There has been some discussion about how Next Fest has been swarmed with poopy slop games. I took it upon myself to give up and follow some people on social media who have the time and energy to find games that I could play. Shoutout to Teddy for all the help.
From Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour, and Devolver Digital comes a game about destroying your hometown after coming back, and artificial beings have taken over. Super fun, the sledgehammer has weight and has crunch when you tear down houses and judgmental AIs. I will be honest that I was not ready for the narrative; I liked it. It is real, it is brazen, and it is important to talk about.
From Milktooth, think Untitled Goose Game but with a magpie, causing a little more intense chaos. Bright colors and really goofy gimmicks like using a microphone to blast apart glass and pecking a rock to catch a stick on fire to burn all your flower friends. All of these mechanics that make for a really fun demo. It is just that fun game that anyone can play
A little on the alpha side, Yashi from Oneiric Worlds is a survival game about a boy and a dog driving through a wasteland-like desert in search of something, tools, scrap, a purpose? It is in early development, but I had fun with the driving and the light survival stuff.
From Agate and Red Dunes Games comes a Southeast Asian-inspired isometric adventure game. Play as Mira as she searches for her mother and battles against bad guys using what looks and feels like the equivalent of water-bending. I had fun; the systems are a little confusing at first glance, the combat is a little slow, but the game looks absolutely beautiful.
An action-adventure game from Thunder Lotus, the creators of Spiritfarer. A story that follows Shan as she returns to the Cradle after 2 years of abandoning her family. She returns as the Princess of Swords, one of the most powerful beings in the land, and now she has to confront her family in an attempt to get them to relinquish arms so that Shan’s destiny can be fully realized. Fantastic combat is met with a word-choice kind of system that either penalizes the player or assists, and interesting narrative puzzles that shine light on Shan’s siblings and the world in which they inhabit. Lots of reading but it is an all-star demo and probably one of my favorites.
From Merge Conflict Studio; play as the last pelican and their attempt to bring the world out of the darkness by collecting stars and befriending other animals. A very relaxed tower defense game that looks really good, is cute, and is just the right amount of challenging. Reminds me a lot of Bloons, which is fine. I had a good time with it.
A nice little 30-min creature collector from Pixel_Fortress, Pixel-Archipel, with cute/cool baseball-themed robots. A nice little wind-down with great-looking visuals. If you have a spare half hour, play it.
A certainly beautiful game from Bigmood in which the player controls Hedi, a guide who can walk and surf on water, to help both humans and fish participate in The Great Migration to find better waters. Really fun movement, with the sail serving as a kite to bridge large gaps, tied to a few fun combat encounters, makes for a demo for anyone who likes adventure games.
A spooky game from Crowfriend Games and Vendetta, about inspecting mail, dissecting frogs, and trying not to die while being employed at a place that is obviously hell. There is a guy who brings you the mail that appears at the ring of the bell, which is creepy. Burn the junk mail and do not make mistakes or you will probably be murdered.
From DOUKUTSU PENGUIN CLUB, a cozy little adventure game involving a pig courier named Buie who has to deliver a package to the farthest reaches of the Awry forest that has loads of mysteries and spooky stuff going on inside. Help new friends and gather enough information to get through the forest and deliver that important package.
A first-person puzzle game from Slugware. Vision is how you perceive the puzzle and, for that matter, reality. Once you look away the puzzle reverts back to its original state. Keep your eyes on the prize. The demo has some really good puzzles that increase in difficulty and had me stumped for longer than I thought it would. It is a game that makes you feel smart when you complete a lengthy, complex puzzle. Very fun.