Demo round-up for Steam Next Fest
Summer is here for many of us, which means the days are gloriously long, the sun is shining, and it's safer outside than in. But we can't stay out in the searing UV rays forever, so when it's time to head indoors, there's plenty to keep us busy adventuring virtually this week. That's because the Steam Next Fest has arrived, and with it a plethora of promising new demos to check out. Many of them will disappear once the festival ends on June 22nd, so don't delay! (Note: new games may be added as more demos become available, so be sure to check back later to keep up to speed.)
The Big Con
Hustle through the 90s in The Big Con, an adventure game where you’re an awkward teen hustling to save her family video store from gangsters. Play as Ali, a high school junior gone AWOL from band camp to seek revenge on the loan sharks that threaten her mom’s video store. (Fighting with your mom is YOUR job. No one else gets to do that.) Maybe you’ll profit from the latest collectible plushie craze, and make an interesting friend or two along the way.
Blue June
A young girl is tormented by terrifying nightmares, slowly pulling her into the past. Before long, the real world begins to feel strangely foreign. The colors, sounds, and smells are no longer the same. With every passing day, the dream world seeps into the real one, and soon she might not be able to tell the difference…
BROK the InvestiGator (Prologue)
In a futuristic "light cyberpunk" world where animals have replaced humans, privileged citizens live under a dome safe from the ambient pollution while others struggle to make a living outside of its protection. Brok, private detective and former boxer, lives with Graff, the son of his deceased wife. Although he could never elucidate the nature behind her accident, recent events may shed some light on an even more tragic outcome... one that may be linked to their own existence. Will they be able to withstand the threats of this corrupted world and face their own destiny?
Catie in MeowmeowLand
As Catie follows a strange White Cat in her garden, she suddenly finds herself in the mysterious world of MeowmeowLand, where she has to undertake a journey to find her way back home.
Chasing Static
In the dead of night, a fierce storm rages across North Wales. Miles from any town, Chris Selwood seeks refuge in a remote roadside cafe. After a brief moment of respite, Chris finds himself venturing into the woods blindly following the distressed screams of the cafe waitress. Explore the untouched wilderness of rural Wales while using an experimental Shortwave Displacement Monitoring Device to uncover the forgotten remains of a government cover-up where a mysterious phenomenon caused time to stand still.
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View
When eight-year-old Charlotte May is reported missing from Dahlia View, retired detective Robert Conway searches for answers, observing his neighbours from his apartment window and questioning their behaviour. As suspicions escalate, Conway launches his own investigation into the girl’s disappearance, following leads, uncovering new evidence and piecing the case together on an unpredictable path to the truth.
Deathtrap Dungeon: The Golden Room
As the Brave Adventurer facing many foes, you must tread carefully on your quest through to the Golden Room. Face the Trial-Master of the Dungeon Vhaidra and her tricks and traps as she tests your skill. Beware of the Bloodbeast lurking behind any door. Decide wisely, or find yourself in a Deathtrap. Based on Ian Livingstone’s multi-million selling classic gamebook.
EBE
On a planet in the Lyra constellation, the player takes the role of a small extraterrestrial biological entity (EBE), who recovers a strange micro-device from a humanoid alien lying dead in his crashed flying saucer. Using this device, you will be able to connect to an alien network, solve puzzles, see distant locations (some of them on Earth), and bring various entities back to life to contact the player himself.
Extra Coin
2066, city of Hangzhou – Mika Wattson, left alone in the world after the death of her grandfather, decides to register at The Arcade, the hated social network that ripped her parents away from her. After having joined the Extra Coin program, they both permanently connected to the virtual world, abandoning their earthly existences. Mika unwittingly discovers that the medallion given to her by her grandfather before his death has the power to reveal the identity of users in The Arcade, violating one of the three rules of the social network but bringing obscure secrets to light.
The Gap
The year is 2045. Dizzily, you wake up, lying on the floor of a disheveled apartment. Who are you? What and where is this place? Is there anybody around? All that is left of recent human contact are confusing messages written across the apartment. The reddish light of a setting sun makes up an eerie atmosphere. You may try to escape, but the entrance is locked. Feeling like you could black out anytime soon, you decide to explore the apartment. Certain documents you come across offer you a glimpse into your ostensible past as Joshua Hayes, a neuroscientist who’s made some questionable life choices. Inevitably, your mission becomes piecing together the missing fragments of your past, solving the mystery of your and your family’s affliction.
The Gecko Gods
Explore a mysterious island as a tiny lizard. Complete ancient puzzles, effortlessly climb cliffs and eat bugs as you make your way across a civilization lost to time.
Inua – A Story in Ice and Time
Ten thousand years ago lived Nanurluk, the great polar bear. One day, driven by ambition and the desire to prove their superiority, three humans decided to attack her. After a long and dire hunt, they killed her, disrupting the balance between nature and mankind. Now, you will embody the spirit of Nanurluk in her quest to restore the natural cycle of the world. Influence Taïna, Peter and Simon, three characters separated by more than a century but whose destinies are mysteriously intertwined.
Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack
Bumming out at work, missing his ex-girlfriend Julia, something strange is going to happen to Justin… he is about to switch places in time with a caveman. Meanwhile, Julia has moved on with her life and agents from the future have gotten wind of unauthorized time traveling.
Keyword
Become an investigator in Keyword, a narrative thriller where you’ll depend on skills of logical deduction, hacking, and social engineering to solve challenging puzzles. Play as Guo, a father with a complex past, who must use all the tools at his disposal to find his missing daughter, Sala. Overcome problems as you would in real life, and get lost in time loops as you discover whether your past is all an illusion or if it really is as you remember. Can all be forgiven? Is redemption possible? Or is there truly no way out?
Kraken Academy!!
You’re the new kid at school who gets time travel powers from a magical kraken. Figure out the routines of the other characters to find a way to change their fate in this Groundhog Day-like comedy adventure. Make friends and go on dates with your fellow students, customize your room with a range of luxury furniture, play in a band and go to a costume party. Uncover the dark mysteries of the school and try to prevent the impending doom descending upon Kraken Academy.
Lake
It’s been seventeen years since Meredith Weiss left her quiet lake town in Oregon, USA. Sudden and unforeseen circumstances have forced her to come back from the big city and take up a job as a mail carrier. On her mail route, she runs into many of the townsfolk. Some are new, others are part of her long-forgotten past. Why did she come back? And will she stay?
The Last Cube
Venture through six unique areas of the cube-world and overcome three-dimensional brain-teasers in this puzzle adventure game. You, the Last Cube, were awakened for a purpose—save this peculiar world from collapsing by solving puzzle tracks left by your ancestors.
Letters – a written adventure
Letters begins in 1998 as Sarah, an eleven-year-old girl from Switzerland, writes the first letter to Katya, her new pen pal from Russia. Through letters and online messengers, they continue to stay in touch over many years. They become good friends and share their dreams, worries and everyday life with each other. Sarah’s story is relatable and still one of a kind. Especially because you get to choose how it plays out. You take on the role of a tiny Sarah, moving through letters and messages.
Lost at Sea
What are the most important moments in your life? Lost at Sea is a game about life. It’s about the journey we all take and the monster we all face. On a beautiful island, you will fight death and fear to remember the moments that connect us all and make life worth living for every one of us.
Mohism: Battle of Words
Set in the Wuxia world of martial arts heroes, Mohism is a detective game where players make choices and use their wisdom to defeat opponents. From collecting clues to interrogating suspects, players must use the tools at their disposal to investigate crimes.
Murder Mystery Machine
Welcome to the District Crime Agency (DCA). It’s the first day for rookie Detective Cassandra ‘CC’ Clarke in a new department with her hard-boiled partner Nate. When local governor Frank Reynolds is murdered in what looks like a botched robbery, it soon entwines the two into an interconnected series of crimes that’s anything but an open-and-shut case. You’ll be thrown into the mindset of a detective, where you will sort through a complex web of suspects and motives that thrusts you in between the line of what’s right and wrong. It’s easy to find the clues but only a true detective can piece them together.
Nascence
Nascence tells the story of Thomas, an ex-photographer from London who goes to Reluné, an abandoned tourist town in Italy. He carries out a secret mission: eradicating the centuries-old cult of a goddess that has ruled the land since ancient times. The game is set in the same universe as Anna and will be part of the trilogy of “Anna’s Songs.”
Night Book
Enter the world of the occult in this psychological thriller starring Loralyn, a pregnant woman who finds herself in danger after accidentally summoning a demon into her home. After being tricked into reading an ancient text unleashing an untold evil, Loralyn must ask herself: who is she prepared to sacrifice to survive?
The Night is Grey
Graham is alone in a forest filled with strange wolves. While he’s fleeing for his life, he finds a lost girl in an abandoned lodge who won’t survive without his help. But watch out: not everything is what it seems in this cinematic point-and-click thriller, featuring hand-drawn animated characters, fully animated backgrounds and an original studio-recorded music score.
NORCO
A post-noir point-and-click exploration of the industrial swamplands and decaying suburbs of South Louisiana. You return to your hometown to settle your dead mother’s estate only to discover that your brother has gone missing. Accompanied by a fugitive security cyborg that your mother harbored for almost a decade, you must venture into a conspiratorial underworld hidden throughout the swamps, refineries, and abandoned strip malls of suburban New Orleans to decipher the strange clues that point to your brother’s whereabouts.
Omno
Omno is a single-player adventure that will take you through lush forests, across a sun-blasted desert, over a frigid tundra, and even to the clouds with the power of a lost civilisation. On the way you will meet strange creatures, encounter many surprises and maybe make a friend.
Outsider: After Life
Humanity disappeared centuries ago. The Escape Initiative—our last-ditch chance to survive—has failed. But among the ruins of a mysterious science complex, an accident restores power to a unique android who might be the only one who can save the universe.
