We went hands-on with Stars of Icarus at PAX West 2025, a chaotic spaceship PvP with a steep but fun learning curve.

With gorgeous animation, tight gameplay, and unique boss encounters, Fallen Tear: The Ascension earned one of our Best of PAX West awards.

One aspect of reviewing games I love is the chance to try titles I might not have picked up otherwise. Extraction shooters is a genre I haven’t played much of, but at PAX West I had the opportunity to try one of the most robust examples out there: Escape from Tarkov. While I’m no expert (and yes, I died a lot), it’s clear the game has had a tremendous amount of effort and commitment put into it and I can clearly see why so many people enjoy it.