Steam's "Fest" events are a way to get more eyes on upcoming titles; today, we're going to be looking at some demos for the Steam Next Fest that is currently running, October 14th to the 21st. Next Fest is not beholden to a specific genre, and neither should you! Get out there, try as much as you can, and see if anything is to your liking. In this article I'll be reviewing a variety of demos, and maybe some will find their way onto your Wishlist - and mine! - in the near future.

Remember you have until Monday (October 21st) to play what you can!

These are presented in alphabetical order, with a final ranking based on my personal enjoyment of them at the bottom.

Chrono Sword

Release Date: "To be announced"
Developed by: 21cDucks co., Ltd.
Published by: CFK Co., Ltd.

Take on the role of Aenor, a mysterious swordswoman who can time travel in Chrono Sword, a pixel soulslike RPG. Not that the demo gives away her name: much like the games it takes inspiration from, it prefers to shroud itself in mystery and obfuscation. Aenor doesn't even have visible voice lines from what I saw, which is weird when the trailer and Steam page imply that she does.

For someone who doesn't normally like this aesthetic, I have to admit the game looks very nice, playing out on an isometric 3D plane with weather effects, flickering fire, and the like all in pixel form. It also includes hand-drawn portraits of its main characters when they speak, which is appreciated; the nature of pixel graphics is that it tends to leave things like smaller visual details rather wanting.

Gameplay-wise...it's a soulslike, so say it with me: you can only level and save at checkpoints, but using them respawns all non-boss enemies; you can only heal so often, which are also replenished at the checkpoints; and you loadout your character based on what you find via exploring or defeating powerful enemies. As a lover of Elden Ring I am 100% on board with this, and the game doesn't hide its influences: the statistic for measuring your ability to prevent stance-breaking is literally called Poise, you have equip weight to contend with, and so on. You're not even supposed to defeat the first boss as soon as you encounter it, although this time it involves running past rather than being savagely murdered.

I do have one complaint, though: why is the game using the arrow keys for movement?! You can rebind keys, which is always appreciated...except the movement keys. I have always been more comfortable with a "WASD = movement, numpad = abilities" framework, and the game won't let me do that. Don't fix what ain't broken, I say!

All told, I I enjoyed Chrono Sword. One to potentially keep an eye on, for those interested in a more retro-looking soulslike. Let me shift the move keys around, and I'll endorse this game wholeheartedly.

Garden of Witches

Release Date: "Coming soon"
Developed by: Team Tapas
Published by: Team Tapas

Garden of Witches is a roguelike beat-'em-up, in a similar vein to Lost Castle 2 (which I reviewed last Next Fest). You play as Sil, who must round up the witches for a tea party that will save the Garden from oblivion...somehow. As the only responsible one, you'll cut the others down to size with your enormous scissors, all while something nefarious seems to be lurking on the edges of the story. It's cuteness with just a hint of wrongness.

Right off the bat, I will say that the game demands a controller. Oh, you could play it on keyboard, as I attempted to, but for whatever (silly) reason, you cannot change the keybinds away from its (dumb) layout. ZXC and Space are your attack and dash abilities, while the arrow keys are for movement...rather than WASD, the setup everyone knows and accepts. My right wrist screamed in annoyance, wondering why the hell it had to flex and move the attached fingers in a manner most uncomfortable.

Powering through that, I found an experience that tried its best not to tell me things. Upgrade descriptions were lacking or outright missing, I had to guess what the door symbols meant, and ultimately it felt like a game that needs more time in the oven. One thing they did mention upfront was that the demo's bosses had inflated difficulty, a decision I found perplexing. Slamming my face into the first boss in vain because they're overtuned is supposed to encourage me to upgrade my stats and keep trying, but the reality of the situation is that, being a demo, it's just not worth the effort. Padding my playtime via artificial difficulty is not a good look.

Garden of Witches is cute, and could be a good game. I think the different unlockable skills were interesting and the potential is there for something fun. It requires more work to get there, though, and that "hint of wrongness" in the story plays out in the design, as well, which could be worrisome before all is said and done.

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel

Release Date: "Q4 2024"
Developed by: Games Farm
Published by: Grindstone

Slay countless waves of enemies to prove yourself worthy of Valhalla in Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel. A horde survival roguelike similar to the super-popular Vampire Survivors, you will move around an arena fulfilling objectives to summon the boss at the end, which you must defeat before the "raid" is over. All the while, you'll hold off the endless baddies, prepare for the boss by gathering XP Crystals, and accumulate Gold to spend on permanent bonuses in-between runs.

