Steam Next Fest has arrived again for another year, and this time, I remembered. I have never participated before, so I had no idea what to expect. So, I decided to let the randomiser choose all my games. Below are the 22 games I managed to play within the week. Being all demos, my reviews are just as short, based on my observations and feelings.

Rick Henderson Eternal Arena – This 2D space shooter takes me back to the days of playing Asteroid at the arcade. With a new lick of paint and rougelite elements, it is fun. Unfortunately, I do not find it captivating enough to hold interest for more than a couple of hours over the weekend.

A Game About Chopping Trees – Exactly what the game’s name suggests, you chop down trees. In the first-person view, you take to the world with your trusty axe and fell trees to make money and upgrade your skills. With a soothing soundtrack and a cozy visual, this could easily keep you hooked for many hours.

Rob o Bot – A cute and brightly coloured Vampire Survivors clone. Unfortunately, this genre is heavily published and getting attention is tough. I have played many clones of this genre, both good and bad. As for Rob o Bot, it falls into the bad category.

Pickle Pete – Another rougelite 2D like Vampire Survivors. There is nothing overly complicated with this game, but the depth of advancement is exceptional. Through the advancement of items, weapons, and stats, you will easily lose hours in this game without even noticing.

Shape Sender Deluxe – A simple puzzler where you have to move shapes from the entry pipe to the exit pipe using a variety of tools, all while the cheeky cube helps you learn the game. The puzzles progressively get harder, like any good puzzler, which will satisfy any puzzle fan. 

Eclipse of Fate – An RPG like the old Final Fantasy series. With a clear uplift in graphics, there isn’t anything further that captivates the imagination in wanting to keep playing. As RPGs, these games can take some time to kick off, which would be unfortunate if this were a diamond in the rough. However, I’m not feeling it.

Miniature Land Four Seasons – The art style of this puzzle game is breathtaking. The miniatures you interact with are beautifully crafted dioramas that change as you solve the puzzles through a point-and-click system. Though there is no story present, the art alone is enough to make me want to play more.

MEGAPAIN – A retro first-person shooter along the lines of Doom. In fact, it is obvious that inspiration has been drawn from Doom with its retro graphics and heavy rock tunes. It does have a story, and it is very cliché. The monsters look different, but they all feel the same in combat: rush forward to melee, rush forward to shoot.

The Last Camp: Dawn – A twin stick shooter with a zombie apocalypse theme. With its isometric view of realistic graphics, it is a very competent game. There is a hint of a story that is just intriguing enough. Combined with a survival gathering mechanic to take back to your base and do upgrades, this game has some definite promise.

The Pale Mimic – You play as Jason, a fugitive of the law hiding out in the wilderness. In isolation with only your dog, a friend helps you avoid capture by bringing you supplies. When an accident occurs, and your friend goes missing, you are all alone. Is the isolation now playing tricks on your mind, or is there something sinister in the woods?

Storytime Cats – Meows and Mistletoes – A searching game where you find items in a scene. And as the name suggests, it’s cat and Christmas themed. As you search the beautifully hand-drawn picture, clicking on hidden cats and mice, you will be treated to Christmas music. A simple game to pass the time.

Lonely Planet – A first-person shooter where you shoot spider-like creatures. I assume you are trying to protect the frog-like creatures, but without a story, it’s hard to get invested in the game without a reason. The care taken with the pastel, cell-shaded graphics is pleasant and soothing to the eye.

Tidy Up – As the name suggests, this is a cozy game where you tidy up a mess. You are given multiple tools to complete various tasks. This game is simple and rewarding, with relaxing music and pleasingly bright graphics. With many cleaning genres out there, this is one of the better ones.

Trust Your Gut – Did you enjoy Clover Pit? Do you want to play another gambling game with the same concept? Well, you’re in luck. Trust Your Gut is exactly that, but now you play roulette. Unfortunately, unless you are looking for a new gambler, this feels unoriginal, so it’ll be up to you if you want to cash in all the chips on this.

Kill The Nova – A weird take on what can only be described as Tetris. As you build combinations in a grind to reach the score goal, you are challenged with curses that change how you go about reaching that goal. Only those with a strategic mind will reach the heights of gameplay that this game demands.

RAD Velocity – A flow state game where you race on short tracks to claim bragging rights on the leaderboard. The simple controls make this game very easy to get into, but mastering it will force a competitive edge just to beat those high scores!

KAMI 2 – A puzzle game of folding paper. Incredibly simple in both concept and execution. With its Japanese theme and music, it provides a very relaxing game to play. As the levels become progressively harder, it never loses sight of being relaxing and enjoyable.

Goal Idle – An idle game with a soccer theme. Slowly build money up by kicking goals. As you earn more, you can do more. From teammates to help, different balls to kick, increasing the value of a kicked goal, and more. It is a classic idle game, but I found it required a bit more player input than others I’ve played.

Hidden Raccoons in Summer – A pixelated image where you search to find raccoons and click on them to reveal them. Good for children or for those enamoured with raccoons. I am sure more images will become available, and the searches will become more challenging, but for now, it’s very lacklustre.

Reflection of Feelings – A visual novel unable to decide how it wants its main character to act. His wishy-washy nature of confidence and doubt swings harder and faster than a barn door pretending it’s an oiled-up restaurant kitchen door. Even for a visual novel, the choices you get are limited and feel like they come with no resounding impact.

Glitchy: Not So Sweet – I don’t get this game at all. I am expected to spot the differences and choose a door, but what’s the baseline? When I saw a difference, I would choose the red door as instructed, only to be wrong. Unfortunately, I did not understand or enjoy this game.

Click the Button – As the name very much suggests, click the button. A surprisingly enjoyable game where you just click the button. Clicking the button rewards you, rewards let you buy upgrades, and upgrades make clicking the button easier. Not a groundbreaking game, but something to give you a sense of reward for not doing much.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little slice of Steam Next Fest. I truly enjoyed participating in the Steam Next Fest and will certainly try to do so in the future. Hopefully, my snippets of reviews are enough to get you interested in a game you may not have otherwise heard about. 

Written by: Ashley Barnett-Cosgrove