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

Steam
(Image credit: Valve)

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.

Runners up from there include voxel-based, ship-crewing survival game Everwind, an extraction shooter called The Cube, Save Us, and a silly multiplayer wizarding game about voice chat-powered spell incantations called Yapyap. Seems like that last idea is a running theme for this year.

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.

You can check out Steam Next Fest in all its glory here, assuming you get a moment to put down Battlefield 6.

2025 gamesBest PC gamesFree PC gamesBest FPS gamesBest RPGsBest co-op games

2025 games: This year's upcoming releases
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together

TOPICS

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...

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.