Walking into PAX Aus 2026 felt a little different this year. It was still the regular convention chaos we all know, but somehow there was actually space to move. And wow, was that a nice surprise. You could walk around, move between areas without constantly getting stuck, and actually stop to look at something without immediately becoming part of a human traffic jam.
The indie area also felt bigger this year. At least, it certainly felt that way to me. There were returning games I recognised, plenty I’d never heard of before, and more than a few that had me stopping to see what was going on.
Every year I seem to have a couple of games that become my benchmark for finding those hidden gems. Project Storm was one of mine from 2025, while Copycat stood out in 2024. They’re the games that make wandering through what feels like hundreds of titles worthwhile because, somewhere in there, there’s always something waiting to completely surprise you.
Superloop also had a sponsored area filled with contenders and plenty of games worth checking out. So, after a lot of wandering, playing, talking and occasionally having absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into, these are the ten games that stood out to me at PAX 2026.
Let’s get into it.
1. THRIVE
Website: THRIVE
Developer: Avant-Card Games
Genre: Competitive tabletop/party card game
About:
Players take on the role of forest animals, including Nutty the squirrel, trying to survive and thrive by secretly choosing where to forage and how much energy to spend. It uses fast-playing card mechanics, quickfire bidding, pun-packed personality cards and a race to collect five adorable guests.
You can also check out THRIVE on Instagram.
My Thoughts:
Now, you may say this one is a surprise, and honestly, it was. I’d only spent a little time with THRIVE before I knew I needed to get someone else over to play it. So I dragged… I mean, asked nicely… Actually, no. I did drag editor Dez over to it. I knew this was a game he had to play.
And thankfully, my insistence paid off because THRIVE is just genuinely fun. It has that easy-to-pick-up feeling where you can sit down with a group of friends, learn what you’re doing pretty quickly and have a short game. Then you play again. And maybe again. Before you know it, you’re getting increasingly invested in squirrels, foraging and exactly what everyone else around the table is planning.
You can keep things quick and casual, or play for longer and head further and further down the acorn hole. Yes, I’m sticking with the acorn hole.
I think that social side is what really grabbed me. You’re watching what everyone else is doing, making your own plans, and probably becoming slightly more competitive than you intended. It remains light and approachable, though, which makes it the sort of game I could see coming out regularly when you’ve got friends around.
Sometimes at PAX you stumble across something that you weren’t specifically looking for, and it ends up becoming one of the games you keep talking about afterwards. THRIVE was absolutely that game for me. There was a reason I dragged Dez over. This is genuinely one you should check out.
2. Dungeon Pizza
Website: Dungeon Pizza on Steam
Developer: Blab Labs
Genre: Cooking Simulation
About:
A cooking game with a fantasy twist. Knead the dough, spread the sauce and prepare… rat chunks?! You run your own pizzeria deep inside a dungeon, serving weary adventurers who need somewhere to rest and refuel between quests and bounties.
My Thoughts:
OMG, did I find the next game for foodie gamers like myself or what?
I already have a weakness for cooking games, so Dungeon Pizza had an unfair advantage. Then you tell me I’m running a pizza shop inside a fantasy dungeon, serving adventurers between quests? Yep, you’ve got me.
You’re kneading dough, spreading sauce, adding toppings and making pizzas. Pretty normal stuff… until the rat chunks appear. Apparently dungeon adventurers aren’t popping out for some pepperoni. And honestly, that weirdness is what got me. I found myself strangely invested in making the pizzas properly and wondering what questionable order was coming through next.
It has that dangerous cooking-game loop of “Okay, I’ll just make one more pizza”, and we all know how that ends.
Out of all the huge adventures, racing games, monsters and everything else I played at PAX, somehow running a dungeon pizzeria and preparing rat chunks really stuck with me. Dungeon Pizza absolutely scratched that foodie-gamer itch. I can already see twenty minutes turning into a couple of hours with this one.
3. Silver Lake National Park
Website: Silver Lake National Park on Steam
Developer: Unnatural Freaks
Genre: Adventure / Simulation / Story-Rich
About:
Welcome to Silver Lake National Park, where Ranger Logan keeps the trails clear, the campfires warm, and the supernatural community hidden in plain sight. He’s a werebear who learned long ago not to fight what he is. These days, he makes sure everyone feels at home, even when he can’t always feel that way himself.
My Thoughts:
This game completely took me by surprise. I went in expecting to have a quick look, play for a bit and move on. Instead, I found myself wanting to stay there and keep playing until I’d finished the whole thing. I didn’t. I had other games to see. But I really wanted to.
There was something about Silver Lake National Park that clicked with me. It felt polished, the supernatural setting grabbed my attention, and before long I was properly invested in what was going on with Logan and this rather unusual national park.
Then I discovered there’s another game connected to it, which you’ll find at number nine on my list. So somehow one PAX discovery turned into two. Both impressed me, but Silver Lake National Park gets the higher spot because there was simply more for me to sink my teeth into. The longer I played, the harder it became to walk away.
