Steam Next Fest, February 2024: a round-up

Another year, another Steam Next Fest.

The last online event in October was better than previous events in terms of volume for me personally, although there seemed to be some issues with categorisation. Many of the 68 titles within the Point & Click tag looked like they’d been misclassified and the overall Adventure tag wasn’t much use either.

I didn’t manage to play as many demos as I would have liked back then due to a timing clash with the EGX expo, but I still managed to find a favourite. The Gap by Label This caught my attention with its intriguing storyline, and a mechanic which involved making connections between objects to unlock new memories. The game is still on my wishlist but hopefully I’ll get around to playing it in full soon.

Pete and I were more prepared for this latest Steam Next Fest and had created a list of almost 30 demos that we wanted to try between 05 and 12 February 2024. However, this didn’t help as we were only able to get through 20. The length of most of them was well over an hour, with one taking more than twice that – and that was even with me deciding to finish it early after the first chapter.

As I’ve written before, the right demo length for me is around 20 minutes so some of those we tried felt like a bit of a slog. It’s daunting knowing that you’re going to have to repeat a good chunk of gameplay if you decide to pick up the full release. Still though, we ended up adding an additional eight titles to our wishlists and both came out of the event with a favourite. Read on to find out which games made the cut and, in the words of Pete, which were just ‘alright’.

Always in Mind

Wishlisted: no, but maybe in the future

Inevitable Studios’ Always in Mind isn’t the sort of game I’d usually pick up but I decided to give it a go because the visuals looked really nice. Thankfully, the platforming sections are rather forgiving so there was no frustration for someone with a lack of coordination like me. It tells the story of a young boy named Teddy, who dives headlong into his own subconscious after being hurt in an accidental fall. I don’t think I’d rush out to buy it simply because it’s not my genre, but I’m going to keep an eye on it and could be persuaded in the future.

An English Haunting

Wishlisted: already on wishlist

After enjoying Nightmare Frames a couple of months ago, I immediately added Postmodern Adventures’ next point-and-click to my wishlist. Most of the demo consisted of text rather than gameplay so it wasn’t one for Pete, but the narrative was good enough to make me want to see more. When Professor Patrick Moore is told that his Metapsychic Investigations Department will be shut down forever if he doesn’t prove the existence of the Great Beyond in 72 hours, he embarks on a race against the clock with his Box of Revelations prototype.

Case Files: Behind Closed Doors

Wishlisted: yes

I decided not to add Case Files: The Death of Paulette Williams to my wishlist after playing the demo during October 2022’s Steam Next Fest. Although I love both full-motion video (FMV) and detective games, it made me feel like too much of a passive viewer. It seems as though Think Ten Media Group have listened to the feedback provided by reviewers as there were more decision points in Behind Closed Doors. There was still a lot of video to get through, but I think it could be fun to play together with friends on stream.

Chicken Police: Into the HIVE!

Wishlisted: yes

Friend-of-the-blog Phil kindly gifted The Wild Gentlemen’s Chicken Police: Paint it RED! to me for Christmas 2020 after we’d enjoyed the demo. I don’t usually like visual novels as there isn’t enough interactivity, but there was something about this buddy-cop noir adventure which pulled me in. Detectives Sonny and Marty are now back for another case in Into the HIVE!, one which will lead them into a dangerous walled ghetto of insects and pit them against a worldwide conspiracy. Clucking hell.

Completely Fictional Story About a City Inside a Whale

Wishlisted: yes

I bet you can already guess where Completely Fictional Story About a City Inside a Whale by In404 and akinat0 takes place. After being caught up in a storm and falling unconscious, you wake up to find yourself in the belly of a whale named Sunny. Fortunately, there are a whole bunch of friendly characters to keep you company and you might even be able to help some of them out. Everything is controlled by mouse alone in this game and steering the boat took me a little time to pick up, but the demo was a charming experience.

Cyber Manhunt: New World

Wishlisted: yes

Pete and I played Cyber Manhunt by Aluba Studio on stream in January 2022 and working together with our friends in chat to solve the case was a lot of fun. We were therefore quite excited to try the demo for sequel New World. On the plus side, players can expect more of the same gameplay and the connections between clues are nice and logical. On the downside, the demo is very long: we decided to stop playing after completing the prologue and first chapter in almost three hours, so as not to spoil the start of the game.

Death of the Reprobate

Wishlisted: yes

Let’s face it, Pete and I would have ended up adding Death of the Reprobate to our wishlists whether we’d tried the demo or not. We’ve played all of Joe Richardson’s point-and-clicks so far and wouldn’t miss out on another one. This time, Immortal John is dying and as his last surviving heir, you’ve been summoned to hear his last wish. We could have completed the demo far quicker but wanted to see every line of text and sat there giggling together for the entire hour. This one is definitely worth checking out if you love Monty Python humour.

Detective: Ritual of the Sea

Wishlisted: no, but maybe in the future

InterStudio’s Detective: Ritual of the Sea was hit and miss for me. On one hand, it was great playing a detective game where you’re able to freely explore the environment rather than simply click on evidence, and the start of the demo was intriguing. But unfortunately, the last section seemed to devolve into a case of joining every clue to every other clue in the hope that something would trigger. I’m going to keep an eye on this one and see what the reviews say when the full game is released as I’m still undecided.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

Wishlisted: yes

At first glance, I thought that Duck Detective: The Secret Salami was going to be too cutesy for me. But everyone knows how much I like detective releases and ducks so I thought it might be worth giving Happy Broccoli Games’ demo a go. I can definitely see myself playing this game on stream while Pete tries to keep track of the fowl puns in chat. It’s up to our down-on-his-luck protagonist to inspect and interview suspects to solve a sausage-based conspiracy, while keeping his bread addiction under control.

