Sequel to Cyberpunk RPG, Crazy Reinterpretation of Harry Potter, GTA-Style Police Story. Steam Next Fest Is Filled with Interesting Demos

Source: Jump Over The Age / Kwalee / David Szymanski

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The Steam Next Fest event launched last night. Its biggest attraction is traditionally the demo versions of many upcoming games. We have selected a set of recommended titles from the bunch. The fun will last until October 21st.

1. Steam Next Fest - event page

The most interesting demos from Steam Next Fest

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

One of the gems of the festival is the demo of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. It's the sequel to 2022's excellent cyberpunk RPG, which can boast 92% positive reviews on Steam.

The sequel offers an interesting plot known from the original and a great freedom in shaping the story. This time, however, the action does not take place on a space station. Instead, our character has their own ship, which not only enables them to travel around the galaxy but also requires us to recruit a crew.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector on Steam

Cyclopean

Cyclopean is a game that many gamers will dismiss after looking at screenshots. Because it looks like an 8-bit-era game. However, it is worth giving it a chance, because it is a very promising RPG.

The project was inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Instead of relying on the popular Cthulhu mythos, the devs based their work on the lesser-known but much stranger Dream Realm, appearing in the writer's early stories. In terms of gameplay, the title resembles a combination of the two most popular styles of classic computer RPGs from the 80s. So here we have the exploration of a TPP world on a large map, and the exploration of dungeons takes place in a leapfrog manner from the FPP perspective. The demo has an excellent atmosphere and very survival-oriented gameplay that requires careful resource management. If simple graphics don't scare you, it's worth giving Cyclopean a chance.

Cyclopean on Steam

Hail to the Rainbow

Hail to the Rainbow is a first-person action-adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic future. In the game, we travel across deserted Russia in a car and leave it for the purpose of exploring buildings. This is not just pure sightseeing, as the game features puzzles and numerous combat sequences.

Hail to the Rainbow on Steam

Keep driving

In turn, Keep Driving is an RPG enriched with strategy elements about resource management, which tells the story of traveling by car through the USA. The game has beautiful pixel art graphics and an excellent atmosphere, arousing nostalgia for the beginning of this century.

Not everything in the demo works perfectly - including the somewhat underperforming turn-based combat, through which we solve various road obstructions - so we hope that thanks to the feedback obtained during Steam Next Fest, these elements will be improved. Even now, however, it's just fun to play this game.

Keep Driving on Steam

Loco Motive

If you like point-n-click adventures, be sure to check out the demo of Loco Motive. The action of the game takes place on board a luxury train, where a murder has been committed. During the game, we control three characters who are the main suspects and have to prove their innocence.

Loco Motive has beautiful pixel art graphics, colorful characters, interesting puzzles, and lots of good humor. This is the type of game that LucasArts could have developed three decades ago.

Loco Motive on Steam

Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate

Steam Next Fest also enables us to check out the game Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate. The title can be described as a completely crazy reinterpretation of the first Harry Potter game. Here we embody a student of a magical school reminiscent of Hogwarts, who must defeat a mysterious syndicate.

The player's task is to achieve goals, but how they do it depends only on them. The game has a rich selection of spells and a fun physics engine, which combined with the availability of mines and explosive materials, causes complete chaos in this version of Hogwarts, with character bodies and furniture being scattered by powerful explosions every now and then. It sounds absurd, but there's a lot of fun in it.

Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate on Steam

The Precinct

It's worth spending a few hours at the Festival for the demo of The Precinct. This is an action game with a bird's eye view, in which we play as a rookie police officer, working in a fictional American city in the 80s of the 20th century.

The game presents a wide spectrum of a law enforcement officer's duties. Starting from patrolling the streets (on foot and behind the wheel of a patrol car), through interventions, detentions and arrests. Of course, there are also shootings and chases here.

The Precinct on Steam

The Spirit of the Samurai

The Spirit of the Samurai is a 2.5D action game set in a fantasy version of medieval Japan. Movement takes place in two dimensions, but the combat resembles soulslike games, with an elaborate and demanding combat system and the need for economical management of our warrior's strength.

The game has a great atmosphere and looks incredible. The devs opted for an unusual style that makes the whole thing look like a stop-motion animated film.

The Spirit of the Samurai on Steam

The Stone of Madness

We've recently been swarmed with games inspired by the Commandos series. The Stone of Madness, however, stands out from other productions of this type. This is largely due to the unusual setting – we lead a group of unfortunate people tormented by mental issues, trying to escape from a nightmarish 18th-century Spanish monastery. Their phobias and obsessions have a concrete translation into the gameplay here, making it more diverse.

In addition, the game is superbly made and makes an excellent impression with its attractive comic book style. The project was developed by the authors of the Blasphemous series and after the demo, it can be said that The Stone of Madness is shaping up to be another gem in this team's portfolio.

The Stone of Madness on Steam

Windblown

Windblown is a roguelike action game developed by the creators of Dead Cells - Motion Twin studio. The title offers an isometric view and is mainly focused on dynamic skirmishes using a rich arsenal of special abilities. The whole thing seems heavily inspired by the Hades series.

The demo only allows for solo play - the full version is also supposed to allow cooperative gameplay for up to three people.

Windblown on Steam

A handful of other noteworthy demos:

1. Amerzone – The Explorer's Legacy (size: 4.06 GB) – a remake of a classic FPP adventure game.
2. KLETKA (size: 783 MB) – the creators describe this game as a cooperative horror game about riding down an elevator that is trying to eat you. Players must disembark on the floors, explore them while avoiding traps and monsters, and gather resources, which they will then use to feed the elevator before it takes them to a lower level.
3. Mandragora (size: 6.78 GB) – a beautiful 2.5D platformer with an extensive Soulslike combat system.
4. Neon Blood (size: 1.99 GB) – a beautiful 2.5D pixel art adventure game in which we play the role of a detective working in a cyberpunk city of the future.
5. Streets of Rogue 2 (size: 2.59 GB) – sequel to the crazy sandbox RPG with a procedurally generated world.
6. Tenebris Somnia (size: 460 MB) – an adventure survival horror that combines old-school 2D graphics with live-action FMV sequences.
7. To Kill a God (size: 1.35 GB) – action RPG with roguelike elements. The unusual element is that the skill tree here is a map - unlocking each of its elements requires surviving in the room assigned to it.
8. The Rise of the Golden Idol (size: 1.44 GB) – a sequel to the excellent detective adventure game from 2022.
9. Urban Myth Dissolution Center Demo (size: 860 MB) – a pixel art adventure game about employees of an agency dealing with solving supernatural cases.
10. Worshippers of Cthulhu (size: 6.66 GB) – city builder in which we build cities of worshippers of the filthy deities from HP Lovecraft's works.