PAX East 2026: Kiln – First Impression

The acquisition arc for Double Fine Productions by Xbox has left many surprised to where the team stands currently. In 2019, Microsoft announced its purchase of the Psychonauts, Grim Fandango team. However, the biggest concern would be how much the team would be shaken up by its new owner. In response, the Xbox firm disclosed that the creative leadership at Double Fine would be maintained and not push additional work that interferes with current projects.

Years later, founder Tim Schafer even revealed what the impact of the acquisition has provided. Speaking to G4TV, he told that the boss fights in Psychonauts 2 were executed thanks to the support by Microsoft. And creative endeavors has yet to cease as the firm even shipped Keeper just this past year which further illustrates the trust that Xbox has in the game studio when it comes to new projects.

The latest is a new multiplayer effort – Kiln. Double Fine Productions has quietly been working on the title as early as 2023. Earlier this year, the game received a proper announcement and the game was officially scheduled to ship in April. At PAX East this weekend, Rectify Gaming got to jump into the new IP. And, Kiln has a lot of potential beyond just the ceramic glaze on this pottery-based multiplayer brawler.

“Kiln is a pottery power-fantasy that celebrates both Creativity and Destruction: the pleasure that comes from both making beautiful things, and then smashing those things to smithereens,” the overview for the game shares. “Create your pot, grab your friends, and join a team of colorful spirits who face off against one another in online arenas, where the ceramic creations you sculpt on a pottery wheel become the bodies you bring into battle.”

Immediately playing Kiln, Double Fine’s DNA is evident with the use of color as well as the characters you interact with and play against. Starting in the tutorial, the formula is laid out for the core gameplay loop building up to the online matchmaking further ahead. First beginning as a spirit, you get to customize your colored pneuma before adopting your clay shell. In the demo, you test out different sizes and each capability that comes with the one you choose.

Not only do some fit into certain areas, they also feature specific abilities that help in the overall gameplay. For the sake of the showfloor build, Quench was the focused game mode that really tested the mettle for Kiln’s multiplayer. The objective: extinguish the opposing team’s kiln. Like most pottery, they are built to hold differing amounts of water and the size of you dictates how much you can carry.

Alongside the quantity of water available to move, your size impacts traversal as well as combat. You can deal more physical damage depending on how big your pottery is. Additionally, the pot’s stature is also affected in a similar manner. From my time playing, the back-and-forth flow in Kiln was fun for the most part. While there were some inconsistencies in the build since this was before release, the game remains to be a satisfying experience.

Probably what impressed me the most has to be the actual clay sculpting segment of the demo. The process of laying out the clay, shaping its malleable body, and adding contouring characteristics to it before your spirits takes it into battle left me with a certain euphoria that was surprising to say for a multiplayer-focused title. Unique tech like that is somewhat rare in gaming, and to be a fairly fundamental part of the game I fully embrace.

Leading to what still remains is the duration of Kiln: not of the matches, but as a live-service. Being a multiplayer title, Kiln does fill in certain boxes that has me excited to see where the game will be months following release in April. But, there is some hesitancy too. The pottery approach is very charismatic thanks to the creative effort by Double Fine, but I am left curious if that is the same impression many will be given from Kiln or if it is another title that players see as filler on Xbox Game Pass.

Leaving PAX, Kiln is a memorable experience that shows Double Fine Productions still has what it did when making titles like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend. The difference is this multiplayer experience could be overlooked as another live-service when it is brimming with creativity.

If you are interested in Kiln, you can wishlist the game by heading here.

Kiln ships April 23, 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC.