Another Steam Next Fest is almost here, and with it brings 3,000 demos for us to choose from. Its no easy task, and it can be hit and miss on whether you will discover your next favourite game. We were fortunate enough to have access to some demos before the festival kicked off, and below we list our favourites, plus a few that we couldn’t try out beforehand but are on our highly anticipated list.
If anyone is not familiar with a Steam Next Fest, these are a week-long digital festival held on Steam where demos of upcoming games are made available. Mostly these are for games no one has been able to play before; some are updated demos from previously released demos, and some are from games that no one has heard of before. Its a great way for developers to try and promote their game through the demo listing and live broadcasting them playing the game. Its also a great way for the player to discover some uncut gems, which has been the case for me through the last few Next Fest’s.
One other note is that you can also watch our video showcasing these recommendations on our YouTube channel by following this link.
Inside each recommendation, we will also include a link to the demo page on Steam.
With all that said, let’s get to the first demo!
Keep Driving is a car management RPG set in the early 2000’s. You take road trips to visit friends, go to a gig, and do other activities that your young protagonist wants to get up to.
On your road trips, you’ll come across obstacles like traffic jams, potholes, speed cameras, or the police. Tackle these with your skills that you brought along, with each matching different symbols. You can also pick up hitchhikers, which will add their unique skills to your choices.
You also have to manage your boot space, with items taking up a number of squares depending on there size. I liked the fact you could use the backseat footwell as storage. It’s little touches like this that made this game shine above others.
Each town you visit will have different stores for you to purchase items and the many upgrades that are available for your car. You can pick up jobs on the bar notice boards too, which will help give you an income to be able to pick up more gas and pay for food and the mentioned upgrades. The best job I picked up was having an energy drink company brand my car for cash. It was fun driving along with Warrior blasted across the car with green decals.
There’s also a great soundtrack on offer through the car stereo, with some outstanding indie alternative tunes blaring out that really entertained me through the longer driving sections.
Keep Driving is looking to be a really innovative and entertaining game through its fresh ideas and appealing visuals, and we can’t wait to get our hands on the full version when it releases at some point next year.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2756920/Keep_Driving/
This game is the creation of an ex-Disney imagineer and a lead designer from the Millennium Falcon ride.
This is a 2.5D throwback cinematic adventure game where Ari is dragged into a time-travelling quest by his professor friend, and you join them as they go through history trying to get home.
The game is very bright, colourful, and comedic, with the two main characters having a fun rapport with each other. Its amazing graphics, entertaining platforming, and Rayman-like character designs are all very appealing, and everything is voice-acted and well-written.
The platforming sections you will encounter include some cool moments and interesting climbing. Throughout, the characters were talking to each other, sometimes with light banter that really made these sections even more entertaining.
It really did feel like I was playing a game from the early 2000’s with a modern-day sheen over it, and I hope you’ll feel the same way if you check out the demo.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2184020/Ari_Buktu_and_the_Anytime_Elevator/
Aaero2 sees you take control of a spaceship as it flys across alien landscapes.
Connect with ribbons of light to create music, which varies from straight lines to loop the loops. You’ll also battle wild alien creatures, and the one in the demo will give you a great example of what to expect in this area.
You’ll also be treated to some highly gorgeous visuals with some great lighting effects, especially in the neon-styled ribbons.
With a fully licenced soundtrack from Monstercat, you’ll be flying along to various genres of music, from dance all the way to the heaviest rock I’ve heard in a while.
It’s also important to note that the developers have taken a ton of feedback they received from the original Aareo and implemented most into this sequel. Even though I’m not the best with rhythmic games, I still had a lot of fun with Aaero2 and enjoyed the challenge it offered with its ribbon placement and high-speed gameplay. I hope you’ll give it a go.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3010090/Aaero2/
In the realm of Symphonia, live music is a source of life and energy, and when the musician and its orchestra vanish, the world starts to decay through the silence that this brings.
You take the role of a mystery violin player who is tasked with putting together a new orchestra and defeating the decay that is infecting the world. You do this with side on platforming, using your violin in unique ways to traverse dangers and obstacles.
Use the strings to catapult yourself across large gaps, bounce on the strings to gain more height, and play music with your violin to open doors and activate switches.
I was really encapsulated here with its unique platforming and dedication to classical music. It feels very Hollow Knight, but I think there’s enough originality here for it to stand on its own two feet.
The game features a classic orchestral soundtrack, and its handcrafted visuals are a delight. It’s a short demo that left me wanting more, and hopefully we won’t have to wait to long for the full game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1865960/Symphonia/
Karma is a first-person cinematic psychological thriller that’s set in a dystopian world where the Leviathan Corporation is king. Set in 1984 East Germany, you awake to find yourself in a strange room with tubes connected to your arms, and you take on the journey of finding out where you are and what the hell is happening.
If you like your sci-fi dark, mysterious, and confusing, then Karma will be right up your street. I found this narrative to be fascinating, and I was hooked on finding out what was going to happen next. When you have to put an old TV on a headless body, you know you’re in for an interesting and weird time!
