It is Steam Next Fest again and a plethora of demos are racing out to be seen and wishlisted. I think that I downloaded the most demos ever this go around. I decided that I would not be playing a full game this week and maybe next week to show off in a more timely manner the game demos that I played during this week. First up was a game demo that was released right before Nextfest but I will be lumping it in with the rest of them. Become an artist and fight off your inner demons this week in Constance!

Constance is a Metroidvania/precision platformer from btf. The game will be released on PC and consoles and has a release window of Q4 of 2025.

You play Constance, a young woman who has been brought down by her own mental health. Take up the brush and use paint to overcome the mental health obstacles that plague her. The game’s story reminds me so much of Celeste in the idea that it is a story of resolve, to never give up though there are forces that want you to believe that living with the mental illness is easier than fighting back and overcoming it. It is a story so far that resonates with me and I am interested in learning more.

Gameplay is something that you could have imagined. I played the demo and immediately thought of Hollow Knight (and Celeste). The game starts you out in a university setting helping someone find their notes and you are dropped into the game quite quickly.

The paintbrush and the paint are your weapon to take on the bad guys, but they are also used for Constance’s traversal. Paint has a gauge and abilities and movement depletes the bar and when the bar is depleted, the color is drained from Constance and those abilities now cost HP to use. All it takes is a little bit of downtime to get Constance back to her regular self, but it does introduce a nice give-and-take system mid-combat.

Constance can dodge, jump, and do a dope dash slash for traversal. The demo really shows off the potential for movement when you are introduced to the platforming then almost immediately afterward you can find an ability that allows for Constance to dash and slash at certain objects to make her get just a little bit higher. The onboarding begins and in no time the player will understand that this movement will be a key player. From that point on the dash is utilized up until the end of the demo. The movement is fluid and the onboarding for each of the unlockable abilities.

Constance’s hand-drawn design is such a sight. The university is the prime place to hold the demo because it is such a whimsical looking area. As you travel through the inside, the backdrops show you a vast place of learning riddled with mystery and intrigue. There is a section when Constance must go outside and the clouds and stars are imbued with such a beautiful mix of pinks, blues, and purples. It is already shaping up to be an amazing-looking game.

Sound design creates a really nice ambiance as you traverse your way through the university. A nice violin is playing the whole time and it ramps up the melody when a bad guy is near.

I love the Constance demo so much so that I played it a second time with my wife in the room. I really enjoy precision platformers and when you make it a game like Hollow Knight or Celeste then you have me 100%. The combat is challenging, especially the final baddie at the end, and the traversal is clean and fluid (already). Mix that with the gorgeous art and sound design, you know that Constance is a gem of a video game.