The Games I Played at MAGWest 2025

MAGWest 2025 wasn’t just about entertaining panels and live music; it was also a chance to dive into gaming. Rows of arcade cabinets and console setups lined the halls, offering plenty of classics to enjoy. At the same time, several indie studios had booths showcasing their upcoming titles.

During the weekend, I got to try some amazing indie titles that are coming soon, along with some arcade titles and retro games. These are some of the games I got to check out during my weekend at MAGWest 2025.

Indie Games of MAGWest 2025

Ink Escape: Coven Conundrum is a minimalist style escape room game. After inheriting a book from your late grandmother, you’re drawn into its world. Inside, you must solve a series of intricate puzzles to progress, all while uncovering long buried secrets and unraveling the story of your ancestors. During my playthrough, I found it both challenging yet approachable, never too difficult to discourage newcomers to the genre. It strikes a solid balance of being welcoming to beginners while still offering enough challenge to engage experienced players.

So This Vampire Walks into a Bar was back with some polish while keeping everything that made it memorable last year. This part visual novel, part bartending simulator has players assume the role of Jackie, a new bartender at Frankie’s Lair. However, the bar caters to vampires. So if Jackie mixes the wrong drink, they could end up as the meal of the night. Players will have to mingle with each customer while learning how to make their drinks correctly. Creating the ideal balance between strong narrative and engaging puzzles based on the real world. And I was still terrible at the mixology portion, having no bartending experience beyond opening a cold one for myself.

Arcade and Retro Games

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an arcade fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released in 1998. Based on the Stardust Crusaders arc, players choose from their favorite characters and battle across various stages, with the ultimate goal of defeating Dio.

Steel Battalion was an ambitious mecha game for the Xbox, requiring a custom controller that simulated piloting a mech. The game was designed for players to step into the role of a mecha pilot and embark on a series of missions. This was easier said than done, as the controller featured 44 different inputs and took time to master. To assist new pilots, a printed guidebook was included, detailing how to operate the complex machine.

Godzilla is a pinball machine that pays homage to the King of the Monsters of the Shōwa era. It’s become a fan favorite at nearly every event it appears. I was lucky enough to play it again after midnight, when the arcade had thinned out to just a few guests. Overall, it’s a lively and entertaining machine, packed with callbacks to the classic films, making it a perfect experience for longtime fans of the series.

Densha de Go!! is an arcade game that simulates the operation of a commuter train. Players choose their train and route before beginning the journey, then are rewarded for maintaining proper speed, stopping at the correct markers, and arriving on time. It’s a game that takes practice to master, but once you get the hang of it, you can finally live out the dream of operating a train.

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater is a slot machine version of the iconic game. It was basically a slot machine, but with moments from Snake Eater recreated using the Fox Engine.

Did you get a chance to check out any of these games at MAGWest 2025? If so, then share your story in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: MAGWest provided me with a panelist badge, as I also hosted an event for the weekend.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the gamer community of the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Stan Rezaee is the founder and Editor of 8Bit/Digi. He is a journalist and gamer from the Bay Area who has been writing about the medium for over five years.