It’s Next Fest time over on Steam again this week! There’s demos galore to run through, and only limited time to do it, so hit the Download button pronto!
I really like that they highlight games that I have on my Wishlist that have demos avaialble this time around right at the top of the Next Fest page:
I feel like the Next Fests are getting bigger and better. Really glad that the idea of game demo’s has taken off again. In this hyper-connected social age, these demo’s are a great way of building hype and recognition for some great upcoming games.
I played Pacific Drive.
The concept sounds pretty good, but I am not that into the supernatural. Its kinda like STALKER with a car 
Has potential though! Needs some polish, it runs like a dog on my PC!
I also tried Star Trucker.
If you like Euro Truck Sim and space games, then this is for you. They also added some more narrative than is usually in these games and you have the ability to walk around inside and outside your Star Truck. Pretty sweet.
Gatekeeper is a blast!
Think isometric Risk Of Rain and you have it! Very cool style and progression, plays like butter and I only now realised (when trying to add it to my wishlist) that I had this wishlisted already!
Lightyear Frontier has been on my wishlist for ages.
It scratches the farming survival itch, and adds cool tractor mechs into the equation. Dont think I will have time to play any other demos as this game is sinking its claws firmly into my time…
It feels like this needed its own topic…
Had thought of that, will create one. Don’t think I have the powers to reallocate posts into the topic but I’m sure @GregRedd could help us out with that
Hear ye, hear ye, the next Next Fest is here and there’s a slew of demos to try out. Played any good (or bad) ones and want to share your thoughts? This is the place to do it.
I played the Stormgate demo - the appeal of a game in the vein of Starcraft 2 being very strong. I only had a chance to try the 3p co-op vs. AI mode and on the tutorial difficulty. It was… rougher than I expected. Maybe it’s because Starcraft 2 is so slick and polished that my expectations were high. There was some serious network lag - this despite rollback being a feature that they tout to make gameplay smoother. It could be that the popularity of the demo was hammering their servers. So I will reserve judgement until I can play a few more games - and try out the 1v1.
The other detail seems minor but with an RTS it’s actually an important factor and that is the edge-scrolling. Moving your view around the map is something you do a LOT of in an RTS and there is a certain weight or sense of momentum that makes it feel good - an intuitive way of scrolling faster or slower depending how quickly you flick your mouse cursor towards the edges of the screen. Stormgate’s scroll doesn’t have that sense of momentum that helps to make it feel slick and intuitive, it feels a bit rough.
Would love to see what other Starcraft and RTS fans think.
@MetalSoup I see you played it, and I remember you being a HUGE SC2 fan. Your thoughts?
I played SC2 with my old housemates a bunch. Does the demo have MP?
It does indeed. The game I played, Wreck Havoc, was 2 other players - I think you can party up before matchmaking, but not sure. There is also a 1v1 mode available in the demo.
3P Co-op vs. AI - Command powerful heroes alongside your friends. Challenges yourselves in our increasingly difficult co-op Map Wreck Havoc.
Pure Competitive 1v1 - No heroes, all skill. Now with matchmaking and third party leaderboards.
Custom Lobbies - Invite a friend to play privately or play solo against AI.
Sweeeeeeeeet, will install after my morning meetings!
Aw, @GregRedd to the rescue! Nice topic!
I will be giving a few more games a run through later and give my short opinion on each.
Rotwood by Klei is the answer to “what happens if you cross Castle Crashers with Don’t Starve”. At this stage it feels more like a proof of concept, but Klei has never disappointed before. It certainly feels like it needs a buddy or 3 to be more fun!
Also, why is every game a soulsborne roguelike survival game!?
/me have a quick look at my games playlist/
Ah, nevermind…
To be feyar, soulsbourneroguelikesurvival by Klei sounds like it could have Factorio levels of replayability… Installing!
This looks pretty cool, I think I’ll try it out.
I’ve enjoyed my time with Godsworn. A sort of Warcraft 3 style RTS.
Planning to try the following demos sometime this week.
Millennia (4X)
Meta-GhostL The Breaking Show (Roguelike)
Guild Saga: Vanished Worlds (TRPG)
and the Homeworld 3 Demo
If you’re into your automation games, be sure to check out:
