A summary of the best demos of Steam Next Fest after the event might seem a bit late, but as none of these titles are out right now, I suggest you get your arse to Mars and add them to your wishlist.
I did the same as always during the festival, downloading around 60 games and then whittling them down to the most appealing titles. Titles are missing, as they’re already on the site. Of the eight top titles listed here, I’d only heard of one, so taking a punt pays off, eh?
The Best of Steam Next Fest: February 2024
#BLUD
This action RPG from Exit 73 Studios is on a different level. Think about the number of games that mix cartoons with gameplay, only to eff it up with something unplayable and passive. Not this.
Becky is the new kid in town and eager to please. Within minutes of fluttering around large interior spaces, she’s outside, punching the teeth out of vampires. #BLUD is like playing a Cartoon Network without dicking about with the remote control.
Ultros
If Skittles were to collaborate with The Grateful Dead and your local garden centre, Ultros would be the result. Out of my top picks for this Steam Next Fest, Ultros is the only game I was familiar with, and it didn’t disappoint.
A psychedelic action platformer, you slash at alien plant life, then devour their innards to skill-up. The lexicon is overwhelming for peanut-sized brains such as mine, and there are waaaaaay too many fonts. That shoved under the carpet, wishlist it and put some colour in your life.
Death of the Reprobate
It’s Joe Richardson’s latest one that turns Four Last Things on its arse and makes ‘hero’ Malcolm, son of Immortal John (coincidentally on his death bed), perform good deeds.
Each letter in this article costs ink, so let’s cut to the chase: wishlist it after you’ve read this The Procession of Cavalry review.
Silkbulb Test
Weird, but so cool. The colour-restrictive version of Aperture Desk Job, Silkbulb Test, is a surreal, experimental title where you must follow a series of tests and get the answers wrong. Or right.
Do you follow directions or explore what lies within the dark? This choose your own adventure from Tim Oxton is brilliant and seemingly on par with the sublime Who’s Lila? and Critters For Sale. Just don’t expect closure from reading the details on the store page.
Miniatures
If you’ve never heard of Bill Plympton, check out his animations if you like what you see in Miniatures. It’s Plympton meets Ikea with a sprinkle of Stilsand and A Little to the Left.
In the demo, you’re building some flat-pack furniture with some friends (doubtful by the end), that brave the complexities of self-assembling dowels and screws and attempt to keep it all together as a team.
Mouthwashing
One of my favourite titles: Mouthwashing. Taking a punt on the thumbnail and a tease of the absurd, Wrong Organ’s first-person psycholigical horror takes place on board the Pony Express’ space freighter, Tulpar.
Redefining the meaning ‘Curly fries’, you find yourself switching back and forth before and after a crash in space that has arguably doomed your crew. Dark? That’s an understatement. Anyone who liked Paratopic will lap this up.
The Posthumous Investigation
A black and white crime adventure with the hero from Voodoo Detective without his facepaint and set in Rio de Janeiro. You’re a detective hired by the deceased in a bloody murder. Wait: the victim?
Apparently so, as you receive a letter from the chap enticing you to check out the alley with the fresh off-the-press cadaver. A point and click type where you interrogate suspects, search for clues, then turn back time and try a different angle. That’s right – it’s a time-travelling noir! Woot woot!
Normal Fishing
The final featured demo is Normal Fishing. There’s nothing ordinary about this indie from The Bworg – it’s extraordinary and unique. It’s the top banana, and you must place this fish shmup.
Wait.. fish shmup? Yep. You and your dodgy wife move to a new area by a peaceful lake. Keen to earn some pennies, wifey signs you up for scavenging the waters to sell our catch to a local weirdo, rinsing and repeating each day. Only every day is not the same.
I love this.
Honourable Mentions
As intellects drop and more and more people are ditching written articles for cut and paste viral vids, let’s summarise the rest in a few sentences, without any links purely to save me some time. That’s the real reason.
#DRIVE Rally is a cool rally game with an audio commentary from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gift is Little Nightmares meets Titanic. Hauntii is an illustrated picture book of ethereal concepts, and Serum is your next FPS fix with an intriguing story/mechanic.
Dreamcore is stunning – like a real-life vaporwave first-person lucid dream; I just wish I had the brain capacity to figure it out. Staircase 55 makes you never want to take the stairs EVER again, Chicken Police: Into The HIVE! is more of the best cluckin’ duo since the Colonel went to Kentucky, and Crow Country is the best survival horror from the 90s that wasn’t made in the 90s.
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