Summary
- Steam Next Fest offers gamers early access to promising, upcoming games.
- Titles like Morsels, Absolum, and Easy Delivery Co. Blend genres and gameplay mechanics.
- Games like UNBEATABLE are just one of the many titles from Next Fest that set itself apart through visuals.
Steam Next Fest, an event where developers can showcase demos for their upcoming titles, is here once again, offering gamers an opportunity to try out their wishlisted games or discover overlooked talent they would have otherwise missed.
Every Game Revealed at Day of the Devs 2025
From stealth sims to musical chaos and melancholic photo quests, Day of the Devs 2025 gave indies the stage and every game had something to say.
During its last outing back in February, Next Fest showed off intriguing titles like Post Trauma and Labryinth of The Demon King, whose subsequent full releases have gone on to be met with positive reception from fans. June is shaping up to be more of the same, featuring a plethora of fun and promising tastes of what's to come. Pulling from a variety of genres, the list below compiles just some of the highlights from this month's Next Fest that gamers won't want to miss out on.
10 Morsels
Creature Collector Roguelike
|
To Be Released |
2025 |
|---|---|
|
ESRB |
N/A |
|
Developer |
Furcula |
|
Genre |
Roguelike |
Furcula's Morsels combines twin-stick bullet hell gameplay with creature-collecting mechanics to create a roguelike that feels fresh and inventive among the plethora of other titles in the ever-expanding genre. Not only that, the game's grimy, sewer-drenched pixel art-style is an absolute delight to look at throughout, making Morsels worth checking out based on its visuals alone.
With each collected creature (or in this instance, each collected morsel) coming with their own unique play styles that can then be combined with the game's various buffs and abilities, runs in Morsels — even in the unfinished state of the demo — feel quite varied. If Furcula can deliver on the promise of this snack-sized preview in the game's full release, players can expect a replayable experience worthy of the genre.
9 UnderMine 2
Mine-Crawling Roguelike
|
To Be Released |
July 22, 2025 |
|---|---|
|
ESRB |
N/A |
|
Developer |
Thorium |
|
Genre |
Roguelike |
Thorium's Undermine 2 builds on the foundations of its predecessor in almost every way. Not only have the pixel graphics received a nice facelift, but so has the gameplay, offering larger levels with more branching pathways and a brand-new Arcana system that grants players magical abilities on top of the buffs they receive from the returning relics.
Undermine 2 differs further from the first with its inclusion of co-op and alternative playable characters. Gamers will be able to invite their friends along on their forays into the mines and take control of NPCs from the first game, like Black Rabbit.
8 Easy Delivery Co.
Completely Normal Delivery Sim
|
To Be Released |
2025 |
|---|---|
|
ESRB |
N/A |
|
Developer |
Sam C |
|
Genre |
Driving, Relaxing |
Easy Delivery Co., developed by Sam C, is a wonderful blending of genres that some players aren't going to know they needed until they try the demo for themselves. Assuming the role of a snowy mountain town's sole delivery driver, players ferry packages between the town's Animal Crossing- esque residents whose off-handed remarks hint at a mysterious past for the town and the player. Occasionally stalked by a fog that feels reminiscent of another iconic video game town based in Maine, Easy Delivery Co.'S setting is shrouded in an atmosphere that feels equal parts cozy and eerie.
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In the demo, players have a limited number of narrative goals and access to an endless mode that allows them to continuously deliver packages, both of which have been enough to pique interest in Easy Delivery Co.'S eventual full release.
7 Ritual Of Raven
Magical Farming Sim
Ritual of Raven
- Released
- 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Spellgarden Games
- Publisher(s)
- Team17
- Genre(s)
- Simulation, Farming, RPG, Life Simulation
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC
Spellgarden Games' Ritual of Raven is looking to shake up the farming sim canon with its inclusion of magic. Specifically, players have the ability to unlock and enchant Arcana Constructs, garden-themed automatons who do the heavy labor for the player. While the farming sim genre is no stranger to magic, Ritual of Raven's fantastical spin on automation mechanics, alongside a particularly vibrant color palette, still makes it stand out among other games in the Next Fest.
Compared to games like Stardew Valley, Ritual of Raven is also looking to have a stronger emphasis on story, featuring a cast of characters with backstories that players will likely be able to fully delve into with the game's full release in August.
6 Hirogami
Paper Versus Tech
Hirogami
- Released
- September 3, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bandai Namco Studios Malaysia, Bandai Namco Studios Singapore
- Publisher(s)
- Kakehashi Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
For those who enjoy the art of origami or the hand-crafted aesthetics of games like Paper Mario, Hirogami is a must-play. Set in a world fashioned from paper constructions, the game places players in the role of Hiro, a 'folding' master pit against paper's greatest enemy: the digital age. Hirogami adapts the invasive blight narrative seen in other titles by having the corruption take the form of glitchy enemies and blocky formations.