Gloomy Juncture

Wishlisted: no

Sometimes weird video games can be fun. At others, they can be just too far out there. I was originally drawn to Gloomy Juncture by Subtales Studio for its psychological thriller story about the aftermath of a gunshot, but it proved to be too much like the latter for me. Several of the puzzles in the demo lacked context and this made them feel shoved in rather than designed for the game. In addition, having the protagonist drop the F-bomb every five minutes detracts from what the developer is trying to achieve.

Harold Halibut

Wishlisted: already on wishlist, but may be removed

Harold Halibut first came onto my radar when I backed its Kickstarter campaign in July 2017. Slow Bros. unfortunately failed to meet their target at the time, but I kept my eye on their point-and-click and added it to my wishlist when the Steam page became available. The demo failed to do it for me though. I liked the characters and the voice-acting, but the pace was just too slow and there was so much backtracking. I’m going to leave it on my wishlist for now and keep an eye on it to see what the reviews are like.

Islands of Insight

Wishlisted: yes

A peaceful multiplayer release where you can team up with friends to solve over 10,000 puzzles? Colour me intrigued. The demo for Lunarch Studios’ Islands of Insight might show that the game still needs a bit of work, but the concept has been interested. My only concern is that three out of the five main puzzle types shown all involve perspective and I wonder if this is going to feel repetitive after playing for a while. Still, I remain hopeful so I’ve added it to my wishlist and will see what the reviews say upon release.

Once Alive

Wishlisted: no, but maybe in the future

Progressing our year-long adventure in AI Dungeon has given me a taste for post-apocalyptic stories recently. Once Alive by Cem Boray Yıldırım is set 16 years after the extinction of humanity due to a virus and follows James, who thinks he and his brother are the last survivors. The demo gave off a kind of Life is Strange vibe and I seemed to witness scenes from the past while observing my surroundings. It needs a bit more polish though; some of the animations and facial expressions which isn’t quite right.

Overmorrow

Wishlisted: no

I love the concept of PixelManta’s Overmorrow: the aim is to discover the island’s curious secrets but your save file is deleted after 30 in-game days. This finite period and the sense of mystery conjured by the three days within the demo reminded me a little of the longing. However, I found the visual style hard to work with. It’s hard to tell where the boundaries are and I’m sure there are areas I missed as a result. I’ll be interested to see what players make of this one once it’s release, but I don’t think it’s a game for me.

Pacific Drive

Wishlisted: already on wishlist

Imagine The Long Dark, but with less snow and more cars. Pacific Drive by Ironwood Studios has been on our wishlists since seeing it at the WASD x IGN event in September, despite not getting a chance to play it there as the seats were always occupied. With your vehicle as your only companion, you must explore the Olympic Exclusion Zone and face supernatural dangers. We encountered some strange flying machines that wanted to do us harm during the demo, and I can’t wait to find out where they’ve come from and why.

Parafron

Wishlisted: no

Parafron by Takeback Studios is once of the worst demos I’ve ever experienced. If it’s representative of the full release which is ‘coming soon’, I advise everyone to purchase it with caution. The voice-acting sounds as though it has been generated by an artificial intelligence; and non-player characters appear and move randomly, with the guy at the end of the video opposite floating from his chair. I couldn’t even complete the demo because the protagonist got stuck in the middle of a table. If this game is for real, it needs an awful lot of improvement.

The Posthumous Investigation

Wishlisted: yes

After watching friend-of-the-blog Darkshoxx play The Sexy Brutale recently, I started wishing for another time-loop adventure game – and here it is, in the form of The Posthumous Investigation by Mother Gaia Studio. We take on the role of a detective who has been hired by an influential entrepreneur from beyond the grave – because even from beyond, he won’t let you move on until you’ve solved his case. The demo featured some lovely puzzles which made great use of the time mechanic, so I’m looking forward to more.

Turlock Holmes

Wishlisted: no

Unfortunately, the trailer for Find the Lamp Games’ Turlock Holmes is slightly misleading. It makes it seem like you’re going to be questioning an AI host about several murder cases and receiving yes or no answers, before using your deduction skills to impress it. However, it’s just a word-guessing game; you’re presented with a scenario and then must guess the covered words to reveal what happened. It’s ok for an hour of fun but doesn’t have that much depth, and the killings are depicted rather heavy-handedly.

It’s harder for me to choose a favourite demo from the Steam Next Fest this time around because there was so much variety on offer. I’m torn between Completely Fictional Story About a City Inside a Whale, because it’s so charming; and The Posthumous Investigation, because I really enjoyed the way the time-loop puzzles came together. Pete’s pick is Death of the Reprobate. He liked its sense of humour and let’s face it: it’s hard not to laugh at a cherubic baby giving you the middle finger and telling you to piss off.

Did you manage to try any demos during the latest digital event? If so, which stood out for you and how much has your wishlist grown?