Next Fest is one of the best ideas Steam has ever had. Multiple times a year, developers are encouraged to put demos out at the same time and the whole lot gets a ton of promotion on the store. The event only runs for a week, but they aren't required to take the demos down if they don't want to. Bloody brilliant I say! Once upon a time, pre-release demos were all but an expecation, but they became almost non-existent with time. I'm very happy to see them return and I think it's a win-win for everyone.
I used to stream all the demos I would download and point out the good ones, but since I'm not streaming right now, I wanted to use this thing to shout out those that really caught my eye. This Next Fest definitely had slimmer pickings than ones prior. There's a lot of AI slop games out there now, which have basically become the new asset flip, but there's even more now because they're ever easier to crap out. They're not hard to avoid if you're observant, but they definitely clog things up and I wish they'd go away. There just seemed to be a lower overall quantity that interested me as well, but I'm not complaining because my wishlist and backlog are both way too big already and it's not that I didn't find plenty to be stoked for, just less than normal.
Obviously, taste is subjective and not all of these will be for everyone, but I'm generally excited to play everything I show here and they've all been wishlisted. I have no idea how many of these demos will still be up when you read this, but if they are, give them a try and see, maybe you'll find something new that interests you. If you have other demos that you liked, leave them in the comments so I can check them out!
Alright, let's get to it! You can click the game names to go to their Steam pages and if you click the down arrow beside it, you'll get more info and my thoughts. These are in no particular order:
Sam Eng/Devolver Digital
Releasing December 8th, 2025
I've never managed to get good at stuff like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but I always wished I could. This game takes the basic idea of that, but simplifies it and gives it a weird story and a trippy glitched out analog look.
The controls are forgiving, but also have enough depth that you can pull off some cool combos if you learn them. The soundtrack by Blood Cultures (which they apparently agreed to do after only seeing a prototype for a few minutes) also fits like a glove. I wasn't sure about this until I played it, but now I'm very excited for it.
Button Mash/Polden Publishing
Releasing Q4, 2025
It's an online battle royale typing game. No, really. I saw the pitch and thought it would suck, but I had to know. Now I really hope this gets a ton of hype so that it can have a big player base at launch because I am SO in!
I don't know if there's a story, but I hope there will be. You're in a room with a ton of other real players where you have to type out sentences as fast as possible and each time you make more than 3 typos, the guard beside you plays a round of Russian Roulette. You can hear other players getting shot around you which just adds to the tension. Worse still, only the first place player is the winner, with everyone else being executed once a winner is decided.
When you first hear the idea, it sounds like it shouldn't work, but it totally does and I can't wait for more. Games like this live and die on their player count though and this is an unknown dev and publisher so I hope they have some marketing prepared to find a crowd for it.
Tarsier Studios/THQ Nordic
No Release Date Yet
Tarsier were the developers behind the excellent first two entries in the Little Nightmares series. However, Bandai Namco owned the IP and after the second game, they wanted to move on from it, with another developer making the newly released third entry, which seems to have landed with a general "S'alright" vibe.
Instead, they've made what is basically Legally Distinct Little Nightmares (tm) in REANIMAL. It's definitely a different environment with different characters, but it's unquestionably the same kind of game, showing they weren't done with the ideas, they just wanted to own it, which fair enough. You play child-like characters in a dark, extremely oppressive environment where 3D platforming with puzzles and environmental storytelling are the core ideas. This genre of platformer isn't for everyone, but those who like it really like it, myself among them.
Like Little Nightmares III, REANIMAL also features co-op but unlike Little Nightmares III, this also supports local co-op. You can play it alone and have an AI control the other character who will follow your commands, but co-op is clearly what they meant it to be played as. I'm hoping I can convince my girlfriend to try this with me. The demo does a good job of showing what world you'll be in, without spoiling anything of substance.
DryGin Studios
Releasing 2026
This reminds me a little bit of Plague Inc. in that you're playing some unknown malevolent force that's trying to manipulate the world to destroy humanity. Back in the day, people who played SimCity used to love building up a city, saving it and then spawning all the disasters at once to see what would happen. Extinction Day is if you took that idea and made a whole game out of it.
I've never really played anything like this, but its systems interact very well. The demo can go on for a long time which is cool, though I will say I never found it particularly challenging. I'm hoping the final game ramps that up some because fun as it is to wipe out entire continents with tornadoes and storms, without something pushing back against your efforts, the "victories" start to feel hollow fairly quick.
This is one to watch if you like some solid "burn humanity" style of catharsis.
Gamexcite/Daedalic Entertainment
No Release Date Yet
I had no idea this existed until a friend told me. It's an interesting fusion of things because it feels a bit like FTL, a tiny bit Star Control, but also with some choices matter elements that take place in visual novel-esque sequences, but it also seems like you're playing the actual story of the series, reshaping it based on your choices. It's a really cool combination that the Voyager lore is uniquely suited for.
The graphics (especially the characters) are nothing to write home about and though there's a lot of dialog, none of it is voiced. This is going to put off a lot of modern players, but Daedalic is a struggling company and there's no way they have the budget to hire the cast to do these lines and I'd rather not have imitators or gaming gods forbid, AI in their place. They're going to have to strike a very fine balance here to lure in series fans, but they seem to have the mechanics down pretty well and those may be enough to carry it.
