Steam Next Fest gives players an opportunity to try upcoming games before their full releases, but the number of available demos can make it difficult to find something new. This edition features a diverse lineup of games, including a remastered kaiju fighting classic, puzzle adventures, cooperative survival experiences, and horror titles arriving just in time for Halloween.
Here are nine demos worth checking out during Steam Next Fest.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered brings back the 2002 arena fighter, allowing players to pit some of the franchise’s most recognizable monsters against one another. The remastered edition offers an opportunity to revisit the classic kaiju battles ahead of its November 3 release.
The game is scheduled to launch on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Hope Timbre
Hope Timbre is a 3D puzzle adventure built around colorful environments and architecture-based challenges. Players guide a mysterious creature through imaginary worlds at night, while the daytime sections follow two siblings attempting to restore their broken world.
The demo offers a look at the game’s puzzle mechanics and contrasting environments.
Rhythm Hotel
Rhythm Hotel combines one-button rhythm gameplay with comedy and unusual historical characters. Its demo features five levels, each built around the game’s timing-based mechanics and unpredictable situations.
The game is planned for release on PC and Nintendo Switch later this year. Players can try the demo to experience its musical challenges and the chaotic stories surrounding its guests.
Tattie Bogle
Tattie Bogle blends cooperative farming, tower defense, and roguelite progression. Players take control of an enchanted scarecrow tasked with protecting a farm from supernatural enemies.
The gameplay follows a day-and-night cycle. During the day, players grow crops and prepare defenses, while nighttime brings increasingly dangerous threats. The game supports solo play and cooperative sessions with up to four players, with permanent upgrades providing additional progression between runs.
Tattie Bogle is scheduled to arrive on Steam on November 11.
Dead Party
The expanded demo for Dead Party introduces the previously unseen Museum stage, giving players another environment to defend against waves of zombies.
The four-player cooperative survival game takes place in Shady Hill, where a UFO appearance on Halloween coincides with the dead rising from their graves. Players must work together using barricades, traps, and unconventional weapons to keep the undead at bay.
Dead Party is scheduled to launch on Steam and the Epic Games Store on October 29, with console versions planned to follow.
Ecstatica 1 & 2
Horror fans can also explore the demos for Ecstatica and Ecstatica 2, restored versions of two classic survival horror games originally associated with the 1990s PC gaming era.
The first game takes place in the medieval village of Tirich, where a seemingly ordinary stop for water turns into a fight for survival against supernatural threats, including an apparently unstoppable werewolf. The series combines unsettling horror with dark humor and an unusual visual style.
Both titles are scheduled to arrive on Steam and GOG on October 26, making them potential options for players looking for a retro horror experience ahead of Halloween.
On the Rocks
On the Rocks takes place in a sun-scorched wasteland where clean water has become a scarce resource. The first-person simulation combines crafting, exploration, survival, and bar management.
Players venture into the desert to collect materials, process resources using industrial machinery, and gradually expand their establishment. Building a reputation among passing survivors is also part of the experience, with business management and resource gathering both contributing to the bar’s continued survival.
The demo provides a preview of the game’s mix of harsh-world survival and business simulation.
Portentum
Portentum offers a different kind of strategy experience through its cryptid-themed deck-building and auto-battler mechanics. Players assemble a 30-card deck featuring cryptids and mushrooms, then spend gold to create a warband of up to five units.
The objective is to win ten rounds before suffering five losses. Each created warband also enters the matchmaking pool, allowing player-created lineups to influence the wider competitive environment. New card packs are expected to introduce additional combinations and change the available strategies.
Portentum is set to launch in Steam Early Access, giving strategy fans an opportunity to explore its evolving gameplay.
More Games to Discover During Steam Next Fest
With genres ranging from rhythm games and puzzle adventures to cooperative zombie defense and classic survival horror, this selection highlights the variety available during Steam Next Fest. Players interested in upcoming releases can use the demos to test gameplay mechanics, explore different concepts, and decide which titles deserve a place on their wishlists.
As several of these games approach their October and November release dates, Steam Next Fest offers an opportunity to sample them before launch.
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