Steam Next Fest - June 2025: Part Two
They say the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. But I think it was that there are now so many amazing games coming out there's no way to play them all.
You all know why we're here—unless you're just reading Part Two without checking out Part One first—in which case, stop that. There were too many games at this Next Fest. So we're going rapid fire. There are 18 fucking games to get through, and by Talos, we're doing it.
Consume Me
Release Date: 26.09.2025
A semi-auto-biographical game about dieting. Described as a 'life-simulation RPG' and a 'darkly funny coming-of-age story,' it transforms dieting, exercising, and studying into frantic, Warioware-esque minigames. While the demo wasn't overtly dark, the completed game promises 13 mostly bad endings. I'm a sucker for management RPGs—Consume Me had me hooked. Definitely recommend checking it out.
Crescent County
Release Date: TBA
Another "life-sim," Crescent County sets itself apart with a "witch-tech" vibe. Hop on your "motorbroom" and take on local jobs like deliveries and herding sheep. If pastel aesthetics and cruising country roads on a broomstick are your thing, this is for you. The game is built around a simple yet satisfying drift and boost mechanic that—even in an early tech demo—feels fantastic.
DEFICIT
Release Date: TBA
Imagine Butcher's Creek meets System Shock. DEFICIT excels in its weighty, visceral melee combat with a reliance on improvised weapons. The concussive force of a wrench to the head is a mainstay in immersive sims, and DEFICIT nails it (with some vents thrown in for good measure). All the more impressive—it's the work of just two people.
The Drifter
Release Date: 18.07.2025
It's always a bloody delight to stumble upon a game and be greeted by thick Aussie accents. That's The Drifter, a home-grown Australian point-and-click adventure game. I was instantly struck by the gorgeous pixel art—it is absolutely stunning. The demo isn't long, but there's a lot of intrigue and phenomenal voice acting. You won't have to wait yonks for it either; it's out next month, and I cannot wait.
Every Day We Fight
Release Date: 10.07.2025
Tactics games like X-COM have been around for a very long time, but it's rare to see a lot of fresh ideas in the genre. Every Day We Fight breaks the mould, cramming real-time exploration, environmental puzzles, stealth, and first-person aiming into its turn-based tactics shell. It mutates the genre into something genuinely new. Bonus points for the refreshing squad banter.
Freaked Fleapit
Release Date: TBD
I'm terrible at rhythm games, which is a shame because there are so many excellent ones out there. Freaked Fleapit is a roguelike, dungeon-crawling rhythm game in the vein of Crypt of the NecroDancer. Fleapit throws in elements of a dating sim, side quests and stacks of style. If as someone as hopelessly offbeat as myself can get through it, you'll be aces.
Hell is Us
Release Date: 05.09.2025
When I saw the trailer for this I immediately shouted "HEY! That looks like Deus Ex Mankind Divided!" And I was fucking right! Hell is Us is being developed by a very talented team that includes Jonathan Jacques-Belletête: the art director for Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. Hell is Us is an incredibly weird game, right off the starting line.
Its core is slow, deliberate exploration. There is no map or objective markers; instead, you rely on your eyes and a basic compass. Dialogue is driven by topics you learn about through conversation or discoveries in the world. There is combat, but the main draw is getting immersed in this strange, techno-macabre world, and unravelling its mysterie
Killer Chat! - Expanded Edition
Release Date: TBD
I'm ashamed to say it but so much of this has gone over my head. While you might understandably believe a whacked-out nerd like me would be a Discord/Twitter devotee, I'm allergic to social media. Killer Chat! is a game that takes place almost entirely within a Discord-like service. Even if I'm out of my element, I can still tell that it's a super unique game. You play as a writer, role-playing as a serial killer, in a server populated by actual serial killers. Your goal: fool them long enough to finish your book. Honestly, I couldn't imagine a better hook for a game I'd otherwise be totally uninterested in.
The Lacerator
Release Date: 2025
There are plenty of weird games in this list (and on this blog, in general)—but this one? A survival horror game where you play as an 80s porn star. The Lacerator is an indulgent slasher where you play as a walking carpet called Max. If Max has as much survival instinct as he does body hair, he would give Leon Kennedy a run for his money. The core mechanic of the demo is amputation which I learned about after a poor decision to stick Max's hand in an obvious trap. The full game's implications for this are yet to be seen, but could be wild. It's cheeky, it's fun and perfectly self-aware.
Mythrealm
Release Date: TBD
I love the occasional high-fantasy single-player RPG. I feel like we live in a time where a lot of fantasy writing—especially in games—is low or dark fantasy. Sometimes you need some magical whimsy and shit, you know? Mythrealm has this in spades. Verdant forests, mysterious caves and a cel-shaded aesthetic. It wasn't a tough demo, but there are elements of a souls-like in here. I just had a grand old time shooting arrows at goblins, but there are options for all kinds of weapons, not to mention magic.
