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The gaming glory of PAX West is nearly upon us and it is bringing with it a whole treasure trove of games to play. A quick look at the exhibitor list at the show tells us that there are more games at PAX West than we could possibly hope to play in a single weekend. What is a crew of excited gamers to do? The answer is to prioritize, of course, picking the biggest and most exciting games and demos available at PAX West so we make time for the ones we absolutely must play.

What are the biggest games at PAX West 2025? What are the games we can’t afford to miss out on? Here are the Popverse team’s top previews and demos that we’re excited to check out on the show floor.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Did you hear the news? Hollow Knight: Silksong finally has a release date! On September 4 (yes, that soon), we’ll all get to see what Team Cherry has spent the last seven years working on. Silksong is easily one of the most anticipated titles of this year, and we’re stoked to get to play it first on the Nintendo booth at Pax West. Will it live up to expectations? We’ll let you know.

Borderlands 4

Borderlands enjoys a somewhat special status among first-person shooters simply because it has such a unique style and tone. So the fact that Gearbox is bringing a demo of the highly anticipated game to PAX West is cause for excitement. The time to cause a little chaos and destruction has come!

Digimon Story: Time Stranger

Digimon is so much more than the Pokémon knock-off it was taken for when it first came out, and the Digimon Story spin-off series contains some of the best games the franchise has ever produced. Digimon Story: Time Stranger looks to continue that legacy, eight years after the previous game came out. Does Digimon Story still have the magic touch? We intend to find out at PAX West.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon

Did you all know that we absolutely love the Trails series? Because we do. Though The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon came out in Japan nearly a year ago, we still have to wait until January 2026 to get our hands on it. However, NIS is bringing the latest entry in the greatest JRPG series you’ve not played to PAX West, and we can’t wait to be some of the first people in the US to play it.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

Being the JRPG junkies that we are, we’re excited that Final Fantasy Tactics is getting the long-awaited remake for modern consoles, even if it is missing some of the best content from the original game. The big question is this: Does one of the greatest tactical RPGs ever made hold up in 2025? We’re going to find out.

God Save Birmingham

Zombie outbreaks are usually the fodder of modern stories, so seeing one set in 14th-century England is a new take on a classic video game genre. Will it be enough to make the game stand out among the countless other zombie-killing games? We won’t know until we try it ourselves.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
• Popverse Picks: The best Assassin's Creed protagonists
• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
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And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.