The most exciting Steam Next Fest demos

Domagoj Belancic

22.6.2023

Translation: Katherine Martin

With Steam Next Fest currently underway, here are the 15 best demos of upcoming games.

Next Fest is held on Steam several times a year. Over the course of a week, there are hundreds of demos and livestreams of upcoming games to discover. But with the sheer number of games, it’s easy to get lost. With this in mind, here are 15 demos you definitely shouldn’t miss.

Viewfinder: photo puzzles to boggle the mind

This clever puzzle game plays with the perspective of printed photos. As soon as you place them in the game environment, their contents turn into three-dimensional objects. See a platform in the distance that you can’t reach? Then stick a photo of a bridge next to it and stroll over.

What starts out as relatively simple escalates into incredibly clever, mind-boggling puzzles – even in the demo. There generally isn’t a «right» solution to any of the puzzles. Much like in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you can let your creativity run wild when solving the puzzles. I can hardly wait for the game to be released.

For fans of: sandbox puzzle games and games like Superliminal
Release: 18 July 2023
Will also be available on: PlayStation
Link to demo

Antonblast: balm to the souls of Wario fans

This pixel platformer with Game Boy Advance aesthetics doesn’t just look like the old Wario Land games – it also plays like them. Trying out the demo, I run and jump through a beautifully designed level populated with absurd enemies. I bash them away with a body check, my hammer or a somersault attack.

Like in Wario Land 4, there’s a stopwatch waiting for me at the end of the level. If I activate it, I have to return to the beginning of the level as soon as possible. Definitely a game created by true Wario Land fans for true Wario Land fans.

For fans of: old-school jump 'n' runs à la Wario Land
Release: soon

Link to demo

Home Safety Hotline: a horror game with a twist

In this horror game with retro charm, I start a new job at Home Safety Hotline. I take calls from concerned people who have issues at home – destroyed gardens, nibbled wires or brownish debris in their kitchens. Using an old PC program, I search for possible causes of the phenomena described by the callers.

They start off being the usual suspects: mice, cockroaches, etc. But the demo quickly morphs into a supernatural horror. I’m curious to see if the finished game’s gameplay will be able to captivate me for several hours.

For fans of: text-based adventure games
Release: tbd
Link to demo

Jusant: climb until the doctor shows up

Climbing game Jusant was one of the games that impressed me most at the Xbox Games Showcase – not least because of its beautiful graphics and relaxed vibe.

The demo introduces me to physics-based climbing, jumping and shimmying. I use the L and R triggers to control the main character’s hands and to hold on to the rock formations. While I’m at it, I keep an eye on my steadily decreasing Stamina bar. It’s fun, so onto my wishlist it goes.

For fans of: rock climbing in games
Release: end of 2023
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation
Link to demo

Moonstone Island: life sim meets Pokémon

Cute pixel art game Moonstone Island brings gameplay elements from Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and Pokémon together. As a budding master alchemist, I explore over a hundred islands filled with mysterious monsters, dungeons and puzzles.

To fend off enemies, I send my team of adorable monsters into battle in turn-based fights. At home, I grow plants that I can turn into potions and other items. I also befriend the villagers and complete quests for them. A wonderfully leisurely demo that I’d love to play for longer.

For fans of: life sims, farming sims and Pokémon games
Release: 2023
Will also be available on: Switch
Link to demo

Laika: Aged Through Blood: physical bike game meets shooter

Taking on the role of a coyote on a motorbike, I cruise through post-apocalyptic Metroidvania levels. I balance my bike with the right stick, sort of like in Trials Rising. Minor accidents teleport me back to a checkpoint.

I blast away countless enemies with hand-held weapons. The really cool thing? You can reload by doing a backflip. Although the controls take some getting used to, it’s a fun demo. What’s more, the graphics are beautiful.

For fans of: Trials Fusion and Metroidvania games
Release: soon
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Link to demo

While the Iron’s Hot: looting and forging

Playing a blacksmith, I take orders from villagers and make tools, weapons and other useful items. All this goes down in short mini-game sequences. To get the resources together for my forged masterpieces, I loot nearby dungeons, where I also find new blueprints.

The short demo immediately gripped me – and got me addicted. It reminds me a little of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.

For fans of: slow-paced adventure games with a focus on resource gathering and crafting
Release: the 4th quarter of 2023
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Link to demo

The Invincible: walking simulator in outer space

The Invincible is a video game adaptation of the sci-fi book of the same name. I take on the role of Yasna, an astrobiologist stranded on an alien planet. My fellow crew members have vanished without a trace. The only connection to the outside world is the commander of the research team, who’s on a spaceship somewhere in the planet’s orbit.

