Well hello there, long time no see!

The next Steam Next Fest is here and of course we played some demos again. For everyone not familiar with the roundup: My girlfriend and I play random and not so random demos, after a timer runs out we are free to go to the next demo. While we do this I do a write up of what we have seen and felt while playing. At the end we give recommendations if it is something you should play or not. This time I will publish this article after we started playing the first game. This way you have the chance to play some of the demos we found, if certain entries pique your interest. So, be sure to return from time to time for more write ups!

Lets go!

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Foxtale Demo

Developer: Playtable Games
Release date: TBA
Recommend: No
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
Fight alongside animal allies, defeat robot foes, and call-in powerful airstrikes in this action-packed demo to Foxtale: a single player, action-adventure, open world playground!

Opinion:
It, is a pure mess, in a bad bad way. The controls are very complicated on controller (and sometimes straight up not implemented). Most assets look like taken from a Humble Bundle Asset-bundle and they simply don´t look like they belong to the same game. When you go up the little hill right next to the start you find a developer note in which the developer talks about that the person is a solo dev, doing this on the side while working as a writer on documentary's and for esports. While I don´t want to through shade on the developer, the story and dialog in this is HORRIBLE, it reads like what someone would write in their second fan-fiction in younger years. (Well at least I did that ... don´t ask about it...)

With time the controls can surely be fixed, the writing I don´t know, but hey! The Game features extended Raytracing support with a tech called lumen (never heard of that). rolls eyes

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Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Demo

Developer: Netmarble Neo
Release date: Q2 2025
Recommend: Shy Yes
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
A story-driven action-adventure RPG, bringing the world of Westeros to life with remarkable detail and never-before seen scale

Opinion:
A good looking Game of Thrones game. The combat looks good, the graphics are great and the voice acting is really nice. Sadly the game suffers from robot faces, while all other animations look good to great, the facial animations are ... how should I put it ... very Mass Effect: Andromeda-esque.

Well, not bad but why only a shy recommendation? Let me ask you a question: Do you like liveservice games? If your answer is yes then give it a try. If no, maybe skip this one because by the looks of it, the game will be heavily grindy and monetized. There are already more than 10 currencies in the demo.

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Gothic 1 Remake Demo

*Developer: Alkimia Interactive *
Release date: TBA
Recommend: No
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
The Legend is Back - Return to the Valley of the Mines in this faithful remake of the genre-defining classic RPG. Explore a hand-crafted, organic open world that reacts dynamically to your actions in a gritty, unrestricted experience like no other.

Opinion:
I was kinda hyped for this one, my friends recommended Gothic 1 to me a while back, since then I have it on my to play list. So, when I heard about the Remake I hoped that this could be my way of playing a modern version of the classic without the yank from back then. Well, the demo showed me two things: 1. You need a NASA supercomputer to run this game and 2. Why would you include the animation yank from the original?

My PC sports a Ryzen 2500 + Nvidia 2070, surely a medium budged machine at this point in time, but playing on 1080p with all settings on low gets me around 30-40 FPS, all while the game looks WORSE than a 2008 title. How can the game be so unoptimized? On high settings the game looks good, not amazing, there is nothing there to justify such bad performance.

Next, lets talk about the animation issues. Every fight animation takes a million years to finish, while enemy attacks feel super fast. Especially wildlife, they attack so fast that you wouldn´t dodge even without the delay. After throwing myself against the same two birds for five times I gave up and moved on to the next Demo.

But I kinda liked the dialogs and voice acting, but I cannot overlook the performance and grueling combat issues, so its a big NO for me.

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Nice Day for Fishing Demo

Developer: FusionPlay
Release date: 2025
Recommend: Yes
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
The world needs you Adventurer! Embark on an RPG pixel adventure where you’ll play as Baelin the humble fisherman, who must rise-up to become the hero of Honeywood. Battle fish with precision timing and magic spells, upgrade your abilities, defeat evil and rebuild Honeywood.

