Another Steam Next Fest is here, running from June 10th to June 17th, 2024. If you are not familiar with a Next Fest, then let me explain. This is a chance for independent developers to showcase their upcoming games through exclusive demos, live streams, and Q&A’s. Most of the demos are exclusive to the Next Fest, so it’s normally your only chance to try out a game before its release.
The trouble with this event is that there are usually hundreds of demos released, and its a tedious job to try and find the diamond in the rough. I’ve been combing through some of the demos available to bring you eight of my favourites and hopefully make it a tad easier for you to decide what to try out. If you do want to check out one of my recommendations, then I’ve included a link to each game’s Steam page and the relevant trailer.
Let’s kick things off with the wonderful SCHiM.
In SCHiM, you control a shadow that is lost, and you need to help it return to its owner. To traverse the areas, you jump from one shadow to another to reach the end of an area of a town and move on to the next part. The shadows could be anything from a stationary bicycle to a moving car, which widens the range of movement considerably and gives you plenty to think about within certain scenarios. There are opportunities for you to help the humans too, guiding them to lost items or getting them out of whatever trouble they have gotten themselves into.
There is also a narrative to be told, which took me by surprise, and I was smitten with the minimalist art style. I just love the premise of SCHiM; its screaming with originality, and I was giddy with excitement when I finally got to play the demo. Look out for review when this game launches on July 18th, 2024
Hinterberg is the hottest tourist hotspot in Austria. Set in an idyllic alpine village, join Luisa as she explores the local dungeons, slays the demons that threaten the peace, and makes connections in the village with other residents, some of which will help you get stronger or teach you new tricks.
Your snowboard is essential to covering the area, and you’ll only be able to access certain parts of the village through grind rails. The dungeons themselves are littered with interesting puzzles, plus the combat has some intriguing and engaging options. The whole combination works so well, and we will certainly be hitting the slopes when the game releases on July 18th, 2024.
This is a procedural Metroid-like, with no fights, and focuses on exploration and route planning. You play a mouse trying to escape from a house that is ever-changing, and you’ll find help scattered all over the place. Mainly found in gift boxes or from helping other mice, you’ll gain a great bunch of tools to navigate the house and unlock new sections. You’ll gain notice board pins, a cheese jump (double jump), a grappling hook (made from a magnet and string), a lighter, and even a rocket!
What makes this game so unique is its hand-drawn graphics, which made me feel like it was a Sunday morning watching a cosy and cute English cartoon, and we can’t wait to revisit Randomice when it releases later this year.
In this role-playing puzzle game, you follow misfit Jemma as she leaves the confines of her small, cosy village to explore the world, and it isn’t long before she finds a dark and menacing force threatening the peace.
Through using a Zelda-style viewing aspect, the game has a very unique moving mechanic where you slide the ground to move Jemma, like the sliding puzzle games you used to get when you were a child. This leads to some very clever puzzles with some fun and rewarding solutions. I loved the attention to detail, as when you slide the floor, furniture and other belongings will follow you out of houses, and this interaction can happen outside of buildings in all sorts of interesting ways.
We can’t wait to see what other delights we will discover when Arranger releases on July 25th, 2024.
Start your journey of self-discovery and find out why you were created in this stylish hand-drawn Metroidvania platformer. Themed on Japanese folklore, you’ll face challenging platforming and combat as you travel through this amazing land full of myths, danger and lots and lots of tea!
I was taken aback when I started this demo, as moving through the game demands a big learning curve through its controls, but perseverance won and it soon clicked. There are some difficult sections to navigate in the demo, but it’s a rewarding experience when you finally clear it. The tools you will pick up along the way are fun, and that art style is just incredible! We will be day one when this game releases on July 17th, 2024
Classed as a’slapformer’, you are a travelling salesman visiting the northern English town of Barnsworth for a meeting with the mayor. While he waits for this meeting, you explore the town and help out the local residents with their crazy and wacky predicaments. The more help you give, the more it will unlock other areas of the town, which will include even more stranger tasks for you to do. Plenty of slapstick comedy awaits with a fully voiced cast and some proper hand-drawn comic visuals.
