PAX AUS 2025

Wow, what an incredible time at PAX AUS 2025 that was!

Sure, we loved our first trip to PAX AUS last year.

But this year? This year PAX AUS delivered an unforgettable experience that was on a whole new level.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, and for anyone living under a Minecraft shaped rock, the Penny Arcade Expo Australia (PAX AUS) is a showcase event where our fellow PAXsters, including gamers, game developers, gaming media, speed runners, gaming community organisations, and heck at least three different versions of spiderman converge on an annual basis in October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre across three days to celebrate all things gaming.

At PAX AUS there really is something for everyone, from the opportunity to tee up some multiplayer action with a fellow PAXster on old-school consoles like the PlayStation One in the Classic Gaming area, to playtesting the latest upcoming AAA and indie games in the Expo Hall, to tabletop gaming, pin collecting, prize winning, merchandise purchasing, cosplaying, panel attending, and seriously, just so much more!

This year was outstanding for a number of reasons, but let’s not kid ourselves here your very own Perth Gaming Crew Johnnies could not help but marvel at the glory of what we are calling the Nintendo megabooth. Can we just say, hat’s off (or is that Cappy’s off?) to Nintendo this year because the big N went all in with it's Nintendo Switch 2 showcase, offering hands-on experiences with recently released and hotly anticipated AAA titles like Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Kirby Air Riders, Mario Kart World, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, and best of all Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Yes, finally, after all the hype building on the Perth Gaming Crew Show we finally got to experience Metroid Prime 4: Beyond for the very first time, and we loved it. The demo displayed a snippet of the opening level, with Samus landing on the planet Viewros amidst a battle between the Galactic Federation and the Space Pirates, all rendered in gorgeous 4k and buttery smooth 60fps, and my Ridley’s bones it looked incredible! Everything we wanted in this long-anticipated sequel was there, from the morph ball, to visor scanning, to tense and engaging combat. The demo even culminated with a tricky boss fight that put some players (*cough* Jonathan *cough*) to absolute shame in front of the PAXsters watching on. Admittedly we didn’t love the requirement to use the joy-con's mouse controls setup, but nevertheless cannot wait to pick this game up when it releases on 4 December. Johnny has even pre-ordered all three of the related amiibo to boot!

Beyond the big AAA games, Nintendo also delivered on the indie and third-party games front, with playable experiences on offer including recent megahits Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Elden Ring and Borderlands 4. Getting hands on with Hades II proved to be a real delight! Despite being unfamiliar with the roguelike genre, Johnny was quickly immersed in the struggle of Melinoë, Princess of the Underworld to unravel the fiendish scheme of the Titan of Time, Chronos. Like the first game in the series, Hades II brings Greek mythology to life in vivid detail; the controls for the game are snappy and intuitive and Melinoë exhibits a satisfying mix of ranged and melee attacks, which are both necessary to master if one wishes to make short work of the game's wide variety of enemies and bosses. The player is also introduced quickly to the game's emphasis on the use of magical incantations to provide Melinoë with a strategic advantage in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds!

Ubisoft, Gearbox, Bethesda and Devolver Digital also had a presence in some form or another, but the other big publisher highlight this year was Xbox which showcased hands-on experiences with the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X in massage chairs (yes, really!). Xbox also showcased one of their most hyped upcoming titles on display, the long-awaited Ninja Gaiden 4. Ninja Gaiden 4 was a technical showpiece, and we quite liked the wall running, more complex slicing, dicing and dodge and grapple-hook mechanics, although the end demo boss leaned a little bit too hard into the series’ famous hardcore level of difficulty. We’ll be talking about it nonetheless at our upcoming Ninjitsu November special!

The indie developers from Australia and abroad also brought their A game this year. Our number one pick had to be the 90’s noir themed gangster first person shooter (FPS) Fallen Aces from Newblood Interactive, which was running on classic arcade cabinet setup, fitting the game’s nostalgic vibe perfectly. The demo saw us take control of protagonist Mike Thane and let us rummage through his apartment, answer or ignore phone calls, read notes littered around to unravel more about Mike’s situation and story, before making a daring escape, broken bottle in hand, taking down gangsters in an ultraviolent and ultra satisfying style of FPS combat. Other indie standouts included the fun and funny NES AFL throwback Pro Jank Footy, pick-up and play and also perfect for mobile gaming SilkSoar, finely tuned deck-builder with a twist Davy Jones Deckhand, and last but not least creepy adventure with compelling potion crafting mechanics Apothecurse.

