Y’all, this Steam Next Fest was packed with some really solid games. I had the chance to play 16 different demos, some games that I’ve been excited about, and some that I just happened to see and want to play. This is gonna be a long one, let’s get into it! These games are going to be shared in a random order, the goal is to just share info and my experience with them (although I definitely had some favorites). Grab some snacks and your Steam wishlist and let's get into it!
Panik
Okay, so I know I said this list is in a random order, but Panik was definitely my favorite demo from June’s Steam Next Fest. It’s a game that I downloaded by chance, before this, I hadn’t really heard much about the game. (It was featured in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase this year! I just missed it at the time). Panik is a strategy puzzle game where you’re trying to cover all the goal spots with lil homies called Panikers. Panikers will often have different rules that change how they interact with a level. There are crowned Panikers that can typically move whenever they want. But there are also special Panikers who have different movement rules that really change how you get to a solution in the game.
The writing is clever and frequently made me chuckle as I got through the different levels. My personal favorite was a level called “IDK” and the dev made a joke about how it’s hard to write level titles that fit the theme of the level. It’s charming and I’m really excited for the full game when it drops.
You can wishlist Panik here (and you should. It’s a great game): https://store.steampowered.com/app/2749610/PANIK/
Beacon Patrol
I’ve talked about it a little bit in newsletters before (if you’re not signed up for it, you should be! You can join the newsletter here: http://pizzayetimakes.kit.com), but I’ve really come to love board games in the last couple of years. This means that I have a few too many shelves full of board games in my apartment if I’m honest lol. Beacon Patrol is a board game that I’ve been looking forward to checking out for a while, so I was really excited to see that they’re going to be releasing a digital version on Steam! They had a demo up for Next Fest, so you know I had to check it out. Beacon Patrol is a cooperative game where you are trying to explore as much of the ocean as possible. It’s very similar to the game Dorfromantik (another video and board game I really recommend). A tile is considered “explored” when it’s surrounded by other tiles on all four sides of the square, imagine it looking like a + sign. In the demo, you can only play through the single-player mode, but I had a lot of fun on stream figuring out where I could place down tiles and almost trapping myself in lil alcoves a couple of times since my boat can only travel over water and I was surrounded by land tiles. It’s a great way to spend a couple of hours and I’m really excited for it to come out so I can play it with friends!
You can wishlist Beacon Patrol here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2273850/Beacon_Patrol/
Elementallis
This is a game that I had the chance to back on Kickstarter nearly 4 years ago, so it’s really cool seeing it closer to release! Elementallis is a Zelda-like with the addition of elemental magic that your character will get to learn throughout the game. The demo takes you through the story setup and into the first dungeon of the game. While the game does look like it’s going to be fun, the intro took a while to get through and I felt like I didn’t get a great feel for what the gameplay is going to be. I got my trusted sword and lil elemental buddy to travel with me and we made it into the first dungeon area of the game, but that took about an hour and a half. For the full game, that feels pretty similar to how long some Zelda games can take before you get into the rhythm of things, but for the demo, it felt like it took a little too long to get to the parts of the game that I was really looking forward to. I’m still excited about Elementallis, but I feel like this demo fell a little short for me.
You can learn more about the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1304280/Elementallis/
Hirogami
I don’t know how I didn’t know anything about Hirogami sooner. I’ve been a huge fan of the origami/paper art style of games for a long time (fun fact, there’s an easter egg in the game Lifeslide that’s based on me because of how much I loved that game when it came out). The style offers so many cool ways for developers to interact with the world and it’s here that Hirogami really shines! In this game, you play as Hiro, a warrior who is trying to save their land from the digital invaders who are threatening to consume it. In the demo, I got to learn how to fold myself into an armadillo in order to solve some puzzles and fight the boss at the end of the level. There’s a solid mix of combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving in this game that makes me really excited for the full version! One of my favorite parts was learning that I could completely flatten out Hiro into a sheet of paper in order to glide on wind blasts. It was so cool! I’ll definitely be checking this game out when it drops.
You should wishlist Hirogami here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3135840/Hirogami/
Everdeep Aurora
One of the first consoles I ever owned was my GameBoy Color. I loved that thing, I have great memories of playing Pokemon and the Mary Kate and Ashley games in particular. So when I saw the vibe of Everdeep Aurora, I was immediately intrigued. It looks like you’re playing a game made for the GameBoy Color! It’s an adventure game where you play as a lil cat named Shell who’s just trying to find her way to her mom. There are cute outfit changes that you can find and I’m very curious to get some more time with the drill that Shell carries with her. The demo introduces you to some of the supporting cast and the writing was charming and made me more excited to meet other characters as Shell explores the world. It’s heavy on the puzzle and exploration side of things, which makes it a great option for folk who love this style of game but want less of a combat focus!
