Following our most recent tradition to cover the Steam Next Fest, we tested some of the freshest demos from the recent Steam Next Fest edition that just ended on the 13th of February 2023. Ranging from concept tests to curated short experience of the whole game, here are some of our findings. Both Nils and I, Eki, got our hands dirty, but in different ways. Nils did most of the work, and filtered popular upcoming games with Linux native, and a few other Proton only games. From there, he forced himself to play some games out of his comfort zone, finding some gems and some things that will feed his nightmares (not the good kind). On my end, as my time was relatively limited, I went for the games that interested me the most, regardless of their stated Linux support.

Fabledom

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1651560/Fabledom/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Eki: Cute city builder in the wilderness, looks family friendly. You play the role of a prince or a princess who is sent to colonize new lands. You get a few folks and almost nothing at the beginning, and you progressively build some houses, farms, places to get wood and other resources to get by. As you keep your people happy, more people want to join your place so you get a steady flow of workers. I only played a short time, but it’s well done and well organized. New buildings need specific people assigned to work in them, and as your town grows you unlock more and more buildings to turn you small place into a small city. I guess that at some point your little town will get attacked by creatures or competitors and you will have to build defenses and so on. Wishlisted. It works perfectly on Proton by default.

Tape to Tape

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1566200/Tape_to_Tape/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Eki: I know close to nothing about Hockey except that’s a thing in America and that it happens on ice and people end of hitting each other more than anything else - and I feel that Tate to Tape is not going to help. The campaign mode happens on a world where a huge tentacle can decide your destiny, and your advice is given by a hunky hooded figure out of a fantasy novel. The game plays with a top-view reminiscent of Speedball. The controls are easy and the game is fun - in between levels, you have to choose your next path a la Slay the Spire, where you get different kind of bonuses or challenges. I like the visual style, the game runs OK with Proton, and it seems goofy enough to warrant a wishlist. Looking forward to that one!

Valfaris Mecha Therion

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1647920/Valfaris_Mecha_Therion/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Eki: Mecha Terion is the follow-up to the Turrican-esque Valfaris from a few years back. This time the demo introduces the fact that Valfaris can be inside Mecha Therion, leading to a side-scrolling shoot-em’up, still made in 3D, albeit the pixelated kind of 3D to make it look more retro. I must admit I’m not so much of fan of making things look PS1 generation on purpose where it would look spectacular on a larger screen, but… it will look great on the Steam Deck, that’s for sure. It works fine in any case, and the action is quite fun. The 3D backgrounds are quite impressive, and the soundtrack is as heavy-metal as before. Wishlisted, because we don’t make games like that anymore.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1819460/Mika_and_The_Witchs_Mountain/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Eki: a beautiful, Miyazaki-inspired game that puts you in the role of a young girl, Mika, who wants to become a witch. You start by bringing all the necessary kit for your initiation, and the old witch who had agreed to do it throws you off a cliff - you survive the fall on your broom, but end up breaking it in the process. And now you are stuck in this little town - you first have to get you broom repaired first, and then you enter the business of package deliveries in order to upgrade your broom and make it back to the initial cliff to exchange a few words with the old witch! Very colorful, reminds me a lot of the old Tail Concerto (back on PS1) along with something like Hat in Time in more recent memory. Plays very smoothly, great framerate and the demo was very short, showing you just a few missions involving deliveries and a few characters. It did a great job to convince me that this would be a cool game, so I wishlisted it!

Coven

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1785940/COVEN/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Native

Nils: Lots of cool mechanics on this FPS old school style. It plays well, and I liked that the game lets you think on how to progress. At first, I felt that the game visuals lacked some personality as some things didn’t match well, but everything felt in place once I turned on the PSX filter. Seeing an enemy drag himself away from me after clean cutting at his waist was something… different. I could write a lot more, so maybe a full review in the future. Wishlisted

Gravity Circuit

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/858710/Gravity_Circuit/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: Classic style 2D platform. It won me over the controller. Have you ever played a game that the pressing of the buttons just feels right? I am not talking about force feedback. It is about the character response, sound effects, …. It felt precise and snappy. There are plenty of skills to get used to, and the game is packed with action. Wishlisted

Full Void

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/858710/Gravity_Circuit/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Native

Nils: The mobility is similar to the OG Prince of Persia, solve puzzles and use the scenery to defeat or avoid your enemies. At some moments, it reminded me of Heart of Darkness, a kid avoiding danger and being pursued, but darker, without acquiring weapons and with some hacking mini-games. Wishlisted.