Opinion:
This game is fantastic! It revolves around Baelin, the "Nice Day For Fishing" fisher character from the Epic NPC Man Youtube series and it is really funny. For all of you who doesn´t know the series, you should absolutely watch it before playing to get the maximum fun out of the experience.

Like the YT series, the game takes the piss out of gaming tropes without being annoying. Not only are the pixelgraphics charming (and kinda basic what, makes it charming, because of what this game represents), but there is an actual game here! The fishing mechanic is really fun and different, adding more and more features to the "combat", which is really interesting and surprising.

In short: the Demo is fun and the gameplay is great. Go play it! (After watching the videos on YT of course)

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Projected Dreams Demo

Developer: Flawberry Studio
Release date: Q2 2025
Recommend: Yes
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
Drag toys from the shelves and drop them on the table to create a shadow play in this cozy puzzle game. As the shadows unfold, immerse yourself in a heartwarming story full of nostalgia from the 90s and blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

Opinion:
Have you ever thought that you want to throw a shadow on the wall and try to match it with stuff from your youth? Like Toys, things and packaging? Well, in this game you can do it! Project Dreams is cozy a game.

After you complete stages, more and more object get unlocked, the objects are all things we remembered from our childhood which gives it a good nostalgia feeling. The closer you get to the perfect match the more stars you earn. Every stage gives you little glimpse of what happened to the character you play, so there is a little story as well.

All in all a pretty solid experience, even if it is a tat to boring for our taste. Only thing that is negative is that the shader + cellshaded textures of the objects makes it seem kinda broken, but that is surely fixable.

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Castle V Castle Demo

Developer: Nopopo
Release date: TBA
Recommend: Yes
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
A stylish single player 1v1 card game funded and supported by Slay the Spire's Casey Yano and inspired by browser classic Castle Wars. Build up your castle and knock down your opponent's brick by brick!

Opinion:
Charming little roguelike card-based game. Manage your resources to play powerful cards to bring your opponents castle down! But, watch out and buff your own walls or else you will be the one sitting on a pile of rubble.

It is small and simple, but dangerously addictive. You have to manage three resources and use them to defeat your opponents. While you face ever tougher enemies you get to upgrade your deck with new cards. Recommend!

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Schedule I: Free Sample Demo

Developer: TVGS
Release date: 24 Mar 2025
Recommend: Yes
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
Jump into the streets of Hyland Point and take the first steps from small-time dope pusher to kingpin. Manufacture and distribute a range of drugs to reach the peak of the underworld. Now available in 4-player co-op!

Opinion:
To be honest... I didn´t expected anything and was positively surprised. It looks like some low effort game with the trailer and screenshots, but it is really polished and thought through.

You play as ... yourself, coming to town with nothing but your clothes on your body and looking for some opportunity to make some cash. Luckily, your totally not shady uncle helps you out, showing you the ropes on how to grow your own weed. And here the game starts to shine. Everything you do, from gardening, harvesting, packaging etc needs you to actively do them. Little mini-games await around every corner.

Even the "customer" acquisition is handled amazingly. Having some product on hand? Open up your phone and say you have some and wait until someone contacts you. Select a meeting time and sell your stuff. I don´t know why but it feels really organic and fun. Also, I noticed that this can be played in 4 player coop, definitely a consideration for a fun evening with friends for sure.

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Adventures of a Cat in Space Demo

Developer: Tall Story Games Ltd
Release date: Coming Soon
Recommend: Yes
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
A musical experience for the whole family. Solve puzzles and explore the galaxy to unlock songs and find your way back to Earth in a musical point & click adventure purrrfect for all ages.

Opinion:
Hey a Point and Click adventure. Girlfriend likes Point and Click adventures! Girlfriend also like musicals. The game starts some funny songs while playing! A match made in heaven!

Art-style is simple but charming, the jokes are really funny, the puzzles are puzzlely and the musical parts are great. Good game, girlfriend likes!