No, I'm not a Human
Release Date: Q3 2025
A psychological horror game that's Papers Please doused in paranoid nihilism. No, I'm not a Human is set in a world where the Sun is exploding, it's not safe to be outside during the day. At night, people will come to your stoop and ask for shelter. The catch? Some of them aren't human. You'll need to determine who is human—and more importantly, who isn't—before they kill you. It's a deeply unsettling game with a perturbed art style and cynical writing.
PIGFACE
Release Date: August 2025
What do you get when you mix the gritty and rundown style of Saw; the mission structure of an early Hitman game; and arcadey, ultra-violent shooting? PIGFACE, baby. This demo had some areas for improvement—control, feel and especially enemy intelligence—but the framework is undeniably solid. The sandbox levels are large and intricate built around different approaches depending on your chosen loadout. While there's a certain amount of planning that goes into a mission, you'll need to scrounge for improvised weapons as well. This is my type of shit.
Scirocco Thugs
Release Date: TBD
Life is full of questions. Why are we here? What defines a human soul? What does Scirocco mean? Marone! Play as Tugg DiMamma as you punch, kick and shoot your way to The Don. Turns out, "Scirocco" means: kinetic first-person mobster brawler. This is great. There was always a distinct shortage of games that let you whale on people with a piece of rebar or a shovel. But between this, PIGFACE and Butcher's Creek, I'm stoked that it's getting some representation. This is just plain, stupid fun. Having combos, points and level rankings is a simple, effective way to add replayability.
SSR Wives: The Murder Of My Winter Crush
Release Date: 2025
Life is full of questions. SSR Wives: The Murder Of My Winter Crush, however, raises more than it answers. One of the first menus in this demo is a character select that looks like this:
It's indecipherable. The gameplay of the demo unfolds dark, rundown environments filled with horrible creatures that die terribly violent deaths. Yet, it simultaneously sports a 'cute' anime aesthetic. I'm not sure what's going on or why, but I'm all in. It's a well-made survival horror game with excellent tension and gameplay—more than that, I desperately want to know more. The store page offers no answers or clarification leaving me cheerfully confused—and for a sick freak like me, that's great!
They Speak From The Abyss: Zenith
Release Date: TBD
A self-described 'twisted homage to classic dungeon crawling RPGs'—They Speak From The Abyss: Zenith is exactly that. So authentic, in fact, that the controls are also absolutely terrible—a true throwback to the era of old Japanese games on PC, where the "CTRL" key opens the main menu and "Z" closes it. Pushing those issues aside, this is a remarkably intriguing horror experience. The 'horror' leans towards body horror, where bizarrely mutilated demons populate the levels. The dungeon crawling shines, offering plenty of branching paths for exploration, hidden items and side activities. The demo is chunky but has some bugs, likely based on an earlier build. Still, I recommend checking it out.
UNBEATABLE
Release Date: 2025
This is the kind of rhythm game I can get into. Just two inputs: up and down. Even someone as bad at rhythm games as me can understand it. UNBEATABLE's manifesto is sweeping, but its gameplay is elegantly curtailed. Set in a world where music is outlawed, play as Beat, someone who keeps ending up on the wrong side of those laws. The demo itself is an excellent slice of what the full game entails. Exploration and witty dialogues interspersed with adrenaline-pumping rhythm gameplay. One of your first instructions? Punch a cop. It's an unapologetically political game, but then again, they all are. Regardless, it's a blast, but if you're easily offended, give it a miss.
PHASE ZERO
Release Date: TBD
Look, I get it: "Wow Kyle, another retro survival horror game"—and you're right, I've got a type. PHASE ZERO is all about execution and not just the kind of execution involving zombies and shotguns. The core pillars are all accounted for: tank controls, lumbering enemies, puzzles, tense encounters and fixed camera angles.
The demo has you assume the role of Guy, waking up in a hospital full of zombies. You start disadvantaged but soon get your first weapon—careful now, ammo is scarce. The puzzle(s) are theme-appropriate for the hospital setting. The centrepiece puzzle is a multi-stage event where you need to x-ray a mound of pulsating flesh to find a crank, then wheel it to an MRI machine to use the magnets to tear the crank out. It's gleefully gross and an absolute blast. Highly recommend.
TEXNOPLAZM
Release Date: Q3 2025
It brings me no small amount of joy that there are so many games on this list that have such a huge focus on visceral, kinetic melee combat. Between PIGFACE, Scicarro Thugs and now TEXNOPLAZM, it's a Biblical flood of high-quality first-person brawlers. The demo for TEXNOPLAZM is a perfect introduction. This is a spectacle fighter with movesets, special moves, parrying and buckets of style. The store page describes it as 'gun fu action'—I'd say that's an apt description.
It's done. In combination with Part One there are 26 demos I've covered this Next Fest. This is one of the largest undertakings I've, uh, undertaken so far on this blog. I had to push myself to cover as many demos as possible and even then, there are still many more I didn't get a chance to try.
They say the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. But I think it was that there are now so many amazing games coming out there's no way to play them all. It's fucked, but I'll keep trying.