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The Coolest Things at PAX East 2017

The Expo Hall at PAX East 2017 was filled with an endless array of sights and sounds from the moment we entered. Perfect example… venturing down into the Expo Hall from the right escalator, con-goers were treated to a hands-on demo of one of Bethesda’s hottest upcoming games, Prey.

Descending into PAX East 2017 with the Turtle Beach Flyte backpack.Additionally, gamers who were unable to get their hands on a Nintendo Switch could demo the new console a few paces away from the Bethesda booth. Nintendo had several available Switch games to explore. Among them, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild drew the longest line of hopefuls.

The Coolest Things at PAX East 2017 Nintendo Switch

Upstairs on the third floor, far away from the craziness of the Expo Hall, sat Mass Effect: Andromeda. It was a strange location to find one of the most anticipated titles of 2017, but fans had no trouble satisfying their itch to get a closer look at the game.

This year, two indies (LawBreakers, Raid) matched triple-A giants from Bethesda, Twitch, Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation in creative booth design. For LawBreakers, it was clear the game seeks to pair itself with FPS games like Overwatch. From what was displayed at PAX, the game definitely looks capable of holding its own. It’ll be interesting to see how LawBreakers is received when it’s released sometime later this year.

Conversely, Raid had an elaborate World War II-themed setup which tied in seamlessly to the area dedicated to Starbreeze Studios’ other venture, Dead by Daylight. Despite the sheer scale of these two indie booths, it was nice to walk around and look at the dozens of niche studios that comprised the Expo Hall’s comfortable center.

Of course, we also had to stop by the Gearbox Software booth where they were demoing Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition. The cult-classic shooter has been updated with all of today’s bells and whistles —4K anyone?— and you get to play as Duke Nukem with fully recorded lines! Gearbox held a competition over the course of the weekend where the player with the highest score pulled in a cool $10K, reason enough to attend conventions like PAX in person.

PAX East 2017 attendees play Bulletstorm: Flip Clip Edition while wearing Turtle Beach Elite Pro headsets.As with any convention, there was plenty of merch to be had, especially for the thousands upon thousands of Overwatch supporters. Even in the late hours of Sunday afternoon, Blizzard’s booth remained packed with people looking to get their hands on some unique Tracer or D.Va items.

The Coolest Things at PAX East 2017

Of course, where would PAX be without its signature Pinny Arcade collection? Those who paid a visit to the PAX merch booth were able to get their hands on two different sets of pins for $40 a piece: Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Several booths were authorized Pinny dealers, including tinyBuild and Firewatch, among others.

While games and merch are definite staples of PAX, this year’s event didn’t drop the ball when it came to showcasing some of the hottest tech. As we walked through a wide variety of interesting gadgets, we were blown away by how many companies are catering to livestreaming now.

The Coolest Things at PAX East 2017

From vertical monitors designed specifically for Twitch streaming right down to interior components like cooling units and aesthetic RGB lighting, livestreamers and PC gamers were treated to several attention grabbers on the floor. In fact, there was even a custom PC case with a quaint Donkey Kong liquid cooling setup. Imagine streaming from a PC like that!

Each booth had its own preferred setup, which made it easy to try out a variety of different hardware, components, and peripherals. Whether you were looking to try out Turtle Beach headsets, the latest curved monitors, all the way to sitting yourself down in a comfy DX Racer chair for those long streaming sessions, PAX East was a tech lover’s dream.

And last but not least: the cosplayers. Arguably the main draw of any con, the creativity, skill, and passion on display is truly awe-inspiring. Geralt of Rivia? Actually a really swell guy, once you get to know him.

PAX East 2017 Geralt of Rivia Witcher Cosplay Turtle Beach.

No, this isn’t the bathtub pic. But it’s still pretty cool!

If you missed out on PAX this year, definitely try to grab yourself a ticket for next year, as you’ll find a pleasant balance of collectibles, tech, and of course, video games.