Chore Game, but Spooky?
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Honestly, one of the highlights of this NextFest for me. I've long had a dream for a game that blends chore game loops with horror elements. I've specifically wanted something approximating a truck sim where you're encountering weird, unexplainable shit on the road. Cutting grass and gardening works too, though.

Man, this Bookshop is Tiny
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A surprisingly lovely little management game. It's got just enough friction to compel me to think a little critically about my "strategy", while still remaining zen-like and vibey. Really excited to check this one out.

Weird Vibed Walking Sim
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There's not much to be gleaned from this demo save for vibes and aesthetics, both of which are top-notch here. The trailers seem to allude to some real surrealist stuff that I'm very excited to see develop.

iT's LiKe PlAyInG a CaRtOoN!
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The animation is absolutely stellar here, as are a majority of the jokes. I'm worried that it feels a little too railroady as-is, with the humor coming entirely from the jokes they've prepared for you, rather than creating a system for the player to take an active role in said jokes. Would love to be wrong.

Hunted Down by the Shadowy Agency You Used to Work For
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I really disliked how Strange Scaffold's last game, El Paso, Elsewhere played, but enjoyed its story and writing. This seems to have flipped the script, with some pretty miserable writing but decently engaging gameplay. It's not stellar, but the challenge-run concept is always compelling

This One's for Weirdos
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A short and sweet vibe-piece that looks like it's more aimed to set the tone for the full game. Really enjoyed the humor and the style of this, so I'm even more excited for the full release.

Claw Machine Roguelike?
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A huge surprise for me. I had kinda assumed I "got it" when I saw the Steam page and didn't feel particularly compelled to play the demo until I saw a friend playing through it. It's still not particularly robust, but the core loop of clawing and upgrades is an absolute blast. Very excited to see how this grows

Zen-like Gunpla Builder
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The gameplay here is very slight, barely more than a small-scale jigsaw puzzle game, but the aesthetic trappings afforded by the theme do a LOT of heavy lifting to elevate this. It's pretty simplistic, but has just enough fiddly extras to make the whole thing meditatively satisfying. Will almost certainly play this on release.

No-Nonsense Photography Game
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There's nothing really below the surface of this one. You get dropped into gorgeous environments, take some photos, and get out. That's it. Thankfully, those aforementioned gorgeous environments are properly beautiful, so it doesn't really bother me. I don't know if I'll be chomping at the bit to play through the "proper" game, i.e. taking specific photos of specific landmarks, but I'm absolutely interested in wandering around all of the environments when this releases.

Gorgeous Scrap Collector
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Genuinely staggering how well this realizes its aesthetic. The tutorialization lasts a little too long here, but I was mostly fine with overlooking that issue in favor of jumping and climbing around the world. Really excited for the full release just so I can see more of the environments.

First-Person Food Truck Sim
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This one's cute, simple as. There are some mechanical allusions to upgrading and maintaining your truck, which really excites me. Using your fruit salad proceeds to throw some toothy mud-tires on there sounds like a blast. Think Pacific Drive meets Cook, Serve, Delicious

Small-Scale Multi-Story Circuit Racer
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If you've played the game jam version of this game, there isn't a TON that's changed, but the extra time and attention has afforded an even stronger visual style and some examples of interesting course designs that step out from the strictly-parking-garage circuits of the prototype.

Granular Gun Controls, the Game
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This is kind of a weird one - I don't love the combat in this one on-paper, but the reloading and cocking mechanics are sublime, and remind me more than a little of an isometric Receiver. Every exchange of bullets turns into a puzzle on your mouse that is really delightful to dance through.

The Imm-Sim Shooter
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I played a demo of this last year on itch and it's come a LONG way since. Highlight of this is the movement, which is varied and feels pretty good. The level design in the demo absolutely supports a full utilization of the movement system, so I'm really hoping that carries over to the full release.

Gorgeous Mode-7 Style Racer
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Kind of an odd one – Victory Heat Rally is visually stunning with a bopping soundtrack, but the gameplay isn't particularly remarkable. It's a decent mode-7 style racer, and I'm not sure that'll have the legs to see me through. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing the course designs in the full release.

Super Edgelord 64
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I really love the vibes, music, style, and writing on display here. The movement system is fun and fast. The biggest problem? The demo level is just kinda boring. I really hope this comes together for the full release but the demo level really doesn't feel like it takes advantage of its movement system at all.