Path of Kami: Prologue
Inspired by Japanese folktales, Path of Kami is a relaxing puzzle exploration game following the spirit of a recently deceased Japanese wolf named Kazeyo as he navigates the trials of the Mortal and Spirit World through puzzles. He is accompanied by a wisp companion who is there to guide him on his journey.
The Plane Effect
You are Solo, a lonely office worker on your final day at the office and it is time to return to your beautiful family. You do have a family, don't you? You think you do. You remember having a wife and child... you're sure of it. Toying with your grip of reality and distorting the balance of time and space, you will battle adversity as you traverse the abstruse and deeply aesthetic world of The Plane Effect.
Psych
You are a murderer. You, Alexander Green, are a goddamn murderer. How could you do this to your poor little sister? Now you’re finally out of the asylum, and what have you learned from it? Not a damn thing! That your guilt is chasing you into your dreams is something you deserve. You shouldn’t even be alive. Your little sister should be the one who survives the accident, not you. Look at you, a hopeless man, wandering the streets, without any sense of life. What do you want to do now? Do you want to run away or face your own enemy, yourself?
The Rewinder
Step into the role of the titular “Rewinder” Qi Yun, who has the ability to communicate with spirits and explore other people’s memories to alter the past. Tasked by the guards of the underworld, Qi Yun sets out to investigate a peculiar case of disappearances and deaths in a small village. As the investigation progresses, you will get to travel in time, meet mythological creatures, and shed light on the truth behind a story shrouded in mystery.
The Rocket Stop Incident
You have just begun working the night shift at a local Rocket Stop gas station. It’s your job to keep the floors clean, check on the gas pumps, and drink lots of coffee. But this mundane night of work quickly becomes much stranger. Somebody is watching you, and your grasp on reality is shaken. Descend into mysterious and terrifying places to uncover a dark history and a more cryptic plot just beginning to unfold.
Sable
Join Sable on her gliding, a rite of passage that will take her across vast deserts, through landscapes littered with fallen spaceships. Explore the desert at your own pace on your hoverbike, scale monumental ruins and encounter other nomads in the wilds whilst unearthing mysteries long forgotten.
The Season of the Warlock
Lord Alistair Ainsworth is at the University of Edgestow giving a lecture on the enigmatic Waldemar the Warlock, who is said to have reigned with an iron fist and through the use of dark magics in the remote region of Groldavia. But his research is little more than an absurdity in the eyes of scholars, for there is no proof of even the existence of the warlock. Lord Alistair, frustrated, decides he should look for it personally in Groldavia. There he will find an imposing portrait of the warlock, which appears to be the receptacle of Waldemar´s errant soul ‒ a soul that is still yearning to carry out its grisly vengeance and presents Lord Alistair with an offer he will not be able to resist… Or will he?
The Secret of Retropolis
Mankind has long since disappeared. All that’s left in the city of Retropolis is a civilization of robots who were left behind to keep the human past alive. You are Philip Log, an ex-cop and a somewhat functioning alcoholic robot. Your new case is to get back a precious gem stolen from a famous robotic movie star, Jenny Montage, by her husband. It sounds straightforward enough, but very soon Philip will find himself uncovering the secrets behind a conspiracy that puts the very fate of Retropolis in jeopardy.
Syberia: The World Before
Vaghen, 1937: Dana Roze is a 17-year-old girl who is beginning a brilliant career as a pianist. However, shadows begin to appear over her future as the fascist threat of the Brown Shadow hangs over Europe at the dawn of the Second World War… Taiga, 2004: Kate Walker survives as best she can in the salt mine where she has been imprisoned, when a tragic event propels her into a new adventure in search of her identity… Set off on an adventure across continents and through time. Play as both Kate Walker and Dana Roze as you get to the bottom of mysteries that have remained buried for too long.
TOEM
Follow an amateur photographer on a journey through Scandinavian-inspired landscapes with the goal of seeing the magical phenomenon TOEM. Travel by bus to different regions with distinct architecture and sights to behold!
Ultra Strangeness
You are a creative entity enclosed in a mysterious box. Try to transform this strange world and reveal its secrets in this handcrafted adventure with a psychedelic vibe and simplified craft system.
Vagabond Starship
Continuing the story from Alien Function, the crew of the starship Spearhead are headed back to Artovya to deliver a unicorn to the king. After a harrowing battle with space pirates, their rutabaga supply is running dangerously low, and they need to find more if they’re ever going to make it home. Sir Typhil of Creulor and his fearless team of elves, dwarves, aliens, and robots set out on a search across various unknown worlds, meeting zealots, rogues, reporters, and more as they seek out the ever-elusive rutabaga.
Warp Frontier
In the year 2215, orbiting humanity’s newest extrasolar colony, police captain Vincent Cassini becomes embroiled in an intersystem conspiracy to bury crimes that occurred during the war that devastated his planet.
The Whispering Valley
Province of Quebec, 1896. Hidden in the hollow of a valley, the village of Sainte-Monique-Des-Monts conceals a secret that weighs heavily on the community. The village is left abandoned. Those who remain can only wait. But something else torments the inhabitants. A shadow prowls around the village. Some saw it, others heard it. They heard it whisper.
