Steam Next Fest — the triannual online event dedicated to spotlighting demos from new games — is back this month for another weeklong celebration of recent and upcoming titles. With only a week’s worth of time, there’s only so many hours one has to play through Next Fest’s best, let alone sift through everything else! Not to worry; we’ve already done the hardest part for you.
Polygon’s staff has come together to create a list of some of our favorite demos we’ve played so far. From whimsical walking simulators to quirky puzzle games and more, we’ve amassed an eclectic melange of the most creative and original new titles to choose from so you can play to your heart’s content.
Here are the must-play demos to check out during Steam Next Fest!
Bambas
Where to play: Steam
This quirky “walking simulator” puts the player in the role of a literal pair of shoes! Explore a vibrant Mediterranean coastal city as you put one foot in front of the other, kicking cans, stomping on leaves, and overcoming an array of environmental challenges and puzzles. The developers of Bambas tout the game as a celebration of urban culture, allowing players the ability to collect and customize their own kicks as they explore every nook and cranny the city has to offer. —Toussaint Egan
Despelote
Where to play: Steam
Developed by programmer Julián Cordero and artist-musician Sebastian Valbuena, Despelote is a first-person slice-of-life game. Set in Quito amid the soccer craze sparked by Ecuador’s qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the game centers on 8-year-old Julián as he explores and embraces the world in this semi-autobiographical adventure. Discover activities, play with your neighbors and classmates, and discover all the simple joys life has to offer you. —TE
Fellowship
Where to play: Steam
Fellowship is what happens when you tear MMO dungeons out of an MMO and make a whole game about them. Everyone has a role, like healing, tanking, or damage dealing, and works together to blaze through a dungeon. And then you do it all over again, but with new modifiers to enemies and bosses that increase the challenge and rewards. —Tyler Colp
Is This Seat Taken?
Where to play: Steam
Is This Seat Taken? is a chill puzzle game about something super relatable: being really particular about where you sit. In a series of tastefully pastel-colored scenarios, you pick up little shape-people and arrange them on the seats in a bus, a cinema, or at a wedding, while bending to their whims about sitting on the aisle, with someone chatty, or not next to someone wearing too much cologne. It’s satisfying logic-puzzling joy. —Oli Welsh
Into the Grid
Where to play: Steam
Hack the planet with Into the Grid, a cyberpunk roguelike deck builder that draws inspiration from the excellent Android: Netrunner card game. Infiltrate corporate systems by thwarting security and increasingly difficult pieces of ICE as you battle toward the core server. Into the Grid is planned to launch sometime in the fall, and personally, I can’t wait to feast my eyes on more of its awesome card art. —Alice Jovanée
Labyrinth of the Demon King
Where to play: Steam
Created by solo developer J.R. Hudepohl, Labyrinth of the Demon King is a first-person dungeon crawler set in feudal Japan. The player assumes the role of a ashigaru foot soldier who, after their lord is betrayed by a foul demon general, ventures deep into the lair of the demon on a quest to avenge their master. With grotesque monsters, maddening puzzles, and an oppressively bleak atmosphere, this indie horror adventure is not for the faint of heart. —TE
Monaco 2
Where to play: Steam
Pocketwatch Games is back with a follow-up to its 2013 co-op heist sim game. Monaco 2 puts players once again in the role of a crew of thieves aiming to take the city of Monaco for all it’s worth. Featuring 3D graphics in a first for the series, Monaco 2 nonetheless retains its isometric perspective, allowing players to explore levels vertically for more freedom of movement. The demo features a vertical slice of one of the game’s earliest missions, while the full release (slated to be announced sometime in the near future) will incorporate procedural level generation and daily heists to challenge and engage players. —TE
Shotgun Cop Man
Where to play: Steam
In Shotgun Cop Man, you are Shotgun Cop Man, and you shoot your guns to jump. That’s about it, other than the detail that you are on a journey into hell to arrest Satan. It’s like a ballistic Super Meat Boy, a tough but irresistible platformer with brilliant physics. And the joy of blasting yourself into the air with your shotgun before sailing through a hail of bullets in a graceful arc, pot-shotting devils as you go, never gets old. —OW
Shuffle Tactics
Where to play: Steam
Another roguelike deck builder that channels the excellent aesthetics of Hyper Light Drifter. Still in the early stages of development, Shuffle Tactics has you fight a series of turn-based battles with a cast of arcane, anthropomorphic animals. Similar to the Mario + Rabbids series, Shuffle Tactics is about assembling a lineup of characters that supplement each other’s strengths and stringing together combos to overcome the odds. —AJ
Skin Deep
Where to play: Steam
Brendon Chung (Gravity Bone, Quadrilateral Cowboy) returns with his first game in over six years! Skin Deep is an immersive first-person stealth-action shooter where players assume the role of Nina Pasadena, an insurance officer stationed in cryo-sleep aboard a cargo starship full of cats. When pirates take hold of the ship and threaten the crew, you’re automatically thawed out to deal with the threat and ensure the goods reach their intended destination. Run, shoot, sneak, sneeze, clean yourself, and improvise your way through a massive nonlinear starship filled with surprises. The demo features the final game’s tutorial and the full first level! —TE
Static Dread: 15 Nights at the Old Lighthouse
Where to play: Steam
“Lovecraft meets Papers, Please” in this supernatural horror life sim. Play as a lighthouse keeper tasked with shepherding wayward ships from crashing amid a tumultuous sea. As the days wear on, however, you’ll be beckoned by dark forces beyond your ken who insist you must offer up sacrifices in their name… or else. —TE
Tempest Rising
Where to play: Steam
The closest thing we’ll get to a spiritual successor to the more modern Command & Conquer titles, the demo for Tempest Rising offers a generous sample of the single and multiplayer content we can expect from this fast-paced RTS. Tempest Rising features two asymmetric factions with a collection of wild unit designs that promote strong micro, and the soundtrack includes new work from C&C veteran Frank Klepacki. Tempest Rising launches with two full campaigns and ranked multiplayer on April 24. —AJ
Tiny Garden
Where to play: Steam
Tiny Garden is what you’d get if you stuffed a gardening simulation into your Polly Pocket toy. The game combines simple turn-based mechanics with a farming simulator set on a grid. The chilled-out experience is an adorable way to spend an afternoon. —Nicole Carpenter
To a T
Where to play: Steam
Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy, Noby Noby Boy) is back with yet another quirky, colorful, and unmistakably unique adventure game. Players assume the role of a teenager (“Teen”) with a unique T-pose posture living in a small coastal town. After being granted a mysterious new ability through their extraordinary posture, the player must explore the town in order to learn more about the world and themself. With tons of customization, clever minigames, and a episodic storyline, To a T is as hilarious as it is idiosyncratic. —TE
Wanderstop
Where to play: Steam
Directed by Davey Wreden (The Stanley Parable, The Beginner’s Guide), Wanderstop is a so-called “cozy game” about a young fighter named Alta who accepts an offer from a benevolent man named Boro to help him run his tea shop while she recuperates from a stinging defeat. The game explores themes of burnout and depression, as Alta must learn to make peace with her past while finding satisfaction in her new circumstances. The game is set for release on March 11, and this marks the first time that many audiences will get the chance to play it! —TE
Source：https://www.polygon.com/what-to-play/527984/steam-next-fest-must-play-game-demos-wanderstop-to-a-t-skin-deep
