Steam Next Fest Has Some Great Demos

It is once again time for Steam Next Fest, where we get the chance to check out demos for upcoming games. With the fest only lasting a week and work being a responsibility, it’s not as much time as you would think. I spent all of my Saturday digging through game after game to find some nice gems.

Below are the top ten games I think you should keep an eye on.

Caravan Sandwitch - honorable mention

An adore art style that makes the desert enjoinment pop. The handling/movement is something that I struggled to get use to. Loved that you can just jump to the van, it made traversing simple. I did get stuck pretty early on and just drove around for about ten minutes before calling it.

Isles of Swapes - Tenth Place

If you like Pokémon TGC, you might wanna check this one out. Following almost the same mechanics, go head to head with opponents your own deck of cards. The unique aspect of this game is you set up the main fighting card and then in the battles, you give them up to three cards to deal actions per round. These cards can give energy, deal damage, or heal. This game has multiple modes and seems like a fun time if you want to try a new TCG.

Perserve - Ninth Place

An interesting tile game that has you placing enjoinments and animals on tiles to earn points. It’s pretty simple, but there is strategy if you want to get that high score. I enjoyed this for it’s simplicity, the game is very clear in the objectives.

Tiny Glade - Eighth Place

Grow your own little land with flowers, towers, and walls. The demo for this one isn’t that expansive. It’s very limited on the abilities you have to grow your tiny island. I feel like the full version can be incredibly fun and relaxing.

Dungeon of Hinterberg - Seventh Place

I feel like I only got a little taste of this game with the demo and still don’t understand what it is. An amazing comic book art style made it stand out to me. I was not expecting to have snowboarding mechanic be a huge part of the traversal. This puzzle dungeon game is a good mix of obvious solutions and hidden solutions.

Go Go Town - Sixth Place

Raise up a surprisingly large town. Great animal crossing vibes and cute art style. I love the amount of control. You have full control of where buildings go and can move them freely even after they’re built. You can have your villagers run the shops around town and help with things like chopping trees for wood. Looks like a promising life sim.

Waltz and jam - Fifth Place

Take control of a little ghost boy just trying to find his way and go on quests to find stamps (don’t worry, your ghost also doesn’t know what that means). Come across your weapons in toy boxes to help you on your journey. Fight enemies, solve puzzles, and find those stamps.

Yaoling Mythical Journey - Fourth Place

Want a monster catching game without the turn-based battles? This RPG has you catching creatures and helping those around the towns you visit. Instead of battling in a turn based style, you sill place your monsters in an area across from your opponents. In a form of auto-chess, all the monsters will go through a battle until one side is fully defeated. This is a nice spin on the traditional style of monster catching games.

Machi Koro With Everyone - Third Place

Be the first one to buy four landmarks as you gather up cards to make money. I have played the physical board game with my friends many times, so I had to try out the video game version to see how close the two versions were. They play the exact same and I love that. This is the perfect game to play with friends.

Grapple Dogs - Second Place

Super fun and unique platforming that has you control a dog with a grapple hook. There are multiple characters that have a unique ability, but the one consistency is the grappling hook. Platform your way through levels to see where the story will take you.

Dungeon Clawler - First Place

Amazing game! One of my favorites from the fest! A spin on the deck builder style where instead of selecting a card, you will be using a claw machine. Select a character to start your journey and begin fighting foes. To get those items to do damage or shield, you use a claw machine to grad wooden shields and weapons (including daggers, swords, axes, etc.) and they will roll down like gacha prizes to be used in battle. This is the most chill dungeon crawler I’ve ever scene.