Say goodbye to your free time for the next week? Steam Next Fest June 2023 is live and there's lots and lots of demos to feast your eyes on.
Check out Valve's new trailer for the event:
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Direct Link
Direct Link
For those mainly interested in Native Linux games, there's quite a few interesting looking demos there including:
- A Void Hope - an atmospheric puzzle platforming adventure that gives off a bit of a Stranger Things vibe.
- Cyber Knights: Flashpoint - squad tactics heist RPG! In a cyberpunk setting ten years in the making.
- Paleo Pines - Create a cozy dinosaur sanctuary.
- Kingdom Eighties - a standalone expansion to the Kingdom series: A singleplayer adventure of micro-strategy and base building, inspired by the neon lights of the eighties.
- Dreamed Away - a story-driven action-adventure RPG with dark elements set in France in the 90s.
- Lueur and the Dim Settlers - miniature survival builder perfect for short and relaxing gaming sessions.
On top of that some of those you may wish to try with Proton that look like they could be great:
- Lies of P - thrilling soulslike that takes the story of Pinocchio, turns it on its head, and sets it against the darkly elegant backdrop of the Belle Epoque era.
- SteamWorld Build - escape a dying planet by building a mining town to dig up vital long-lost technology.
- Viewfinder - challenge perception, redefine reality, and reshape the world around you with an instant camera.
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew - another stealth strategy game from the Shadow Tactics team.
See the full event here.
Over the week I will hopefully be highlighting a few, depending on time and what I find interesting. If you find anything especially good, be sure to come back and comment away. Don't forget the Forum to point new finds out after the event or any time.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
Quoting: NezchanQuoting: AnzaQuoting: NezchanPaleo Pines You can pet the dinosaur. What the heck else do you need to know?
There's bit more to it. It's kind of Stardew Valley, but you tame dinosaurs. Wasn't exciting enough for me to actually finish the demo, but maybe for bit younger audience...
Honestly, I was being pithy. I bounced off it too, in the end, although I can see the charm.
Two things I didn't like were not the greatest signposting, like where I got a quest to search the pen at someone's house with no clue where their house actually was (I never did find it before quitting). The other is how it taught me dino taming before setting me up to have somewhere to keep it, so the poor thing was dreadfully unhappy as a result. I think that would frustrate a kid playing.
There are actual signposts, but they tell you about one place and that's it. Graphically they look like that you would be able to find direction to many places with the signpost.
I think you're supposed to find the right houses by seeing the person in the map. Though the grandmas house you're tasked to visit is behind blockage and could be outside the map. I had to follow all the roads in order to find the right blockage. I'm not sure if anybody told me the right direction, but I might not have been paying attention.
Also I think the map is mirrored, can't bother to start the game again in order to test it properly. More playtesting needed seems to be the theme of the game at the moment. Luckily it hasn't been released yet.
0 Likes
Forgot to update with two more I tried on Saturday:
En Garde!: another "I couldn't get this to run." It seemed interesting, as a sort of medieval brawler with a theatrical bent, so I'll probably keep it on my wishlist and see how it develops.
Quoting: AnzaLittle Kitty, Big CityI liked Stray, and liked the idea of this, but it didn't really click with me. I think Stray's automatic jumping behavior ruined it for me – after having that cat-like grace of never messing up a jump, Little Kitty, Big City's jumping mechanics (where you can either tap the button for a quick jump, or hold it down to aim your jump) felt clunky, and it felt like I could barely get any height whatsoever in jumping. I played maybe 10 minutes, enough to reach the crow and what feels like the start of the main quest to get back up to your apartment window napping spot, but just wasn't interested enough to continue. To be fair, the game felt solid, I like the artstyle, and I didn't see any bugs or glitches or anything, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Non sci-fi version of Stray. It takes a while to get hang of it, but once you get hang of it, there's few cat like things to do and some side quests to do. Cat like things include dropping things that are in high places, hunting birds and tripping people over. There's some risk of things feeling grindy as tasks involve doing same thing over and over again. Though I don't know if some of them are actually necessary for completing the game. Might be there just for achievement hunters and completionists.
En Garde!: another "I couldn't get this to run." It seemed interesting, as a sort of medieval brawler with a theatrical bent, so I'll probably keep it on my wishlist and see how it develops.
1 Likes, Who?
I only had time to try three demos, but Land Above Sea Below was my favorite by far and a very happy find though it didn't show up in the most popular. A very beautiful "atmospheric building strategy and puzzle game where you have to build your island from tiles in order to raise its height as much as possible, to avoid it getting flooded by the constantly rising sea level." I like how you have limited turns forcing you to think and plan your moves carefully before the tide engulfs your island, but there is no real-life time limit forcing you into rash decisions (unlike another turn-based combat game I tried). Very, very cozy game and one I could see myself returning to to unwind at the end of a long day even though I normally prefer story-based games.
0 Likes
Quoting: SalvatosI only had time to try three demos, but Land Above Sea Below was my favorite by far and a very happy find though it didn't show up in the most popular. A very beautiful "atmospheric building strategy and puzzle game where you have to build your island from tiles in order to raise its height as much as possible, to avoid it getting flooded by the constantly rising sea level." I like how you have limited turns forcing you to think and plan your moves carefully before the tide engulfs your island, but there is no real-life time limit forcing you into rash decisions (unlike another turn-based combat game I tried). Very, very cozy game and one I could see myself returning to to unwind at the end of a long day even though I normally prefer story-based games.
It looks like it's got some elements in common with Dorfromantik, but goes off in an entirely different direction. Will need to try that one.
0 Likes
See more from me