Tribute Games/Dotemu
Releasing In 2025
Tribute Games have never missed. They're a unique developer that focuses on making old-school feeling games with modern design and quality of life elements and they're so bloody good at it. After the stellar Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, they're now taking a crack at an all-new Marvel brawler and within 30 seconds, I knew they'd done it again.
You have a huge roster of characters to choose from, with the twist that you actually choose two and can switch them out like in a tag team fighting game. Other brawlers have done this, but not recently and not with the seamlessness this one has. Being a modern title, the levels are also much longer than many older brawlers and it's challenging without feeling unfair like many arcade games and older console games were. It also has a nod to the old Konami scoring system that mostly just counts the enemies defeated except in special cases, which is a cool touch.
If you like brawlers, this is a no brainer and if you like Marvel but don't have much experience with brawlers, try this out because you might dig it.
Brigada Games/Devolver Digital
Releasing In November, 2025
One of my biggest surprise games in 2023 was Contraband Police. It was like Papers, Please but in full 3D and with more mechanics. It had some goofier bits I didn't really care for, but was a great evolution of the formula that Papers, Please pioneered.
Quarantine Zone is basically that, but there's a zombie outbreak happening instead and you have to decide who lives or who gets incinerated. Yeah, they don't screw around in this one. When I first played an earlier demo of this, it already had a lot of promise, but it's since been picked up by Devolver Digital, who know winners when they see them and has been getting some extra spit and polish.
If you're not into this kind of "border checking" style of game, I don't think there's much here that will sell you but if you are, this is a cool application of that formula and honestly, I'm surprised it took this long.
Bleakmill/Headup
No Release Date Yet
The first INDUSTRIA was in development forever and when it came out, I liked it well enough, but it didn't blow my mind. It felt like it was going for the Half-Life style of FPS and it did a competent job, but didn't nail it the way Valve's iconic series did.
For the sequel, Bleakmill (which is mostly one guy) are trying to make it much more like Resident Evil and only a couple of minutes with it will make that obvious. This is a big change and if you don't like how RE does things, you won't like this, but I've liked the recent RE entries and this is quite intriguing, especially since it's clearly early development. It looks like there will be multiple characters and that they'll be voiced this time. The voice acting will definitely need a pass and the character models and lip syncing are rough, but as this is early days, I'm sure those will improve.
It seems Bleakmill focused on making the mechanics polished first and foremost to showcase their vision for this sequel and on that, I think they did well. When I finished the first game, I was fine for it to be a one and done, but this has my interest reignited.
Smallthing Studios/ININ Games
Releasing On October 27th, 2025
Simon the Sorcerer is a lesser-known point and click series that dates back to the early 90s, but maintained enough of a cult following to get three entries before going dormant after their developers closed.
Newcomers Smallthing Studios got access to the IP and have made an all-new game that's a prequel to the others. You either like point and clicks or you don't and while this has some nice modern features like hotspot highlighting, it's not going to convert anyone.
I liked what I played, but the inconsistency in animation fluidity felt weird, though I'm sure I could get used to it. What I'm not sure I could get used to is that Simon's supposed to be a kid, but he's clearly being voiced by a grown-ass man. It feels very uncanny to me, but with it so close to release, that's cleaerly what it'll be shipping with.
Having never played the originals, I'm not sure how invested I'd get in this beyond a sale purchase, but if you're a fan, definitely try this and decide for yourself.
Porcelain Fortress
Releasing Into Early Access On October 24th, 2025
Who here remembers the weird-ass Sierra board game Jones In the Fast Lane from back in the day? Anyone? Yeah, I'm guessing you don't but if so, educate yourself because some mad lad got it running in a browser! This game is a niche fandom within niches, but my friends and I loved it because of its unique mechanics and quirky sense of humour.
Porcelain Fortress were clearly also fans because they've made a modern version of that idea, but with way more stuff and an even more twisted sense of humour with an art style that feels like someone mashed up Rick & Morty with Rugrats. They apparently made another game before this in a similar vein that I totally missed.
I only played this against bots, but it will have full local and online play and when I showed it to my friends I played Jones In the Fast Lane with, they were immediately excited. You have to balance a lot of different things in this game, from earning money to bettering yourself to get better jobs, paying bills and a bunch of other things, all within a limited time period. It's frenetic and sometimes stressful, but so much stupid fun.
This is going into Early Access first and I'll be there day one. I can't wait to play this with people!
Agelvik
Releasing In 2025
The best way I can describe this that it plays a little bit like Rez, but it's a wave-based shooter with super weird horror/Cthuhlu elements as well. It's bloody hard (I never passed the first mission) but also very frenetic and chaotic. It's definitely not going to be for everyone and I'm not even sure it's for me just yet, but I wanted to highlight it because it's an interesting combination of ideas and has one Hell of a vibe going.
Paper Cult
Releasing In 2025
What if Dynasty Warriors but also Braveheart? That's what Tears of Metal feels like and I don't think the devs would mind that comparison. Paper Cult's last game was the excellent Bloodroots and this is a very different direction for them.
