Monster Boy
Monster Boy started as a Kickstarter project called “Flying Hamster.” Since then, the team welcomed Ryuichi Nishizawa and turned the game into Monster Boy, based off the Wonder Boy in Monster World, a mashup between the Wonder Boy and Monster World series. Please go look those up if you have no idea what we’re talking about.
The player takes control of Jin, a boy who can transform into five different monsters to solve puzzles and take down enemies with a variety of abilities. This platformer hearkens back to old school platformers in the 80s and 90s — simple gameplay, peppy music, bright visuals. Like a Saturday morning cartoon video game that you set your alarm for.
Monster Boy is simultaneously releasing on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One later this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ6DYSf5VNE
Warlock’s Tower
Some game developers try to emulate the style of classic pixel games and achieve something between nostalgia and amusement. Then you have a game like Warlock’s Tower, which just looks like it’s always been a Gameboy game and dares you to tell it otherwise.
The graphics of Warlock’s Tower look exactly like an original Gameboy game being played on the Super Gameboy player, complete with being able to change main color from green to orange yellow. All of that helps Warlock’s Tower in the charming area, but the underlying gameplay is really cool, too.
At it’s core, Warlock’s Tower is a puzzle game in which you take control of a mailman trying to avoid monsters and deliver a letter to the warlock of the titular tower. Each move you make takes away one life, but there are tokens on each floor to increase the number of lives you have. It’s a puzzle to be able to figure out which tokens to get at what time and using what directions. The game even has Twitch integration so you can interact with your chat while you play.
Warlock’s Tower is out now for PC.
Has Been Heroes
Has Been Heroes is a Roguelike inspired by Plants Vs. Zombies.
Oh, what, you need more?
In the game, you’ll take control of three characters, each with their own lane. Each character has a different number of attacks, attack power, and control of spells. It’s up to the player to time their attacks accurately, swap characters, and utilize spells cleverly to fight back hoards of enemies.
At first, it takes a bit to get used with character switching and the concept of enemies having points with which to block your attacks, but very quickly, you’re pausing the game less, attacking with one character, swapping another in after the shield is broken to follow up with a health attack, and using spells on the fly. It’s satisfying to feel in control, but also like your heart is in your throat trying to figure out if your abilities will be off cooldown before the next enemy reaches you.
Has Been Heroes comes out March 28th for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Want more PAX South 2017 coverage? All you had to do was ask!
Prisma and The Masquerade Menace, Sundered, and RiME
Minit, Beat Cop, and Strikers Edge
Arms, Splatoon 2, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
Little under two weeks away. It’s the very first time PAX has ventured this far south in the United States, and we are almost blue in the face from excitement. Those of you unfamiliar with PAX, or Penny Arcade Expo, should envision a video game geared convention started by the creators of popular webcomic, Penny Arcade, packed wall to wall with gaming enthusiasts and this is the first time it’s expanded outside of Prime (Seattle), and East (Boston).
In lieue of a string of celebrity guests, PAX conventions center around us, the gamers, with an exhibition hall full of publishers, developers, and creators of video games, table tops, or hey, if you just want to hang out, a BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) area.
Sub Cultured will be there soaking in the first year of PAX South 2015. Four of us attending are of a varied level of gaming enthusiast, and as such, our excitement levels are all over the board, making it hard to pick just a few things to focus on, as you can tell from our list of “TO DO/SEE” things below! Come soak up some of the panels and be sure to say hi!
THURSDAY – 1/22
This may not be an official event, but on the off chance any of you happen to make it into San Antonio early, we INSIST that if you are of age, you join the bar crawl, aptly dubbed A Shot of Ice and Fire. Please. Do it for us. Pledge allegiance to whichever King, stab people in the back, and get drunk off your Westerosi ass in the name of video games!
Friday – 1/23
2025: When the Grannies Will Play – 10:30am – 11:30am – Armadillo Theatre
Haven’t you wondered what the gaming world will be like in the future? Maybe we’ll end up in a dystopian “Ready Player One” story? Maybe we will be on our proverbial front lawns preaching the ways of NES. Who knows.
Towerfall Ascension Tournament – 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Self explanatory, but it will be fun seeing people lose their utter shit at this game (think Smash Bros., but 8-bit, and with arrows!).
Take This: When to Step Away from the Screen – 5:30pm – 6:30pm – Bobcat Theatre
Tons of us live attached to our feeds, so it’s important to know when to take a breather! This panel will discuss how to recognize when being connected is doing more harm than good and provide practical advice on what to do when things get too intense.
Women in Geek Girl Media – 7:30pm – 8:30pm – Armadillo Theatre
Our very own Mia will be on this panel with a slew of wonderful, kick-ass ladies discussing the future of media.
Video Game Jeopardy – 8:30pm – 9:30pm – Bobcat Theatre
Rumored to be more difficult than those in the years past, sweet Colby is basically peeing himself at the thought of being there. (The rest of our team will mostly be yelling “Canada!” as any and all answers. Feel free to join us.)
CONCERT – 8:30pm – 12:00am – Main Theatre
Musical acts include Freezepop, MC Frontalot, and the Minibosses!
Saturday – 1/24
Video Game & Anime Music with NateWantsToBattle – 10:30am – 11:30am – Armadillo Theatre
YouTube sensation/musician Nate will wow us with his prowess in music as we all stumble sleepily to the early morning panel and serenade those of you willing to crawl out of your hotel beds at this ungodsly hour.
The L337 Life of YouTube Gamers – 12:00pm – 1:00pm – Armadillo Theatre
Top YouTube gaming stars reveal how to become a massive gaming channel, what it’s really like to play video games for a living, and what it takes to stay on top!
Polaris Presents: FriendZone Live – 1:00pm – 2:00pm – Bobcat Theatre
The popular weekly stream will go LIVE, and the gang will struggle to stay on topic.
CONCERT – 8:30pm – 12:00am – Main Theatre
Musical acts include Returners, OneUps, and Paul and Storm.
Sunday – 1/25
Love of Crafting -Texas Edition! – 10:00am – 11:00am – Bobcat Theatre
Video game related cosplay usually includes making a bunch of props, and we have no idea how to make them. Hopefully, this panel will help us out.
Inside Gearbox Software – 10:30am – 11:30am – Main Theatre
Texas natives Gearbox Software will be showing a special behind-the-scenes look at Borderlands and other upcoming Gearbox titles!
Games & Film: Bitter Enemies, Playful Friends – 3:00pm – 4:00pm – Armadillo Theatre
Not sure if we’ll ever recover from some truly bad video game movie adaptations, but with the announcement of the game heavy Ready Player One, this panel can shed some light on hopes and dreams for future big screen endeavors.
There’s yet to be much in the way of publisher booths announced, but with PAX East a mere two months after PAX South, there’s no way of knowing what is in store.
Are you guys planning on attending PAX South? There are still tickets available for the show running January 23rd through January 25th at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. We hope to see you there, and if you’re so inclined, check us out on our Twitter feeds, where we will be updating as much as possible! Be sure to follow the main hub, @Sub_Cultured, for a little bit of everything! Leia (@ladyvader99) will be attending every panel she can fit into her schedule. Want to play an Instagram challenge? Go lurk Mia (@xomiamoore) and Kimmie (@killerr_queen) while they play the challenge on the con floor under the hashtag #PAXSoufSC!
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
