the same thing with the games that I played on Day 3. Here are the Pax West 2023 Day 3 Awards!

On the first day, I played some AAA games like Tekken 8, Prince of Persia, and Persona 5 Tactica. Really Enjoyed these games and look forward to playing more of them when they drop.

I got to play some more Indies, many of which blew me away and left me salivating for more. All that said, here is my Day 3 Pax West Impressions and the Day Three MVP."

For the Full article you can go click here: https://pronerdreport.com/pax-west-2023-day-3-awards-impressions-and-the-day-three-mvp/

Sebastion and The Single Player Experience Links:

Head to Discord to join the FREE Single Player Experience Discord Server! https://discord.gg/YeCwD6gtDv

For more episodes, head to Apple Podcasts.

Connect with Sebastion:

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What's up and welcome to the single player experience.

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The only show that's better

than Good Burger Secret Sauce.

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As always, I'm your host Sebastian

Mauldin, the Sultan of single

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player games, the Prince of

Podcasts, and the Notorious 90s Kid.

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Lately, for the last couple of

episodes, I've been giving my Dame one.

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And day two, best of PAX West 2023 games,

and I've been giving out some awards

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like the most unique game of the day

awards and the MVP of the day award.

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During the event, I was fortunate

enough to play a whole lot of

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triple a games like Tekken 8

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what?

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, Sebastion: Prince of Persia,

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what?

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Sebastion: Persona 5 Tactica,

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what?

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Sebastion: Super Mario Brothers Wonder.

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what?

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Sebastion: And, Grand Blue Fantasy Relink.

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what?

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Sebastion: I also dove into

a wide gambit of indie games.

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In this episode, I'm going to do the

exact same thing with my day three top

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games and give out my day three MVP award.

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This will be the last episode of our

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So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

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But before we do, don't forget to like,

and subscribe and show some love to this

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podcast, because it really helps the

podcast grow anyways, let's get to it.

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So, the first award of the day

is my most unique game award.

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This is pretty self explanatory, it's

going to the most unique game that

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I saw during day one of PAX West.

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So, the winner of this award has to go

to one of the most unique games that

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I've ever seen in my entire life, and

that's Chicken Police Into the Hive.

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Let's start off with the Day

3 Most Unique Game Award.

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So, every once in a while I come across

a game that I look at sideways due to

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its concept being, well, out there.

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This was my initial reaction when

I heard about Sky the Scraper.

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Then I heard the magic words that always

seemed to make me interested in a game.

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Sky the Scraper is a roguelike game.

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That genre continues to be my

kryptonite or the dessert that

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I just can't seem to resist.

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Here is their description of this game.

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This is a building cleaning roguelike

action game about a young man

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named Sky who chases an uncertain

dream as a building cleaner.

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Conquer thrilling randomly changing

high rise Upgrade your skills and gear

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with your money and wheel and find

your path within a two month limit.

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Here's my impressions about the game.

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Right off the bat, I'll admit,

I didn't do well in the demo.

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The PR rep, as a matter of

fact, often laughed at me as I

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continuously fell off the building.

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I'd rest my character up a bit, do one

of the many side quests that the game has

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to offer, and then I'd gear up once again

to try to clean off another skyscraper.

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It didn't take long for me to once again

fail very quickly in that endeavor.

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The dangerous part was that in that

little time that I played the game, the

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loop was enough to get his hooks into me.

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Like many roguelike games that I adore,

Sky the Scraper got me hooked and wanting

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absolutely more and more of this game.

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The game drops in 2024 and best

believe, you damn sure best

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believe, I'll be playing it.

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Not only because it was entertaining,

but to earn my redemption because

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I embarrassed myself in front of

everyone while playing this game.

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Next up, I want to talk

about Demon School.

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Demon School is a 2D based RPG that

felt like a fusion of Yu Yu Hakusho

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and Persona, which speaks to that

90s kid in me on every single level.

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The 2D art style had a splash of color

and the game's dialogue felt very modern.

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The tactics were fun and challenging

without being super overwhelming.

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I love that you can plot and preview

your whole team's move for a turn

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and see how the strategy would work

out, HP wise, without having to

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learn that in retrospect afterwards.

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Demon If you don't like the preview of

the strategy, then you can basically go

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back out and try another strategy out.

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This is a smaller RPG to

really keep your eyes on.

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Next, I want to pivot to a different game.

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So morphing into your opponents is

a concept that years ago I thought

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would be a major trend in video games.

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Turns out I was wrong, but the

French studio Yummy Games is out to

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show why this is a cool feature in

their upcoming game, Project Tower.

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This is a sci fi game that not

only intrigued me with its morphing

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concept, but with its visuals.

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It's running in Unreal Engine 5 and

it's another great example of how indie

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studios are using Unreal to redefine

the landscape of 3D modern indies.

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Here's their description of the game.

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Project Tower is a third person

shooter set in a science fiction world.

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You play as a prisoner trapped in a tower.

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The only way to regain your

freedom is by reaching its summit.

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To do that, you're gonna have to

unlock new weapons, new abilities,

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and fight those who lock you in here.

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Metamorphosize yourself to

better surprise your enemies.

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You use this unique mechanic to get out

of all sorts of different situations.

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Are you ready to take up this challenge?

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So that is their description, and

here's my impression of Project Tower.

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Project Tower was a delightfully fun

game that impressed me in many ways.

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I like the become the

aliens you face concept.

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It has the gameplay that kind of reminds

me of Returnal, but the environment

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that kind of reminds me of Aliens.

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The Yummy Games team said that they

still have some work to do, and

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didn't really provide a release date.

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But, whenever they decide to bless

us with Project Tower, you can

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be sure that I'll be playing this

game, day one of its release.

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The next game that I want to

talk about is a first person

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shooter with a roguelike twist.

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This is a game that I couldn't believe

someone else hasn't done before,

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because it's such a cool concept.

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The game is called Scopia,

which is named after the city.

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Fun fact, this city is also the

capital of the Republic of Macedonia.

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So, here's their description of this game.

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Dive into Scopia, a comic book style

first person shooter with roguelike

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elements and an open world gameplay.

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Explore a city thrust in disarray

by unknown events and survive

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the horde of mutated abominations

that lurk at every corner.

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Here's my impression of the game.

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Scopia is a game that I don't know

how to pronounce, well, I really

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didn't until I googled it, but I

do know that it has the potential

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to be something absolutely special.

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Playing the demo gave me vibes of playing

Call of Duty Zombies from back in the day.

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It's comic book art style gives the

game a Borderlands aesthetic, but it

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has a tight gameplay of Call of Duty.

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I love I love roguelike games, and

this one has a different feel to it

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than the ones I've played lately.

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I didn't get a date window, but I'll be

playing the hell out of it when it drops

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by preventing us from getting

another one of these gems.

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Out to bring balance back into

the world by giving us a podracing

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game is Ginyan Now, this next game

that I want to tell you about has

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a little bit of a story to it.

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So, I was walking, kind of in the

back of the convention center, just

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minding my black ass business, and,

I looked to the right, and I saw a

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game that legitimately stunned me.

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And, the reason it stunned me is

because I haven't seen a game like

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this in a very, very long time.

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And, the reason why I say that is

because it's been many moons, many moons,

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since we saw a pod racing video game.

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It seems like the dark side

of the video game industry has

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been strong by preventing us

from getting one of these gems.

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So, out to bring balance back into

the world, and back to the force, is a

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studio called Ganyan Games with their

upcoming game Ascent Rivals, which is

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essentially a pod racing video game.

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That's amazing, right?

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So, Ginyan Games is a studio based

out of Seattle, Washington, and

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they are a passionate team who

showcase some dope games at PAX West.

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One of them was Ascent Rivals.

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This is a pod like racing experience

that's fast paced with some speed running

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elements and an emphasis on utilizing

your turbo boost at the right time.

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The controls are very different than

Star Wars Episode I Racer, which is

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appropriate since this team is out

to put their own spin on the concept.

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While the game is still a bit early in

development, it demoed so well, both

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in its controls and in its visuals.

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I've been waiting, absolutely salivating,

for a modern day pod racing game

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for years at this point, and I lost

all hope that we'd ever get one.

