Steam Next Fest February 2026 Discussion

[Frindis]

Greetings community!

Time to play demos! Post and discuss those Next Fest demos to your heart's content.

First demo I have tried is pretty chill and perfect for kids, with one caveat that there is proximity chat, but it can be toggled off.

"Sledding Game is a multiplayer snowsports hangout game with proximity chat. Go sledding, relax and see what else there is to do. There’s also ragdoll physics so the crashes look terrible really really good."

Sledding Game Demo on Steam

A demo for a game about sledding and hanging out with friends :)

store.steampowered.com

 

[Frindis]

Tried out Forbidden Solitaire. Short demo, but it was fun while it lasted. I liked some of the sound effects, as they share some similarities with those from the horror movie SMILE. The card game itself is pretty straightforward, but it is done with a bit of fun and some cool "gory" details.

• Delve into a 90's FMV-inspired digital hellscape of dungeons and death with visuals, story and music from the creators of Home Safety Hotline.
• Survive the horrors with bloodletting solitaire gameplay from the veteran indie team behind Shadowhand and Regency Solitaire.
• Purchase upgrades from the friendly eye that watches you from the walls.
• Uncover a variety of game-changing Jokers - some helpful, some malignant.
• Uninstall the game before it's too late.

Forbidden Solitaire on Steam

Forbidden Solitaire is a card-slashing horror game about unearthing the contents of a cryptic 1995 CD-ROM that should have never existed. From the creators of Ancient Enemy and Home Safety Hotline.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Colif]

I haven't played this yet but I will

Darkhaven on Steam

Darkhaven is a next-generation ARPG brought to you by many of the original creators of Diablo and Diablo II. Explore a procedurally generated and fully destructible open world unlike any other in this solo or multiplayer adventure.

store.steampowered.com

Demo released yesterday

I wonder if any of these ex Diablo 1/2 Devs made Torchlight 1/2 or they all seem to remake the same game type... Guess Blizzard have forgotten or probably never knew.

 

[Frindis]

I tried Darkhaven last week, and it was all right. The building and destruction system is interesting, but the weird camera angles made it a bit difficult to traverse some of the obstacles. Combat was ok, but the skills and weapon upgrades were not. It definitely has potential, but a lot needs to be worked on, and I think they still need to find out what direction they are going with the game.

 

[Zed Clampet]

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfest

A co-op pirate survival game where your crew sings sea shanties? Aye!

The demo for Windrose is a rollicking pirate adventure—once you've chopped down enough trees, that is.

www.pcgamer.com

Devs behind GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters are done with big shooters after getting burned by Embracer, so their next game is a Balatro-like twist on Scrabble—and you can try the demo now

Beyond Words is part of Steam Next Fest.

www.pcgamer.com

After playing the free demo of this bloody medieval carve-'em-up, I'm praying the devs deliver a holy gaming experience

Vengeance will be mine

www.pcgamer.com

The creators of Rain World were tired of making something so depressing, so their next game is a 'loud and dumb and fast' cyberpunk racer you can try in the Steam Next Fest

It's like if F-Zero broke up the races so you could have Smash Bros. brawls.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[BeardyHat]

I was playing this last week and really enjoying it. I would love to play some more, but I'm going to wait for full release on it.

A Bumpy Ride on Steam

Take a jaunt into the world of A Bumpy Ride, a casual train-driving and exploration game! Inspired by railroading of the 19th century with a whimsical spin, you'll adventure around the open frontier in your trusty little train, picking up passengers and freight.

store.steampowered.com

Gonna give this one a go as well. I really have no interest in the Beat-Em-Up/Platformer stuff, but the art style makes me nostalgic for the Tiger handhelds when I was a kid, so I just want to see it moving on my screen.

Future Knight on Steam

Frenetic action and LCD aesthetic! In this 2D Shoot 'Em Up, switch between a robot hero and his benign tumor to stop a bizarre cult. You have 8 hours to save humanity's memory: defeat grotesque bosses, ride the skies on your Future Board, and master the chaos in a retro-futuristic Tokyo.

store.steampowered.com

Can't download much more this week, I'm at 90% of my bandwidth limit this month, so I'm trying to take it easy until it ticks over.

 

[Johnway]

I've been looking into a variety of games. namely psychological horror, desktop simulations and dungeon crawlers.

First up The Window 8:Millennium

The Window 8:Millennium on Steam

Hey player, It's the day before the Millennium. Follow me, I will give you a unique psychological horror experience. This isn’t just a game—it’s a doorway. Trust me, and I will lead you to see the god.👁‍🗨

store.steampowered.com

Honestly, mixed feelings. I think there is more to it and i am intrigued by the game. but also i'm equally bored by it. The game breaks the fourth wall as you have to dig into your own system files to find answers or try things.

 

[Johnway]

came across another Desktop simulator style demo. this time its called New folder

New Folder on Steam

You log on to a computer having no clue of what lies within. Explore its files, solve puzzles to recover missing pieces, and decipher passwords to enter otherwise prohibited folders. As you delve deeper into its content, you’ll find that there is a greater mystery to be solved.

store.steampowered.com

its not the longest demo. I finished it in less then 10 minutes. Not much to see in the demo, but i'll add it to my wish list to watch it and if it drops to a rock bottom price, i might consider it. The games does suggest theres some deep story here, but too little here to see whether this game might be good or not.


EDIT: Just finished another demo: Bad Pixels.

Bad Pixels on Steam

Back in the days of the wild west, everything was much more rudimentary and raw. Drinking water had bits in it, shoes had holes in them, and computers only had 8-bits of processing power. With limited colors, resolution and audio, you too can relive those gritty days of old. It was Bad, Bad Pixels.

store.steampowered.com

A game that harks to the c64/amstrad/spectrum days. Play as a law man shooting up bandits. Lacks real substance atm. The gimmicky visuals does little to mask the lack of gameplay. Just shoot the same looking bandits and head to exit. Rinse and repeat in samey desert towns. can't even buy ammo atm. Like the retro graphics to pull at my nostalgia strings, but a miss for me i think.




Well i'm off to play another demo. Will update later or tomorrow...

 

[BeardyHat]

I did end-up trying Future Knight.

I liked it, I think it's surprisingly charming and there's more to it than just the art style. That said, I chose to drop it because it has some tedium to it. You have a little guy you can pop out of the main character to access different spaces and it only has one hit point; if it dies, you restart the entire level. More than once I made it decently far, my little guy died and I was forced to start over; on the third go of this, I decided I was done.

It has potential for those who like these style of games, but it's definitely not for me.

 

[Zed Clampet]

'We couldn’t even have imagined this': Co-op pirate survival game Windrose has been wishlisted over 1 million times

The swashbuckling survival adventure is a hit before it's even out.

www.pcgamer.com

Windrose is having a BIG Next Fest with over 1 million wishlists. The world has needed this game since Atlas was so poorly handled.

 

[Zed Clampet]

SpaceCraft on Steam

The Universe is yours. SpaceCraft is an online space exploration and building game. Explore a vast galaxy of solar systems and planets, mine and craft resources, design and build ships, automate planetary bases and interplanetary logistics, trade and cooperate.

store.steampowered.com

I couldn't really play this because the text was too small for me. I used my magnifying lens since there was no option to increase the font size, but I quickly got tired of doing that.

What I played, played fine, but apparently the demo doesn't allow you to do the things the store page emphasizes, like base and ship building. The forums are full of strangely angry people. I mean, if you don't like the demo, that's fine. There's no reason to become furious about it.