If you’ve ever fancied exploring an English town with a twist, then now’s your chance, and although we are all not like the characters you’ll meet, the accents and the town itself are a good representation. I had a big smile the whole time with the demo, and it’s just so unpredictable, with some interesting and out-of-the-box solutions to the tasks. Another one we will be day one with when this releases on August 1st, 2024
This is a farming simulator with a difference. As Super, you are leading an idyllic life, but then KORPO ™ arrives at your farm, takes your crops and kidnaps your mum and friends. He even makes you work your own farm for a wage!! It’s up to you to earn enough money to buy back your friends and mum, but unfortunately, KORPO ™ hasn’t made it easy for you as he has left your farm in tatters,so it’s not going to be an easy task to get farming.
Farming has been simplified here because, as a superhero you can transform into the tools you need and everything is under one button. I unlocked a pick ax, hammer and a watering can in my playthrough, and the way to unlock them is with your hard earned cash. There’s a combo and chain reaction feature with the crops as if you plant them correctly, you can harvest them in one go and earn more cash through this unique mechanic.
I’m not one for a farming game, but this one has potential and I found myself losing track of time in my hour-long session. I liked the combo feature and the simplicity of using the tools and I’ll be looking to grabbing this when it releases soon.
Cato is a cute puzzle platformer that involves players multitasking by controlling a cat and buttered toast to solve puzzles. Each screen represents a puzzle, and these can involve switches, toasters, pipes, and moving platforms. When both combine, you can do swirling anti-gravity rolls and jumps.
This should not work at all, but somehow it does, and I would love to find out how the developer came up with this pairing. The puzzles in the demo are pretty simple, but a couple did need some more thought put into them. Controlling the toast is just strange but also quite satisfying, and the bizarre nature of the game’s premise carries you through the more simpler ones. We will be eagerly awaiting Cato’s release, which is scheduled for sometime in 2024.
Steel Seed is a stealth action adventure game set in a dark sci-fi world where humanity is on the brink of extinction. As Zoe, you must investigate a hostile underground facility in search of answers and the key to humanity’s survival. You don’t do this alone, as you are joined by KOBY, a small flying robot who assists you in your journey. You can take control of KOBY to survey the area for hostiles, shoot far-off switches, and tag enemies so you can see them easier.
Although this isn’t my usual genre of games, I found this to be an intriguing setup, with KOBY bringing a unique flavour to the gameplay and some fun stealth segments. There’s also some exploration to be done with some Uncharted style climbing and running wall jumps. The game looked gorgeous on my Steam Deck, and I can only imagine how it pops on a 4K TV considering this has been developed in Unreal Engine 5. Steel Seed will release later this year, so pop it on your wishlist so you don’t miss out!
We also have some honourable mentions that I think you should consider trying out if you have time, including:
Caravan SandWitch: In Caravan SandWitch, you embark on a journey across a sci-fi Provence-like world. Equipped with your van and an array of essential tools, you set out on a quest to find your missing sister.
Upgrade your van throughout your adventure and exploration to open up new passages and ruins. From navigating treacherous terrain to uncovering ancient ruins, every step of your journey brings you closer to unravelling the truth behind your sister’s disappearance.
Rose and Locket: Rose, a former outlaw, travels through the spirit realm of the Underwest. Take up the once-forgotten skills of the gunslinger in this action-platform adventure and journey along the breathtaking landscapes on a quest to rescue your daughter’s spirit.
You’ll engage in tense, lightning-fast combat; use mobility, skill, and whim to overcome fearsome Underwest barons and their servants; and master weapon abilities to get out of any tricky situation.
Farewell North: Restore colour to the desolate Scottish islands of Farewell North, an atmospheric journey where you play as a border collie on an adventure with your human. Explore land and sea, uncover hidden paths, and free wildlife to bring colour back to her world while revealing an emotional story about saying farewell.
I’ll be Brave, Tomorrow: A first-person narrative adventure game, telling the story of a sick child playing a 2D platformer.
Set in the 1990’s, you’ll pass the time by playing your Super Nintendo, playing games created by the girl’s imagination, and following her through her hospital journey. Half of the profits from this game will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
I’ll Be Brave, Tomorrow Steam Page
Let us know if you take a look at any of these or if you have any recommendations yourself on what to check out at this Next Fest. The next Steam Next Fest is scheduled for October, and we will be back with more recommendations then. In the meantime, we hope you have fun discovering your next favourite game!
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