Next Fest 25|2 Day 3

Another day, another set of demos. It's funny seeing Steam's recommendation algorithm update in real time as I play all sorts of random demos, and it tries to figure out what kind of games I'm actually into. Hopefully it's a sign I'm providing decent variety in these posts!

Highlight: JETRUNNER

Beyond The Board

Beyond The Board on Steam

A single-player puzzle game that transforms traditional chess into a minimal, immersive journey. Every move is a step deeper into the world Beyond the Board, where shifting tiles and puzzles reveal the hidden fractures within the game’s very foundations.

STEAM

A title that's interesting conceptually, but very simple in terms of the gameplay that's limited to solving puzzles with a rook on twisted chessboards. This might be just because it's a start of something a lot bigger — I can see the puzzles getting hellish with introduction of other/more pieces — but as it is it was short and unsatisfying, even if intriguing

Mythrealm

Mythrealm on Steam

The Wizards of Zelenar have vanished and darkness is seeping into the world. Play as Alaris, heroic adventurer and sleuth, on her quest to rescue the wizards and save the land of Arloria from demon invasion! Delve into a new fantasy adventure RPG and discover the secrets of the Mythrealm.

STEAM

I want to like this game. It's a soulslike that doesn't follow the realistic visuals while keeping the grim vibe. It's got varied combat, enemies, and a level-up system based not on grind, but on exploration. Very neat stuff, but it's weighed down heavily by the jump puzzles. While very forgiving, the jumping is also very floaty, and prone to hitting something with your head and being thrown off-course and into the abyss. Sometimes it's just a set-back, but sometimes it forces you to re-do and re-loot large chunks of the map before your failure. The second half of the demo features lighter parkour and has been more enjoyable, but by then I had figured out how to cheese the hell out of combat removing any difficulty there. I've got hopes they'll iron out all this throughout Early Access, because it could be a good indie soulslike

Tank Core

Tank Core on Steam

"Tank Core" is a 2D top-down shooter game infused with Roguelike elements. Players will collect various random tank components in levels, including turrets, chassis, shells, modules, and cores, to assemble unique tanks that will protect base and defeat all enemies encountered.

STEAM

A classical arcade top down tank shooter, but with a roguelike progression. It's a simple yet effective game, and it seems like it might have a good variety of builds that can affect how you play, which is a much needed remedy to the repetitiveness it would otherwise suffer from. And can be played Co-Op if that floats your boat

Cube Mind

Cube Mind on Steam

Cube Mind is a challenging first-person puzzle game with a futuristic and minimalist aesthetic. Solve interconnected rooms using logic, precision, and creativity in a world where every action matters.

STEAM

Cube Mind describes itself as a "Challenging Puzzle Game" (with lasers), which is big words for a demo you can finish in 5 minutes. Simple and generic "take box and put it in spot" with hardly any puzzling to be found.

Whispers From The Rift

Whispers From The Rift on Steam

A choose-your-own-adventure novel. ​Enter the mind of a black-ops team leader heading an impossible mission in a parallel universe. Choices are remembered, story events reflect past decisions, and freely rewind time to try different paths.

STEAM

This interactive novel offers a curious story about controlling actions of a soldier in a post-military Earth in a parallel universe. There is a lot of things set up that could lead to great narratives, or could fizzle out without much conclusion. Hard to say, but the writing quality is generally good, save for, strangely enough, occasional missing words, and some illogical stuff in the timeline lore and dialogue options. I wouldn't say the story has me hooked, but I'm sure it'll be interesting.

Dread Protocol

Dread Protocol on Steam

Dread Protocol is a 3rd-person roguelite blending FTL-style events and navigation with brutal, punishing combat. Explore procedurally generated space stations, carve your path through destructible walls, and dismantle the Federation one station at a time.

STEAM

An immersive sim roguelite in space. You board one space station after another (or attend other events such as space casino) with your main goal being destroying a warp core in the center. The dispatching possibilities range from stealth infiltration to blowing up walls to send your enemies into outer space, so there is a good variety. However, there is also a fair bit of jank, weak tutorial, and a general need for more playtesting. It's good, but could be better.

JETRUNNER

JETRUNNER on Steam

JETRUNNER is a parkour FPS, with cel shaded, comic like visuals, and a gameplay loop that can be best described as Trackmania meets Titanfall. Rich, expressive movement, and tight gunplay is what JETRUNNER is all about.

STEAM

A speedrunning parkour shooter that you could finish in 10 minutes, but I spent solid 2 hours shaving off seconds or even frames off of my time because the movement is smoother than butter and the levels provide a lot of alternative routes for you to optimize, sometimes going a completely different route to save less than a second on your time. If you've enjoyed Neon White then you gotta play this one