There are a couple accessibility options available which were nice to see, tailoring the character's attack and aim functions to one's preferences. Want them to automatically attack when an enemy nears? Sure thing. Want them to aim in their direction, while they're at it? That's always helpful. Setting them both gave me ample opportunity to figure out what I was doing, although I could see myself turning them off after I get used to the systems; after all, it's not fun or challenging if the game "plays itself".

Jotunnslayer has ample room for expansion, with Norse mythology allowing for the nine realms to wage war in, more characters to play, and more gods to draw bonuses from. The game's not even in Early Access yet, but what's there looks nice and plays well. Semi-disappointed to see a "Flame Sister" character grayed out and unavailable to play, 'cause that's probably who I'd be drawn to the most if done well, but alas it was not to be.

All-in-all, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is a fun game, and being my introduction to the horde-roguelike, I had a good time. I'm not in a state of "OMG I need this game, Early Access or not", but I'll keep an eye on it and circle back when it contains more stuff and is closer to release.

Knights in Tight Spaces

Release Date: "Coming soon"
Developed by: Ground Shatter
Published by: Raw Fury

Knights in Tight Spaces, a pseudo-sequel to the game Fights in Tight Spaces, is a strategy deckbuilding roguelike. This time, instead of being John Wick or Jason Bourne, you play as a fantasy class such as Cleric or Rogue on a quest to do...something. Didn't get that far, to be honest: something about stopping a Necromancer, but in the beginning you're just roughing up knights, skeletons, and/or skeleton knights while making trips to the tavern.

This is the kind of game where I want to like it, and should be relatively good at it, but neither ended up happening. Following from the title's description, you are placed in cramped quarters during each stage, and it's up to you (and your deck's willingness to cooperate) to defeat the enemies in an efficient manner. Sometimes there'll be additional requirements as well, like protecting defenseless hostages. At the end of the level you're given the option to watch the entire sequence play out in real time, which is the game's desire to make you look stylish and cool but in my experience ended up falling flat.

My problem was that I spent too much time shuffling around the board to avoid damage - because that's what I was given, card-wise - and only occasionally did I get a swing in if I had the Momentum to do so. It didn't feel that great, didn't look that cool, and it wasn't very effective in the long run when the hostages died and I was hit with a Game Over I didn't recognize was gonna happen. This could be mitigated with better draw-luck, I suppose, but that would require starting over and trying again, which I wasn't up to doing.

Knights in Tight Spaces frustrated with its clunkiness; a twist I wasn't expecting. I like deckbuilders, roguelikes, and the concept itself, but it didn't click with me at all and that's a shame.

Mandragora

Release Date: "Coming soon"
Developed by: Primal Game Studio
Published by: Knights Peak

Mandragora is a soulslike metroidvania, where you play as an Inquisitor in service of the King Priest. At least, that's the story at the beginning - there are a high number of living people present for a soulslike, which means they'll all be dead by the start of the second act, I'm sure. You'll fight and explore on a 2.5D plane, dodging or blocking or getting your teeth kicked in 'cause you failed to dodge or block.

When it comes to my "reviewing process", I don't often take a long amount of time in a demo if the game clicked for me: I enjoyed it, I want to experience it "for real" when the game comes out, so I move on. The same is true if I really don't like it: negative opinion established, there's no need to dwell within a demo I don't enjoy. So when I mention that it took time for me to figure out Mandragora, know that that is an anomaly.

Starting out, I wasn't having fun at all: you're only allowed to try one of the available classes, combat can be difficult, fall damage and the omni-directional archers were pissing me off, and it just wasn't vibing with me. But I stuck with it - after all, as a lover of metroidvanias, I should enjoy this - and when it finally ingrained within my brain "oh yeah, this is also a soulslike; maybe treat it like one", I felt much better about the game. It has equipment loads, Poise, and all that stuff, and you can build your character "your way" up to a certain point within the framework of the class system. I think you can mix-and-match perks from the differing skill trees, but it wasn't available in the demo so I couldn't experiment further.

Another reason I stuck it out is that the game seems high quality altogether: voice acting is solid, it looks pretty good, and at some point you acquire a grappling hook - an item that makes everything better! Makes you wonder if I missed out on great experiences in the past, having given up too quickly. That said, there is an insane amount of video games out there to consider spending money on, and if it doesn't look appealing, I'm less inclined to keep looking at it; thankfully, this was not one of those situations.

All-in-all, I ended up liking Mandragora, and am interested in seeing where it goes. I'm sure there's a life-lesson here about patience and not judging a book by its cover, but I am choosing to forego it. Besides, any game that has a grappling hook should get a Wishlist from everyone; I think that's a rule somewhere?