You can add the game to your wishlist here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2251400/Everdeep_Aurora/
Gecko Gods
Yall, I have been excited for Gecko Gods since the game was announced. I love geckos, they’re so cute! In this game, you play as a lil gecko who is trying to revive the old gods and restore the world they live in. It’s mainly a puzzle and exploration game. To be honest with yall, my favorite part was that they actually let you climb wherever you want because you’re playing a gecko and those lil homies can basically defy gravity when climbing. It really opens up the world when you’re playing from the perspective of something so little! They really paid attention to the sound design for this game, so you get different pitter-pats as the gecko walks over different types of materials and that was super cute. I’m very excited to play this game when it fully releases, can’t wait to have more gecko adventures.
You should wishlist Gecko Gods here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1290760/Gecko_Gods/
Shrine’s Legacy
I also got to back this game on Kickstarter a while ago (I love a Zelda-like, yall. It might be my favorite genre of game). Shrine’s Legacy is a co-op game where you and one other friend can work together to restore the elemental power to Shrine’s Sword and save the land from the villain. This game gets you into the action quicker than Elementallis did. I like the mechanics of the game, it's cool swapping between elements to fight enemies and seeing how they implemented some puzzles that require you to use different elements to progress. The writing wasn’t my favorite, there were a couple of moments where I felt like they were going for some shock value in the ways that the characters communicated. But I could see myself spending some time in this game to see how the story ends. A content warning around it is that the developers describe the game as being about loss at its core. All of the characters that you meet, including the main characters, have either lost someone or will lose someone over the course of the game. So keep that in mind if you pick the game up! I’m curious to see how they handle that as a topic for sure.
You can learn more about the game here:
Discounty
Apart from Moonlighter 2 (which I didn’t get to play cause the demo refused to work for me), Discounty was the demo I was looking forward to the most. I’ve been following this game since it was announced and I was really excited to get a better look into what to expect for this game. The demo was a good indicator of what to expect from the game in that it’s very easy to miss what’s happening in the background. I completed the first few days of running my shop and it was a fairly standard shop sim, minus whatever is happening with Grace being kinda locked in the back storage closet, I’m sure Aunt Teller had a good reason for that? I wasn’t expecting the math portion of it, so that will take some getting used to and I’m glad it’s not super intense or else the game might not be for me. But there’s another layer in the demo outside of the first to-do list that you’re given and it starts to add some mystery and strangeness to the town where your Discounty story is. I’m pretty sure that Aunt Teller is the villain, if I’m honest, but I guess we’ll be able to figure that out when the game fully releases!
You can wishlist the game here:
Forgotten Fragments
Puzzle platforms have become a mainstay for me. It’s so satisfying to figure out the right sequence that you need to follow to complete a level. Forgotten Fragments fits right in with what I’m typically looking for in a game, but also adds the option to play cooperatively with one other person! In this game, you’re tasked with finding fragments scattered throughout the world in order to rebuild your memory and figure out how you got here. The main goal in each stage is to get all of the orbs into the receptacles, and it gets complicated quickly. There are 2 campaigns that you can play through, one in solo mode and one in the coop mode. The game does a decent job of letting the player learn the rules of the world without being too heavy-handed about it. One of the most satisfying moments during the demo was when I learned that I could jump on a box as it was falling to get across larger distances. I had a lot of fun trying to puzzle out what each level wanted from me and it’s got me really excited for the full release!
You should wishlist Forgotten Fragments here:
Mudborne
Fun fact! I learned while playing this that the idea for this game came out of a previous Fletch Fest (if you’re not familiar with it, I wrote about my experience with Fletch Fest in April’s newsletter. You can read it here: https://pizzayetimakes.kit.com/posts/taking-it-slow-april-2025). In this management sim, you’re tasked with saving the frog population from extinction. It’s by the team that made Apico and I can definitely see the resemblance in how the game plays. Your frog gets to explore the world, find new frogs, bugs, plants, mushrooms, and more as you work to create new frog species and quality environments for them to live in. There’s a ton that you keep track of in this game, but there’s a really helpful guidebook for you to refer to if you’re ever not sure on what you should do next. If you’re a fan of management sims and frogs, I’d highly recommend this game. I’m excited to see the kind of worlds that folk create.
You can find and wishlist Mudborne here:
Oscuro: Blossom’s Glow
I picked up Oscuro solely because I loved the art style, if I’m honest with yall. I loved how gentle the art felt. I was also interested in the ways that the character interacted with the world in the trailer, taking light from different plants in order to solve puzzles or change the world to progress. I’m happy that I picked this up. There were parts of it that reminded me of the melancholy nature of Ori. In the opening scenes, a creature steals the light from the main character and the journey you go on is to recover what’s been stolen. I really enjoyed what they had in the demo, it felt like it introduced enough of the gameplay and the puzzle styles that I would encounter in the game. I’m very excited to see what the full story of the game will be when it comes out!