And at PAX, when there are hundreds of other games waiting for you, that’s usually a pretty good sign.
4. Isle of Lost Bees
Website: The Isle of Lost Bees
Developer: Triple Bee Games
Genre: Simulation / Creature Collector
About:
Manage your own bee hotel in this cosy, incremental creature collector about Australian native bees. Arrange your garden to attract bees, upgrade your tools, gather pollen and research new seeds as you work towards discovering the Grand Bee
My Thoughts:
Yes, it’s a game about looking after bees.
And somehow, amongst everything I played at PAX, this little bee game really stuck with me.
I was jumping between indies, massive AAA games and everything else the show could throw at me, then I found myself happily building up a garden, planting flowers, collecting pollen and trying to attract more Australian native bees.
It’s cute, relaxing and has that dangerous“I’ll just do one more thing” feeling. You improve your bee hotel, research new flowers and gradually discover more bees, so there was always something else tempting me to keep going.
Honestly, this is exactly why I love wandering through the indie section at PAX. I probably wouldn’t have picked a bee hotel game as something I’d be talking about afterwards, yet here we are.
A genuine little hidden gem for me.
5. Cozy Game Restoration
Website: Official Cozy Game Restoration website
Developer: Parasol Corp, a Melbourne-based indie studio.
Genre: Casual / Simulation / Cleaning / Cosy
About:
Cozy Game Restoration is a relaxing simulator about bringing forgotten video game cartridges back to life. Tear away wrapping, peel off old stickers, clean away grime and turn battered old games into collectibles again. There’s no timer or fail state, so you can take your time working through each restoration.
My Thoughts:
Do you remember the old days of going through your games, cleaning them up and trying to keep those cartridges looking good? Well, this one might be for us.
First, let’s get the disappointment out of the way. You can’t physically blow on the cartridges. I know. Bummer, right?
You can, however, grab your cleaning tools and start removing all the dirt, stickers, scratches and other questionable things these poor cartridges have picked up over the years. And honestly, there’s something strangely satisfying about watching an old, filthy game slowly start looking good again.
I don’t want to spoil all the little restoration steps because discovering them was part of the fun for me. You start with what looks like a pretty simple cleaning game, and suddenly you’re far more invested in the condition of a fictional game cartridge than you probably should be.
Maybe it’s the retro game collector in me, but this one worked.
Oh yes… I cleaned those cartridges. And I liked it.
6. Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Website: Official Tokyo Xtreme Racer website
Developer: Genki Co., Ltd.
Genre: Racing / RPG
About:
Race through Tokyo’s night highways in your customised car, taking on rivals through SP Battles where victory comes from draining your opponent’s Spirit Points. The Tokyo Expressway has been recreated for the game, with battles against different rivals beginning with a flash of your headlights.
My Thoughts:
I played this at PAX in a full racing sim setup, and honestly, it didn’t take long before I was hooked. You’re cruising along Tokyo’s highways, spot another car ahead and flash your headlights.
Boom. Race on.
It’s such a simple mechanic, but I loved it. The first time I flashed my lights, I genuinely thought the other driver might just move out of the way. Nope. Turns out I’d challenged them to a race. That became one of my favourite parts of the game. You can cruise around, find another driver and challenge them without constantly jumping through menus. Flash the lights and away you go.
It gave me some serious Midnight Club era vibes, and sitting behind the wheel of a racing sim at PAX probably helped a little too.
I went in expecting a few laps in another racing game. I walked away wanting another go. Yep, this one got me.
7. Schrödinger’s Cat Burglar
Website: Abandoned Sheep
Developer: Abandoned Sheep
Genre: Puzzle / Adventure / Quantum Puzzle
About:
A puzzle-heist adventure with a quantum twist. You play as Mittens, the world’s greatest and most literal cat burglar, who gains the ability to split into two cats following a quantum experiment. You’ll need to control both versions of Mittens to solve puzzles, cause a little trouble and find your way through a secret research facility.
My Thoughts:
It’s back!
Schrödinger’s Cat Burglar was one of my top finds from PAX last year, so seeing it again, now finished and somehow even better, was always going to get my attention. And yep, I still love it.
Playing as Mittens is hilarious, especially all those little cat-like touches. There’s something very satisfying about causing trouble as a cat while you’re supposed to be solving puzzles. If you’ve ever owned a cat, some of the behaviour feels perhaps a little too familiar.
Then there’s the quantum mechanic. You get two cats. Yep. Two.
Mittens can split into two versions of herself, and you need to figure out how to use both to work your way through the puzzles. It takes a moment to wrap your head around, but that’s part of the fun.
This was already one of my favourites last year. Coming back and playing the finished version reminded me exactly why. It’s clever, funny, slightly ridiculous and genuinely different. Also, two cats. I feel like I’ve made my point.
8. Spirit Cafe
Website: Spirit Cafe on itch.io
Developer: Toasteeer
Genre: Cosy / Cooking / Story Adventure
About:
Moving to a small village for a new start, you help spirits return through the cafe’s spirit gate by healing the hearts and community of the villagers through food. Along the way, spirits transform into food creatures that help with quests as you discover new recipes, spirits and friends.
