Oct 2023 Next Fest
Quick blurbs about all the demos I've been playing during the latest Steam Next Fest. (Adding more as I go)
Ordered based on how likely I am to play/buy the full version, from most to least likely
Not on Backloggd: Microcivilization (6/10 - demo doesn't really give it enough of a chance to shine because the steam screenshots hint at deeper gameplay later on, but you get none of that in the demo, just an (okay) clicker game)
Ordered based on how likely I am to play/buy the full version, from most to least likely
Not on Backloggd: Microcivilization (6/10 - demo doesn't really give it enough of a chance to shine because the steam screenshots hint at deeper gameplay later on, but you get none of that in the demo, just an (okay) clicker game)
14 Games
1
stylized tower-climbing game in which each part of the controller is mapped to climbing functions
i cheated. i played this back in june and it still kicks ass. more free climbing games please
i cheated. i played this back in june and it still kicks ass. more free climbing games please
cute little game that focuses on gardening and creating little tiny habitats instead of farming massive plots of land to sell crops. i really like the idea of creating a small but dense ecosystem in a game like this. like terra nil (in that it's about reclaiming ecosystems from dry wasteland) but smaller, more intimate.
whole thing can be played with just a mouse too
whole thing can be played with just a mouse too
not necessarily a gridless city builder, but one where the roads don't snap to certain angles
i am VERY interested in the full game here. small patches of land and no true grid system means that your city is actually negotiating with the landscape around it. while citizens basically operate like cars, the fact that you can watch your woodcutters chop down individual trees lends your city credibility as a "real" place. probably not the most mindblowing city builder out there but i have a reputation to uphold
i am VERY interested in the full game here. small patches of land and no true grid system means that your city is actually negotiating with the landscape around it. while citizens basically operate like cars, the fact that you can watch your woodcutters chop down individual trees lends your city credibility as a "real" place. probably not the most mindblowing city builder out there but i have a reputation to uphold
4
walking adventure game in which you play a painter collecting ideas and colors from an (initially) colorless neighborhood
1. I think you could do a lot more with the painting system to allow for player creativity, BUT
2. Does an excellent job of portraying the artist as someone who is in conversation with the world around them - you walk around and literally infuse objects with color. In exchange you get to use them as a reference object in your paintings - discover new things and take inspiration with you back to the easel.
Walking into a new place and seeing a tool shed or a craftsperson at work feels like running into a treasure trove with all the new objects you can find.
1. I think you could do a lot more with the painting system to allow for player creativity, BUT
2. Does an excellent job of portraying the artist as someone who is in conversation with the world around them - you walk around and literally infuse objects with color. In exchange you get to use them as a reference object in your paintings - discover new things and take inspiration with you back to the easel.
Walking into a new place and seeing a tool shed or a craftsperson at work feels like running into a treasure trove with all the new objects you can find.
vampire survivors with deep rock galactic missions
fumbles super hard by organizing your upgrades into rarities (stop doing this!) but is otherwise a relatively interesting translation of the deep rock galactic formula to a survivors-style game - "relatively" being the important word here
fumbles super hard by organizing your upgrades into rarities (stop doing this!) but is otherwise a relatively interesting translation of the deep rock galactic formula to a survivors-style game - "relatively" being the important word here
roguelike tower-defense (-lite) city builder
Going to be very off-putting if you're annoyed by meta-progression that makes the first few runs unwinnable - you definitely make progress in your first few "runs" (you build a city while your military units passively play tower defense) but it's hard not to feel like you're wasting your time on runs that won't go anywhere.
Going to be very off-putting if you're annoyed by meta-progression that makes the first few runs unwinnable - you definitely make progress in your first few "runs" (you build a city while your military units passively play tower defense) but it's hard not to feel like you're wasting your time on runs that won't go anywhere.
7
More enjoyable than Eternal Return (the other MOBA Battle Royale) but very dry in its current state. The characters are fun but it's just missing something to hook me. Doesn't help that looting can be really difficult
indie imsim in cyberpunk alt-history poland
Difficult to gauge - gets the environment right, but the odd controls and clunky animations that exist right now are a bit off-putting. I know other games are cited as influences in the game's description but I felt like I was playing E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy more than anything else
Difficult to gauge - gets the environment right, but the odd controls and clunky animations that exist right now are a bit off-putting. I know other games are cited as influences in the game's description but I felt like I was playing E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy more than anything else
9
"Tower defense FPS" isn't really a new concept but this is probably the best any of them have actually felt when it comes to actually building and shooting things. I'm not the type of person to go crazy for this kind of game but if a friend bought it, I'd absolutely play the co-op.
10
the tony hawk games, but with a unicycle
love the style and the concept but hooo boy do the controls need some work. some really strange decisions have been made in that department
love the style and the concept but hooo boy do the controls need some work. some really strange decisions have been made in that department
vampire survivors but from the developers of despotism 3k
Probably the most unique set of weapons out of any survivors-style game i've played but it's not enough to make me sink more time into this format
Probably the most unique set of weapons out of any survivors-style game i've played but it's not enough to make me sink more time into this format
another post-apoc colony sim
Not a bad product but it's a little too early for a demo, I think. Real work is needed, esp on tutorialization.
Not a bad product but it's a little too early for a demo, I think. Real work is needed, esp on tutorialization.
a farming sim that takes place on a tiny grid with a LOT of micromanagement
Not really simple enough for me to stick around to see if it's improved by automation, not detailed enough that I feel engaged in the learning process. Plays more like a idle/clicker game in its earliest moments. I understand the vision, but it's not grabbing me.
Not really simple enough for me to stick around to see if it's improved by automation, not detailed enough that I feel engaged in the learning process. Plays more like a idle/clicker game in its earliest moments. I understand the vision, but it's not grabbing me.
cowboy life sim? hard to pin down.
No serious strikes against this thing, although I don't think the open world is doing it any favors at this stage. Could really stand to be punched up by a writer. Hard to muster up anything really meaningful to say at this time.
I'm really eager to see what this becomes, because I think this - at the time of this writing - is the most difficult entry on the list when it comes to predicting its future success.
No serious strikes against this thing, although I don't think the open world is doing it any favors at this stage. Could really stand to be punched up by a writer. Hard to muster up anything really meaningful to say at this time.
I'm really eager to see what this becomes, because I think this - at the time of this writing - is the most difficult entry on the list when it comes to predicting its future success.
jobosno
6 months ago