Steam Next Fest came back better than ever this October, once again showcasing hundreds of games. Once again, I’ve demo’d a few dozen of them to bring you my favorites (including some technically not part of the event). It should be said that, due to a combination of my own limited time, Steam’s completely atrocious sitemap for festivals, and their terrible algorithm, there must be many, many amazing games I didn’t get to see, let alone try out. While this particular festival may be over, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future events and demos, and never hesitate to let me know about games you’re interested in! Just as well, if any of the following games interest you, be sure to wishlist them on Steam and consider following their creators.
Gamepad support: Yes
AdventNEON proudly wears its inspirations on its sleeve. From Dragon Ball Z and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to Sonic the Hedgehog and Megaman, it feels equally like a passionate developer’s personal project, and the kind of thing gamers have been begging for for ages. It’s a stylish, energetic 2D platformer with a need for speed and color palette to match. Combat is ultra satisfying; there’s a serious weight behind every punch and kick, even for less skilled players. If you wanna run real fast and pull some anime bullshit on future cops, AdventNEON is just… it!
Follow AdventNEON on its social channels or Kickstarter to know more about its release.
Gamepad support: Yes
Many games test you by slowly increasing the moves and options available to their player. It’s the M.O. of 2D platformers to keep the moveset small and simple while the expectations of the player and level complexity is what grows over time. Kick Bot takes this concept to the extreme, being played with only two buttons: jump left and jump right. The titular Kick Bot will run and slide of his own accord in some levels, but for the most part, the absolute only way to move is with these two buttons. It allows the designers to center challenges around extremely tight movement timings without it feeling awkward or unfair - it’s exactly what you signed up for. Rich, highly visible pixel art only adds to the experience, and I never found myself questioning where to go, what Kick Bot was doing, or which items in the level were hazards. The quick-to-learn, difficult-to-master two button system is precisely what a precision platformer fan - or even someone looking to dip their toes into the genre - is looking for.
Kick Bot should release next year.
Gamepad support: Yes
Flips! Spins! Jumps! Castle on the Coast is an all-ages collectathon, deliberately reminiscent in structure of the likes of Banjo Kazooie, and in movement of the 3D Super Mario games. While his moveset is familiar to any Super Mario Galaxy fan, George the Giraffe feels unique in his floaty movement and air control, as well as his dimensions, of course. He fits right in in the creative, colorful world of magic and ruins and alternate dimensions, which is delightful to take in and explore. I was surprised to see voice acting present and, more importantly, was charmed by its simplicity; just people talking normally, as if they were really in that situation. It’s nice to see a game so clearly made with kids in mind, including a co-op character that can assist George in his platforming escapades. I use the term “all-ages” though because, like any good animated movie or nostalgic favorite, it’s something truly anyone can enjoy.
Wishlist Castle on the Coast on Steam to be notified about its release.
Sail Forth (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
When sailing is bad in games, it’s just kinda boring. But when it’s good, it’s the most rhythmic, serene experience you can get. Sail Forth is all about bottling that energy, those good vibes, and spreading them throughout a conceptually simple, procedurally generated simulation. Command a ship (and later, a fleet of ships) from map to map, searching for treasure and fighting dastardly pirates along the way. Outside of those more traditionally swashbuckling options, though, are the lovely sea life photo bounties and fishing compendium, rewarding more ship customization options and gold for completed missions. That’s just a gameplay description though, and says nothing of the excellent atmosphere Sail Forth builds. Beyond its beauty is an incredible soundscape of ocean waves and wind, occasionally punctuated by soft swells of music and the creaks of your ships and their sails. It’s the kind of game you play to completely zone out for an evening, in a good way. The Curse of Uno Mas is strong with this one, as it’s ever-tempting to sail every corner of a given area before immediately doing the same in the next. I’ve had the pleasure of playing most of Sail Forth’s demos over the past couple of years, and been increasingly impressed each time - and I loved the earliest build I played, to boot. For a relaxing, oceanic time, Sail Forth is a top contender.
Follow Sail Forth on its Steam page for more release info and sneak peeks at gameplay.
