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Some more of PAX Online x EGX Digital's best bits

Horror, space, tactics, and "the Sharknado of video games".

PAX Online x EGX Digital, the mammoth 9-day digital event about video games organised by our parent company ReedPop, is five and a half days old now, and we're starting to get used to it. Obviously we would much rather be cramming ourselves into a cavernous expo centre with you lot, but that is not practical or safe right now - and there's something to be said for having multiple channels of panels, demos and more beamed straight into your home.

For the full show experience you should check out the virtual show floor, the bustling Discord community, the Steam hub, or the sweet merch and the streaming schedule. It's a lot, especially the constant stream of panels and sessions, so we've curated a few highlights from the last day or so for you.

First up, a look at the strange, sometimes contradictory relationship between horror games and anxiety. Why does horror set your heart racing, and what do you do if it gets too much? How come some people actually find horror games helpful? Our panel of doctors and horror game enthusiasts - Dr Sachin Shah, Dr Donald Servant and Dr Hamilton Morrin from Gaming the Mind - investigate.

Cover image for YouTube videoHorror games and anxiety

Can playing games help you get into space? It is not a question I have previously thought to ask, but the team behind the forthcoming management/sim game Mars Horizon have. They explain how playing games can help you learn STEM subjects, hone the teamwork you need, and if I am understanding this right, turn you into an actual astronaut.

Cover image for YouTube videoCan playing games help you get into space? (Mars Horizon)

A bit of Let's Play action now as Rock Paper Shotgun's Matthew Castle and Colm Ahern get down to some co-op, real-time tactics action in Red Solstice 2: Survivors in their characteristically bumbling way.

Cover image for YouTube videoRPS Presents: Let's Play Red Solstice 2: Survivors

And while we're on the Let's Plays, here are our own Ian and Zoe playing Dead Island in a special live edition of Late to the Party, as Ian introduces Zoe to what he likes to call "the Sharknado of video games".

Cover image for YouTube videoLet's Play Dead Island: Definitive Edition - Late to the Party LIVE - EGX DIGITAL 2020

PAX Online x EGX Digital continues right through to Sunday 20th September, and it's free to everyone. We'll be back tomorrow with some special Eurogamer sessions for you, including the games of the generation, and a chat with Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter about the next-gen consoles now we know the score.