It's here! The big Steam Next Fest event returns to suck up all your free time, as tons of game developers hope you'll try out their demos. An event that can easily be overwhelming in sheer numbers, but a whole lot of fun to get a glimpse of what's to come next.
Valve's official trailer is below:
Direct Link
As per usual I'll be going over and highlighting games individually over the next week on anything interesting I think that's worth a dedicated shout-out in an article. Something worth noting is that plenty of games that will have an official Native Linux version don't have a Linux demo, and there's a fair few that do have a Linux demo that for some reason don't show it. However, Valve's Proton is a thing and will no doubt run most of them. There's also a quite a number of games featured that don't have a demo at all - annoyingly, and some will only go live with the event.
Going over the press-preview here's a few that could be worth a look, just a bunch to get you started. Rather than pointing out the big obvious stuff you likely already know about, these could be gems to keep an eye on. Most of these are supposed to have Linux support at release too:
A Difficult Game About Driving (Proton)
Help Jeff navigate steep terrain in a bathtub car, where every slip risks resetting progress, reflecting his struggle to overcome his past and his father's disappointment.
Endless Tactics is a turn-based roguelite game. Play as the commander of a high-risk planetary mining operation, defend your base from alien creatures while trying not to get overrun. Use resources to upgrade your starship, unlock new technologies, powerups, and deadly new worlds to harvest.
From the makers of Death and Taxes comes a turn-based adventure-strategy game. In this demo play as Anaïs the Emissary, touring the four factions of the world of Eol, and learn what leads to the world-shattering conflict you have to reckon with in the full version of Broken Alliance.
Lost But Found is a combination of a job simulator & hidden object game. In a top-down table, you are an officer who oversees the lost items in an airport. Organize those items and distribute them to people who lost their belongings. Upgrade your office, manage requests, and more.
Immerse yourself in a turn-based exploration game set in the mystical Wild West. Strategically plan your moves to navigate cursed terrains, uncover magical artifacts, and explore uncharted lands. Don't be fooled by the calm plains of Coldridge, take a gamble and unveil its mysteries!
SteamDolls - Order Of Chaos (Proton), one for Hollow Knight fans
Enter the world of Steamdolls in this narrative-driven stealth-meets-action adventure. Step into the blood-drenched shoes of The Whisper, played by David Hayter, and entrench yourself in the shadows of a labyrinthine city gone mad. You will know 4 words: ACTION, EXPLORATION, STEALTH, AND BLOOD.
Welcome to Warside, the fast-paced turn-based tactics game. With a single-player story campaign, multiplayer support, and a built-in map editor, the fight for victory never ends. Choose your Commander, assemble your forces, and battle your way to victory.
Mini Royale, as covered recently
Prepare for an exhilarating new battle royale experience with Mini Royale. In this upcoming game, players are transported into a sprawling kids' bedroom, where green army toy soldiers engage in an epic combat until only one player or team stands victorious.
Streets of Rogue 2 (Proton) as covered just recently
Streets of Rogue 2 is a crazy, immersive RPG sandbox set in a vast randomly generated open world where freedom and fun are dialed up to 11. Fight, sneak, hack, farm, build, steal, or talk your way to power as you try to topple a corrupt president in countless possible ways – solo or with friends.
Block Factory (Proton) another I covered recently
Block Factory is a production and automation game focusing on creating 3D figurines from building blocks in a factory. Shape your models, design and optimize your assembly lines to bring your creations to life!
Be sure to also come back and give over your recommendations too!
Check out Steam Next Fest. The event runs through until October 21st.
This is an expanded take on the game jam entry of the same name. I liked the game jam version, and I'll certainly get the expanded version, too.
Quoting: XpanderWhat the hell did they do to the list of games?
everything is extremely stupid to scroll through to look for demos you actually want to play.
Used to be small 1 line list before with lots of them on the screen
Or am i missing some option somewhere?
used to be something like this before:
Actually i think it was even smaller banners before... damn why keep changing things for more time wasting on scrolling...
That's because some indie devs were complaining that they don't get enough visibility and most of the attention is taken by already popular games
Personally I think these big banners are better because you see screenshots and a trailers and don't have to open a store page for each game anymore
Last edited by satoridepon on 16 October 2024 at 7:32 am UTC
Quoting: satorideponThat's because some indie devs were complaining that they don't get enough visibility and most of the attention is taken by already popular games
Personally I think these big banners are better because you see screenshots and a trailers and don't have to open a store page for each game anymore
well that makes it even worse for visibility then. cause im not going to scroll through those... pressing show more only brings like 3 more.
Luckily clicking on Charts it still shows the better list and mouse over shows short clip of the game and i can middle click and open in new tab to then later decide if i will download or not.
Quoting: XpanderQuoting: satorideponThat's because some indie devs were complaining that they don't get enough visibility and most of the attention is taken by already popular games
Personally I think these big banners are better because you see screenshots and a trailers and don't have to open a store page for each game anymore
well that makes it even worse for visibility then. cause im not going to scroll through those... pressing show more only brings like 3 more.
Luckily clicking on Charts it still shows the better list and mouse over shows short clip of the game and i can middle click and open in new tab to then later decide if i will download or not.
Now there's also discovery queue for demos. Compared to regular one, it behaves bit differently. Seems to be still under development as it looks different than it was yesterday. Still feels bit klunky though, so I have some doubts how well it's received by bigger audience.
But at least it has potential for bringing less popular demos to closer to the surface. Though still the problem is that there's so much to play that I mostly have time for some popular ones and might accidentally stumble on some less popular one.
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