Next Fest 25|1 Day 3
Micro-reviews for Day 3 of Winter Next Fest 2025, exploring Haste: Broken Worlds, An Elaborate History of Chess, Seekers of Skyveil, NITRO GEN OMEGA, Soar: Pillars of Tasneem, Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit, ZAVOD, and Collateral Dungeon
Today was full of really good titles, and likely the best overall day of the Fest for me. So much good stuff, and a good variety too.
Highlights: Haste: Broken Worlds, and An Elaborate History of Chess
An Elaborate History of Chess
This is so much better than I had hoped for. Under the guise of "touring the history of chess" this game mixes so many genres it's amazing it actually works together so well. There is chess, there are dungeons, there are puzzles, resources, farms, combat, crafting and evolution trees; just a ton of stuff that's all simplified to bare essentials and themed around chess. The demo is maybe a bit longer than it should (imo) but it's a really cool game that I hope it gets some much deserved love from players
Playtime: <2h
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit
A very stylish racer about zooming around (and sometimes into) the opponents. Gameplay feels solid, though in the demo content I've not found anything particularly challenging other than a secret fighting minigame. Also pretty sure the game needs some fine-tuning, since you lose more speed turning left than turning right. There is also quite a bit of tonal disparity between what's on screen and what's in my ears, which can be best exemplified by the "continue" noise at the end of a match being eerily similar to the one you get when you receive a new message on Microsoft's Teams app — an office suit known for its high octane content. Still, if you enjoy racing games and want something new, give this a whirl, you just might enjoy it
Playtime: 30-70min+
NITRO GEN OMEGA
The goal of this game is to have turn-based battles that feel like you're directing an anime mech fight. And it's most of the way there! The visuals are doing a stellar job at pretending to be an anime fight despite the essentially-infinite amount of random characters/mech combos that the player can have. The music and UI also have a very strong sense of style, whether you're in combat or chilling in-between fights. But there is a very noticeable lack of sounds in the game. All the characters are mute, and aside of explosions only a specific keyboard-clacking scene has extra audio, which makes the action pack much less of a punch than it otherwise could've. The demo also feels a bit aimless, but I imagine that will change once the full game has some form of goal beyond showcasing the game. For that reason if you like anime fights do keep an eye on this, as it's already pretty good, and I'm sure it'll only get better in full release
Playtime: 30min+
Collateral Dungeon
The premise is simple: You have a handful of seconds to scour a dungeon, digging holes and rocks, and planning strategies; and then you have to survive for a set amount of moves as the dungeon gets flooded with monsters. And... that's it. You have a few dungeons in a row, but since they're all randomly generated there is hardly a sense of progression or even victory. This sounds like it could be fun, and at first I even enjoyed it as a slower Crypt of the Necrodancer, but that enjoyment quickly disappeared as the game turned into shimmying back and forth waiting for move counter to tick down, as there is very little reason to actually plan elaborate strategies in the current gameplay loop
Playtime: 10-20min+
Haste: Broken Worlds
I do not know who I am. I don't know why I'm here. All I know is that I must run. And fast. Really fun game all about keeping your momentum going as you venture deeper into a roguelike-esque adventure, running away from the ever-collapsing world. In a weird way it reminds me if you took the vibes of Risk of Rain 2 and applied them to a 3D Sonic game
Playtime: 20min+
Soar: Pillars of Tasneem
Providing a mix of 3D platforming across floating islands, and free flight as a dragon between said islands, this feels like a perfect game for me to enjoy my time with. And I definitely have and will, but I can't not recognize that the gamefeel is just slightly not quite there. Slight quirks of movement and game design add unnecessary friction here and there, like a ledge grab that activates even if you could've jumped onto the platform yourself, or the dragon being very hard to control precisely (at least on a keyboard). Still, good stuff, check it out if you like dragons
Playtime: 30min
ZAVOD
A puzzle game oriented around managing arms that move things between belts. The minimalistic aesthetic and the puzzles are fine... but the solutions are not satisfying. In-between uneven belt speeds, two-part solves, and semi-manual solutions; it just doesn't quite scratch the belt sorting itch
Playtime: 15min
Seekers of Skyveil
This is a solid cross between an extraction and a MOBA. I've actually played this one for two days instead of just one, because I heard that "first few runs are meh, but then it gets better". But for me the "meh"ness never really disappeared, since I'm not really a fan of MOBA's. I appreciate the PvE being a bit varied, but it feels less interesting than a much simpler PvE in Vaultbreakers. I've come to the conclusion that it's all because this is a numbers game. Your gear+level dictates your "Challenge Rating" and in large part the bigger numbers win. There is room for skill to make up the difference, but if you fall behind too much you're screwed. As far as extraction games go I do like what it's doing, so if you like that or MOBAs do give it a whirl, even if it's not a game for me personally
