Steam Next Fest - February 2026 is live with tons of demos

WOOOO NEXT FEST!!!!!!!!!!

that starship troopers game looks cool, gonna add that to my list of demos. Thanks :)

Here's my list of interests / demos that I'm going to try out (same as my post in cyberspace.online)

• [Ardenfall](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1837770/Ardenfall_Demo/) - "first-person RPG inspired by Morrowind" - you had me at morrowind (one of my all time favs)


• [REPLACED](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4261860/REPLACED_Demo/) - a 2d side scroller cyberpunk adventure. Art / lore / story / visuals look absolutely killer awesome.


• [SpaceCraft](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3276050/SpaceCraft/) - I'm a sucker for a good space sim. I'm not much on base building or logistics though, so this could go either way for me.


• [Chipmatic](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3780950/Chipmatic/) - "incremental factory building game where you control a mining robot" - looks like a really cool digging game for the steam deck


• [Dead Fibers](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2834670/Dead_Fibers/) - looks / sounds kind of like a fps immersive sim? That's one of my fav genres, but hard to do right, so we shall see.

What's everyone else got on their radar?

If you like cyberpunk/scifi but are willing to weigh story/gameplay over stunning visuals, try:

[FOREHEAD CHIP](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4352260/Forehead_Chip_Demo/) - a nostalgic pixel-platformer inspired by 80s and 90s sci-fi, play a single-player narrative campaign with multiple-endings, or battle with your friends in PVP arenas!

I mean... once you finish the Replaced demo ;)

Oh man, Next Fest... aint nobody got time for that.
Every evening, when its finally getting quieter, i look at all my games already, cannot decide what to play next and... go for a round of brotato and go to bed. Sigh.

Let's see, some recommendations...

For FPS enjoyers, there's the GZDoom game [Hedon Bloodrite](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072150/Hedon_Bloodrite/). Most fun I've had with a FPS since First Encounter Assault Recon ('Fear').

For those who like their action turn-based, there's [House of Necrosis](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2005870/House_of_Necrosis/), a bit like if Silent Hill 1 had a baby with Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

For those looking for something more chill and cosy, there's [Lake](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1118240/Lake/). Be a computer-related professional who takes a 2 week sabbatical to deliver mail in her hometown.

And finally, my most anticipated game since Pillars of Eternity, the retro platformer [Double Shake](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1445190/DoubleShake/).

Last edited by tmtvl on 23 Feb 2026 at 8:38 pm UTC

I shall take [Outbound](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2938240/Outbound_Demo/) for a test drive!

Timing doesn't work for me at all this month as I have plenty of other things to do.

I still had time to try two demos and another one is even participating in the Next Fest.

[A Planet Full of Cats](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3355100/A_Planet_Full_of_Cats/) one of those hidden object games and there has been quite many in the series already. This one has metroidvania influences. As it's sci-fi themed this time around, it's probably closer to Metroid. And demo indeed has some hidden tools and routes.

[Poly Bricks](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3449470/Poly_Bricks/). This is kind of Lego brick builder without step by step instructions. You can just rotate the original model and see what the individual pieces look like. Needs bit of patience, but still oddly satisfying.

Played the whole evening [Grime 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2529790/GRIME_II/), eh GRIIME. Great Metroidvania. If you like the first, you won't be disappointed.

• [The Amusement](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4372570/The_Amusement_Demo/)


• [Crushed In Time Demo](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4273470/Crushed_In_Time_Demo/)


• [Causal Loop](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3921450/Causal_Loop_Demo/)


• [The Eternal Life of Goldman](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4315490/The_Eternal_Life_of_Goldman_Demo/)


• [Mumintroll: Die Wärme des Winters](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4179690/Mumintroll_Die_Wrme_des_Winters_Demo/)


• [Echoes of Mora](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3870460/Echoes_of_Mora_Demo/)


• [ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2863680/ZERO_PARADES_For_Dead_Spies/)


• [Blades of Fire](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2091020/Blades_of_Fire/)


• [Wild Blue Skies](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921490/Wild_Blue_Skies/)

[Denshattack!](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4142750/Denshattack_Demo/) It's similar to Jet Set Radio, but you are a train! From a Spanish developer, but very Japanese in the style and type of game. The demo is short but a lot of fun!