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Thanks to Ascent Rivals, that

hope is coming back in full force.

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Now, let's cap it off with

the MVP award for Day 3.

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So, over the years, one of my most played

games has been Fight Night Champions.

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It's partially because it's a

good game, and it's also because I

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genuinely love the sport of boxing.

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So when I heard that there was going to

be a boxing game that was going to be

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at PAX West, I was excited to see what

they were going to bring to the table.

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Big Boy Boxing did enough to not only

impress, but earn the Day 3 MVP award.

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Here is their description of the game.

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Experience the single player action

boss rush game with Pixel perfect

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retro aesthetics and inspiration from

classic titles like Punch Out and

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the recent indie hits like Cuphead.

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Starting off as a typical underdog story,

you encounter, challenge and befriend

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different characters, all with their own

unique personalities and backstories.

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Reading your opponents is key to getting

the upper hand in the boxing ring.

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Now I'm gonna be real with you.

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I was insanely impressed with

this game and the description's

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pretty on point there.

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Big Boy Boxing feels like Punch Out's

gameplay meets Cuphead's art style.

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The bosses are varied enough

that each level feels unique

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and presents its own challenges.

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I can see myself playing this game on

any platform, even the Switch, and I

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know, I know y'all know that I've been

avoiding playing my Switch these days.

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I can't wait for the game to

come out, and it's firmly on

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my most anticipated game list.

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So, overall, my day three of PAX

was filled with a lot of variety.

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There was a podracing game, a boxing

game, a game where I got to turn into an

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alien, a roguelike window cleaning game.

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There was all sorts of things

that I played that I didn't even

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mention here, and I was blown away

by each game in a different way.

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PAX West 2023 Day 3 Awards was tough

because there are so many, and I'm

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talking about so many great games

that I got to play and experience.

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It also made me want to add

more categories because I really

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wanted to give them all awards.

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They're all deserving.

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There is legitimately a bit of

something for everyone here.

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So if any of these games tickle your

fancy, go ahead and wishlist them.

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Like, go support these devs.

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They're working extra hard to bring

out some solid content for y'all.

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So that's a wrap for my

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It's also a wrap for my PAX

West coverage for this year.

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Stay tuned.

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We'll probably do this again when

PAX East comes around next year.

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But anyways, thank you so much for

listening to my coverage and my

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impressions on all these games.

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If you have any questions,

hit me up in the single player

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experience discord server.

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It was honestly a good time.

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If you've ever been on the fence,

or if you ever wanted to experience

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something like E3, you should

definitely go check out PAX.

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It's a really good time.

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And I know the.

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A lot of people think like, oh, PAX

is only just the indie convention, but

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that's not really true because a lot of

AAA games showed up, you know, showed

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up and showed out in a very big way.

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So PAX is kind of becoming like

the E3, or PAX, East End PAX was

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just sort of becoming like, E3

part 1 and E3 part 2 nowadays.

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But anyways, if you've ever been

on the fence, go check those out.

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So before I go, I want to tell you about

a free video game code giveaway that

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I'm doing and to win this free game, all

you have to do is basically review this

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episode and then screenshot your review.

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And send me a picture of

it on discord to do such.

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All you have to do is click that

discord link in the description of

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this episode and say, what's up, man?

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I gave you a nice review and you'll

be eligible to win this code.

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I'm going to be doing a lot more

giveaways like this in the future.

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So stay tuned and good luck,

everyone, in the giveaway.

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So that's a wrap for today's show.

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I wanna let you know about the single

player experience Discord server.

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It's the perfect place for single player

gamers to talk about the good single

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player games they've been playing lately,

and to get video game recommendations.

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Think of it kind of like a book

club for single player gamers.

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The link to join will

be in the description.

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Once you're in, feel free to share

your video game backlog list.

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Talk about the good games you've

been playing, or give your feedback

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on the show if you have a game that

you think should be recommended or

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that you think I should talk about.

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Let me know in the single Player

Experience Discord server.

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I'll see you there.

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Before we go, I just want to thank you

so much for listening to today's episode.

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Stay safe, stay gamming, and I

hope to catch you in the next one.

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Peace.