Jeff Brutlag

I enjoy Steam Next Fest so much, because getting bite-sized versions of several upcoming games is the textbook definition of feeling like a kid in a candy shop for gamers. It’s why big conventions like PAX continue to thrive. As a full-time streamer, I always make it a point to hop in on the festivities because I get to see what games my audience would enjoy watching me play, and I get to spotlight indie games for people to put on their wishlist. 

This time, I’m actually getting around to putting my top 5 out there. I played a lot of good ones this time around, but these were the five that were the perfect appetizer to a main course that I am now craving. 

5. Labyrinth of the Demon King

They had me at horror and dungeon crawler.

Labyrinth of the Demon King is a brutal journey to track down the demon who betrayed your lord, slashing your way through horrific, uncanny entities while navigating, well, a labyrinth of dungeons. Its PS1-era graphics give it a fun retro feel, almost enhancing the horrors you encounter along the way. 

The combat really required me to lock in, but I found each victory satisfying. The horror they tap into is more along the lines of unsettling than outright terrifying, and the characters along the way build an intriguing narrative that will motivate me to get as good at the game as I’d need to be. I do hope it eventually comes with some difficulty options because, while I’m willing to get good at the game to fight my way through a fun story, the game deserves as big of an audience as possible, and giving people options wouldn’t hurt.

4. Wanderstop

A tale of someone who arguably had a very uncozy life who’s forced into a cozy situation to heal is so intriguing to me, that I couldn’t pass up trying Wanderstop.

Alta, an undefeated fighter, suffers a shattered ego when her winning streak comes to paralyzing halt. When a tea shop owner named Boro finds her collapsed in the woods after she pushes herself to her limit, he invites her to rest by dabbling in the art of making tea from farm to mug.

The narrative of this story, from just what they showed in the demo, made me tear up. Boro’s reasoning with Alta about what is clearly a bad bout of burnout were phrases I swear came directly from my therapy sessions. I know for a fact that I’m going to sob when I play this game, because it’ll feel like a piece of me is healing. The gameplay felt like most cozy-genre games I’ve played, though it could just be me because I know I’m (ironically) burned out on them. However, they only showed a fraction of the gameplay, so I’m willing to see the game for everything it is if it means getting that big, burly man to make me think about my feelings (big, burly men with soft tendencies, coincidentally, are my type. Boro is about to up my standards in men, I tell you what!)

3. Reignbreaker

They pulled me in with “medieval-punk rogue-like” and kept me around for the “question authority and tyrannical governments” narrative.

In Reignbreaker, you play as Clef, fighting her way through the Queen of Keys’ bastion to free the kingdom from her oppression. You encounter comrades from when she still served the Queen, self-serving mercenaries, and your home base is full of those who are rooting for her to end the tyranny.

The comparisons to Hades are pretty apparent, and it’s clear that it inspired a lot of the creative decisions. They don’t rely on the Hades formula though, and do more than enough to show you that this is, in fact, not Hades. The way you encounter new characters, the combat mechanics around the javelin, and the way you progress through the run are all unique to the game in ways that make it stand alone in the genre. The devs knew what worked about the genre, and found ways to put their stamp on it. If you’re into complex stories around breaking the shackles of tyranny, and are into buff women, they made this game for you. 

2. Promise Mascot Agency

The concept for this game is so unique and endearing, and the way you get to know the characters along the way really keeps this game moving. 

Promise Mascot Agency’s protagonist, an ex-yakuza member looking to make an honest living, starts a mascot agency from the ground up. The agency manages and books gigs for real life, living mascots whose job is to entertain random events around the town. You set up their contracts, offer their services to business owners, and even undergo a simple turn-based combat system where you the goal is to free a sad block of tofu (one of the mascots) from…being stuck in the doorway. The game is serious where it matters, and completely unserious in ways that make it charming.

I’ll definitely be returning to the game because of the mascot designs (the other main character is literally a finger, a mascot that no longer takes on mascot gigs due to a history of violence) and because the narrative with all of these wacky characters is actually quite endearing. It’s weird and absurd in ways you just have to lean into, but they pull it off in a way that makes you crave more. I’m genuinely excited to see more wacky situations we have to turn-based RPG battle our way out of. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those situations was stopping a mascot from committing a felony.

1. Deliver At All Costs

PLEASE let me sell this game to you. It would be an honor and a privilege. 

Deliver At All Costs, published by Konami, follows the story of Winston Green, down on his luck and in desperate need of a job. He takes a delivery job where the items you’re delivering provide unique challenges, often vandalizing the city around you. Fireworks shooting wildly into street lights and billboards, a giant swordfish flailing violently in your trunk, and with so many pedestrians around, you’re bound to hit at least a few people with your car. They don’t die or get majorly injured (but they do hilariously ragdoll), so don’t worry too much. Worry more about your car, because they’ll otherwise go about their day…after ripping your tires off. What do you expect? You hit them with your car!

Oh, and all of this is happening while the mutations of nuclear hazards loom closer and closer? Yeah, it’s that absurd, but the absurdity might be the game’s greatest strength. 

Sometimes a game is just meant to be a fun, silly, goofy time without it being too deep. As a writer, I love a hard-hitting story with pointed commentary, but an absurd journey under the threat of nuclear anomalies with a protagonist we’re rooting for hits the spot just right. The chaos you cause through the streets could easily feel like it dampens the gameplay, but it’s hard to feel bad about the hood of your car falling off when it was because a woman literally threw her whole body at it. I was driving poorly, so I couldn’t really blame her, but the drama of it all had me cackling. The goal was to make us laugh, and they exceeded my expectations.

Did you play any demos during Steam Next Fest? Which ones were your favorite? Any titles in particular you’re looking forward to? Let’s chat about them in the comments!

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