Steam Next Fest - Quick Thoughts
From Voidtrain to Planet of Lana, here are my quick thoughts on almost a dozen February Steam Next Fest demos
Voidtrain is really great all around and just feels wonderful. The story is a little much (in the chunk I played), but I’m glad it’s there. While I didn’t experience it, I can imagine co-op would be a blast. Solid gameplay and some crafting rounded out my time with this FPS demo. Voidtrain from HypeTrain Digital is out now in early access (on PC) and will be fully released on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC later this year.
Bleak Sword DX. This Apple Arcade action title that’s now coming to PC and consoles is both nice and unforgiving. This enhanced version adds “elegant controls, three new game modes, and multiple gameplay and graphical improvements,” though as I never played the original edition, I can’t speak on how big the differences are. Bite-sized levels and great music were other peaks of my playtime. The demo, while not remarkable, showcased a good chunk of the game and left a nice impression on me. Bleak Sword DX from More8bit launches on Switch and PC later this year.
Return. This action adventure was my next demo on the docket. Punishing souls adjacent combat and a mostly compelling story were the highlights of this one. There was a lot of time spent walking from place to place, and ultimately, this unfun time is what stood out from the demo. Overall, I had a good time in this world and will possibly return to it with the game’s full release. Return from Dead Unicorn is coming later this year to PC, with a console version planned for a later date.
Unmurk, a really neat 3D perspective puzzle game, was my first big surprise at the Next Fest. This one is hard to describe in words, so I recommend you watch the trailer for it, which you can find here. The calming puzzle gameplay is great, and the white noise-esque soundtrack matches it well. Also, if you get stuck, there’s a three-hint feature that will come in handy. Unmurk from Michal Barszczewski launches on PC later this year.
Blue Wednesday is a narrative adventure title. This is one of my favorite demos, with a heartfelt story and rhythm gameplay that feels good to perform. The story about the struggles of being a musician/pianist is really the highlight here. It’s very well done, and the writing is much better than I had expected going in. The Artful Escape, another favorite of mine, is similar, but the story (so far) hits harder here. I can’t wait to play more of this one and will be keeping an eye on it. Blue Wednesday from Buff Studio launches on PC at some point in the future.
Mob Factory, a really solid tower defense and resource management game, is up next. I played this demo the most of the bunch, and that’s due to just how satisfying it feels. Upgrading and maximizing everything is where the title excels. Overall, I had a really great time making the perfect automated farms of my dreams and will be keeping this game on my radar. Mob Factory from LiterallyEveryone Games releases on PC later this year.
Fall of the Porcupine, which is a narrative 2D platformer, was another title that blew me away. Set in a Zootopia-like world filled with animals that can talk and act like humans, you play as a pigeon who’s a doctor. Your daily checkups on patients are full of mini-games that I didn’t actively enjoy. The game’s story, however, is amazing, especially outside of your time at the hospital when you spend time with friends. The soundtrack with calming guitar and piano tracks was also incredible and needed to be mentioned. The end of this long demo had a dark and spooky twist that I did not see coming. Fall of the Porcupine from Buntspecht is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC later this year.
Planet of Lana, the last demo of my Next Fest experience, was exceptional. The beautiful visuals are the star of the demo, though the gameplay was a close second. Light puzzles are frequent, and I had a good time solving each of them. This Limbo-inspired adventure is shaping up to be a great game, and I can’t wait to play more. Planet of Lana from Wishfully releases on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC this spring.
A few other demos I played include Super Greedy Cat, a little 2D platformer from DjokaGames, and Editors Hell from Pixelated Goose Games, which sets you in the role of an editor. It’s a Wrap was another game I got the chance to play; it’s a 2D puzzle platformer from Chanko Studios, and while it was far from a highlight demo, I had a nice time playing through it. Voidtrain, Blue Wednesday, Planet of Lana, and Fall of the Porcupine were my favorites of the Festival, though each and every demo I played showed promise.
That’s it for this first quick thoughts article. This format might just return for more in the future, so keep an eye out for more. Did you play any demos from the Steam Next Fest? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading and Game On!!