Karma is presented in a well-detailed fashion with some great imagination on offer. The game is fully voice-acted and has a moody and creepy soundtrack. I can’t wait to see what the full game has in store, and I know I’ll be picking this up when it releases soon.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1376200/KARMA_The_Dark_World/
30 Birds is a narrative puzzle game laid out on the surface of rotating lanterns. You’ll explore a Persian-inspired world as you strive to rescue a goddess bird from an evil scientist.
What really hit me when I played this was its lantern-inspired transversal; this whole concept is wonderful, and it works so well. The rotating between sides of the lantern worked so well, and it was used in interesting ways in the demo. The story around this game was also wonderful and interesting, one that I am eager to explore more in the full version.
When you pair all this with its striking graphics, 30 Birds really is a fascinating title that I’m sure will bring much innovation and intrigue when it hopefully releases later this year.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1708770/30_Birds/
In the second rhythm-based game of the article, you control a stationary character with a paddle attached, and you have to spin 360 degrees to hit the squares that are coming towards you with the paddle to protect you from being hurt.
You also have to contend with hitting the button to the beat to stop being hurt as well as beating objects away from you with the side of the paddle. There’s plenty of other mechanics that you can experience in the demo, which makes it even more challenging.
The developers have gone above and beyond to involve the graphics in the music too. Where it looks quite simple at first, it’s not long before new filters are introduced, including neon, retro video game-inspired, or inverted colours.
The soundtrack is insane, with some very high-energy tracks that really caught my attention, so much so that I really wanted to hear the soundtrack while I was working.
When all this ties together, it makes for an enjoyable but crazy experience and one that I couldn’t keep up with personally. But I can see the quality in this game, and many people will lap up the challenge this brings. I also highly recommend you check out some playthroughs from the developers on YouTube, as they were fascinating to watch.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3045200/Beatblock/
Once in a generation, the gods come together to postpone the apocalypse. But this time, the god of communication started a bunch of godly fights and then went awol. With the sky splitting and the gods in disarray, who’s gonna join the Bizzyboys to help SAVE DA WORLD FROM A-POCKY-LIPS???
The demo throws you straight in without much explanation, but it does not take you long to figure out what to do. With your little vacuum gun, you can suck up sentences that are said by NPCs and use them on others to solve puzzles and tasks. You’ll come up against some inventive sentences that will challenge you on where they need to go.
Make sure to give this one a go, as its lovely presentation, quirky dialogue, and cool mechanics have made for a fun and unique experience.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2840190/Great_God_Grove/
In this last segment, I wanted to highlight some games that we weren’t able to play before the start of the Next Fest but ones that we are excited to try out as soon as we can.
Neon Blood: Neon Blood is a 2.5D tactical action-adventure RPG developed by ChaoticBrain Studios. Players will embody Axel McCoin, a detective from the megacity of Viridis out to rebel against the injustices caused by the drastic class differences within the city. Become a mark of the revolution by dispatching dangerous enemies, using investigative skills, and freeing the futuristic cyberpunk sci-fi city.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067310/Neon_Blood/
Scarlet Deer Inn: Scarlet Deer Inn is an embroidered narrative platformer with an emotional story, an interesting cast of characters, a dark dungeon full of monsters, and a world inspired by Slavic folklore. The only thing protecting you from certain death is your torch. All the character images have actually been embroidered, and the developers created the music themselves using traditional instruments.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2723730/Scarlet_Deer_Inn_Demo/
MainFrame: Boot up for a byte-sized adventure in MainFrames, a clever and charming platformer that plays out entirely within the windows and desktop of a PC monitor.
Join Floppy, an adventurous program seeking to find their place in the digital world, while cheeky daemons maintain the system’s balance, always managing to stay out of your sight. Navigate a maze of diverse PC frames, meet quirky and colourful characters, and uncover secrets that bring Floppy closer to piecing together their function.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1521360/MainFrames/
Loco Motive: On the Reuss Express, a passenger has been murdered, and you’re the prime suspect. Uncover a thrilling mystery and solve satisfying point-and-click puzzles to prove your innocence in this slapstick adventure, packed full of deadly surprises, shocking twists, and larger-than-life characters!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1709880/Loco_Motive/
Citizen Sleeper 2: A tabletop-inspired RPG, set in a human and heartfelt sci-fi world. You are an escaped android with a malfunctioning body, a price on your head, and no memory of your past. Get a ship, find a crew, and take on contracts while you navigate across the Starward Belt in the sequel to the highly acclaimed (and one of my favourite games of all time) Citizen Sleeper.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3198860/Citizen_Sleeper_2_Starward_Vector__Hexport_Demo/
Atomic Owl:
In this pixel art-based single-player, side-scrolling roguelite, Hidalgo Bladewing and his companions return to their favourite ramen spot following a perilous mission, only to be confronted by the vengeful void crow, Omega Wing. Two years later, Hidalgo must rescue his fallen companions from the clutches of this ruthless old foe—with the help of a chaotic, brash-talking sword.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3159870/Atomic_Owl_Demo/
Thanks so much for checking out our article, and we hope you have an excellent Steam Next Fest! Let us know on the socials what amazing demos you discover; we’d love to hear about them.
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