With a few days left of Steam Next Fest, I thought I’d put my recently acquired PC to good use and try out some demos for myself. I’d get envious of Miles being able to play so many demos in quick succession thanks to the Steam Next Fest. I even recall a time when he shared his screen so I could watch him check out the Holstin demo many Next Fests ago.
But now I’m in my demo era, and do I have a good selection for you. There are some games I’ve been watching for a few years, and others that have completely blindsided me. Either way, I hope you find something you’d like to check out, too, because they’re all at the very least fun. Here are 10 demos you should check out during February’s Steam Next Fest:
1348 Ex Voto by Sedleo
1348 Ex Voto has a brief demo, which I’m grateful for, as this one is just around the corner. The game is a third-person melee-based action game that follows a fledgling knight who’s lost the only person she’s fighting for in a raid on their village. What initially piqued my interest in the demo was its writing and performances. It has this very subtle Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet flair to it – old-timey dialogue with a modern flair. Not as flashy or over the top mind, but that’s not to say this game doesn’t have great art direction. Whilst limited in where you can go during the demo, the environments and character models were very slick and stylised.
The only real disappointment was the game’s combat. It doesn’t quite feel as responsive as it should; animations are a little stilted when trying to block or dodge enemy attacks, but it looks like there’s plenty of room for character upgrades and trinkets that may enhance the fighting experience as you progress. It’s not quite the complex systems that Kingdom Come: Deliverance has with direction-based attacks and blocking, nor does it have frame-perfect parrying of a soulslike, but I am intrigued by what the combat could blossom into – even if it is more on the casual side.
For Fans Of: A Plague Tale: Requiem, Hellblade: Senua’s Saga
1348 Ex Voto will release 12th March 2026 for PC and Consoles
RUIN: Beast City by DascuMaru
The influences here are firmly worn on protagonist Adama’s noir sleeve. Much like Grasshopper Manufacturer’s proudly adorned influences in their games, DascuMaru is stylishly pulling off that same energy. It overtly looks like Killer 7, but there’s also modern anime influences, electronic music and current gameplay sensibilities that proliferate through RUIN: Beast City. The game is a third-person action Boss Rush with a focus on anime-style melee combat.
The demo features two boss fights, alongside a level that acts as one of the many bridges between the Boss Rush genre the game’s going for. The bosses kicked my arse, with their stylishly telegraphed attacks that I’d have to try and parry or dodge. Adama dons a katana and a revolver when trying to execute his foes, which blends nicely into the combat of the gameplay. There’s no real health pool here, but instead a bar that I can only describe as momentum. The more you do damage to the boss, whilst avoiding taking any of your own, the more the bar fills up.
Once this bar is full, you can deal a devastating blow that’ll either maim or kill the boss (depending on how many times you achieve this). If that momentum bar goes to zero, your head is swiped clean off. The combat is highly responsive, but it’s overall a little on the slower side, which made it all a little less intense, at least. Maybe it’s to ease players in, but I won’t be mad if this pace is consistent, because the style is immaculate.
For Fans Of: Furi, Killer 7
RUIN: Beast City plans to release Q2 2026 on PC
LUCID by The Matte Black Studio
I’ve been keeping an eye on LUCID for a few years now, and it’s been exciting to see just how much the game has evolved over its development. There was always some Metroidvania spark that developer Matte Black Studio had been harnessing, but this feels like their almost unattainable vision coming to fruition. LUCID is a platforming-focused metroidvania that’s vibrant, challenging and a blast to play.
The demo sees you at the start of the game, learning all the basics. It’s very reminiscent of Celeste with its traversal. You have your jump and double jump, but dashing on certain objects or enemies resets your jump and dash, which makes it incredibly satisfying to pull off. Pit falls, environmental damage, and the like don’t do damage to your protagonist, Oenn, just the enemies that are littered through these bouncy assault courses. An amazing way to incentivise practice, patience and finding the joy in platforming. I didn’t finish the demo as I was already two hours in and still enjoying what LUCID had to offer.
Not to mention the visuals and sound design are spot on in creating this modern retro pixel style. Any criticism I may have, which may only be oriented around the demo, is that there’s so much platforming know-how to grasp in a short amount of time, you forget some of the first lessons you learned. With that said, it leans towards the more casual and fun route than the challenging, punishing kind, so not remembering wasn’t at my peril.
For Fans Of: Celeste, Hyper Light Drifter
LUCID has no set release schedule for PC or Console, but let’s hope it’s soon.