Rift of the NecroDancer

Release Date: "2024"
Developed by: Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Games
Published by: Klei Publishing

Rift of the NecroDancer is a rhythm game in the vein of Guitar Hero, where you watch your timing and hit the buttons according to what's coming down the screen. These aren't just simple notes, though: they're monsters, and must be defeated! As the title and identity of the protagonist would suggest, the game stems from the same universe as Crypt of the NecroDancer, which I am also super bad at.

Each monster has its own way of flowing down the pipeline, as it were, from colored slimes that might need to be hit more than once, to zombies that shift around the board, and swordmasters that dash to the end one beat after they unsheathe their sword. There are even boss fights using this system, which I did not witness but they seem like a cool twist on the gameplay. All-in-all it's a lot to keep track of, and I struggled to keep up even during the Advanced Tutorial! What can I say: as an early 30-something old person, I await my patch of ice such that you can cast me out to die at sea.

In the mean time, though, I'll keep tryin' to stick with the beat, as the NecroDancer games have always been a fun twist on the rhythm genre. It certainly helps that the music is very high quality, and this game appears to be no exception. It boasts that there will be 30+ tracks upon release, with room to add more or tweak the current playlist in Remix mode.

There isn't much more to say, really: if you liked Guitar Hero and want a neat monster twist on those games, or just want to rock out to some cool tracks, Rift of the NecroDancer could be your jam. Inept as I am, I'll stick to listening to the songs on YouTube!

The Spirit of the Samurai

Release Date: "Q4 2024"
Developed by: Digital Mind Games
Published by: Kwalee

I am ashamed to admit I almost missed my chance to review The Spirit of the Samurai, as I already had a list of games installed and had not seen it the first time. I'm glad I found it on a second pass, though, because the game could be something special. A 2D action-adventure with stop-motion animation(!), about a samurai(!!) and his also-playable pet cat(!!!) fighting back against a horde of demons and undead; this hit a lot of buttons for me.

The Spirit of the Samurai is incredibly stylish, and not just because it has a unique animation style for the medium. As you level up your stats or find scrolls, you unlock moves that can be slotted together to form customizable combos. Certain attacks might be better against different enemy types, and it's up to you to figure that out - when you elevate tactics beyond button-mashing, it makes one feel like a badass. It's unfortunate, then, that I do not own a PC-viable controller, because the game really wants you to play with one. Despite moving the attack buttons from JKL to the numpad, I still had difficulty switching between the numpad and the arrow keys for directional swings in the heat of combat. It added an unexpected layer of complication to the proceedings, which is a bummer. I have to hope the game runs on Steam Deck.

I will say, though, that even after watching the trailer, I underestimated how dark and creepy the game's atmosphere could be. Spooky environments, demons sucking out brains, soldiers rising from the dead; there was a jump-scare or two thrown in there as well. It created a tension within me: I don't like unnerving or scary stuff, but I love samurai (and kitties), so would I enjoy this from start to finish? Found myself pushing on regardless because the game was just that interesting, and if that's not an endorsement I don't know what is.

The Spirit of the Samurai earned a spot on my Wishlist with its uniqueness and execution. If you have even a passing interest in samurai, or you want to see a stop-motion game in action, I would give this a look!

Temtem: Swarm

Release Date: "Q4 2024"
Developed by: Crema, GGTech Studios
Published by: Crema

Temtem: Swarm is a horde survival roguelike, and a spinoff of Temtem, a Pokemon-like game. In Swarm, you choose a Temtem and wander around the map, defending yourself against a...*ahem*, swarm of other Temtems looking to bop into you and do you harm. Along the way you'll gather experience cubes to level up for new abilities, and gears which you can spend on passive upgrades between runs.

And...that's it. The game is bright and colorful, which is a nice change-of-pace for what can be an otherwise violent and dreary genre, but I didn't find it very engaging. Hold left-click to move, and press the middle-mouse button for your ultimate - no dash/dodge, no other active abilities that I could discern. You just kinda dottle around while the auto-attacks do their thing, with the platypus shooting water waves out of his butt: funny for a moment, but boring otherwise. There's also no minimap to discern where you are in the area, so when objectives appear on the far side you're left to wonder how long it'll take to reach them.

There is a frankly insane amount of stuff you can potentially unlock in this game, such as eggs that contain new playable Temtems, disks with new moves to change up how they work, or new stages with their own quirks. However, ultimately, if all I'm doing is shuffling around the map and occasionally hitting one other button, I don't find it very particularly interesting. Lots of color, no substance behind it. The game allows for multiplayer up to three people, but would that heighten the experience enough?