TopplePOP: Bungee Blockbusters (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
The fun in competitive party games lies in the nonsense. The enduring memories of Mario Party and Jackbox are made not in even matches with clearly-defined rules and a lack of random elements, but in chaos. TopplePOP: Bungee Blockbusters is a physics-based puzzle party game. Four players face off as bungee-jumping animals in their own Tetris-esque arenas, stretching down to flip, drop, and slide pieces into place in a chaotic match-four competition. There’s a surprisingly high level of available moves for what appears on paper to be quite a simple game, and the tutorial does well to escalate the player from basic movement to advanced techniques, like throwing and sliding the same block for massive clears. So, while it’s clearly designed with all ages, all skill levels multiplayer fun in mind, I found myself going back to TopplePOP’s daily and weekly challenge ladders more than once. The bespoke levels are quick enough to be addicting but well-made enough to be challenging, keeping you chasing a 5-star clear like any good puzzler. Also, you can be a monkey, so, game of the year material.
TopplePOP: Bungee Blockbusters is looking towards a 2021 release.
The Forest Cathedral (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
The Forest Cathedral was shown during the ID@Xbox TwitchGaming showcase a few months ago, and it’s been stuck in my head since. The trailer promises a bizarre, environmentally-based thriller, with the protagonist lamenting the infection among local mosquitoes and the effect it’s having up the food chain. What viewers like myself may not have realized is that it’s telling the story of real-life scientist Rachel Carson, whose fight led to the ban on harmful pesticides in the United States. The game is a hybrid, half walking simulator and half retro platformer; repairing and using tech in the real world involves finishing blood-red pixel platformer levels. The blend between the beautiful, realistically rendered forest creek and the chunky old monitors with their occasional scanlines is fabulously done. Each movement in the minigame is punctuated by a tactile click of machinery, only occasionally broken up by the protagonist’s awkwardly charming voiceover. Unfortunately, it could be quite difficult to tell what to do and where to go thanks to its faithfully minimal graphics. I’m most interested in the political intrigue of the story - the chemical industry did their best to stop the pesticide ban, after all - and I think I’m okay struggling to run and jump as a break from it. Here’s hoping accessibility options are added for other players, though.
The Forest Cathedral is slated for a 2022 release.
Aztech Forgotten Gods (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
It’s not every day you get to see the culture you’ve been long distanced from (at least somewhat) faithfully represented on screen, particularly for Indigenous cultures, but this isn’t Lienzo’s first rodeo. Their previous game, Mulaka, was also an adventure rooted in the studio’s Mexican heritage, though it was decidedly more traditional fantasy, and based on the northern Mexican Tarahumara. Aztech Forgotten Gods, as the name suggests, is a sci-fi action-adventure based in Aztec legend. It’s a breathtaking game, with character designs taking cues from Aztec art and a unique “cyber-stone” future of a Mesoamerica untouched by colonization. What follows is a truly wild fight style, as main character Achtli flies haphazardly around massive old stone Gods, propelled by her gauntlet. Action is punchy and exciting, and although jetting about is difficult to get used to, it feels incredible once you hit your stride. I’m not entirely sure yet why the Gods (especially these particular Gods, like Coatlicue and Tlaloc) have turned so unorderly against mankind, but I will be finding out.
Aztech Forgotten Gods will release in Q1 2022.
Life of Delta (Steam)
Gamepad support: No
As will quickly become clear, I have a soft spot for point and click adventures and down-to-earth sci-fi alike. Life of Delta has it all and then some, with great design and the curious modulated sound work that accompanies only the best robot characters.
Protagonist Delta is saved from the scrapyard in this post-apocalyptic roboworld, but by the time he wakes, his savior has already been taken away by city soldiers. Now, it’s all about finding a path through the dangerous wastes to Megacity to get him back. Everything - including backgrounds and interactable objects - are skillfully painted, and make the world feel properly real and lived in. While normally I have issues with important objects blending into the backgrounds of games, it doesn’t apply in this case; because it’s not that they’re invisible, but realistically sit in the background. Of course, the game is rendered in one style, so it’d be odd if interactable objects stuck out like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Players will have to flex a muscle mostly trained out of them in AAA: observance. That’s a quality of any good point and click.