Wax Heads by Patattie Games
The duo at Patattie Games have made a wonderful slice-of-life game that taps into the punky vibes of local alternative record shops with Wax Heads. You’re a new employee who spends the shop’s opening hours picking out records for customers. Some may want a specific record that they can’t quite remember, while others want your own recommendation with a few parameters to pick from. It captures the act of crate-digging as you sift through records, check the liner notes and tracklisting to make an informed purchase.
Wax Heads plays like a lo-fi point-and-click where there are no huge stakes with the choices you make. There’s also some light drama from all the characters you meet and a backstory to the shop owner that unfolds through the days you work at the shop. It’s very chill and lovely to look at with its hand drawn art style. I do wonder if gameplay switches up beyond picking records or making gig flyers, or if that’s enough for its full runtime. Either way, this is a real Sunday chill game to curl up with, and I’m here for it.
For Fans Of: Night In The Woods, Florence
Wax Heads is set to release 5th May 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies by ZA/UM
Where do I even start with this one? This is not completely the ZA/UM that brought you Disco Elysium; instead, it’s the remainder who weren’t sacked or left because of a myriad of reasons, but mainly corporate greed. Which is ironic because you play as CASCADE, an agent for a communist bureau of spies. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is at its best when it’s not trying to dredge up the developer’s previous work.
There’s a lot of mis-en-scene baggage and referential stimuli that make it difficult to shake off what came before, and perhaps the expectation of what it should be. However, when it gets into expansive dialogue of paranoid espionage, and throws you into this lived-in new world of Portifio to act and react in, there is something special about it.
The game is tonally darker and more serious in presentation (despite some Super Cop-style dialogue choices that are a little played out at this point), lending itself to a gritty noir tale with some retro-sci-fi. From what I’ve played, it’s not as cohesive a vision; it feels like the game’s been directed by a few hands, muddying what could have felt holistic.
With all that said, I’m still intrigued. There are new systems here that work towards your emotions called ‘Conditioning’. At one point, I managed to gain so much anxiety that my penalty was to take away a skill point from a handful of traits I accrued. Dice roll skill checks are still here, as well as different traits chiming in to give you some flavoured exposition.
What I’m hoping for is ZERO PARADES to realise it may not be as expansive as Disco Elysium’s mind palace, but with that, choosing refinement instead. It’s not perfect, but I’m glad I’m getting a CRPG that branches from its predecessor in what I hope results in a fresh way.
For Fans Of: Disco Elysium, Rue Valley
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies plans to release in 2026 for PC and Consoles
Slaughter Void by Dread Night
When you make something just as metal as id Software, you’re on the right track. Slaughter Void is a blistering top-down dungeon runner that sees you bludgeoning demons to a pulp. Much like its inspiration – Hotline Miami – Slaughter Void taps into that twitchy response time gameplay and memorising of enemy placements, as you butcher beasts in the quickest time possible. You’re incentivised to practice and perfect each 10-15 second level to earn more rewards, which you can then use to bolster your character.
The game offers you the chance to craft new weapons that have different abilities, or wield exciting relics to tailor your playstyle. The demo only gives you a small sample of those elements, but I can imagine that further down the line you’ll have quite the array to choose from. Games like these need to play immaculately, and I can confidently say that it does just that. Better combos grant you a stronger momentum to pull off special abitlities but the trick is to not get hit, as you’re a goner in just one. Not to mention its saturated 80s style and blast beats to cave your eardrums in, just piles on the ferociousness of its gameplay.
For Fans Of: Hotline Miami 1&2, DOOM
Slaughter Void is set to release 13th May for PC
Titanium Court by AP Thomson
Matching more than a few genres, Titanium Court is a match-three tower defence strategy game that’s just a little bit bonkers to wrap my head around. You rule the titular Titanium Court; however, you don’t know how you came to rule or even know where you are. At your aid are snarky but well-meaning members of the court to help you on your journey of discovery and conquest.
The gameplay starts as a block of tiles that you can match three with. Your court is one of those tiles on the board too. Your task is to match three so that tiles like hills or water strategically surround you, as there are other courts waging war on you. You only have a finite number of turns to match three before you’ll have to deploy soldiers and gatherers to do your bidding. These will defeat foes and harvest food to keep your flock deployable on the next turn.
It’s a complex set of different gameplay genres all smashed into one in a very clever way. In between your days match-threeing and ruling the land, you’re welcomed with some more of the narrative. It’s all very quirky, quite funny too, and the game has an overall uplifting vibe about it all. It has a really clear tutorial, alongside a very relaxed state of failure that doesn’t punish whatsoever – perfect for those looking for something engaging but casual.
