Hello, and welcome. It’s that time of year again, and we’ve been graced with another Steam Next Fest.

For the few of you reading who don’t already know what a Steam Next Fest is, it’s an event hosted by Valve (the owners of Steam) wherein developers can showcase their upcoming games with a playable demo. The event happens approximately every 4 months, and has become my primary source for discovering interesting games from smaller development teams. As such, I spend quite a bit of time trawling through and playing the available demos, so I can scout out titles that I’ll eventually play and (hopefully) write about.

But I wouldn’t be a proper blogger if I were to do this whole thing in isolation, so I’m bringing you along for the journey. I’ve made a point of sharing my thoughts on (almost) every demo I’ve played from the last several Next Fest events, and I’ll be continuing that here.

So, without any further ado, let’s get to some demos.

Actually no – that was a lie. There was 1 more thing I wanted to mention before we got started.

I wrote 3 different previews over the past several weeks for games that are presently taking part in the current Next Fest event: Isle of Reveries, The King is Watching, and Monster Train 2. All 3 demos are worth checking out, and I’ve included links to the articles where I share my full thoughts provided you’re interested in knowing more.

Okay – for real this time. Let’s get into some demos.

Asgard’s Fall – Viking Survivors

Elevator Pitch: Vampire Survivors X Norse mythology. It’s basically the perfect mash-up for anyone with a strong appreciation for either of those aforementioned things.

Frosti’s Thoughts: I enjoyed what I played in the demo, but I’m not sure that I need to play more of Asgard’s Fall.

While I find Bullet Heaven (I guess that’s what we’re calling them?) games are fun in the short-term, I’ve never been able to stick with them for more than a few hours. They’re the perfect type of game to play when you want something low-stakes, especially after a long day at work. However, I’ll usually just play a Deckbuilder, or practice my combo routing in Fighting games when I want something like that. Ergo, I’ve never really hit it off with one of these titles.

Regardless, I have a passing interest in Norse mythology, so I thought maybe Asgard’s Fall would stick. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

However, don’t let my misgivings steer you away from the title: Asgard’s Fall is still just as fun to play as something like Vampire Survivor. It’s competently put together, and I had a lot of fun seeing how different Gods were represented through the various active, and passive abilities. I was also laughing maniacally when I put together a combo of skills that turned every enemy on screen into a puddle of goo.

All said, if you’re into this sort of thing then you should give Asgard’s Fall a look. It’s just as fun as any other Bullet Heaven I’ve played, even if it doesn’t quite manage to have the X factor that’d keep me playing for longer.

Wishlisted: no

Ghost Hand

Elevator Pitch: a Metroidvania with stylish aerial combat where you go on a journey to save your father.

Frosti’s Thoughts: I’m kind of mixed on Ghost Hand if I’m being honest. There’s a lot going on with it, which is really impressive given that it appears to be a solo developed project. You’ve got Metroid style platforming and exploration, but the combat is kind of like Devil May Cry, and there’s also sections of the game where you ride on a dragon which reminded me of Panzer Dragoon. It was all a bit disorienting as it felt like Ghost Hand was juggling a lot of balls in the air all at once, and didn’t really want to focus on any 1 thing in particular.

Personally, I think I’d have preferred if the game (and the demo) were a little more focused on 1 or 2 things. I say this because there wasn’t anything in Ghost Hand’s demo that stood out to me as being especially great. Don’t get it twisted – everything was put together fine. There just wasn’t a single thing that made me go, “Damn. I gotta see more of this.”

Regardless of what I thought, I can still see a clear vision of what the developer is going for with Ghost Hand. It’s a unique blend of a variety of different gameplay elements, and I’m certain that it’ll hit hard provided you fall into the very specific venn diagram of people who’re Ghost Hand’s target audience. I just don’t think I’m among your ranks after playing the demo.

Wishlisted: no

Is This Seat Taken?

Elevator Pitch: a logic puzzle game about helping everyone to find a place where they belong.

Frosti’s Thoughts: I liked it. A lot.