My Thoughts:
Okay, yes. Another cooking game made my list. Apparently PAX 2026 discovered my weakness.
But Spirit Cafe caught me for a different reason. There’s cooking at the centre of it, but you’ve also got this whole idea of helping spirits and the people around the village through food. It gives the game this really sweet, slightly unusual personality.
It didn’t need to be huge or flashy either. I sat down, started playing and gradually found myself enjoying all the little details that had been put into it. And then there are the spirits turning into these little food creatures to help you.
Come on. That’s just cute.
It was another one of those games where I expected to have a quick look and move on, but ended up staying longer than planned. Maybe I really do need to stop pretending I can walk past cooking games at PAX.
9. The Last Werewolf
Website: Official The Last Werewolf website
Developer: Unnatural Freaks
Genre: Adventure / Interactive Fiction / Narrative / Story-Rich
About:
A story-driven interactive narrative following Lachie, a young woman coming to terms with her newfound werewolf identity. Across three chapters, you follow her journey of self-discovery as she investigates supernatural mysteries and searches for answers about who, and what, she is.
My Thoughts:
So, remember what I was saying earlier about Silver Lake National Park? Well, The Last Werewolf is where I first discovered this world, and suddenly one interesting PAX find had turned into two games I wanted to know more about.
What grabbed me was Lachie and her story of trying to understand her new werewolf identity. There are supernatural mysteries happening around her, but the more personal side of her journey was what kept me interested. Then I discovered Silver Lake National Park and realised there was another game expanding on the same world.
I really liked how the two connected without The Last Werewolf feeling like something you simply play to get to the next game. Lachie’s story has its own identity, while Silver Lake National Park gave me another reason to spend more time in this strange supernatural world.
So basically, I stopped to check out one interesting PAX game and somehow walked away wanting to play two. I’m definitely not complaining about that.
10. Gateworlds
Website: Official Gateworlds website
Developer: Hydrarch, an Australian indie studio.
Genre: Adventure / Indie / Simulation / Strategy / Colony Sim
About:
Gateworlds is a colony sim about exploring and surviving a fantasy wilderness filled with floating worlds, strange creatures and fickle gods. You build and manage your settlement while sending expeditions into new worlds to hunt, gather resources and hopefully bring everyone home safely before the portal closes.
My Thoughts:
By this point at PAX, I’d played a lot of games. And eventually you hit that stage where everything starts to blur together a little. Then I sat down with Gateworlds.
It was a nice change of pace. I could build, explore, organise my little group and basically just get on with figuring things out. There was something strangely relaxing about that after spending the day jumping between completely different games.
Of course, then you have expeditions through portals, new worlds to explore, resources to gather and the small problem of keeping your settlers alive. So perhaps “relaxing” isn’t entirely the right word.
Still, I liked being able to sit there, build something, work out what I needed next and slowly watch things come together.
After a very long day at PAX, Gateworlds gave me exactly the sort of change of pace I needed. Sometimes you just want to build stuff and see what happens.
That’s My PAX 2026 Top 10
Well, there we have it. My ten indie finds from PAX 2026. And honestly, narrowing it down to ten wasn’t exactly easy.
Some of these I went looking for, others caught me completely by surprise, and a few were games I probably would have walked straight past if I hadn’t stopped for a closer look. That’s always one of my favourite things about PAX. You can go in excited about the big releases, huge booths and games you’ve already heard about, then somehow walk away talking about bees, dungeon pizzas, werebears and cleaning old game cartridges.
That’s PAX for you.
This year gave me quite a few of those moments. I discovered THRIVE and immediately knew I had to drag Editor Dez over to play it. Dungeon Pizza managed to combine my love of foodie games with some rather questionable ingredients. The Isle of Lost Bees had me happily looking after bees when I probably should have been moving on to the next booth, while Tokyo Xtreme Racer reminded me just how much fun it can be to simply cruise around looking for someone to race.
Then there were games like Silver Lake National Park and The Last Werewolf, where one discovery unexpectedly led me into another connected game. And, of course, Schrödinger’s Cat Burglar came back after making my list last year and gave me the important advancement I was looking for… Two cats.
Looking back at the list, that’s probably what I enjoyed most about the indie games at PAX 2026. They were all doing something different. Some were polished surprises, some were wonderfully weird, and others were simply fun enough that I didn’t really want to put the controller down.
If I had to narrow it down even further, THRIVE, Dungeon Pizza and Silver Lake National Park were probably my biggest surprises. Three completely different games, yet all three had that same effect on me: I walked up thinking I’d have a quick look and ended up wanting to play more.
And really, that’s exactly what I’m looking for when I go hunting for hidden gems at PAX.
Hopefully something on this list has caught your attention too. Maybe you’ll find one new game to wishlist, maybe several, or perhaps you’ll discover your own weird little hidden gem that nobody else in your group understands until you inevitably drag them over to play it.
Trust me. Sometimes dragging them over is necessary.
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