Maybe Temtem: Swarm isn't for me: it could be a "cozy" horde survival game, carving out its own niche, and that would be fine. But it also means I can't recommend it, considering how bored I was.

VOIN

Release Date: "To be announced"
Developed by: Nikita Sozidar
Published by: tinyBuild

Experience a Skyrim-like open world with fast-paced DOOM 2016 vibes in VOIN, a first-person hack-and-slash game. Created by a mysterious voice for reasons that aren't immediately apparent, go forth and slay the forces of demons and undead as you gather what remains of the living to join you on the quest.

The game has elements of roguelikes and soulslikes, as each "run" into the open world can be cut short by failure, requiring you to return to the scene of your death to reclaim lost items. If you feel you're low on health and need to bail on a run, you can look to the sky and request a portal back to the hub, bringing your hard-earned booty back with you. There you can identify the items you extracted, level up, and prepare for another go at it. The better equipped you can get, the more successful your time will be on the battlefield, creating a positive loop which feels satisfying.

Imbued with electrical powers, your character can drop from any distance with a crash of lightning, dash to avoid enemies, as well as super-dash to navigate the environment. The super-dash involves sheathing your weapon, however, so you have to be careful about when to go galavanting around the open-world in search of secret treasures. It's very fun, once you get the hang of it. When you're ready to put baddies to the sword, combat can be swift and brutal: life charges are rejuvenated from attacking, encouraging the player to be aggressive. That said, enemies can one-shot you outright if you wander into the wrong location underprepared. Thankfully the difficulty of VOIN is customizable, with levers in the hub area that can tweak enemies density, health, and the likelihood that greater variants will appear.

I didn't spend as much time with VOIN as I could have, as I was sold on the concept pretty quickly. With additional worlds to explore and dominate, and new abilities to acquire, VOIN could be a really cool, unique experience. Easy Wishlist for me.

Windblown

Release Date: October 24th, 2024
Developed by: Motion Twin
Published by: Motion Twin, Kepler Ghost

From the original makers of Dead Cells comes a new action roguelike, this time in 3D! Windblown's story is a bit of a mystery: the exact reason why you're braving the Vortex beyond "shut up, it's a video game" has me puzzled, but the gameplay was fun so I guess that's that. I am reminded of Bastion, with the viewpoint and the islands-in-the-sky layout...if Bastion shrugged off its narrative and focused on the gameplay.

A 3D environment provides more architecture to navigate and room to out-maneuver one's enemies, which leads me to the Pulsor jetpack-thingy you have strapped to your back. Jetpacks make everything better, so get ready to mash that Space bar and make like Overwatch's Tracer, as you'll be expected to dash a lot! Dodging is an obvious use-case, but you'll also be expected to hop to and fro across the floating-islands in the Vortex as well; thankfully, moving around the area is breezy and enjoyable. Along the way you'll bust Sentinels into pieces and find alternative paths for rewards, all the while improving your character for the path ahead.

The game maintains some of Dead Cells' quirky humor, with silly weapons that each have their own moveset. I imagine the puns will be just as strong with this one as the previous game, even if there isn't a whole lot one can access in the demo. Multiplayer was the main no-go: Windblown will allow up to three people to play together, dashing and blasting the baddies to scrap. Alas I have no friends, so it was no big loss on my end.

Windblown seems like a good experience, although it has plenty of time to keep cooking: the demo mentions they'll be headed to Early Access on the 24th, not a full release. With so much gated behind "Not In The Demo" notices, it can be a little disheartening trying to progress, but I still had a fun go of it. I really enjoyed Dead Cells - developer controversy aside - and I hope this'll provide a similar quality.

Conclusion/Final Rankings

Now that you've read through all of the reviews - or if you're just looking for a "TL;DR" - I'll conclude with reordering the games based how much I enjoyed them. Any that found their way onto my Wishlist will be noted with an asterisk as well!

  1. VOIN*
  2. The Spirit of the Samurai*
  3. Mandragora*
  4. Chrono Sword
  5. Windblown
  6. Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel
  7. Rift of the NecroDancer
  8. Temtem: Swarm
  9. Garden of Witches
  10. Knights in Tight Spaces

If anyone's interested, I would say they go 1-3 > 4-6 > 7 > 8-10: that's how I would separate them. 1-3 were the clear winners, 4-6 could see a Wishlist in the future, Rift of the NecroDancer was solid but not for me, and I was semi-down on the rest.

And there you have it! Don't forget you have until next Monday (the 21st of October) to play whatever demos tickle your fancy, at least until the next Fest event.

What do you think of these games? Discover any good gems in this month's Steam Next Fest? Find anything worth buying? Let us know in the comments below!