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I’m genuinely happy that we live in an era of consistent demos again. They were all over the place when I was a kid, then vanished for like 20 years. You can’t always get the best impression from a game just from watching trailers or reading interviews; sometimes you just won’t know if you’re into it until you can play a bit yourself, at least assuming the demo isn’t a huge lie like some I could mention.
It’s because of my affinity for demos that I’m always happy when the Steam Next Fest rolls around again. It’s a chance to see what devs big and small have been up to in a more tangible way, find new games to add to my ever-growing wishlist and keep on my radar. Even if you don’t plan on buying any of these games, it’s a fun opportunity to take the pulse of the broader gaming industry, and get some free gameplay in the bargain. With all that said, these are the demos from Steam Next Fester October 2025 that captured my interest.
10 Homura Hime
Fiery Character-Action
A good character-action game in the same vein as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta can be very difficult to make. It takes in-depth action gameplay tuning, not to mention strong, memorable character and sound design. This newest Next Fest has given me the first indie character-action game I’ve been excited about in a while, Homura Hime.
Homura Hime is a combination of that traditional character-action gameplay and a hearty sprinkling of bullet hell action. Our titular protagonist can rush and combo enemies with her twin swords, as well as parry and dodge incoming attacks to keep the combo flowing. Enemies will occasionally launch large swaths of unblockable projectiles, forcing you to carefully weave around them as you the gap.
I do get the feeling that this game won’t be done for a while, as it seems like there are some missing assets, chiefly in the sound department. This is probably why it doesn’t have a release window yet. Even so, with enough time in the oven, Homura Hime could be a contender in the current under-serviced character-action scene.
9 I Hate This Place
Nobody Said Surviving Was Fun
Typically, games billed as “survival-horror” are more “action-horror,” with the only survival element being rationing ammo or saving inventory space. A true survival-horror situation would have you not only fighting for your life in a hostile environment, but being forced to survive in said environment long term. It’s the kind of situation that’ll make you say “I Hate This Place.”
I Hate This Place is an isometric survival horror game with a big emphasis on looting and crafting. You start with nothing but a snub-nose and a cracked bat, so if you want to fight off the assorted beasties and abominations that want to take a bite out of you, you’ll have to scrounge for materials and blueprints to make more effective weapons and items.
There’s a dynamic day-night cycle, as well as a campsite to build and upgrade, making the entire experience feel kind of like Don’t Starve, but with way more combat and stealth. You’ll be able to survive in the not-so-great outdoors when I Hate This Place launches on November 7, 2025.
8 Of Ash And Steel
Grab A Sword And Go To Town
I think if the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 taught us anything, it’s that there’s still a big, loyal audience out there for traditional sword and sorcery RPGs, despite what you sometimes hear out of the industry. It is with confidence, then, that I can say Of Ash and Steel will definitely find its niche when it releases on November 6, 2025.
Of Ash and Steel is an RPG that’s all about building out your own adventurer’s tale. You can learn all sorts of combat and weapon styles and stances, tailoring the overall combat experience to your preferences, as well as explore and mingle with the many people of the land to forge new alliances (or rivalries).
Most interestingly, the game doesn’t use a quest marker system. If you want to finish quests, you have to use your own ingenuity; talk to people, look for clues, check maps. You’re there to complete the quest, not the other way around. It’s a game for those who want a big, fantastical world to really lose themselves in without having their suspension of disbelief challenged every few minutes.
7 Godbreakers
Turn Their Strength Against Them
The new Next Fest, as has been the case for a good few years, is positively lousy with roguelites. It’s everyone’s favorite genre, what are you going to do? Most of these roguelites aren’t anything novel or noteworthy, but something that did stand out from the crowd was Godbreakers, thanks to both its multiplayer component and its aggressively distinct art style.
Godbreakers is a high-speed action roguelite with an over-the-shoulder third-person view instead of the usual top-down or sidescrolling styles. You have your choice of stages to run through, pummeling enemies and picking up gear and upgrades as you go, though you do so with a light and heavy attack combo system that’s surprisingly detailed for this kind of game.
What’s especially cool is that, when you have enough juice and your enemies are weak, you can launch yourself right into their bodies and blow them up from the inside out, taking a single-use ability with you like some kind of horrifying reverse-Kirby. The game also has four-player online co-op, so you can wreak some havoc together with your friends when the game launches on October 23, 2025.
6 Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster
Everyone Loves A Gothic Action-RPG
While the era of remakes and remasters has been a bit of a mixed bag overall, I do like how it gives a chance for games that might not have been ready for prime time another chance to make their case, and with better graphics and quality-of-life improvements to boot. It’s also a fun way to try games you might have missed the boat on; for instance, I’ve never played Anima Gate of Memories or the tabletop RPG it’s based on, but I’m still interested in the double remaster.
Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster is, as the name implies, a remastered version of both games in this series in a single package, with the first originally releasing in 2016. It’s an old-school action RPG, wherein you progress through various locales, swatting baddies aside, finding new weapons, equipment, and abilities, and occasionally making vital choices that branch the storyline.
Combat’s a little on the simple side, but it’s swift and punchy and feels good to get into, moreso as you unlock new abilities. It still has a bit of cheese from the original release, mostly in the voice acting, but I’ve never been opposed to a slice of cheese on my toast. Whether you played the original or are a newcomer, you can try the remaster yourself when it launches on November 7, 2025.
