Next Fest 26|1 Day 5
Micro-reviews for Day 5 of February Next Fest 2026, exploring Burden Street Station, Netoo, Helix: Descent N Ascent, Mayor May Knott, Psycho Frogo, Tabula, Dragon Care Tarot, and Iridescent
Weekend has arrived, and while paradoxically it means less time for demos, today is full of all sorts of unusual games, be it with what they do or how they look
Highlights: Burden Station Street, Iridescent
Burden Street Station
A surreal narrative-driven adventure where you stir up a still world. You copy personality aspects of people you talk to, and then use it for new dialogue options to further the narrative. I don't know if it's the unexpectancy, the characters, or the humor; but I have not enjoyed writing in a game so much in a long time
Playtime: <1.5h
Netoo
Netoo is a minimalistic puzzler about moving magnets with rotating arms. The challenge mainly comes from figuring out the correct order to do things in, and which arm can handle what tasks. Despite the simplicity the puzzles are quite well designed
Playtime: 15-30min
Helix: Descent N Ascent
A black and white exploration game. It has puzzles sprinkled about, some like separate dungeons others like an open metroidvania progression, all done without a single word written or spoken. Curious world, alien visuals, and an almost eerily still atmosphere
Playtime: <1h
Mayor May Knott
A 3D adventure game about repairing a haunted town. You collect items to build things to complete quests to gain confidence to brave the spooky areas of the town and gain courage to talk to the creepy inhabitants. Even if the gameplay is mostly fetch quests, it's got a great heart to it. It's just a shame that the start of the game doesn't really explain the premise all that well, so people will bounce off the jumpscare-heavy tutorial without reaching the proper game that's all about overcoming said jumpscares
Playtime: ~1h
Psycho Frogo
A 2D speedrunning game where enemies move as you move, so once you plan out a sequence of steps it will works the same every time. The catch is that there are items on the map that will make you go faster or slower, so the shortest route is not always the best. Overall decent, though the unreported AI-generated visuals/music leaves a sour taste after rolling credits
Playtime: 10-20min+
Tabula
I want to like Tabula, but I think it gives the player too much freedom. It's a puzzle game where you drag regions around and on top of one another to create a path between all flags and the exit. But because of you being able to drag things anywhere and them being generous with the hitboxes (to not require annoying precision) you can just assemble things in many ways and they work. The end result is that it doesn't feel like I solved a fun puzzle, I just connected some dots in a way that satisfied the conditions
Playtime: 1-1.5h
Dragon Care Tarot
I'm not exactly sure what the gameplay loop of Dragon Care Tarot is meant to be, but it has a very colorful world, adorable dragons, and a very draconic tarot deck. I think the main purpose is to give you a daily tarot reading? I definitely think the demo could explain itself better, but it's super pretty at least
Playtime: ~10min
Iridescent
A mix of sidescrolling platformers, Sekiro parry system for combat, and some tasteful stealth if you do not wish to engage enemies head on. Must say, it's surprisingly difficult. Or punishing at least. Also sometimes the platforming/puzzle segments felt a bit weird, though I'm willing to chalk that up to getting used to the game. So take it as a nitpick from an otherwise very enjoyable time