I’m a much more casual enjoyer of Puzzle games than I am of some of the other genres that I play. As such, I tend to really enjoy Puzzle games that get me thinking, but which don’t require me to use every fibre of my brain. Is This Seat Taken absolutely nails that vibe with its gameplay built around trying to find a place for everyone to sit comfortably.

The demo did a great job of highlighting just how much variety the developers have gotten out of their core mechanic. You start by simply placing people in a taxi based on if they want to sit alone, or at a window seat, but this quickly balloons out to include things like passengers who listen to loud music, kids who want to share popcorn at the movies, and even someone who desperately wants to eat cheese. I promise that all makes sense in context. The point I’m trying to make is that no 2 levels in Is This Seat Taken felt alike, and I’m very interested in seeing what other creative ideas are packed into the full release of the game.

There’s also hints of a story about learning to love, and accept oneself on display in Is This Seat Taken’s demo. The gameplay mechanics were already enough to get me to stick around, but the story hook has me even more curious.

Either way, Is This Seat Taken was a very pleasant surprise. It gets a strong recommendation, and a Chives seal of approval.

Wishlisted: yes!

Gnomes

Elevator Pitch: a Tower Defence game where garden gnomes defend your house from nefarious goblins.

Frosti’s Thoughts: very fun, and very silly. Gnomes is the kind of game where I found myself asking how it hasn’t already been created because the premise makes so much sense.

Basically, you’ll be planting a garden, and then setting up gnomes to defend it from hordes of goblins. Every plant that survives into the following day provides you with a little extra gold, which you can use to buy new passive abilities, or additional gnomes to defend yourself with. You’re then able to buy upgrades, and move your gnomes around before the next wave of goblin invaders arrive.

Gnomes’ basic gameplay is relatively simple, but finding the right balance of plants, and gnomes ends up being fairly tricky. Doubly so when you start adding in different types of gnomes, and plants which offer additional effects. Honest to god, Gnomes is the kind of game I could lose several hours to while only playing the first level as its light Roguelike elements are a perfect compliment to its more traditional Tower Defence mechanics.

Wishlisted: yes

Haste: Broken Worlds

Elevator Pitch: an infinite runner about building, and maintaining speed as you try to outrun a dimension ending rift that’s hot on your heels.

Frosti’s Thoughts: this was the single biggest surprise of the day.

A few years back, I read about a game called Exo One thanks to fellow blogger Naithin from Time to Loot. It’s a game wherein you control the vertical movement of a ball that’s constantly flying through various alien landscapes. There isn’t a fail state, but the game is most fun when you’re using the natural curvature of the land to accelerate to eye-watering speeds.

Haste: Broken Worlds seems to have taken that same gameplay idea, but expanded upon it to be more of a game, and less of an experience. That’ll sound a bit like I’m throwing shade, but what I mean is that Haste has upgrades, challenge levels, and even boss fights. It’s just a lot more conventionally video gamey than Exo One was.

Having said all of that, I also now understand why Naithin liked Exo One so much. Zipping through the different procedurally generated levels in Haste was awesome. Doubly so when I got into a flow state, and was able to build up a ton of speed while zipping around obstacles. I don’t know how much longevity I’d get out of the full game, but the taste I got from the demo has me eager for more.

Trust me when I say that Haste is a game that you’re going to want to try for yourself. It’s way easier to understand the appeal of it once you start gliding through its levels.

Wishlisted: yes!

Okay – that’ll do it for day 2 of the Steam Next Fest. Also, that wasn’t a typo. I spent day 1 looking through, and downloading a bunch of different demos. As such, I didn’t actually have time to play, and write about them.

Ideally, I’d like to have all my Next Fest coverage finished by the weekend so that anyone reading can play any of the demos that catch their eye. At least, I assume that’s why folks read my coverage about upcoming titles in these Next Fest preview posts.

Either way, thank you for reading, and I’ll (hopefully) see you tomorrow with the next round of first impressions for another handful of demos.

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