Follow the developers for more release information.
Terror of Hemasaurus (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
Terror of Hemasaurus is a sort of unholy matrimony between The Cabin in the Woods and Rampage - a funny, bloody game that satirizes the kaiju genre and its sometimes-awkward environmental messages. You play as the titular Hemasaurus (or a couple other giant monsters via cosmetics), tasked with destroying cities and murdering thousands to make humans care about climate change. As the Shepherd of the Church of the Holy Lizard explains, the human brain is wired to care only about immediate threats, and has a hard time conceptualizing future disaster. So, the Church simply builds a time machine and sends Hemasaurus back to the last moment that human intervention can prevent climate change. To wreck shit is to save, and the human race depends on your ability to Atomic Butt Slam onto the rowdy forces that may try to stop you. Alongside the Atomic Butt Slam are more standard giant monster mechanics like stomping and climbing, but also the endlessly entertaining kicking and throwing. They pair perfectly with the game’s world destruction, allowing you to eat a human with one hand to recover health as you send a police car careening into a skyscraper with your foot, toppling it from the ground floor into a domino effect against neighboring buildings. Follow the objectives the Church of the Holy Lizard lays out for you, engage in timed destruction minigames, and most importantly: stop climate change! Godspeed, lizard.
Wishlist Terror of Hemasaurus on Steam and follow the developer for more information on its release.
Undercat (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
We all knew this day was coming: cats have taken over the world. The other animal citizens go underground to stage a rebellion, stealing valuable materials to drill into the city and take back their home, for freedom! You play as the valiant Chips, a doggie of the rebellion who embarks on this non-linear platforming adventure. Mixing the classic platforming moveset with a slew of new dog-inspired moves is brilliant and makes for a lot of fun. Having to stop to dig up collectibles, sniff the air to search for mission objectives and paths, shake down cats for their valuables, and more help add both to the gameplay variety as well as the personality of Undercat.
Undercat looks to release before the end of the year.
Grapple Dog (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
There are very few games that couldn’t be improved by a grappling hook. It exponentially increases your movement options, has fun momentum mechanics, and perhaps most importantly, is just very cool. Grapple Dog clearly feels the same way! You’ll be piloting the intensely adorable Pablo as he runs, jumps, swings, and headstomps his way through heavily-saturated levels, complete with shortcuts and speedrunning options. The chunky outlines on every character only enhance their cuteness and the visual flair of the game overall, further punctuated by a bumpin’ 90s soundtrack.
Follow developer Joseph Gribbin for more information on Grapple Dog’s release.
Lil Gator Game (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
Social media favorite Lil Gator Game is exactly what it said it was - a wholesome adventure about a lil gator! The titular Lil Gator tries valiantly to get some quality time with their older sister, though she’s neck deep in her college workload. Lil Gator and, begrudgingly, their friends, set up a sort of LARP-obstacle course to entice her, modeled after the game the pair would play endlessly as kids, which is definitely not The Legend of Zelda. In other words, Lil Gator Game is a game about a Lil Gator making a game. Gameplay is mainly exploring, smacking the occasional cardboard monster, climbing, and gliding. Nothing in the game, much like its name, is overly complex. Sheer charm is its driving force, and Lil Gator Game nails it.
Lil Gator Game should release in 2022.
Inscryption (Steam)
Gamepad support: No
Deckbuilders and roguelikes have a lot in common. With the heavy presence of RNG - whether it’s the joy of manipulating it well to feeling like the odds have hopelessly conspired against you - each genre can struggle to find a foothold and maintain its level of engagement without growing too abrasive. I was more than a little worried when I heard that Inscryption combined elements of both, despite the developer’s experience. Although a demo is only a snippet of a final game and it could very well grow frustrating as the game goes on, it didn’t at all feel that way. Perhaps, even if it did, you wouldn’t feel so bad amidst the atmosphere; the clink of tokens on the wooden table or the satisfying thwips and thunks as cards fly and damage you and your opponent alike. It does alleviate tedium in other ways, though, with guaranteed basic card draws (think Energy in Pokémon or Lands in Magic: The Gathering) and a game within a game. While Inscryption is first and foremost a roguelike deckbuilder, it also contains a first-person point and click adventure, with objects and artifacts scattered around your game master’s eerie cabin. As long as the player isn’t actively in an encounter, they can roam the cabin as they wish, as a clever in-game decompression system. This downtime was so enjoyable, trying to solve bizarre puzzle boxes at the behest of the cards in your deck who suddenly speak and decry their cruel GM, and impart their knowledge so you can all escape. Meanwhile, the roguelike element comes in most strongly via semi-random encounters used to customize your cards, from simple stat increases to sacrificing cards so that others can gain their special abilities. While it may be a hard sell for those annoyed with the repetition of roguelike adventures, those that even mildly find themselves drawn to the genre will find Inscryption a must-play.