You can add the game to your wishlist here:
Let’s Build a Dungeon
I played this demo on a whim during stream because I had more time than I thought I would to check games out. It’s been out for a little bit but recently got another update. The demo takes you through the initial stages of setting up your own MMO in-game. You design the world, the dungeons, the village layout, and even the quests that you want players to have access to. It’s kind of wild how much they packed into this game. They even added in some extra story beats that take you out of the design stage where you have to check reviews, (unfortunately) talk to the guy who’s bankrolling your game, and also do things like respond to fans who have opinions on how your game should develop. What was really cool about the demo was that the Twitch integration actually worked. When you have it enabled, chat members can join the MMO and run around (my chat was dying kinda often in the game, tbh. Hate to see it). They can also vote on responses that you have in certain conversations. What I appreciated was the fact that you could enable or disable certain parts of the integration to customize how much power you wanted to give chat. I’m curious about this game, even if it’s not one that I think I would return to. I have a hard time focusing on management sim games. But I think, once you get your MMO up and running, this could be a great stream tool for folk who do coworking streams because chat can run around and cause chaos in the game while you’re working on things!
You can check out Let’s Build a Dungeon here:
Under the Island
I’ve been excited about this game since I saw it on Bluesky a couple of months ago. It’s another Zelda-like to add to our list. This time, the mood is a little lighter (kind of, the island might be sinking into the ocean, but it’s fineee). You play as a teen who’s been forced to move to a small island as her parents do some archaeology work to learn more about the island and its history. Nia, upon arriving at the island, immediately touches something she shouldn’t and she falls into a previously undiscovered tunnel in the island where she’s given the quest that defines the game. She’s asked to find 4 ancient gears that are needed to keep the island from sinking into the ocean. There’s a good lesson to be learned here about not touching stuff that you don’t know anything about, especially if you’re new to the area and a local tells you to leave the town shrine alone. The demo was fun and gave me a good look into what to expect in the game. I’m even more excited for it when it comes out!
You can add the game to your wishlist here:
Undusted
I have a habit of playing games that turn out to be sad on stream lol. Undusted would definitely fall into this category. It’s a game where you are focused on cleaning objects to help the main character remember both the good and hard memories of their childhood. Undusted also is about grief and how people work through it in different ways. The demo takes you through a few chapters of the story to help you understand what’s happened with the main family in the game and how the daughter is trying to reconcile with being back in her childhood home after many years. You clean several small objects that were significant to either her or one of her parents. It has such a somber tone that I think they did a great job capturing it. I appreciated that you didn’t have to be a perfectionist, once you hit 99% clean on an object, you could progress in the story. For games like this, I appreciate the focus being on the story they want to tell and not on finding that last lil speck of dust on the pocket watch you want to clean. I think I’ll have to hold off on getting this game for now, my heart can’t currently take the story that it wants to tell, but I’m excited to revisit it again in the future.
You can find Undusted here:
Windswept
After my adventures with Celeste, I found that I really enjoyed platformers. I had played some Mario games in the past but, don’t judge me, we all like different games, I really only had fun playing them when I would play with my sister or family. So when I saw Windswept (and how cute it was) I knew I wanted to check it out! In Windswept you shift between playing as a turtle or a duck as you traverse the world. Yall. This game is hard lol. I think my most common repeated phrase when playing it was, “Dang, I’m so bad at this game.” There are a lot of different mechanics in it that I felt like I didn’t spend enough time learning when I was getting started with it (tbh, that’s on me but sometimes I’m impatient). The levels definitely want you to take advantage of all the movement mechanics that it has and I definitely was slow to pick up on the learning curve for this game. But I really enjoyed what I got to play! There are boss fights, bonus levels, and autoscrollers as you move through the world. The music and art style were really charming and I’m excited to check this game out again in the future, maybe next time I’ll spend more time learning about things before rushing to the next part of the level, I don’t make any promises though. :)
You should wishlist Windswept here:
Tangle Tower
Duck Detective was my introduction to games in this genre of detective game. I wasn’t very familiar with the series ahead of picking this demo up, but as I started playing it, the homie Wulftrax (you should follow him if you don’t already) let me know that it’s one of his favorite series. So I knew I was in for a great time! Similar to other point-and-click detective games, you’re tasked with exploring the environment to collect clues to help solve a mystery. In this one, a young girl was murdered and you’re at the Tower to figure out who did it and why. I feel like this demo could have given me a little more insight into the different parts of the game, but the writing was funny and the story seems like it will be good. This game is already out, so I’d recommend checking it out when you have time. It’s one that I’ll be excited to revisit once I have some more time!
You can add the game to your wishlist here:
Alright yall, that's all the demos I checked out for the June 2025 Steam Next Fest! Did I play any that you were really interested in? Did I miss any you think I should check out? Let me know.
You can also check out all of the streams from Next Fest on my VODS YouTube channel!
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
June 2025 Steam Next Fest Recap
Yall, why did I think playing 15 demos was a good idea for this Next Fest? (It was a good idea, but this recap took so long to write lol)