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2016590/Dark_and_Darker/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Nils: This detective puzzle demo was interesting, you go around getting clues, solving puzzles and disguising yourself while the story develops. There is also a big brain mode where it does not highlight things you need, or show if you got all the clues to the case. There is some humour here and there, like Sherlock being cheeky in his notes, saying that the decisions I took as a Dr. Watson were just like he expected. The only thing I wish could be better was that I found some items I imagined I could use for something, but instead of the game let me do it straight away, I had to use a mechanic “mind place” that told me and allowed me to do the same thing. Maybe in the bring brain mode would be different, I will definitely try it that way when it is release. Whislisted.

Die By the Blade

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154670/Die_by_the_Blade/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Eki: A new game that takes a lot of inspiration from the old but great Bushido Blade on PS1. Typical sword fight with one-kill shots (while this one seems to be a little more forgiving). In this genre, it’s all about developing the right reflexes and knowing when the defend and when to attack, and the rest is also a lot of luck. It seems well done, runs well on Proton, and the demo is limited to a tutorial showing you how to defend, parry, and the different types of attack. That’s it. A little bit on the light side for a demo, I expected to see at least one fight. I will follow this one, while not wishlisting it yet.

Mr Saitou

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/628740/Mr_Saitou/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: The game starts slow, but the art is so impressive and the soundtrack charmed me to keep going. There is not much gameplay besides 2 simple quests, but the writing was captivating with a style of humour I enjoy. It was not enough to make me Wishlist as I would love some more mechanics in a demo, but it was enough for me to click on follow.

Dungeon Drafters

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1824580/Dungeon_Drafters/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: Deck builder turn-based dungeon crawler. When you first enter a room with enemies you need to fight them in a turn-based combat, once it is clean, you are free to move and explore. The combat is interesting, you can move and attack at the cost of AP, but you also have a limited number of cards with skills, what forced me to rethink my approach at each room, and to not spend all the cards at once because I never knew when I would be able to reshuffle them. Each character starts with different decks reflecting their style of combat.

Darkest Dungeon II

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1940340/Darkest_Dungeon_II/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Nils: This one might seem unfair because I have already Wishlisted after enjoying the first game. It seems that they managed to improve a lot of the game visually without losing its personality. However, if that was my first experience with the series/studio I would not have Whishlisted. The mechanics are not straightforward or obvious enough, forcing you to visit the help constantly. For example, the first time you have an encounter, I thought my game crashed because I would click everything and not progress. There was an entry in the help saying that I need to hold a button. Another was about the buffs and debuffs during the battle, what does each symbol mean? Eventually, you figure it out, but I always advocate that if you need some information to interact with your program, it needs to be clearly stated. And a last note, I am not sure of the purpose of the stage coach, besides adding more time between encounters. On the first game, you go from room to room facing encounters, without this time in between.

Capes

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2081080/Capes/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Native

Nils: Turn-based combat where you can use the elements of the map in your fight (so does the enemies). Interesting superpowers, and a combo system where some heroes enhance each other powers as long as they are in range. I like that this game was curated of a few non-sequential scenarios, so you can have a felling of different moments of the game. The downside was the banter in the match, the models look like those scary characters from borderline porn games advertised on Steam or the last game on my list.

The End of the Sun

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/912840/The_End_of_the_Sun/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Native

Nils: The game looks beautiful and rooted on Slavic folklore, but the “puzzles” feels like house chores someone is ordering you around how to complete: grind the grand, organize the logs, clean the dung! Because of the play with time-space, I was expecting something like Day of the Tentacle, where you need things from different time frames to progress on yours, but it felt quite linear.