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Rise of Shrooms Demo

Developer: Miluku Inc.
Release date: Coming Soon
Recommend: No
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
A lighthearted, turn-based strategy game where you command an army of shroomies and conquer new lands. Roll the dice and plan your moves wisely—craft gear, hunt for resources, and draw powerful cards. With the right strategy and a bit of luck, your Mushroom Empire will rise to greatness!

Opinion:
We came for the cute mushroom characters, we ran away from the game mechanics...

Don´t let the cute look fool you, this is an hardcore strategy game. You have three mushrooms, all different in stats, who need to gather up to 6 different resources on a grid overworld. How far you can go is determent by three dice rolls, you have 5 Days to complete the stage, every day is subdivided by 10 rounds. To proceed you need to gather 30 manashards (I believe) while also gathering wood, food and stone. To prevent flat damage to one of your mushrooms you need at least 2 Wood and 2 Food -> 6 Wood and 6 Food every day.

Of course there are enemies who attack and kill you while you gather, wasting either your life or action points. Gathering one node gives 1-2 resources, enemies (wolves) don´t drop anything on death.

The game has way to much going on and the game mechanics doesn´t fit together, it feels more like a loose box of ideas punched together. We played like 10min and stopped because we died. Don´t recommend.

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Bao Bao's Cozy Laundromat Demo

*Developer: Destroyer Doggo *
Release date: 6 Mar 2025
Recommend: No
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
Relax in Bao Bao’s Cozy Laundromat, an idle game where you join Bao Bao, a charming panda, in creating the coziest laundromat. Purchase colorful washing machines, add delightful decorations, and hire panda helpers. Watch your cozy laundromat bustle with life, even when you’re not around!

Opinion:
Do you like watching a slow-ass panda walking from one part of the room to another while carrying clothes to different machines? Well, we don´t. At least, not that slow.

I get the idea, you lt the game run in the background while doing something else, but especially in the beginning, gaining money to buy/do stuff is way to slow. There are lots of this kind of game out there, but few are as slow as this one.

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Savara Demo

Developer: Doryah Games
Release date: Coming Soon
Recommend: Maybe
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
In this colorful action roguelite, participate in the festivities organized for the pleasure of the warrior god. Equip your best weapons, prove your valor against powerful monsters, and permanently engrave your name in history!

Opinion:
Its just a Hades clone.

Girlfriend says it belongs to the Wakfu universe. (I have no idea)

If you like Hades take a look, otherwise play Hades. xD

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Freddy Farmer Demo

Developer: Catcade Games
Release date: 4 Mar 2025
Recommend: No
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
Freddy's daughter has been kidnapped by an evil dragon. To rescue her, he must cross the entire kingdom taking some ingredients with which to make a magic potion, but it won't be easy, they must be collected in a specific order and Freddy will have to overcome the dangers he finds in his path.

Opinion:
We came for the adventurous description and left because of the gameplay ... again.

First we thought it would be an adventure game, segmented in smaller gameplay parts using gamemechanics from arcade era games. But turns out it is the arcade Donkey Kong game with a small twist. You see, at the start of a Stage you are given a list of ingredients, you have to collect all the ingredients and preferably in the given order. That´s it.

The gameplay feels dated and the twist is not interesting enough. Skip this one.

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Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder Demo

*Developer: Coreffect Interactive *
Release date: 2025
Recommend: Maybe
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
At the northern fringes of the empire, a new Roman city is born! Manage and grow your city, please the gods, and survive against barbarians and mythological threats in this demo of the early portions of the game.

Opinion:
Roman Triumph plays like any other citybuilder I have come across the last couple of years.

It is ... kinda run of the mill while I was playing, sadly I didn´t play long enough to see the kicker of the game: Mythical Creatures/Monsters. I guess they are trying to bring modern citybuilding and mythical events from Zeus: Master of Olympus together.

