These are 12 Indie Demos You Need to Check Out | Steam Next Fest
Steam Next Fest is in full swing this week with hundreds of demos for upcoming games flooding the Steam store. With so many amazing demos to check out and a full time job to juggle, I was only able to come up with a list of 12 demos to check out. So, without further ado, here are 12 great demos that you should check out before the Fest comes to an end!
This list is in the order that I played each demo and have no regard to how much I enjoyed each game.
Aethermancer
The first game that I checked out was Aethermancer, a great monster catching game that has you go through a rogue-lite gauntlet. The rogue-lite format leads you through different paths with a predetermined set of battles. The fights will become 3v3 that allows for great combinations and allows for vast amounts of strategy. The biggest thing that makes this game stand out from other monster catcher games is the lack of physically catching the monsters you battle. Instead, break the monster’s defense and then you can create a copy of them to recreate at specific alters you will find throughout your adventure. The overall feel of the game is dark and dangerous. If one of your monsters falls in battle, you lose them for good. This game does not seem forgiving so beware of that before jumping into risky plays.
Brew
A cute rouge-like game that has you trying to go as far as you can in the academy tower. Each room will have you fighting a wave of enemies and picking up drops. Clearing rooms will give you new abilities and maybe even a little buddy to help you fight. After so many rooms, you will come across a boss fight to take on before being able to move on. Each run will give you a grade so make sure to try hard and pass them so you can move on.
Tempest Tower
If you want a cute tower defense game, this one is one you should check out. Set up defense zones to destroy the incoming enemies and suck up their souls. Gain more and more tools as you progress and find new ways to destroy the most amount of enemies.
Savara
A rogue-lite that allows you to personalize both of the weapons that you can carry, AND your armor which is broken up to allow you to mix and match. This is a new feeling to a game that would be very similar to Hades without it. The feeling of the fighting does feel a bit sluggish, and the attacks for both the player and the enemies feel too slow.
Is This Seat Taken
The perfect simple puzzle game that has you listening to the little shapes and placing them in the perfect places. This game was such an easy 10/10 for me, I love simple games like this to play when I have a video on the side or don’t want to think too hard.
Bento Blocks
If you like puzzle games that have you configuring rice to fit perfectly into a bento box, this game is perfect for you. There are multiple pages of puzzles in the full game and each page has a different theme. The first page has only rice and is by far the easiest set of puzzles. The second one starts to include shrimp into the mix and makes it a lot harder to find the perfect method.
River Towns
A semi-puzzle game that has you setting up a village and trying to score the most points possible. The further you get, the more types of villages you will need to help set up. Try to connect the same colors together, craft bridges over the rivers, and help dying trees to bloom again. The more points the better.
HASTE: Broken World
My personal favorite from the week, HASTE has you non-stop running to avoid the crumping ground following her. The entire goal is to make it to the end by crossing the hill covered land. Each time you run up a hill, you will be flung into the air and have to time when you hit the ground again. This is the main gameplay look of trying to time everything. Try and grab the star bits to buy goodies as you progress through this rogue-like journey.
Ruffy and the Riverside
A cute paper-Mario aesthetic collectathon. Adorable characters surround you as you try to collect as many stars as you can grab. The amazing paper characters stand out strong against the 3D background. Listen to the characters as you change nature around you in your journey to find all the stars.
Rabbiman Adventures
A throwback to older 3D collectathons, use your hat to help attack enemies and move around the maps. Collect all the coins to buy things, and snag all the plant collectables in each level. There are plenty of achievements to find among each level, so have fun exploring.
Solarpunk
Another open-world crafting game, but with a twist. Learn to live and thrive on your cliffside by farming, building a house, and optimizing your day to day. The beginning starts off a bit slow, in line with other games in the genre, but if you think outside the box, you can explore more of your cliffside and progress faster. The best part of this game is that you will be able to travel to other cliffsides and expand your domain.
Deck of Haunts
A card builder that has you trying to kill your clients. You have a house that has a heart in the back room. In order to continue to live, you must sacrifice the people who step foot inside. Either deplete their sanity or health to gain souls of those you’ve killed. Use that as a currency to upgrade the house. Either add more rooms to prolong the journey or add better cards to your hand.