The demo conveys a depressing sense of hopelessness and loneliness. At the same time, the beautiful graphics of the alien world urge you to explore it. There’s even a slight touch of horror in some places. The demo reminds me of the excellent walking simulator Firewatch. In my opinion, it’s an absolute must-have.

For fans of: Firewatch and walking simulators with a slight touch of horror
Release: 2023
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation
Link to demo

The Master’s Pupil: a playable Monet painting

In this puzzle platformer, I travel into the eyes of French artist Monet. This also explains why the whole game looks like a living Monet painting. The game purports to be an «autobiographical adventure» that’ll reflect the painter’s life in an abstract way.

So you shouldn’t expect it to have any extreme jump 'n' run stretches. It centres upon colour puzzles you have to solve in the levels. A leisurely game with unique visuals.

For fans of: abstract puzzle platformers like Inside
Release: 28 July 2023
Link to demo

Ebenezer and the Invisible World: has Christmas come early?

This hand-drawn Metroidvania game is loosely based on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. I take on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, who’s haunted by ghosts at Christmas.

Over the course of the demo, I bound through a Christmassy London in a bid to save the city from a tyrannical tycoon. In doing so, I accept quests from a variety of residents. Sometimes, I do battle with human meanies or ghostly opponents, beating them away with my weapons or ghost buddies.

Despite the unbearable heat in my office, the game oozes with Christmas spirit – and it’s catching. I bake a few Christmas cookies and pop the game on my wishlist.

For fans of: Christmas and Metroidvania games
Release: soon
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Link to demo

Between Horizons: a space thriller

I’m aboard a massive spaceship headed towards a distant planet. We’ve been travelling for more than 30 years now. I take on the role of Stella, a young security boss born on the ship.

Between Horizons is essentially a detective game. I gather evidence and interrogate suspects and witnesses to solve cases. The game’s storyline promises that my investigation will uncover a conspiracy that could doom the space mission. A premise that captivated me right off the bat. Not only that, but I was impressed with the cool 2.5D graphics and their winning combination of atmospheric lighting effects and pixel characters.

For fans of: adventures, sci-fi settings and whodunnit stories
Release: 2023
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Link to demo

Little Kitty Big City: here, kitty, kitty

A cute kitten has got lost in a big city, and I have to help him find his way back home. Although I’m more of a dog person, the little fluff-ball immediately had me wrapped around his finger.

I hop, climb and meow my way through the levels while collecting shiny items for a dodgy crow. The controls in Little Kitty Big City aren’t quite as smooth as in the cyberpunk cat simulator Stray. Even so, the brief demo leaves me keen for more.

For fans of: cats and cat games such as Stray
Release: 2024
Will also be available on: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Link to demo

Back to the Dawn: a cute prison survival game

In the demo, I take on the role of a fox – a wrongly imprisoned investigative journalist fox, to be exact. In the clink, he’s forced to fight for his very survival.

Playing the role of the red furball, I have to earn money, complete secret missions for gangs and develop my skills. It’s entirely up to me which inmates I befriend or antagonise. I can also decide whether I want to create chaos in the prison or dutifully follow the rules. The demo gives a good insight into the game’s amazingly complex gameplay mechanics.

For fans of: adventures and games that give you free choice
Release: 2023
Link to demo

Jumplight Odyssey: anime space sim

The thing that most drew me to Jumplight Odyssey was its unique visuals, inspired by an old anime series. Not only that, but the gameplay in the demo is impressive too. My crew and I are on a spaceship headed in the direction of the «Forever Star».

It’s my job to command the ship’s crew and have new machines and premises built. At the same time, I’ve got to take care of the crew’s well-being and interpersonal relationships. Every now and then, I send teams out in smaller aircraft to explore alien planets and collect resources. It’s especially fun to watch the little crew members work.

For fans of: anime and space sims
Release: 2023
Link to demo

Cipher Zero: a game of logic

Cipher Zero was probably the demo I spent most time on. The game includes minimalistic logic puzzles that I have to solve without written instructions.

These puzzles primarily consist of fields you can activate or deactivate with a click. Using trial and error, I try to understand the logic behind the cryptic symbols. At times, it reminds me of the puzzle classic Picross or an abstract version of Sudoku. The puzzles are challenging, but never unfair. Most of them can be solved in a few seconds or minutes. That familiar «just one more go» feeling quickly sets in.

For fans of: Picross, Sudoku and cryptic puzzles
Release: 2023
Link to demo

Now it’s your turn! Which demos impressed you the most? Feel free to post your recommendations in the comments section.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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