Book of Hours

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1028310/BOOK_OF_HOURS/

Runs on Linux: 🟧 Native ✅ Proton

Nils: Both versions were buggy, but Proton slightly less. It plays similar to Cultist Simulator, but without the roguelike aspect. Everything you do here persists, and now you have a map instead of a clothed table to lay your cards. Each part of the map has meaning, and you unlock books and equipments to assist in your progress. I felt it was a huge improvement from their previous game, but I am uncertain if I will wishlist it yet.

The Last Plague: Blight

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1564600/The_Last_Plague_Blight/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Native

Nils: Oh no, another open world craft survival game! This one bets on realism and a ticking timing bomb consuming the world in the form of blight. It forces you to handle your resources differently, like boiling water before drinking, and to move fast to find a cure… well, it is slow enough because you still need to base build and craft things. It did not grow on me, but I would give it another try once they add multiplayer.

Voidtrain

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1159690/Voidtrain/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Nils: I am not a big fan of open world craft survival in general, there is this grinding requirements to do simple stuff just so you burn time doing instead of progressing and enjoying the rest of the content. Do you want to make a storage chest? You need first to spend a bunch to learn how to make a chest, then gather some more of the same resource, so you can make it. The concept behind the game is cool, you train travel through the void finding new places to explore, new resources and unlocking cool tools. Everything you want to persist, you bring to the train. Solo, It would be a lot more fun without the grind/craft mechanics, but I can see it being enjoyed for a few hours with friends. But I cannot enjoy my first 20 minutes being about building a chest.

A Tower Full of Cats

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2179170/A_Tower_Full_of_Cats/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: Similar to last year “A Castle Full of Cats”, made me think “how many do we need?”. Then I remembered I have been doing the same brain-teasers from the newspapers like +30 years ago. So, keep them coming!

Slopecrashers

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1619580/Slopecrashers/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: Cutie snowboard game, with diverse modes and characters. The controllers are not as good as similar games. And there were plenty of bugs related to gamepad, like one controller moving two players, or not being detected properly at all.

Townseek

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1659360/Townseek/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Native

Nils: I loved the art style. But the design of HUD and menus are too cluttered to make sense of things. But, eventually, you get used to it. The keyboard is awful for controlling and there is only partial support to gamepad, but enough to make it comfortable. Gameplay loops around commerce with fetch quests while you navigate the map with your balloon, and gets boring fast.

Fall of Porcupine

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1710540/Fall_of_Porcupine/

Runs on Linux: ? Proton , but followed by crash after a few screens

Eki: this seems like a very colorful, side-scroller adventure, where you play the role of a pigeon arriving in Porcupine, the city of silence, colors, and other attractions (big live music event too). I wanted to start exploring but after a few screens I was greeted by a Unity error… so I stopped there.

Arcadian Atlas

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/691790/Arcadian_Atlas/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: It seems to draw a lot of inspiration from games like Final Fantasy Tactics, but it fell short on the implementation. The music does not match the environment, and there is too much story and cutscenes for a demo - I am glad that some were skippable. The controller and game responsiveness is awful, it is really hard to inspect and set your characters in the pre battle phase. And stressful to control them during the battle. My guess is that the game was made with touchscreen in mind, or started with those assets. Every element is slightly improper that makes the experience unpleasant.

Dark and Darker

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2016590/Dark_and_Darker/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Proton

Nils: I enjoy a few PvPvE games in the past, and I was quite excited to try a fantasy medieval one. Dense and confusing menus, no beginner introduction, but I insisted. After a sequence of hitbox fiasco with my sword, and spells going through enemies with no effect, I gave up on this game. 3rd party EULA about data collection does not help either (I should have read that before).

Unscripted

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2156300/Unscripted/

Runs on Linux: ✅ Demo uses Proton (seems to offer Native full game)

Nils: This is the first time I click on Ignore for a game I tested during Steam Fest. You know that uncanny valley of 3D, I think it might be the teeth, is really weird, it creeps me out. The guy who is supposed to be the prettiest looks like an ugly Gollum in a wig. I don’t know if because I was avoiding the images and I focused more on the writing, it fell flat and unnatural like the same person was talking for everyone else, like a dialogue in one’s mind. I was just waiting for the moment that my character would say he was studying the blade. Those images still haunt me.

And that’s it!

If you have any other games you liked, or if you want to comment on the very same ones we tried, please share your experience with us in the comments.