Steam Next Fest 2026 June: Recap

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Another Steam Next Fest, plenty of demos to try. After some time in the mines of the press preview(*), I bring to you some pearls (aren’t pearls from the ocean? I think you are mixing 3 different idioms there).

Desktop Explorer

My favourite for this event. Solve puzzles using computer options (show hidden files, inspect source, rename files, etc). Some puzzles require out-of-box thinking. There is a story deeply intertwined with the game mechanics, as you learn more about your family by unlocking new areas of the computer.

Store Page: Desktop Explorer on Steam

Security 51

Papers Please meets *Alien Research Bunker:. You are a security guard in a bunker. Check the papers of people coming in, and the security fee for people coming out “weird”. Try to clock out on time to maintaining health levels of sanity and hunger.

Store Page: Security 51 on Steam

Don’t Kill Them All

Base-building with turn-based tactical combat. You send your orcs to harvest resources, but they end up fighting enemies there. The twist is that Orcs have no health bar, but a stress level. Enemies hit one Orc, that Orc gets angry. Accidentally destroy resources, all of them angst. Fully stressed, Orcs go berserk and attack anything in sight. If they all get stressed, they go into rampage and that expedition is over. Made by the same people behind Ship of Fools.

Store Page: Don’t Kill Them All on Steam

Dead Reckoning: The long drift

(Mostly) text-based colony sim. Leave Earth with 1000 colonists searching for a suitable world. You need to balance decisions to fit short term needs and long-term goals. Preserving food now might last your expedition longer, but factions might get stronger and sabotage your expedition.

Store Page: Dead Reckoning: The long drift on Steam

ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs

You open your shop and repair electronics. I like the little story going on in the neighbourhood, it is also cool that you can make money in different ways, from taking commissions online to just buying spare parts and building products. It is very chill and there is no rush about the tasks.

Store Page: ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs on Steam

Honourable Mentions

Some games show promise, or were good enough that I did not delete them right away. Some require extra polishing of elements like UI and controller support, or mechanics needed some tweaks or novelty for a dedicated spot. But there are good games and fun to play. With no particular order:

  • OFFBEAT: you build tunes from mundane equipment while learning a bit about music, it reminded me of Mario Music or something from SNES.
  • Roguecraft DX: my favourite roguelike game this event. Well-made and simple to play. Based on the Commodore Amiga game.
  • Takeover 2: Streets of Rage (Bare knuckle)/Final Fight with 3D visuals and guns.
  • CastleOn: Turn-based resource management to maintain your castle while fending off invasions.
  • Chained Beasts: Gladiator roguelite action, the differential is that you are chained to other players and map elements, it both hinders your movement, but you can also use it for combat like tripping enemies.
  • Some Type of Trip: Typing rhythm game. It starts out cozy, but it gets challenging pretty fast.
  • Brigador Killers: Cyberpunk isometric action game. It is quite fun to go around doing the missions, but the UI needs a lot of polish.
  • Dungeon Settlers: Colony Sim meets Dungeon Crawler. I usually like a lot when devs mix genres, but the micromanaging of both can be a bit overwhelming.
  • Hollow Home: Inspired by Disco Elysium but more on the serious side. After playing Esoteric Ebb, this one requires a lot of polishing for the controllers and UI.
  • Press preview has no personal filters, or ways to sort by rating, wishlist or popularity.