But, something about the visuals sets me off. It looks a bit unsaturated and uses way to much chromatic aberration for my taste. So its a maybe.

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Do No Harm Demo

Developer: Darts Games
Release date: 6 Mar 2025
Recommend: Yes
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
Lovecraftian Doctor Simulator. Diagnose patients by analyzing unsettling symptoms and treat them using your Book of Medicine. Make moral choices — decide who to save or kill, discover whom to trust, and unlock multiple endings! Can you endure 30 days of perilous decisions?

Opinion:
The game feels like a mix of Potion Craft and Papers Please, in a very good way!

You are the new doctor in a small village, every day the people need your help curing them from their illnesses and dodging the mind games of the local cryptids. Like Papers Please the cures for more complex illnesses get more difficult and more and more gameplay elements are added. Which it does very well. Also, it looks pretty lovecraftian. Girlfriend likes.

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Wanderstop Demo

Developer: Ivy Road
Release date: 11 Mar 2025
Recommend: Yes
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
From the creator of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide comes Wanderstop, a narrative-centric cozy game about change and tea.

Opinion:
This game is a really necessary one. It touches on the topic of overworking yourself but still keep soldiering on, even when your body and soul falters.

You are a Swordfighter who tries her best to be on the top, defeat means you didn´t want a win enough and haven´t trained yourself at the best of your ability. Even though you are going down a negative spiral, you can´t stop, you are not a quitter after all! After a series of defeats in tournaments, you need to pick up the pace, need someone who can train you better than you have ever been. One person comes to mind, but to reach her you need to go through a thick forest in which you ultimately collapse due to exhaustion. Suddenly you find yourself on a bench and a strange guy offers you some tea and invites you to stay a while.

To be honest, the game hits a little bit where it hurts. Many of us are used to simply keep going, even though the task or challenge at hand are way to much at that moment. For me it is something I do, something crazy happens, life gets harder and harder, but you still overcome, often at the cost of my health which isn´t great to begin with. But stopping for even one moment lets your body and mind completely give in and lets you back shattered. This is what the game is about, about the feeling of not being enough, not giving enough, even when you are on the brink of dying. Maybe making some tea isn´t such a bad idea?

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Stygian: Outer Gods Demo

Developer: Misterial Games
Release date: Coming Soon
Recommend: No
Player: Snowi

Steam description:

Dive into a hostile world that challenges your very existence, in this survival horror game with RPG elements. Unravel a thousand-year-old mystery, risk your sanity and face the Outer Gods with your skills. Every bullet and every decision counts now, are you up to the task?

Opinion:
I would like to say something about this game, but the performance is so bad that I can´t get over 22 FPS on lowest settings standing in a room. Maybe another time when you don´t need a supercomputer to run this demo. I suspect that the game uses mandatory RayTracing, because even nothing is moving and no dynamic light is in the room, light coming through the window is having suspicious looking noise on the shadows.

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5omeday Demo

Developer: Indigo Ingots, Starlit Chronicles Studio
Release date: Q2 2025
Recommend: Maybe
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
You have been assigned to guard a dragon girl set to be executed at the end of 5 days and have the ability to kill her instantly at any time with the push of a button in this multi-ending visual novel.

Opinion:
5omeday is a classical visual novel. You are a guard talking to a demon/dragon girl which burned down a village and is being on death row.

The length of the demo isn´t really long, but I like what was being shown. That said, I like visual novels and nothing here is anything new. So it is a solid maybe.

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Moorhuhn Kart 4 Demo

Developer: Korion Interactive
Release date: 13 Mar 2025
Recommend: No
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
The world's craziest chicken is heading back to the racetrack! Wacky characters, cool tracks and karts, and zany items await in a worldwide online battle for first place!

Opinion:
Moorhuhn is a franchise my girlfriend remembers from back in the day. She also played the first Moorhuhn Kart on the PS1 and really wanted to try this demo.