The Zelda Universe team provided Sunday Badge holders a fan service special with their interactive 'Let's make the next Zelda' panel. Over what felt like a very quick hour the Zelda Universe panel, which was stuffed to the (Zora) gills with passion for The Legend of Zelda series, took the audience through a vigorous debate on which key elements from previous Zelda entries should be included in the next mainline Zelda game, and how they should be fused together (pun fully intended Tears of the Kingdom fans!). While the results of the debate were played mostly for laughs, with the audience settling on a new adventure for Tingle set up by Bowser's incursion into Hyrule, suffice to say the crew's imaginations have been sent running wild as to what Zelda fans may have to look forward to over the course of the Switch 2 generation.

While Johnny didn't spend as much time enthralled by the PAX AUS 2025 speed runners as he did in 2024, he made a point of stopping in at the speedrunning stage on Friday morning to catch a very impressive play-through of Mega Man 2 on the NES. Johnny, along with one of the hungriest People of Perth & beyond that had joined the crew in Melbourne this year, bore witness to the incredible completion of the game in under 32 minutes! An amazing effort in the name of an incredibly important cause: raising critically needed funds to support vital cancer research.

Inspired by this year’s release of the Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection, Jonathan entered the Mortal Kombat II tournament held in the Classic Gaming area. Four wins and two losses later as his go-to favourite Sub-Zero left him hanging his head somewhat high, and as much as he wanted to blame the unfamiliar button layout of the Sega Mega Drive it was the growing fear of losing to a 10-year-old kid playing as Scorpion that saw Sub-Zero’s ultimate demise.

Both Johnnies also threw their two Mario coins in to try out the Nintendo World Championships: NES Classic Edition championships tournament, with Johnny’s skilful navigation of Mario: The Lost Levels and Excite Bike challenges earning a respectable personal best which may have won the tournament…. were it not for a fellow PAXster dressed in Daisy cosplay determined to earn their rightful place at the top.

Speaking of cosplay, the cosplay this year was also out of this world. Literally. From a $20,000 Iron Man voice activated suit (we kid you not!), to a Mortal Kombat Jade and Mileena team up, to an entire squad of Halo marines lead by the Master Chief himself, Lady Dimitrescu, Predator, Samus Aran, the Silent Hill nurses, the Squid Game guards, Kobrai Kai’s Johnny Lawrence, Harley Quinn, Superman, the Bananas in Pyjamas and everything else in between. Johhny also donned his Mario cosplay on day two and was greeted by more than one excited PAXster seeking a photo with their favourite friendly plumber, including other beloved characters from the Super Mario series.

If it’s not clear already there was a lot going on at PAX AUS this year, and even taking a break from it all proved to be an immersive gaming themed experience for fans of the Fallout series. This year PAX AUS partnered up with Bethesda to deck the usual Expo Hall lunch offering out to replicate a Red Rocket diner, with all manner of Fallout themed items and props on display, from coasters, to Vault Boy gear, to a life-size power armour replica. Best of all were the interactive minigames, including a vault terminal hacking game and a Port-a-Diner claw machine, both of which dished out some incredible prizes, in addition to a complimentary Fallout themed bottlecap of course. Oh, and the signage outside the toilets, hilarious!

Last but not least we just had to level up our merchandise collection, how could we not? This year’s standouts included a Vault Boy themed poster, neat Kirby Air Riders pins, two editions of the Ultimate Spiderman graphic novel series, and last but certainly not least a copy of Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Nintendo Switch 2, which came with a set of four collector’s edition A3 size posters, including an oh-so-beautiful poster of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Keen to see more of our PAX AUS experiences? Head on over to Instagram and Blue Sky.

Are you also pumped for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Ninja Gaiden 4?

Or perhaps you're craving more Mortal Kombat madness and Shocktober themed spookiness?

Check out our recent 2D Metroid and 2D Classic Castlevania series spotlights, as well as our upcoming Mortal Kombat and ninja themed games series spotlights this Ninjitsu November on the Perth Gaming Crew Show podcast.

- Jonathan and Johnny @PGC 23/10/2025