Steam Next Fest 2025
For the first time, I dug in deep. I played over 20 demos and here are my thoughts!
Riddlewood Manor 🏆
Horror point-and-click adventure. This game is brilliant and I have zero critiques. The artstyle and setting remind my of an old Scooby Doo flash game I would play as a kid. I can’t believe how much content they packed into this demo. I am having a blast and can’t put it down. The horror elements add atmosphere and texture to the world, and the puzzles and interactions make you feel clever while not being too difficult. The mini-games are always a surprise and a delight, I can’t help but smile!
Recommendation: Wishlist!
The Seance of Blake Manor
Also a point-and-click horror adventure. Very different but complementary ways to Riddlewood Manor. In Riddlewood Manor, you are solving puzzles in a step-by-step manner. You enter a new space, that space is mostly closed off and you put the pieces together to progress. It feels immersive and thriller-esque. The Seance of Blake Manor is methodical. You can tell immediately that you are in it for the long haul. The systems for evidence collection and inference are deep, and clues from your first arrival stay relevant as the mystery unfolds. The visual design of the clue system is something to behold. The art style and voice acting are excellent. There were a few times where the voice acting cut out or certain items were difficult to select, but otherwise this is an outstanding point-and-click game. My only worry is that with “Detective Vision” - the obligatory Batman Arkam Asylum clue highlighter - and some automated inference-ing can make it feel a little hand-holdy. Which, I may eat my words as the game progresses and the amount of evidence becomes unwieldy. A special shout-out to the dialogue animations!
Recommendation: Wishlist!
Service with a Shotgun
I adore this game. You run a bodega during the zombie apocalypse and you have to manage both entertaining customers and warding off zombie attacks on your store. You do this by swinging your cursor to the side of the screen to switch between the bodega and the alleyway. What keeps the gameplay in check are the periodic memory quizzes by customers that come through. You get a monetary reward for remembering context about customers and which day certain events happen, so you can’t just spam through dialogue. The cast of characters, and writing, is excellent. It’s humorous and bombastic. You flip from screen to screen blasting zombies and selling acid-rain umbrellas, this game rules.
Recommendation: Wishlist!
Hoomanz!
A casual, cute stealth game. Artwork is very cute and disarming, which makes experimenting with the stealth mechanics very approachable and humorous. Not quite puzzle-y, which I appreciate. It feels more akin to an immersive sim, in that once you play a proper level you are in a sandbox and can take out enemies in a variety of ways. I appreciate that to pass a level is not to 100% it, so I just played until I got bored and moved on.
Recommendation: Wishlist!
Goka Street
3-person free-for-all soccer with one goal. You score, you become the goalie. Characters and art are unique and fun. The rag-doll like physics for the goalie was pretty difficult to be precise on controller, and very easy with mouse. Conceptually the game seems very fun, but limited if it’s the only game mode. The customization/battle pass interlude was very annoying for a demo.
Recommendation: Not for me.
Dobbel Dungeon
Tactics game. Small party focus with fantasy specializations with skill trees. The dice mechanic with light randomization reminds me of Citizen Sleeper, and I really enjoyed it. I couldn’t help but feel the DnD influence, and really appreciated it all the way through the hour I played the demo. The interface is pleasant, the dice make each action very clear throughout your turn, and I like the flexibility around movement around the grid. Played an hour and enjoyed it!
Recommendation: Wishlist!
Frontline Command
Tactics, roguelike, auto-battler. Place your soldiers on the grid, and let the battle play out in front of your eyes. Cute art style, but nothing crazy. I’ve never(?) played an autobattler, so this is novel for me. Rounds go pretty quick and are fun to watch. Rewards are interesting and get that rogue-like buzz going. The camera panning is really fun and adds to the drama, but not overly serious. This game has me hooked! I finally get the roguelike feeling! Even in just two runs I made huge improvements. AI can be unpredictable leading to wins you should’ve lost and vice-verse, but so much fun!
Recommendation: Wishlist!
Earth vs Mars
A poppy tactics game that is paired down, comic-y XCOM. Full voice acting and a vibrant, comic-book like visual aesthetic is novel. Instead of one-on-one battles, instead your characters represent small platoons of troops. Your damage scales with the health of your troops, making base capture mechanics (to heal) and attacking first really important. Each battle has a video simulation for flavor, but it can be skipped. My favorite part was the diversity of game modes. My only real critique of XCOM is that while procedurally generated levels are always something new, it isn’t the same as full new game modes. The spliced character mechanic reminds me of the LoTR RTS special character summons (like Gandalf). You get one special character with a curated moveset. Very fun and goofy.
Recommendation: Wishlist!
Opus Prism Peak
A Studio Ghibli-esque narrative adventure in which you take your camera across rural Japan to return a lost girl to her home. Along the way you meet spirits that help you find your way back. The intro sequence and voice acting were authentically moving. It created a solid setup that ultimately failed the gameplay demo portion. The walking mechanics were okay, and the camera interactions were passable, but I couldn’t progress because of in-game menuing not working. Where the demo takes off seems to be partway through the game(?), which is off decision. I didn’t meet the characters and they reference narrative beats I didn’t experience. I see a lot of promise for a game that tests the question of why we are here and what we do in the face of failure and change. But, the game has to work, so here’s to hoping.
Recommendation: If it works, I’m playing it.
Everything else.
I didn’t like these, either due to the game type or because of technical issues.
- Seedrun
- Dungeon Forge
- Tears of Metal
- Thief’s Adventure
- Sea, Sun & Salt
- Super Chillers the Chat Room
- Guild of Hunters
- The Legend of Khiimori