Inscryption has just released.
A Space for the Unbound (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
A Space for the Unbound is a slice-of-life adventure set in rural 90s Indonesia, featuring traditional point-and-click puzzles as well as timed minigames to offer more “active” gameplay. Deuteragonist Atma is a creative young woman from a troubled home, often writing about fantastical settings, magical books, and space princesses with her best friend and sweetheart, Raya, as her sounding board. As the story begins, though, Raya finds that the supernatural elements of Atma’s stories may not be entirely fictional. The story will no doubt deal with more serious topics, as elements of anxiety, depression, and even domestic issues are already present. Most importantly though, that all feels real; it doesn’t feel like it’s just tacked-on “drama,” but something true to life. Despite the mystical gameplay of diving into people’s subconscious minds, or the overlap between the world of fiction and the real one, it feels firmly grounded in the developers’ reality. Little details littered throughout every screen, from the architecture of the buildings to the dozens of street cats (all of which you can pet, by the way), deliver A Space for the Unbound’s promise of a slice-of-life, coming-of-age adventure perfectly.
A Space for the Unbound will release in 2022, and the prologue/demo is available now for free.
Gamepad support: Yes
If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that I don’t really like metroidvanias. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t tell when one is of high quality, and Haiku, the Robot is. The main difficulty I have with the genre is one of visibility; what may be beautiful art in stills is often a mess in motion and high combat, particularly for hidden paths or the nigh-impercetible shadows of projectiles. Haiku’s limited color palette and pixel work is refined and clear in its visibility, both still and in motion - on top of being that much sought-after mix of cute and creepy. Movement is quick and fluid, enemies were diverse and fun to fight, and bosses felt competitive, without being insurmountable. Everything you’d want out of a metroidvania. (Note: There is no map in the demo but the developer has confirmed there will be one in the final release.)
Follow Haiku, the Robot on Steam for more information.
ARRIVAL: ZERO EARTH (Steam)
Gamepad support: No
I’ll be honest and say I was not expecting to like ARRIVAL: ZERO EARTH anywhere near as much as I did. What seemed like a simple little RTS/roguelite crossover was a wonderfully nonsensical and quite feature-rich game, although it’s still in early alpha. You control a mob of Finnish fighters, defending their home country against an alien invasion. You'll stock up on items and upgrades from local pubs, as well as chests scattered throughout the short levels. Alongside these are your basic abilities - a shield, a dash, and an attack speed buff - which all have notably long cooldowns. Without upgrades, your units can’t attack while moving, leading to tense fights against the alien crafts that pop up every level. What ARRIVAL: ZERO EARTH nails most about the rogue genres though is its capacity to devolve into complete and total bullshit, with my horde of amped Finns firing dozens of missiles at the first whiff of an enemy, calling in telephone pole airstrikes as 100-foot alien tanks stomp around in a futile attempt to stop my nonsense.
Follow the development of ARRIVAL: ZERO EARTH on Steam for more release information.
