Steam Next Fest has received twice as many demos as the previous edition. That’s because of the number of AI-made games whose quality is basically nonexistent. Add to that the fact that Steam makes no effort at all to make its games easy to browse, it’s practically impossible to discover anything among the festival’s demos. But that’s what we’re here for. Because we’ve dug through to find those incredible demos you shouldn’t miss under any circumstances.
Queen’s Domain
Before Dark Souls, FromSoftware has a long history that begins with a legendary game called King’s Field. Queen’s Domain takes inspiration from that pioneering game right from the name, but gives it its own twist. It’s an action RPG with an evocative narrative in a surreal world and hard, but tremendously interesting, combat, the game rewards methodical exploration and being willing to lose your way. Any fan of FromSoftware and retro games will find an interesting game here. But this isn’t Dark Souls: it’s something even older. And that’s what makes it interesting.
Starfinder: Afterlight
Dungeons & Dragons has a direct competitor called Pathfinder. At one point they decided to take it into space and Starfinder came out of that. This is its video game adaptation as a 2D isometric RPG in classic CRPG style, but with a contemporary twist. Highly polished science fiction, great art, and mechanics that feel old school without becoming antiquated make this game a demo you should sink your teeth into the moment it catches your eye.
Tom the Postgirl
For years now, dark humor has been taken to mean making fun of minorities when it actually means something else entirely: finding humor in sensitive subjects. That’s exactly what Tom the Postgirl does, an adventure game about a girl who starts an internship in a town full of sociopaths. Deliver packages and discover the private lives of your neighbors, who are all genuine dangers to society in one of the brightest comedies videogames have seen in a long time.
The Hollowing
You’re a rookie pilot tasked with visiting different outposts in the middle of nowhere in a thick fog full of fungal spores that can make you sick if you aren’t carrying the right equipment. What at first seems like a mildly demanding flight simulator soon proves to be something more. Excellent both as a horror game and as a simulator, The Hollowing is a perfect exercise in atmosphere and gameplay. One of those games that can surprise us with something very simple: finding terror in something as simple as piloting a plane.
Nostalgiallo
Have you ever stopped to think about how dark Spanish comics are? The Bruguera comics of the 70s, the 80s and the 90s like Mortadelo y Filemón or 13, Rue del Percebe. Always resorting to violence and dealing with current political issues. Nostalgiallo swaps the slapstick and vibrant colors of those comics for black and white and corruption in a horror adventure that shows the dark side of these comics with a brilliant vote-based combat system that leaves you wanting more when you finally finish the demo.
Guns of Eschaton
There are many words to define Guns of Eschaton. Surrealist. Soulslike. Spaghetti western. They all fit. With a world created by Viktor Antonov, the legendary artist behind Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, who sadly passed away in 2025, the game applies soulslike logic to FPSs. Shoot each of your enemies’ limbs in a specific order to defeat them, manage your ammo methodically, and remember: dying is part of the experience. And the experience is tremendously fun.