For Fans Of: Kingdom: Two Crowns, Candy Crush?
No release window as of yet for Titanium Court, but you can play the demo on PC
Besmirch by Gangru Games
Giving Besmirch a quick playthrough to write this entry does not do this game justice. Much like your other cosy farming sims, Besmirch is overwhelming with things to do, and only a short time per day to do them in. Don’t expect this to warm your heart like Stardew Valley, however, as the titular town of Besmirch has a dark presence it’s not willing to acknowledge.
You play as a newcomer to the town who’s taking up the job as the farmhand. In the demo, you’ll learn the basics of farming crops, and then you’re just about free to do anything. You won’t want to do just anything though, as Besmirch is full of dark and dangerous mysteries that you can just stumble upon. The game operates on a day and night cycle, where you have to juggle work and survival prep in the day to survive the monsters at night.
I played with a controller which felt pretty intuitive. Besmirch has a top-down view where the left stick acts as your movement and the right stick as a cursor. This made clicking on objects like planting seeds in specific crops I’ve just hoed intuitive. I know I’ve only scratched the surface with what I played of the demo, and I’m excited/terrified to see more.
For Fans Of: Darkwood, FAITH: The Unholy Trinity
Besmirch is set to release 11th May 2026 for PC
Dosa Divas by Outerloop Games
If Thirsty Suitors was the break-up album, Dosa Divas is the make-up album. That’s right, The Outer Loop are back with another RRPG (Relationship-RPG). Dosa Divas sees two sisters, Samara and Amani, reconnecting with each other after spending over a decade apart. Amani, the sister who left, has returned home to a dysfunctional and near-dystopian town where food is controlled by a mega corp.
Angered by their traditions being left forgotten, they seek out to stick it to the man by cooking good food for the people. To help them on their journey is an ancient mech that they travel on and fight beside as they explore the vibrant villages and band the locals together. The demo gives you a good flavour of what you’ll be doing, cooking food through minigames, and kicking corporate figures’ butts in turn-based combat.
Dosa Divas is in keeping with the modern trend of turn-based combat by creating active quick-time events to attack and block incoming ones. Enemies will have weaknesses to certain flavours (think of them as elements), with your party being able to exploit that with their attacks and skills. I call this the make-up album because there’s a less angsty tone than Thirsty Suitors, and instead has a feeling of hope. Whether that’s from its colourful environments, or the camaraderie between sisters and the mech, Dosa Divas is just an inspired culmination of culture, art and gameplay – I can’t wait to play more.
For Fans Of: Sea of Stars, Venba
Dosa Divas is set to release 14th April 2026 for PC and Consoles
Denshattack! by Undercoders
Being near one of the two Arcade Clubs in the country has meant I’ve been fortunate enough to play an array of Japanese imported arcade cabinets. These range from esoteric rhythm games to flipping a literal table as part of the cabinet’s gimmick. Denshattack! elicits those same experiences with its own aracade-y concoction of uniqueness and skill-based gameplay.
You play as Emi, a ramen delivery driver whose mode of transportation is a train cart. This isn’t the railway service I heard about in Japan, however, as the tracks are jagged, broken up and death-defying. You’ll be jumping between tracks, Subway Surfer style, breaking around corners to get the perfect boost and tricking in the air – all whilst avoiding crashing. The final level of the demo – where you essentially have a time trial in a train version of a skate park- is when the gameplay opportunities become apparent.
It’s nothing short of Thomas the Tank Engine’s Pro Skater at that point, and I’m all here for how chaotic it can potentially get. You’re of course marked on how much score you accrue, as well as how quickly you do the levels in – alongside some secrets to find too. Denshattack!’s gameplay has the quick-to-pick-up, hard to master quality about it that’s so high octane, I was retrying the levels to get the coveted gold medal.
For Fans Of: Skate Story, Promise Mascot Agency
Denshattack! plans to release in 2026 for PC and Consoles
And that’s everything I managed to play over the past few days, as Steam Next Fest showcases a huge amount of demos to check out. The event is still on until Monday, 2nd March 2026, so you have the whole weekend to either try what I’ve written about. Failing that, there are definitely some hidden gems amongst the plethora to play.
If you’re a developer/publisher or a fan of a demo you think we should get to, you can always reply to this inevitably shared article on our socials – Bluesky/Twitter (X, whatever).
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