5 Констанция
An Introspective Vania
In the same vein as roguelites, it’s not a Steam Next Fest without a hearty dose of Metroidvania games. They’re the backbone of the modern indie development scene, a concise way to show off combat, level design, and platforming in a compact package. This time around, the Vania that grabbed my attention was Constance, an experimental, rather literal voyage into art.
Constance follows its titular protagonist as she’s forcefully dragged into the world of her own art by her personal demons. By immersing herself in her paint, literally and metaphorically, she gains incredible combat and traversal abilities, but staying immersed too long will begin to steadily drain her health. As you travel the large, non-linear map, inspiration will strike, and Constance will draw up new sketches that enhance her abilities further.
Constance looks like it will be both a very rewarding Vania experience and a deeply personal story. I’ve had my fair share of artistic struggles, so it feels like something I’ll be able to relate to, as well as an engaging game in general, when it releases on November 24, 2025.
4 Skate Story
No One Shreds Like A Demon
I feel like I haven’t really enjoyed a skateboarding video game in a hot minute. The Pro Skater remakes were nice and all, but I’ve been jonesing for something more like Tony Hawk’s Underground. Something that’s not just a skateboarding game, but a full-on skateboarding adventure. After finally earning its release date after multiple delays, Skate Story is shaping up to be that adventure.
Skate Story tells a mildly abstract tale about a glass demon traversing the underworld on a quest to devour the moon. It both looks and sounds particularly out there, but the gameplay is true skater action all the way down, from intricate trick controls to timing inputs for high scores.
There are both open areas and linear sections; in the former, you can hop off your board, run around, and talk to NPCs, and in the latter, you can swerve and slide down long inclines, Ollie-ing over spiky grass and hazards. There’s a distinctive undercurrent of absurdist humor to the whole thing; one of the NPCs I spoke to asked me to get them a “Bile Tea,” and it was literally a 99-cent Arizona tea from a nearby gift shop. I think, when this game releases on December 8, 2025, it’s gonna be something special.
3 Marvel Cosmic Invasion
Like Your Favorite Old-School Beat ‘Em Ups
I was a kid during the golden age of arcade beat ‘em ups like X-Men and Turtles in Time, so I’m always on the lookout for the next big game to capture that particular vibe. I’ve been a little lukewarm on Marvel stuff lately, but in spite of that, Marvel Cosmic Invasion manages to flip all those same switches as my childhood favorites, albeit with much better game balancing and less quarter-munching.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion gives you 15 different Marvel heroes to choose from as you fight to fend off an invasion from Annihilus, a B-lister from the Fantastic Four’s stable of villains. You got all your favorites on tap, from Spider-Man to Captain America to Wolverine, as well as some deeper cuts like Beta-Ray Bill and Phyla-Vell. One player gets two characters to freely tag between, changing your combat approach or just conserving health as necessary.
As any good licensed beat ‘em up should be, the game is loaded with familiar Marvel locales and rogues. Strut through New York City, battle atop the SHIELD Helicarrier, and take a jaunt to the Negative Zone, among other standouts. Naturally, you can team up with up to three friends in local and online co-op. Get heroic when this game launches some time before the end of 2025.
2 PowerWash Simulator 2
Let’s Get Soapy With It
The original PowerWash Simulator was a true lightning bolt of game design, an incredibly simple, mindless task transformed into the perfect digital timewaster, whether you’re alone or with friends. I played so much PowerWash, I got wicked bad eye strain, but it was worth it, and it’s going to be worth it again when I play PowerWash Simulator 2.
Baseline, PowerWash Simulator 2 is the same idea as the first game: there are dirty vehicles, buildings, and large locales that need cleaning, and you get to do it with your trusty power washer, either solo or with friends. Some of the new jobs actually have multiple stages, with new rooms and areas opening up as you wage your cleaning crusade. There are also multiple new tools to help you out, from dedicated floor cleaners to cherry pickers that lift you up to clean walls and roofs.
Between jobs, you return to your new home base, where you can purchase (and clean) furniture and decorations to give the place a custom vibe. It’s also full of cats, and yes, you can pet all of them. All that satisfying cleaning and dinging is right around the corner, because PowerWash Simulator 2 is launching on October 23, 2025.
1 Бабси 4D
The Memes Will Never Die
The fact that the current owners of the Bubsy IP keep trying their darndest to bring the infamous bobcat back is nothing short of a statistical anomaly. Bubsy is a punchline, a C-list mascot at best, and yet he persists. The last attempt at a Bubsy revival was… not particularly good, but it did give the devs a lot of ideas to work with. Ideas that have manifested into the bewildering, yet not entirely unpleasant Bubsy 4D.
Bubsy 4D is meant to be a send-up of sorts to Bubsy 3D, one of the most infamously awful 3D platformers of all time, though from what I saw in the demo, it kind of feels like everything that was wrong with that game has been used to fine-tune things in this one. Bubsy is, remarkably, less chatty than usual (though his one-liners are still groaners), the platforming is actually fairly responsive, and there’s some amusing new mechanics like the Furball, which lets you roll around at high speed.
I have no earthly idea whether this game will be anything worth writing home about when it releases in 2026, but the demo at least feels like something we’re all kind of obligated to play. If we have to endure Bubsy like a sisyphean burden, at least this one doesn’t seem quite as heavy.