Being a 3D platformer, Hirogami equips players with a number of methods of traversal, from unfolding themselves and gliding across levels to adopting the forms of specific animals to access different abilities, promising a mechanically varied experience set to drop later this year in September.
5 Super Loco World
Train Management
|
To Be Released |
July 2025 |
|---|---|
|
ESRB |
N/A |
|
Developer |
Andriy Bychkovskyi |
|
Genre |
Automation, Simulation |
Andriy Bychkovskyi's Super Loco World is an automation delight based around mapping islands with intricately designed train systems. Aiming to streamline the management mechanics of other tycoon games, Super Loco World manages to be both complex and laid back, allowing players to design a web of railways without overwhelming them with menus upon menus.
Super Loco World's emphasis on cozy vibes is of course present in its visuals and music, both of which feature elements that will be immediately familiar to fans of other relaxing city builders like Dorfromantik.
4 Absolum
Stunning Beat 'Em Up
Absolum
- Released
- October 9, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Guard Crush Games, Supamonks, Dotemu
- Publisher(s)
- Dotemu, Gamera Games
- Genre(s)
- Roguelite, Beat 'Em Up
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Absolum mashes together the beat 'em up and roguelike genres, creating a union of mechanics that gamers will be asking themselves why they don't see more often. Set in Talamh, a dark fantasy world where magic is outlawed, players assume the role of one of four rebels as they punch and slash their way through beautifully rendered 2D stages. As is customary with the roguelike genre, players will collect a number of boons that alter and enhance their attacks, introducing a fresh, replayable spin on the traditional beat 'em up formula.
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The talent attached to Absolum's music is also staggering. Composed by Gareth Coker, who previously put together soundtracks for games like Ori and the Blind Forest, and featuring the work of Mick Gorden and Yuka Kitamura, who worked on Doom Eternal and the Dark Souls series respectively, Absolum's soundtrack is likely going to be one that players will want to get on vinyl.
3 UNBEATABLE
Play Music And Do Crimes
UNBEATABLE
- Released
- December 9, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Speaking of music, D-CELL GAMES' UNBEATABLE is an extremely stylish rhythm game where players take control of Beat, a member of a band on the run in a world where music is illegal. In the game, players can live out their punk fantasies, fighting cops and blasting music while navigating an emotionally charged story. I
f players aren't convinced by UNBEATABLE's premise or the fact it's a playable, brilliantly composed album, they need only look at its anime-infused visuals for further confirmation of the games 'need-to-play' status. Vibrant, stylish, and just as chaotic as its characters, UNBEATABLE's graphics are — pure and simple — a visual delight.
2 No, I'm Not A Human
Uncanny Papers Please
No, I'm not a Human
- Released
- 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Trioskaz
- Publisher(s)
- Critical Reflex
- Platform(s)
- PC
Trioskaz's No, I'm not a Human is bound to wrap its creepy little claws around the hearts of those who have become obsessed with the explosion of horror media focused on the concept of the uncanny valley, such as Alex Kister's widely popular web series, The Mandela Catalogue. With the sun coincidentally spewing out solar flares and mysterious entities called Visitors starting to emerge from the Earth, players are tasked with carefully deciding whether to let wandering denizens of the apocalypse into the home for shelter — lest they unknowingly invite one of these visitors in.
Making use of a handy uncanny checklist offered up by the morning news, players can check the hands, eyes, teeth and even armpits of their new roommates to check for telltale signs of a visitor. Whether they be human or a visitor, those wandering the streets in No, I'm not a Human are purposefully illustrated with unsettling designs and proportions, leaving the player guessing during every encounter.
1 Holstin
Perspective Bending Survival Horror
Holstin
- Developer(s)
- Sonka
WHERE TO PLAY
- Publisher(s)
- Sonka
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Should the promise of the game's demos be realized in its full release, Holstin is shaping up to be an indie survival horror gem. The game places players in the eastern Poland town of Jeziorne-Kolonia, a 90s-inspired location that has become overrun by strange growths and monsters. The demos feature the survival horror staples fans have come to expect: interesting puzzles, a focus on resource management, a healthy dose of scares, and an atmosphere players can soak themselves in.
Holstin, like other games on this list, sets itself apart from other titles in the genre through its visuals, featuring not only excellent hand-drawn pixel graphics, but also a twist on perspective. Though it may sound like a small change on paper, the players' ability to rotate the game's top-down camera modernizes the fixed camera angles of old in a way that feels fresh. Additionally, during combat, players can switch to an over-the-shoulder perspective, allowing them to enjoy the best of both survival horror worlds.
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