Just skip this, the controls are bad and it feels really dated, so it is pretty much on line with most things coming out of Germany these days. Disappointing demo, no recommendation.

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The Enigma Cases Demo

Developer: Red Axe Games
Release date: Q3 2025
Recommend: No
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
The Enigma Cases invites you to test your skills as a detective and solve the most complex cases. Join your friends in this immersive and mysterious world. Do you have what it takes to uncover the truth?

Opinion:
First problem: The game is only playable with at least two people. Second: It´s another one of those games which need a supercomputer again. No way getting over 24 FPS on everything off and lowest settings.

I tried my best to get through the first couple of minutes and the tutorial puzzle but no dice. Additionally to the bad performance comes constant breaking of UI, at one point the game didn´t let me use any buttons except camera movement. Not recommended because it´s broken.

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Love in Space Demo

Developer: Jorn Lavoll, Ozan Drøsdal
Release date: July 2026
Recommend: YES
Player: Girlfriend

Steam description:
50% Visual Novel - 50% Sci-Fi Karaoke-Musical. Mankind has fled the scorched crusts of planet earth, leaving some to survive in leaky domes beneath the sea, including you. As the meaning of your existence dissolves, you daydream to escape the darkness and cling to sanity - through song.

Opinion:
Another pretty short demo, but this time it is amazingly good.

Like the description says, this game is a mix of visual novel and karaoke. We didn´t know that this could be an option but it is immensely fun.

Planet Earth is only a husk of itself and the remaining humans have either fled into space or are living in big domes underwater. Our protagonist isn´t really happy about that situation, being one of the people living underwater and he wants to go to the praised moonstation. While coping with life in the colony he sometimes burst out into a sing-along song in which you are invited to sing along.

If you don´t like singing skip this, but we had a blast singing at each other while reading the insane funny lyrics. Wishlisted for sure!

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Túatha Echoes: The Village Demo

Developer: Freki Games
Release date: 4 Mar 2025
Recommend: Don´t know
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
Immerse yourself in the psychological horror of The Village, where whispers bend reality and ordinary life spirals into madness. Unravel the dark rise of one of Túatha's most infamous figures in this short story visual novel.

Opinion:
Can´t say anything about it. It doesn´t start. :(

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Kentum Demo

Developer: Tlön Industries
Release date: TBA
Recommend: Yes
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
Stranded in the year 10,000, Kent—an average Joe turned clone—must survive, explore, and rebuild civilization with the help of a snarky AI. Craft, farm, and automate in this 2D craftervania adventure as you uncover Earth’s secrets and kickstart humanity, one machine at a time.

Opinion:
A good looking 2D, Metroidvania-esque survival base building game. (That rolled off the tongue easy...)

Our guy is working for a company which wants him to push a button every 10 years in his small observation spacepod. Because he works smart, not hard, he tinkers with his cryosleep chamber to let him sleep a little longer. His plan works, but a little bit too good ... like a couple of thousand years good.

After this long time his Pod gets off course and falls back to earth where he crashes. This is the start of the repopulation project which has been put in place for exact that kind of scenario.

Game looks good, plays good and is funny. I recommend!

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High Seas, High Profits! Demo

Developer: lexy.zip
Release date: 31 Mar 2025
Recommend: Maybe
Player: Snowi

Steam description:
Live your medieval trader life! Buy low, sell high and explore the world! Buy ships, build businesses, find or train captains. Deal with pirates, manipulate mayors and challenge traders. React to hundreds of events that shape your very own procedurally-generated world!

Opinion:
It is just Patricia in a low poly look. Not more not less.

I do prefer the old Patricia games more to be honest, something gets lost for me without all the small visual details. So maybe something for people who only like the economic aspect of sailing cargo games.

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Annnnd that´s it. A week full of Demos comes to an end! I hope you have been entertained with the write up and even tried some Demos for your self. Doing this format is really fun but challenging timewise, but I hope to see you around when the next Steam Next Fest is happening.

So long, keep completionating! :)