Drafting Random Puzzle Rooms
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I really loved the look of this trailer in Summer Games Fest - a puzzle-room game where you're drafting rooms? Hell yes! I ended up feeling a little lukewarm on the demo though, with the puzzles included feeling very simplistic, and the room drafting leading to frustration more often than not. I'm still holding out hope, but I'm significantly less excited for it after playing through a few nights.

Yet Another Backrooms Game
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This has a pretty strong visual style to it, thanks to some really convincing subtle filters and camera bob, but I just found it a bit boring - a cardinal sin for spooky games.

Stylish Isometric Action Brawler
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This thing's got a pretty good look to it and the gameplay feels tight, but I feel like a twin-stick game like this has to do a little bit more to wow me at this point, given how accomplished the genre is now.

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It kinda feels like A Short Hike with a surrealist punchline gimmick, but the writing and vibes never lived up to the initial delight of its core visual gag. Admittedly, it's pretty funny watching a house hurtling across the terrain like a horribly awkwardly shaped physics object.

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It's fine. It's fiiine. Maybe I'm not the right market for it, but the demo felt pretty disposable and forgettable, effectively vacuuming up any eagerness I felt to play the full release (coming out in a few weeks).

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I'm a sucker for both rally games and this era of PSX-style racers, but Old School Rally just doesn't come together into a package that's satisfying to control. The menus, tracks, and cars are great and totally evocative of the era, but the handling is neither arcade-y nor simulator-y, leaving the whole thing feeling wholly unremarkable.

Missile Defense 2k24
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This is really neat, and very competently made. It's got an incredibly successful aesthetic that's inherently fun to see more of. The biggest problem? It's just really, really hard. Maybe I'm not enough of a capital-G gamer, but the difficulty is a really big roadblock to me enjoying it, as I'm only ever making it a few waves in before conking out. Easy mode pls?

NBA2K but Retro
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I kinda expected this one to top my charts - I've spent an inordinate amount of time playing through the MyCareer and Franchise modes in the NBA2K games, and this is very clearly drawing heavy inspiration from the mechanics and sensibilities of those games. In practice though, the blend of sim-adjacent elements and arcadey sensibilities leaves it feeling a little awkward.

Clever One-Button Boss Fights
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This one's a weird one. It's well-designed, it's got a good look to it, and it's got a great premise. It doesn't really excite me though, in spite of all of that. I'm sure I'll try it out eventually, but I'm not eagerly anticipating it.

Yet Another Survivors-Like
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Unfortunately, a cute and consistent aesthetic does not elevate an otherwise wholly unremarkable gameplay loop. The level-up perks are boring percentage changes and you're waiting far too long to add meaningful upgrades to your arsenal.

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Definitely shooting for the Wipeout style of racer, but I found the vehicles a touch too easy to control which led to the circuits feeling more than a little boring.

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It's a legally-distinct podracing game with some neat mechanical ideas, but the tutorial left me a little cool on the game. It could be remedied within a few levels but I felt very little compulsion to keep pushing through.

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Maybe this'll come together on release - it's a neat enough idea, but the introduction is agonizingly slow to the point of sending me careening off the edge of interest.

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There aren't a ton of shooters in this Next Fest, so I was excited to give this one a spin. Unfortunately, the gunplay is pretty mediocre and the enemies are uninteresting. Pair those issues with a generic setting and I feel pretty cool on this one.

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A cool art-style and soundtrack cannot save what is an extremely clumsy-feeling take on a Hotline Miami style game.

What the Golf, but Worse!
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Maybe it's harsh, but this was just supremely unexciting to play through. What the Golf felt like a magic trick, but I think the magic of What the Car is inherently spoiled by knowing this studio's shtick. Not a good sign for a "whacky" game to just feel boring.

Hope You Like Gunswitching
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The heavy and constant emphasis on switching weapons just leaves this one feeling like a chore to play through. Combat arenas aren't particularly exciting, either.

It's Just Picross
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Picross and nonogram games are my go-to logic puzzlers, and as such, I'll play almost any of them that come out. This one, however, just looks kinda ugly. It's got the modern quality of life inclusions that you'd expect from a new Picross puzzler, but it's hard to justify dipping into this one when I can just go back and replay one that isn't as visually grating.