From June 16th to June 22nd,SteamNext Fest 2024 took place, and along with it came over 700 free demos of games from every genre you could imagine. It might have been a little overwhelming, so this list compiles many of those demos worth checking out.
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It’s worth noting that even though Next Fest is technically over by the time you’re reading this, all the demos from it should still be available, and it’s absolutely worth checking out these upcoming indies, cool double-A projects, and good times, all for free.
Soaring And Scavenging
If you’ve ever flown around in a game and wished you could experience the feeling of flight forever,Aloftmight be the game for you. It’s an open-world crafting game where you fly around sky islands in a massive archipelago, scavenging for resources wherever you’re able to.
The best part is that it’s multiplayer and the demo is quite expansive, making this a pretty fun time for you and your friends. It’s got a bunch of unique locations to explore, things to craft, and mechanics to overcome, all tied with a bow of free flight around the world at any time.
Dungeon Clawler
Roguelike With A Side Of RNG
In terms of raw longevity for a free demo,Dungeon Clawlerwould be at the top of this list. This demo feels almost like a fully featured game, boasting a bunch of characters, unlockables, and fully fleshed-out dungeon-crawling gameplay where you use a claw machine to attack.
It’s pretty simplistic,taking a lot of notes from Slay the Spire, but it’s got a ton of charm and potential. You get items at the end of each round, which all get shuffled into the claw machine, so every run stays exciting, with luck and skill needed in equal amounts, which is superb.
Grapple Dogs
Swinging And Soaring
Despite some technical difficulties,Grapple Dogsgripped me with its incredibly smooth platforming gameplay, grappling mechanics resembling the gone but not forgotten Terraria Otherworld, two playable characters, and some great level design that makes everything feel fast and free.
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Swinging around, shooting, bouncing, and punching through everything gives the same ecstatic feeling as games like Pizza Tower or Celeste do. Overall, even though there are only four levels in the demo, they’re so full of charm, personality, and polish that I’d be remiss not to put it on this list.
Airborne Empire
Keeping Business Afloat
If you’re looking for a chill, relaxing game mixed with a mildly stressful god sim, thenAirborne Empirehas your back. This game will have you managing resources, building up your sky-bound empire, and sending your workers out to do your bidding and collect materials for expansion.
You’ll be soaring through the skies, balancing the weight of your ship with all the additions you can tack onto it, carefully managing your employees, and giving everyone the resources they need to expand and conquer. This game is a bit slow-going, but it’s incredibly pleasant for it.
Grayscale and Great
In terms of puzzle games,LOKfalls into the same type as Tetris, Picross, and Puyo Puyo. It’s unique, simplistic, and will immediately have you hooked on it, every level increasing in complexity and dropping just a few new mechanics effortlessly into a great system.
You combine letters to make words like LOK, TLAK, or TA, all of which have different functions and allow you to black out different parts of the board. These mechanics get pushed into brain-teasers that will pretty quickly rattle your brain, and then leave you wanting for more.
On The Grind ‘Till You Croak
At first, the pitch of “Skate game with scoring and tricks combined with a 2D platformer collectathon” might sound a bit bloated, butSeafrogmeshes all of its ideas together into a game that just works. Frankly, it’s crazy how much fun I had grinding rails and tricking off ramps.
You have to repair a ship you found yourself “borrowing” after getting booted off the last one, and have to skate through a ton of unique courses with really fun level design, a bunch of stuff to find scattered about, and a demo that makes me antsy for the full release. Awesome time.
Mind over Magnet
Attractively Incredible
If you haven’t been keeping up with the YouTube channelGame Maker’s Toolkit, then you probably haven’t heard ofMind over Magnet, which is anincredibly solid, fun puzzle gamethat absolutely reeks of passion for the industry and years of game design study.
The demo is quite short but showcases a bunch of intricately crafted levels where you use a magnet in increasingly creative ways, incorporating tractor beams, moving platforms, and a silly robot into the mix. Definitely give this one a shot. It’ll leave you anxiously waiting for more.
Die in the Dungeon
Roll A Nat Froggy
Another incredibly polished game, and another roguelike with an incredibly large amount of content for a free demo,Die in the Dungeonis a mix of roguelike deckbuilder and Dungeons & Dragons, having you roll the dice on every move as you progress through a Mario Party-style map.
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As roguelikes go, this is one of the more fun and intriguing ones I’ve played, and it’s not even out yet. It hinges on luck as one of its main factors, yet the well-made enemies, cool abilities, and fun map design all keep me wanting to do another run. Fantastic demo.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
Loop The Loop To The Past
I’ve never seen a game so faithfully recreate the GBA Zelda aesthetic and vibe more thanPipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo. It feels like a love letter to the bangers from that system, having Zelda-style puzzle dungeons with some fresh combat, customizable moves, badges, and a whole world to explore.
This demo impressed me more than any other, it feels like a proper return to form that Zelda hasn’t explored in nearly 10 years while bringing some sick yo-yo tricks to the table, adorable character designs, great music, and some really fresh ideas. Give this demo a shot, you won’t regret it.
Enotria: The Last Song
A Soulslike With Style
Ifyou’ve ever played a Soulsborne gameand wished it would delve deeper into Italian culture, specifically, thenEnotria: The Last Songis for you. It’s a tribute to ancient Italy and a banger soulslike, with the unique feature of stealing the boss’s loadout, swapping builds on the fly, and some magic sprinkled in.
It’s got some incredible visual fidelity for being made by quite a small team, bosses with well-choreographed attacks, parrying that makes you feel like a god, and it’s got great, incredibly unique weapon designs. Overall, just a banger experience and a demo worth trying.
A soulslike game inspired by Italian folklore, Enotria sees players attempting to end a cursed, eternal play. To do so, they’ll have to don a variety of masks in order to give themselves the skills needed to succeed in combat.
