It’s that time of year again, time for the Steam Next Fest. And like the Next Fest before it, there are a ton of amazing demos from a variety of genres for players to look forward to. With so many games to choose from it can be hard to wade through every title on offer. Here is a list of 11 demos to look for during October’s Steam Next Fest.
As a quick reminder, many demos will be exclusively available for the week of Next Fest, which wraps up on October 21st. So be sure not to wait too long to join the festivities.
Wren’s Resurgence
Fight your way through Yokai infested lands to save Wren’s sister Swan in Wren’s Resurgence, a 2D side scroller from Soliloquy Games. Featuring fast-paced ronin combat, lush Japan inspired landscapes, 36 different Yokai to defeat, and 8 different weapons to unlock Wren’s Resurgence is shaping up to be a real treat for fans of action platformers.
Wren’s Resurgence is coming to Steam for PC early 2025. Check out the demo now featured in the Steam Next Fest.
Erenshor
Are you a fan of MMOs, but sick of playing with people? Look no further than Erenshor, an old school exploration game, deeply rooted in the nostalgia of 90s and early 2000s MMORPGs like EverQuest and RuneScape. Erenshor boasts a large population of simulated players to adventure alongside you. Players that progress through the game overtime, even when you’re offline.
Developers Burgee Media have been hard at work creating a diverse world filled with a ton of environments and NPCs with 100s of quests to discover. For Next Fest, the new Erenshor demo is showcasing a brand-new region: Shivering Step. A substantially spooky and eerie new area for players to explore, and just in time for Halloween.
DIESELDOME: Oil and Blood
Indie developers GHST Studios is debuting the demo for their new first-person movement shooter DIESELDOME: Oil and Blood. By combining the high-octane combat of titles like ULTRAKILL with the enemy barrages of Vampire Survivors, DIESELDOME offers a unique diesel punk spin on gladiatorial combat. Parkour your way around the Dome’s different regions, capturing areas and earning crowd favor in this eternally brutal tug-of-war between you and the multitude of enemy hordes.
Check out the demo for this RomanPunk delight today and follow GHST Studios on Twitter for updates.
Watch Out For Goblins!
Indie developer SQYD Studios invites you to unleash your inner chaos goblin in Watch Out For Goblins! The game features state of the art goblin physics, verified by the world’s top Goblin physicists (the 2 devs). It’s time to jump, miss, and yell “parkour” during a mid-air flip that would surely earn your demise a gold medal at the Goblin Olympics. Of course, everyone knowns that goblins travel in pairs. So grab a friend and enjoy split screen co-op or PvP Goblin madness. Couple that with a juicy variety of shiny collectibles and stylish clothing options to find, and you’ve got a certified Gobland classic.
Check out the demo ahead of the Steam early access launch coming in 2025.
Among Ashes
Solo developer Rat Cliff Games has released an updated demo for their upcoming first-person survival horror game Among Ashes. Tapping into the Creepy Pasta stories of yore, Among Ashes focuses on Night Call, an online horror game with a dark secret. As you play, strange things start to happen in your apartment. It becomes abundantly clear: something is terribly wrong with this game. As more questions than answers come to light there is one thing you know for sure. You must KEEP PL̶̹̔Ả̷̧YIN̷͙̯͊G.
The Among Ashes demo is perfect for dark October nights, making it a perfect addition to Steam Next Fest as well as the upcoming Indie Horror Showcase, airing on October 24th.
Stray Path
Yogscast Games has partnered with Gamersky to bring us Stray Path, a dungeon-diving, deck building game that blends FreeCell and rouguelike game mechanics to deliver a unique gameplay experience. Pick an adventurer and go on a journey through a randomly generated world. Couple that with 100s of unique equipment no two runs will be the same.
Check out the demo today!
Kill The Shadow
Join Detective Lucas in Darkwater City for a dark, narrative driven role-playing game from Shadowlight Sanctuary. The new demo introduces a never-before-seen storyline set in Zhulong Walled City with around 30 minutes of gameplay and a brand new, immersive, opening scene. Decide what kind of detective you want to be by enhancing your abilities. Utilize the ominous ‘Shadow’ attached to you to read memories and reconstruct the final moments of the deceased. With a gorgeous, retro inspired 2.5D world filled with uniquely captivating characters, Kill The Shadow is a game you’ll want to get lost in.
Kill The Shadow is coming to Steam later this year, but you can check out the demo today.
Border Pioneer
Build your dream pixel city in Border Pioneer, the city builder, RTS hybrid from Yogscast Games in partnership with Gamersky. But the world of Border Pioneer isn’t all pixels and roses. Each month a rampaging horde eclipses the world in carnage. It’s up to you to plan your town’s layout for times of peace and war on this quest to transform a barren world into a bustling paradise.
Check out the demo today. Follow Yogscast Games on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date on this medieval murder sim.
Wild Woods
Wild Woods is a cozy wagoner, arcade game brimming with adventure, teamwork, and woodland creatures. Play with up to 3 other players and spend your days collecting valuable resources to strengthen yourselves and your wagon in preparation for the dangerous nights on the Wild Woods trail. From angry bunnies to sinister badgers, the kittens need brave players like you to help them defend their precious wagon.
Wild Woods is the debut title developed by Octofox and published by Daedalic Entertainment. It’s slated for release sometime in the winter of 2024 or early 2025. But you can take the reins early with the demo available today for the Steam Next Fest.
KILL ALL LICE
Dive into a quirky world where frantic action meets zany humor in this 2D run & gun game, KILL ALL LICE. Explore unique environments as you journey across 8 different heads in your fervent journey to kill all lice in this epic solo or co-op adventure. Play as the egocentric Captain Soap or the sarcastic Lieutenant Shampoo on a quest to root out all evil by defeating the king of lice, Pouliver the First. Couple that with meticulously crafted comic book art style and retro electro soundtrack, and you have a game filled with thrilling, comedic fun.
Check out the demo on steam today!
Karma: The Dark World
Karma: The Dark World is a psychological horror game fueled by its complex narrative and unsettling atmosphere. Fill the shoes of Daniel McGovern, an agent for Leviathan Corp’s Thought Bureau. Your job? Delve into the twisted depths of your suspect’s psyche and unravel their darkest secrets. The demo promises a tense, first-person psychological experience steeped in influences from iconic works like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and the cinematic game design of legends like Hideo Kojima.
Along with the demo for the Steam Next Fest, Pollard Studio released an exclusive alternate reality game that expands on the world of Karma (hint: Username: Lamb00, Password: TGtU5re79L). Navigate your way through corporate emails, confidential documents, and hidden clues to unlock the secrets of Leviathan Corp.
This is just a taste of what is available now until October 21. Have you played any of these demos? Let us know!