Steam Next Fest 2025 | Demo Reviews
Discover the 10 best indie game demos from Steam Next Fest 2025! I played over 20 demos and picked my favorites—check out my thoughts on these must-play upcoming indie games!
Steam Next Fest has been great this year! I played over 20 demos and wanted to share 10 of my favorites that I had the time to review. Each video review is roughly two minutes long, highlighting why I enjoyed them. Let me know if you tried any of these or which demos you had a chance to check out—drop a comment below!
A small glimpse into being a child in Ecuador during the world cup. Learning to play football and sharing memories with your friends during the biggest event in sporting history.
🎮despelote | Steam
🗓️Release Date | May 1st 2025
A great dungeon-crawling loop, the nostalgic vibe of pixel artwork, a unique premise for the fantasy world, and a beautiful soundtrack all come together for a fantastic homage to the Zeldas of the past. The Kickstarter is live right now and as of this writing its at 34% funded! Go check out the demo and fund the Kickstarter if you can!
🎮Isle of Reveries | Steam | Kickstarter
🗓️Release Date | April 2026 | Kickstarter Live Now!
A cute Gameboy color styled baking platformer with a wonderful design, fun mini games, and a stellar soundtrack that has me excited for the full release. Colorgrave is a staple for retro game styles.
You can see my review of Vertius their previous title here.
🎮Claire a la Mode | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
A fun 3D platformer with a 2D designed protagonist give it tons of character in this Paper Mario and Mario 64 inspired world. It's a great take on classics that stands on its own.
🎮Ruffy and the Riverside | Steam
🗓️Release Date | April 2025
Wheel World offers a truly beautiful open world with an uplifting and fun soundtrack. Along the way, you learn about your destiny, and how you can help—all while upgrading your bike and looking fresh.
🎮Wheel World | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
It’s addicting, has a fantastic gameplay loop, great visual design, and is straight-up one of the best demos I’ve played this Steam Next Fest
🎮HASTE: Broken Worlds | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
Why does Grandma have a bowl of grenades? Late on bills? Just shred them. Forgot to fix your fireplace? No worries just put out the impending fire. Grandma just being a grandma. Physics based chaos!
🎮Grandma, NO! | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
It’s a funny tower defense game whose charming visuals draw you in, and its comedic dialogue will have you begging for more.
🎮Red Rocket Defencism | Steam
🗓️Release Date | Q2 2025
Castle V Castle’s design was the first thing that stood out to me. It’s a really fun game with an addictive gameplay loop and rogue lite elements that will keep you on the edge of your throne.
🎮Castle V Castle | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
It’s a cute and chill open-world game with witty dialogue, big side-quest energy, and low-poly graphics that fit the vibe beautifully. A Short Hike with Animal Crossing influence and Ross from Friends.
🎮Goodlands | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
Great roundup! I have no idea where you got the time to make all the videos. It took me half a weekend just to play through many of my demos!