Another big event is happening on Steam now with the Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition and there's plenty of new and improved demos to check out until October 13.
Long gone are the days where a demo would be a given, as they're often replaced with paid-for Betas where you get access if you pre-order and all sorts like that. Still a few appear but not a whole lot and that's why events like this are so good for us, although it is a lot to take in with such a short amount of time.
There's obviously a lot there and picking what to play in this time is difficult. If you're after titles that will offer Linux support, here's 10 I think are worth keeping an eye on and trying out:
- Aloof
- Bonfire Peaks
- Bots & Belts
- Elteria Adventures
- Fractal Space
- Groove Gunner - VR only
- Hadean Tactics
- Hybrid Beasts
- Tenderfoot Tactics
- Unspottable
If any of them really stand out, or we have something to say about them we will let you know across other articles.
The event ends October 13 around 5PM UTC. See the special event page here on Steam, and you can find all the developer livestreams at this link.
Note: currently, the Linux icon is broken on the event page and Valve seems to have removed all platform icons from the demo banner on store pages. We assume that's all unintentional and have let them know. Update: they fixed it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Anybody tried Carto? It looks so good but not even with Proton i can start the game.
Also tried Fractal Space, its very very nice!
Last edited by Spirimint on 7 October 2020 at 9:26 pm UTC
Also tried Fractal Space, its very very nice!
Last edited by Spirimint on 7 October 2020 at 9:26 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Seems like they've fixed the Linux icon on the event page, and icons on the demo banners now. It's a shame there's no way to filter by platform though, as there's so much to sift through, just to find the few games with Linux demos. Additionally, all of the games that are "recommended for you" are Windows games.
I did play a few Linux demos though:
Aurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.
Sneak In - an arcade puzzler, which reminds me a lot of a game I played on my phone in 2008, called Poppin' Panda. (I wasted an entire day on the couch once, chasing perfect scores, which was of course before I got kids). It's nice enough, but not really to my tastes anymore. I tried it mostly because it's made by the developer of City Game Studio, who develop games on Linux using Godot.
Bots & Belts - toy making simulator, which has been covered here multiple times, I think. It's similar to Overcooked!, but easier to play solo (at least in the demo). In each level, you make multiple units of the same toy, which can get a bit dull, but that might not be representative of the full game. Overall, I enjoyed it, and will probably buy the full game once it's out.
Altered - a very interesting puzzle game, which was my favourite of the games I played. It's sokoban-esque, with the twist that the characters you control can change shapes in various ways to eg. cross gaps, hold a button down while crossing a gate or even pull blocks by turning into an L-shape.
I also downloaded the demo for Backbone, which I backed on Kickstarter, but I haven't played it yet.
I did play a few Linux demos though:
Aurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.
Sneak In - an arcade puzzler, which reminds me a lot of a game I played on my phone in 2008, called Poppin' Panda. (I wasted an entire day on the couch once, chasing perfect scores, which was of course before I got kids). It's nice enough, but not really to my tastes anymore. I tried it mostly because it's made by the developer of City Game Studio, who develop games on Linux using Godot.
Bots & Belts - toy making simulator, which has been covered here multiple times, I think. It's similar to Overcooked!, but easier to play solo (at least in the demo). In each level, you make multiple units of the same toy, which can get a bit dull, but that might not be representative of the full game. Overall, I enjoyed it, and will probably buy the full game once it's out.
Altered - a very interesting puzzle game, which was my favourite of the games I played. It's sokoban-esque, with the twist that the characters you control can change shapes in various ways to eg. cross gaps, hold a button down while crossing a gate or even pull blocks by turning into an L-shape.
I also downloaded the demo for Backbone, which I backed on Kickstarter, but I haven't played it yet.
4 Likes, Who?
Quoting: fleskAurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.
Steam says I played that demo in June 2019 for 55 minutes, with 18/25 achievements. I seem to recall finishing the demo, so it must not have been too complicated?
Quoting: fleskI also downloaded the demo for Backbone, which I backed on Kickstarter, but I haven't played it yet.
If that's the same as the Prologue, I played that for 45 minutes in May. I ran into some bug related to entering the bar, that prevented me from continuing.
0 Likes
Quoting: fleskAurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.
Thanks for pointing that one out!
Quoting: flesk(I wasted an entire day on the couch once, chasing perfect scores, which was of course before I got kids).
Those Good Old Times, when you could just sit on the sofa as long as you wanted... :D
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: PhlebiacQuoting: fleskAurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.
Steam says I played that demo in June 2019 for 55 minutes, with 18/25 achievements. I seem to recall finishing the demo, so it must not have been too complicated?
Probably not, but I don't enjoy hunting for hotspots anymore, so when I'd visited every location multiple times and tried everything on everything I'd found, I moved on to one of the other demos.
EDIT: I just finished the demo, and it was Neemo I had missed. Overall, I enjoyed the game, but I found the occasional story bits a bit jarring. It might just be that it's a bit difficult to explain the universe in such a short format, and I hope it's integrated a bit better in the full game.
Last edited by flesk on 8 October 2020 at 7:45 pm UTC
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rustybroomhandle Oct 8, 2020
If you are a Proton-er, Ghostrunner works extremely well.
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Oh wow, a VR only game with a native version? Definitely gonna try that.
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: fleskAurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.Thanks for the suggestion! Quite liked the demo, finished it using 2189 left clicks.
I'm not sure if you got stuck on the same place I did, finding the twins? I had to seek help from a walkthrough in the end. But the issue was more like a design bug than an actual puzzle I think.
Curiously the game does seem to have some kind of hint feature that kicked in (unnecessarily) when looking for one of the other kids.
1 Likes, Who?
Expalphalog Oct 8, 2020
Arcanium is a fun little game. Sort of a Hearthstone / Slay the Spire mix. It has a few issues that may be due to the alpha state of the game or maybe due to Proton, impossible to say right now, but it's worth checking out.
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Quoting: whizseQuoting: fleskAurora: The Lost Medallion - a point and click adventure, which seems interesting, but I didn't achieve much before I got stuck. I wish there'd been a button to highlight hotspots, as I'm pretty sure I've missed something.Thanks for the suggestion! Quite liked the demo, finished it using 2189 left clicks.
I'm not sure if you got stuck on the same place I did, finding the twins? I had to seek help from a walkthrough in the end. But the issue was more like a design bug than an actual puzzle I think.
Curiously the game does seem to have some kind of hint feature that kicked in (unnecessarily) when looking for one of the other kids.
I updated my just a few minutes before you posted.
It was her companion, Neemo, I missed, half hidden in the shadows. Not super difficult to find, I know, but it's too easy to overlook things in games like this, and often that spoils the fun for me. 
I didn't notice the hints, but I'll admit, I skipped a bunch of dialogue when I played today, since I got a bit impatient with having to start over from the beginning. I noticed that the game was saved at some point when I played, but that was later in the demo than where I got to yesterday.
My stats are 41:18 minutes, 639 left clicks, 14 right clicks, and 17/25 achievements, but I didn't need as many clicks, since I already knew what I was doing for the first part of the demo.
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