Steam Next Fest is back with a trove of demos in tow, and the highlights range from a new Heroes of Might and Magic to physics-based combat sims

As marketing bonanzas go, Steam Next Fest has a special place in my heart. A fancy trailer is nice and all, but these are videogames we're talking about—let me play them! I've already dipped my toe into this round of demos with the surprisingly fun Bubsy 4D, but there's plenty more on offer.

A peek at the top demos page on Steam reveals what has the most players interested from the jump. Right at the top is the Heroes of Might and Magic prequel, Olden Era, which has spent the last few days accruing a Mostly Positive user rating on the platform. Just below it is Half Sword, a bloody physics-based medieval combat simulator whose demo has already been popular for a while. The two could make for a nice double feature if you want to run the gamut from high fantasy to mundane, macabre reality.

Other demos to keep an eye on include Final Sentence, a novel typing-based battle royale that PC Gamer staff writer Harvey Randall found an interesting aside despite some kinks. There's also Skate Story, a game that PC Gamer associate editor Ted Litchfield and I agree has one of the best taglines ever in "you're a demon made of glass and pain" (as well as a firecracker demo). I feel I should mention Let It Die: Inferno as well, a sequel to one of the more bizarre roguelikes in recent memory—given you remember it at all.

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Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...

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