The Ballad of Bonky (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
I’m a simple woman. I see claymation, I hear Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights sound effects, I’m sold. The Ballad of Bonky is the kind of game that makes me so glad indie developers are becoming more widely recognized, because I just don’t think anything this unabashedly fun and goofy could come from a bigger studio. The story follows Bonky, a little purple fella who saw an alien! He and his best friend Puncho infiltrate Bonkers Burgers Headquarters, which of course would be the home of this government-operated, lizard overlord funded cover-up! What follows is an energetic, pinball-based brawler, where Bonky battles through Hotline Miami-esque gauntlets, bouncing baddies off walls (and each other) to his eventual victory. The whole game oozes charm and joy, and its unique pinballmania fighting style is pretty fun too! Although it can be difficult, the swift respawns - as well as the promise of co-op mode in the final release - put The Ballad of Bonky at the top of my list for upcoming indie games.
The Ballad of Bonky will release sometime in 2022.
Planet Cube: Edge (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
Precision platformers are a favorite genre of mine, but at the same time, one I find very hit-or-miss. Even the most skilled or experienced player will find themselves dying repeatedly as they learn the route of a level (or even a single screen) - it’s hard to strike the balance between making things gruelingly challenging without making a player quit from the perceived impossibility and frustration of the situation. Planet Cube Edge, so far, does it right, with good checkpoint spacing, extremely quick respawns, and clear safe spots to rest and think within difficult areas. Tight controls and a wide but uncomplicated moveset combine with charmingly retro visuals for a classic, ultra-hard platformer. What stood out most about Planet Cube Edge versus others of its genre was its level design. It keeps its promise of precision platforming with its specific enemy and hazard placement, alongside short corridors and falling ceilings. Just in the demo, the player’s route will wrap around itself in interesting ways, reminiscent of the best levels in Super Meat Boy. It also nails the chase sequences, testing the player’s mastery of their skillset in longer platforming gauntlets, keeping the action at a 10 while still providing clear pathing and goals, alongside the brief moments of respite that make chases effective.
Planet Cube Edge is aiming for a 2022 release.
Spacelines From The Far Out (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
Let’s go party gamers! Spacelines from the Far Out is an arcade management sim in the same vein as Overcooked!, where a group of players (or solo) must survive the fast-paced onslaught that is service work. Your retrofuturistic spaceliner is customizable from its randomly generated name to the color of your uniforms, alongside upgrades purchased with ticket sales. Upgrades like a first aid kit, a mop & bucket, or, y’know, chairs so your customers can sit down. Stuff like that. You’ll be feeding guests, dancing to keep them entertained, steering away from asteroids, picking up hitchhikers, and of course, making sure your ship doesn’t run out of fuel in this hectic service simulator.
Spacelines from the Far Out will release on February 1st, 2022.
The Bookwalker (Steam)
Gamepad support: No
Genre mixtures are becoming increasingly common nowadays, and for good reason. Before, it was near-impossible to render more than one style of game in the same engine, or use multiple engines to run a singular game. But, developers’ understanding of code and design ever expands, and makes the impossible possible. The Bookwalker is a blend of point-and-click adventure, first-person exploration, and a traditional RPG. You play as a special kind of thief, a bookwalker, with the ability to jump into stories and manipulate them from within to take what exists only in their pages out into the real world. After the death of his brother and connected banishment from writing, the Bookwalker takes up a contract to retrieve seven special artifacts from various novels and have his banishment illegally removed. He’ll be crafting items in the real world where he resides in a mostly-repossessed apartment to use later on in the isometric, point-and-click world, or while fending off the strange creatures formed from the books' magic. The layers of gameplay and story intertwine well and offer a unique experience I can’t say I’ve seen anywhere else. While I initially scoffed at the story hook of being forbidden to write, the writing in the game overall is appealing and full of personality, despite the language barrier. Its occasional cheeky references or jabs at other games in its genres didn’t come too quickly together, nor did they grate on me, and felt properly tongue-in-cheek amidst the banter of the main character and his brother. The Bookwalker showed itself to be a creative and visionary experience, with a generously long demo for the unconvinced.
Follow The Bookwalker on Steam for more information on its release.
Logic Light (Steam)
Gamepad support: No
It’s always a little odd to me that being “like a mobile game” has become an insult. Minimal UI and quick pick-up/put-down play are assets, not liabilities, and qualities I wish more PC games shared. So, in that sense, Logic Light is a lot like a mobile game. It’s a straightforward puzzle game where the player is tasked with restoring power to homes affected by blackouts, using various power sources and other tools. Early levels are designed to teach the player each tool’s mechanics by doing, as opposed to hard tutorialization. They’re simple enough that, even when introducing new mechanics or interactions between tools, you’ll be led to the answer naturally, and arm yourself with that knowledge for future levels. It’s a tight, easy to learn puzzler with quick levels and extremely streamlined UI.
Logic Light comes out in November.
FILMECHANISM (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
There have been dozens - if not hundreds - of attempts to iterate on the puzzle-platformer since its inception. The ones that stick out the most, the instant classics, are those that expand only simply on the standard kit of running and jumping, but commit to their gimmick and explore it every which way - FEZ or The Swapper, for example. FILMECHANISM’s gimmick, too, is remarkably straightforward on paper. Use film to take a “screenshot” of the level, with everything but the player recorded. Use the film again to return the level to the state it was in the screenshot. Get to the flag. The elegance of this as a puzzle mechanism pairs endlessly with other platforming frequents, like falling platforms or locked doors, to excite any puzzle fan. Add in extra film each level and you’ve got one hell of a game.
Follow FILMECHANISM on Steam for more info on its release.
Gamepad support: Yes
I don’t think I’ve ever played a point and click adventure game with full gamepad support. That’s it, that’s the review.
Cleo is set to release in late 2021.
Nah, just kidding, Cleo - a pirate’s tale deserves more than that. It’s one developer’s attempt to bring the golden age of adventure games into the modern era, with all their “charm, innocence, humor and weirdness.” Thus far, he’s got it on lock. Gorgeously detailed pixel art environments are dotted with expressive, kooky characters and clever puzzles, while excellently done voicework (in English and German, no less) brings each character to life even more than their colorful dialogue. Puzzles struck the right balance between being obscure and sensible, keeping the sense of reward from figuring them out without delving into moon logic. And, once again, making a point and click completely gamepad supported is a feat in and of itself. This one is gonna be a must-play for adventure game fans, I’d bet money on it.
Chasing Static (Steam)
Gamepad support: Yes
Chasing Static is dripping in the kind of nostalgic horror atmosphere most larger titles dream of creating. It’s designed to look “retro” in a specific way, but doesn’t miss out on little modernizations, like high quality sound and voice acting, as well as sensical menus and text accessibility. The Welsh drama features audio exploration, centered around paranormal entities and the scientific instruments used to detect them. Alongside this is plenty of lore and story work via character dialogue and scattered notes or scientific journals, leaving the player to piece together the mystery of the isolated region and its many strange occurrences. Short-form horror is something oft missing in games, leaving many projects to pad themselves out or add unnecessary scares. Chasing Static promises a two hour psychological horror, and that’s exactly what I want.
Chasing Static is available now.
Gamepad support: No
Camp can be hard to define - it isn’t an ironic enjoyment necessarily, but what may be considered low quality (or to use a gaming term, janky) is what defines the charm. “Awkward” dialogue, a strange plot, and being generally over the top are all common elements of camp. Who’s Lila? has it all, reminiscent in its own way of Sierra’s horror adventure games, but with an interesting twist: your face. Protagonist Will is some kind of something, perhaps a murderer or practitioner of the dark arts or who knows what else, and can’t quite figure out how to emote like the average person. His mouth and eyes pull in odd directions as characters speak to him and he attempts to avoid conflict or suspicion, while the player uses their mouse to frantically reassemble into an acceptable look. The heavily dithered, FMV-esque style matches well with the gameplay as it lands the game squarely in the uncanny valley, halfway charming and halfway horrific. From what happened to Tanya, who's Lila, and what the hell is going on in the boiler room, you’ll be asking yourself a lot of bizarre questions which Will seems to know much more about than he lets on.
Expect Who’s Lila? in February 2022.
Many demos still sit, installed but unplayed, on my PC. They and the many more demos that'll come in Steam's following festivals will be featured in my next demo selects, but that's all for now! Again, be sure to wishlist any demos you find interesting on Steam, as wishlists are one of the most important metrics for an indie game's success. Feel free to let me know which ones caught your eye in the comments, and if you'd like to see me stream any one in particular. Thanks for reading!