While the cosplay memories of the 2011 Penny Arcade Expo may fade, the glimpses of great games to come will keep gamers warm for many nights. Coming right at the cusp of the end-of-year holiday rush, PAX Prime seems to be serving as a last peek into the crazy months of September and December, as well as planting seeds of awareness for games that might impress in the next calendar year.
(PHOTOS: Who Are You Supposed to Be?: Cosplay at PAX Prime 2011)
Here are five games—most of them from small independent development teams—that excited me at this year’s fanfest.
Quantum Conundrum
Maybe the biggest surprise at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo was the announcement of this new game from Kim Swift, the co-creator of Portal. Developed by Airtight Games, Quantum Conundrum‘s a physics-based first-person puzzle game to rescue quirky inventor uncle Professor Fitz Quadwrangle. This uncle’s a famous scientist who’s disappeared and you’ll need to visit rooms in his sprawling mansion and shift them into various dimensions, like the Fluffy Dimension where heavy things become much lighter. QC‘s going to be a downloadable title that’s out early next year for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
MORE: Custom ‘Portal 2’ Video Game Level Built for Marriage Proposal
(gallery continues on next page…)