Sci-Fi RPGs, Embroidered Adventures, and a Trippy Train Headline Steam Next Fest

There’s a good chance you’re buried in one massive RPG or waiting for the next one, but allow me to suggest a few more games you can play through these in less than an hour each. It’s Steam Next Fest time once again, giving PC gamers a chance to test out demos for some of the best and weirdest games on the horizon. There are thousands to try, but here are ten of the best you really don’t want to miss, in no particular order. Just get to it quickly, because Next Fest ends on October 21.

Trip

I know I just said this list is in no particular order, but Trip might be the most essential demo here. You can play through it in around 15 minutes, but if you’re anything like me, that will leave you feral for the full release. Set on the world’s most bizarre train, Trip’s demo is a short, looping journey that ends in a gorgeous phantasmagorical sequence you just need to see for yourself.

Citizen Sleeper 2

I went in-depth on the Citizen Sleeper 2 demo earlier this week, so all I’ll say here is it expands on the original’s tabletop mechanics in a fascinating way, complete with the gorgeous art, music, and writing that made the first game great. Even though the demo mostly consists of moving dice around, its final mission is one of the most thrilling moments I’ve had during this edition of Next Fest.

Random Access Mayhem

There’s no player character in the top-down shooter Random Access Mayhem. Instead, you have the ability to take over the body of any of the many robots populating its world, each with their own powers. When your old body is too beat up, you can jump into a new one to continue, as long as you did enough damage in your previous form. Each robot also has its own separate upgrade tree, so you can spread out the enhancements or focus on building one super-bot and hope you find one to jump into.

Sorry We’re Closed

This isn’t the first public demo for Sorry We’re Closed, but it’s worth going back for another look. Sorry We’re Closed is a survival horror game with an impeccable sense of style, both in terms of its art and its characters’ incredible fashion sense. Heroine Michelle can open her third eye to shift between our world and the demon realm, which makes for some clever dimension-hopping combat and puzzles.

Spilled

I imagine the joy I get from Spilled is similar to what others feel playing Powerwash Simulator. You play as a boat captain scrubbing oil from bodies of water, which get visibly clearer and more full of life as you clean them up. It’s a delightfully chill, feel-good experience with charming pixel art, and it was made by a solo developer actually living on a boat, so you know it’s authentic.

Touch Type Tale

Maybe I just played too much Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing as a kid, but I love typing games. There’s just something satisfying, not to mention extremely funny, about typing the word “Ducks” and seeing a zombie’s head explode in a game like Typing of the Dead. Touch Type Tale blends that simple fun with real-time strategy, where you type to hire workers, grow crops, or send soldiers into battle. Keeping track of it all while maintaining your ability to spell might turn your brain to mush, but I think it’s worth it.

Keep Driving

Keep Driving is one of the most popular Next Fest demos this time around, and for good reason. This road trip sim has you picking up hitchhikers, living on gas station snacks, and dodging roadkill in card-based events. Driving and maintaining your car feel chill and tense in equal measure, and the demo also features a pitch-perfect road trip soundtrack.

StarVaders

The best way I can describe StarVaders is if Space Invaders was a strategy game. Waves of alien enemies move down the screen each turn as you fight them off with modifiable card-based abilities. You need to choose your moves with utmost care to survive, making battles tough but rewarding.

Scarlet Deer Inn

Scarlet Deer Inn is a narrative platformer with a darker story than its cheery art might suggest — which is fitting given its developer lists Studio Ghibli as an inspiration. What really makes Scarlet Deer Inn stand out is its art (every animation frame is actually a piece of real-world embroidery) and its music, performed on traditional instruments from the Middle Ages.

Proverbs

Proverbs’ developer compares it to both Minesweeper and “digital cross-stitch.” Before you is a massive grid, with numbers scattered around telling you how many light-colored tiles are touching each one. All you need to do is turn every one of the grid’s 54,000 squares light or dark based on that information. Simple! As you do, you’ll uncover a recreation of the 1559 painting Netherlandish Proverbs by Peter Bruegel the Elder. Of course, you’ll only complete a fraction of it in the demo, but I still spent over an hour getting sucked into its captivating puzzle and came away feeling genuinely more at ease than when I began.