Valve has launched Steam Next Fest, another good opportunity for you to jump in and test some upcoming games that runs through until March 3rd. You'll be able to download demos, watch developer livestreams and more.
Direct Link
Thanks to Valve's Proton, most of the demos should run on Linux without you even needing to check. Unless they have some kernel-level anti-cheat forced on them or other strange Windows behaviour not implemented in Proton yet.
Personally, I was quite excited for Mecha BREAK but the anti-cheat is problematic with how it blocks Desktop Linux. Although it does allow people to play on Steam Deck. RoadCraft is another I was excited about but it's sadly broken across Steam Deck and Desktop Linux.
Another I checked out early was Spray Paint Simulator. It's like the direct opposite of PowerWash Simulator and worked perfectly with the latest Proton 9.0-4. Instead of cleaning up you're preparing with tape and papering over things you don't want painted, to then make a big mess everywhere. Something about it is just incredibly therapeutic and I want more of it — a lot more.
Pictured - Spray Paint Simulator on Linux
At the complete opposite end of the genre spectrum is The First Berserker, a hardcore action RPG souls-like. It's a lot more demanding of your attention and the demo runs beautifully too. So much so that it's gained a Very Positive user rating on Steam. This is not usually a genre I would go for but the visuals and the world really do look great, and it's impressive from a performance look as well with it being silky smooth. Definitely worth a shot if you're in the mood for some sword swinging with good visuals.
Pictured - The First Berserker on Linux
Another shout out for Adventures of a Cat in Space (Native Linux) because it's really sweet. If you love point and click adventures, it's one for you. Just don't blame me if the theme song gets stuck in your head. It randomly pops into mine at least once a day since testing out the demo previously.
Pictured - Adventures of a Cat in Space (from the Steam page)
Being a big fan of the original extreme sports game Descenders, I think Descenders Next could turn out to be another great one. This time with the addition of a few different board sports in addition to bikes, it's a whole lot bigger and better. So far it runs great on Linux too (and they just announced a release date with it getting Steam Deck Verified). They need to fix the demo launch options right now though.
Pictured - Descenders Next on Linux
Another pick for those who like things a bit more chill is Mudborne: Frog Management Sim (Native Linux). A game about running around capturing and breeding frogs. From the developer of beekeeping sim APICO, this is high up on my list of wants.
Pictured - Mudborne: Frog Management Sim on Linux
I personally find these big events more than a little overwhelming. I fear I'm missing out on so much because masses of developers choose to only have their demos up for such a limited amount of time. I'll continue highlighting games and demos during the event, just like I do every day if there's some I spot that are particularly interesting. Check out the Demo article tag for any previous and future coverage.
Be sure to also join us on Discord to easily share more games you find.
Check out Steam Next Fest. The event runs through until March 3rd.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I personally find these big events more than a little overwhelming. I fear I'm missing out on so much because masses of developers choose to only have their demos up for such a limited amount of time.It is disappointing that devs are so stingy with their demos, but I am grateful to the Next Fests that we get demos again at all.
TimeFreeze 24 hours ago
"Lets build a demo and then throw it away after a week or so"
I personally find these big events more than a little overwhelming. I fear I'm missing out on so much because masses of developers choose to only have their demos up for such a limited amount of time.It is disappointing that devs are so stingy with their demos, but I am grateful to the Next Fests that we get demos again at all.
It's actually quite murky. Some demos vanish right away when the event ends, some linger for a while after that and quite large number of them stay.
Problem is that only way to be sure which category game belongs to, is to ask the developer. Only rule of thumb I have found is that the AAA and AA studios pull their games fastest.
I managed to play two demos today. As I have played some casual games lately, Steams algorithm recommended me some more of them.
Spire Blast is a puzzle game where you collect things while destroying a tower. It's fun at least for a while and demo manages to introduce few mechanics. Gamepad controls are bit messy and when I managed to mouse controls working, the most of the frustrations were gone. Idea has potential, though maybe more varied buildings could provide variety. Also it feels in some ways like a mobile game.
A Building Full of Cats 2 is part of many games in the series and I'm not sure if it brings much new. Not that it absolutely needs to, clicking hidden cats is fun as is.
"Lets build a demo and then throw it away after a week or so"
Funny thing is that most demos are just delisted. Generally you can go to the SteamDB page, click install and it'll work just fine.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506090/Twisted_Tower_Demo/
Last edited by kernelkid on 25 Feb 2025 at 3:28 am UTC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2860990/Nautical_Survival/?curator_clanid=44986110
The planned release date is April 2025. The description of the game reads as follows:
Captain an armed sea vessel to fight off hordes of oceanic terrors! Explore the seas, upgrade your seacraft, equip it with weapons and hire crew members to your aid in this roguelite auto-shooter.The setting for the game, of course, is the ocean; which adds an interesting twist to the the typical Bullet Hell gaming experience.
The developer and publisher is Idan Rooze. This will be the third game he has published on Steam. He also publishes his games on itch.io. His itch.io profile can be found at:
https://idanro.itch.io/
Idan's itch.io profile states he is an "...indie game developer and a Game Design lecturer at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design." He has 15 games published on his itch.io page. At the bottom of the page he also lists 21 games that are published by his students.
I have played Nautical Survival on the SteamDeck and it works very well. I consider the game demo to be generous and highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys this type of game.
Patreon
PayPal
How to set, change and reset your SteamOS / Steam Deck desktop sudo password
See more from me