I was never big into Dynasty Warriors because it was just too over the top and anime for me. This I like because of its setting and because though still very video gamey, it's quite a bit more grounded. The controls and combat feel good and quickly moving between objectives on a large map is pretty fun, but the combat in the demo also felt pretty one note and I hope the full game expands the variety somewhat. It also has co-op, which is even better!
Even if you roll your eyes at Dynasty Warriors, give this a look because it converted me.
To the Sky/Thunderful
Releasing On October 23, 2025
This was a pleasant surprise I did not expect. The combat has the speed and flow of something like Devil May Cry, but it also has Souls-like elements, where your moves still have to be calculated and deliberate. All the combat encounters I had were small and in contained areas though, not in large open levels. The art style also has a cartoonish, but smooth and silky vibe to it that made is a pleasant environment to play in. Not much of the premise is given away in the demo, but it seems you're working for some form of gods trifecta who you just know you'll be turning on at some point.
Sporting full co-op (which I think will be the way to play it), this is out very soon and I went from not even knowing about it to seeing if I can get a friend to pick it up with me.
Sonic Team/SEGA
Out Now
Guys, this is not only a good kart racer, but a good Sonic game too? I'm so confused right now. I'd heard this was out and dismissed it, but I really shouldn't have because this is the more advanced version of Mario Kart that Nintendo refuses to give us.
There are multiple layers of mechanics in this that take it to an entirely different level in the genre. I used to play endless amounts of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (which is the best Mario Kart and if you say otherwise, you're wrong and should be ashamed) with friends back in the day and this is the first new kart racing game I could see us all getting back into because what Sonic Team pulled off here is just that impressive.
It's full AAA price which made me cringe and that's both ridiculous and sad because Mario Kart World will sell infinity billion copies for the same price despite being half the game this is. Since the Steam Holiday Sale isn't far off though, there's a good chance I'll pick it up then. I can't believe I'm saying a Sonic kart racer is better than Mario Kart, but I really think it's true here. What a world.
btf/ByteRockers' Games
Releasing On November 24th, 2025
A friend suggested this to me after having Steam randomly suggest it to him and it really grabbed my attention. It's a Metroidvania with a gorgeous art style, where the mechanics and ideas of painting are used both as a weapon, a means of traversal and are also the central theme of the story, which is around an artist's mental struggles.
The demo will feel very familiar to fans of the genre, but the painting mechanics definitely add some freshness to it. The controls didn't feel quite as snappy as I'd like, but that's something I hope the developers can tune up before it ships. btf have made several games and no two are remotely alike, often in completely different genres. It takes some real talent to do that successfully and it seems they're about ready to take on the well-trodden Metroidvania genre too.
Polygon Bird
Releasing On November 18, 2025
This one's for hardcore shmup fans, but I am one so here we are. This is a very Japanese feeling shmup, made by two non-Japanese developers who clearly get "the weird" that genre often embraces. This embraces elements of Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, but also combines them into something entirely new. There's a lot going on in this and it's going to take a lot of practice to get good at, but an all-new hardcore shmup isn't something we see every day, especially one done by rookie developers.
My only gripe is that either the game runs in a low resolution (which you can't change) or the graphics are purposefully done in a low resolution style. Things seem blurry to me and in a game that requires so much precision and timing, the lack of clarity adds some frustration to an already tough experience.
This is coming soon and I can't wait! I'll be grabbing it day one to support the cause.
And finally, I had to leave this one to the end because of all the great demos I played, none made me as excited as this one:
Unfrozen/Hooded Horse
Releasing In 2026
OK look, when I tell you that this is basically HoMM 3 but with a gorgeous modern coat of paint on it, that will either make you very happy or you won't understand. If you're the former, play this demo and wishlist this right bloody now.
After The 3DO Company imploded back in the day, Ubisoft ended up with the HoMM IP and most of the successors they've published have ranged from mid to bad. Nothing has recaptured the magic of HoMM 2 and 3, until now. Ubisoft seems to be doing the SEGA thing of taking some of their IPs that they aren't doing anything with, licensing them to studios who want to take a crack at a new entry and then just taking a piece of the sales. They did it with The Rogue Prince of Persia and that worked out very well. Now they've licensed out HoMM to Hooded Horse, a new strategy focused publisher who hasn't put out less than a straight banger yet and they aren't going to break that streak here either.
All I can say is that about 2 minutes into the tutorial, I knew these guys got what makes the older HoMM games so special for so many. I will be all over this the second it releases, even if it's to Early Access. Even if you aren't a legacy HoMM fan, check this out if you like turn-based strategy because the formula is still near perfection today.
And there we have it, my picks from what I managed to discover in Steam Next Fest for Fall, 2025. I played many more demos than these, but I only highlighted the ones I liked. As always, there were more demos available to than I could possibly get to so again, if you found any gems of your own, leave them in the comments!
May Next Fest live in long into the future and keep giving indie devs the shot in the arm they need now more than ever. Remember, there's great experiences out there if you look past AAA and nothing shows that better than this event does.