This are the few demos I liked enough to wishlist the games, of the 4-5 I have tried:

• Dungeons of DUSK: Very good. Native Linux compatibility, shows it's a "labor of love", smooth CRPG difficult curve. Very good performance.


• Gambonanza: A turn-based chess roguelike. Very fun, seems too basic at the beginning, the chess-puzzle difficult escalates pretty smoothly. Similar to Balatro with a cool and animated interface, and in the sense you buy very strategic power ups with money earned after each special "mini chess" match.

I have to link one of my all time favourites on the steam deck here:
[Nova Drift](https://store.steampowered.com/app/858210/Nova_Drift/)! Way over 100 hours for me.

Everyone needs to check out [Deep Snow Delivery](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3281970/Deep_Snow_Delivery/) as well. Should work perfectly on Linux, as it's doing fine on my Deck (lower the Snow Heightfield Resolution to low, other settings to medium, target 30 FPS), and is just a fun experience from the get go.

Deep Snow Delivery looks great! Adding that to my demo list.

Yesterday I tried Ardenfall & Replaced. LOVE LOVE LOVE replaced! Will 100% be getting that. The art / visuals / sound is off the charts amazingly good. Ardenfall has some bizarre graphical stretching at the edges that was super distracting (which I hope they fix) but otherwise DEFINITELY has the morrowind vibes.

Quoting: ChrisznixOh man, Next Fest... aint nobody got time for that.
Every evening, when its finally getting quieter, i look at all my games already, cannot decide what to play next and... go for a round of brotato and go to bed. Sigh.

"We don't want you to _play_ our game. We just want you to _buy_ it!" --Every marketing department, EVAR

Ardenfall looks so interesting. A "first-person RPG inspired by Morrowind" which, according to the Steam forums can be played in third-person as well -- just not always in combat. I'm old school -- I absolutely do not need nor desire complete voice dialogue.

I am just under the graphics card requirement. I might see if it will still run regardless. The GeForce MX150 is supposed to be the equivalent of the GeForce GT 1030 ...

Few more:

Just in case if somebody missed the article, Vampire Crawlers is bit simple deckbuilder reimplementation of Vampire Survivors. There's some fun to be had with combos, but it's bit too easy to form a routine.

Dungeons of Dusk had also recent article. This one is closer to dungeon crawler, but it's Dusk themed. Shooting is not as satisfying as in original Dusk and at least first floor is one big sewer level. Skill tree and consumables could maybe offer some variation, but of course first floor didn't show much what they actually have to offer.

[Everything is Grab](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4308510/Everything_is_Crab_The_Animal_Evolution_Roguelite_Demo/) is fun take on evolution as game mechanic in roguelite form. Evolution is shown as different set of random features what you can choose from and you have to eat to level up in order to evolve. What you choose visually affects your player character. The boss battles are bit of challenge, so I guess you have to choose wisely how you evolve. Though you might have to pick something to survive in more extreme biomes, so there's plenty of hard choices to be made.

[Far Far West](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3819240/Far_Far_West_Demo/) is multiplayer extraction shooter. What makes is fun is that gunplay is fun and there's different combos and spells. Also jokers you can collect offer either something funny or useful. Levels also have side quests and secrets. There were also some puzzles. Works as single player, but leaves feeling that it's more fun as multiplayer.

[Snacktorio](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1902940/Snacktorio/). (there's also recent article) This one is basically side scrolling Factorio mixed with a puzzle game. After tutorial levels, there are few actual levels where you make a factory that makes a dish that you feed to a monster or two.

Bit rough around the edges. I constantly had items in the hand, which blocked using the hotbar. Also thrash could have a warning before it deletes the items. Problems is that you can't build some of the essential things yourself if you get full stack at the beginning of the level. Still, mostly fun, though I didn't get feeling that I would want to play more after I finished it.