Steam Next Fest Is Live With Hundreds Of Free Game Demos, Dev Livestreams And More
The Fest runs through June 26th, and Valve has a page up that has some discovery tools with filters to help you find what you're looking for. If you're the meticulous type who likes to research before diving into a title, there are literally dozens of livestreams available at any given moment, and there are also developer chats and community events happening all the time.
Of course, the meat of the Next Fest are the free demos. Every single game listed on the Next Fest page has a demo available, and the available game demos encompass all genres and styles of game. Frankly, if you can't find something to try in the Next Fest, we think that's probably on you, but to help you along, we'll recommend a half-dozen titles for which we tried the demos and were impressed.
First up, we've got a real throwback title. Remember The Behemoth? You might recall them from the original Alien Hominid game, and if not, perhaps from fantastic multiplayer beat-'em-up Castle Crashers. Well, there's a new Alien Hominid title on the way called Alien Hominid Invasion, and this time, it supports four-player co-op. Frankly, the title is basically a fusion of the two aforementioned Behemoth titles, and we're completely here for it.
Beyond Sunset is an upcoming first-person shooter made in a heavily-modified Doom engine. That's Doom (1993), not Doom (2016). It has an excellently-realized cyberpunk aesthetic and combat gameplay that really has to be played first-hand to be appreciated. With amazing sprite work and incredible level design given the limitations of the technology, this one has been a long time coming, but is still eagerly anticipated. The demo is very short, but absolutely incredible and recommended for any fans of fast-paced FPS games.
If you've ever played a Vanillaware game—that would be titles like Muramasa: The Demon Blade or Dragon's Crown—then both the visual style and gameplay of Detained: Too Good for School will be immediately familiar. In this game, you play a juvenile delinquent on a quest to avenge her brother's death, and you'll have to punch, kick, and grab your way through hundreds of enemies on your quest. We're big fans of developer O.T.K Games' previous title, The Vagrant, and this one is a step up in every way.
One of the biggest success stories of the first Steam Next Fest was a first-person movement shooter called Severed Steel. That game is out now out all PC platforms as well as consoles, so the developer has moved on to its next title: Echo Point Nova, another extremely fast-paced FPS game where you battle foes while traversing diverse environments with a hoverboard and a grappling hook. It's sort of like the unholy lovechild of Ultrakill and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, with a little bit of Bulletstorm thrown in. If you play one demo from this post, make it this one.
To take a break from all the murder and destruction, we tried out the demo for Little Kitty, Big City and were instantly charmed by its cute presentation. This is an open-world adventure game where you play, yes, a little kitty free to explore a big city. The ultimate goal of the game is to get home, but there's a lot to see and do along the way, including doing tasks for your animal friends or simply wreaking havoc as only a cat can. This one was a surprise for us, and it's worth a try if you dig cute games.
Finally, we wanted to spotlight New Cycle, the only non-action game in our list. New Cycle is a blend of a city builder and a factory simulation à la Factorio. This game has absolutely gorgeous presentation, particularly for a smaller developer. The UI is surprisingly well-thought-out, too. Your goal is to rebuild civilization after an apocalyptic solar flare destroys the modern world. There's more to worry about than just industrialization, and the simulation in this game seems quite complex. Grab the demo if you're interested.
