Tag: Steam Next Fest June 2026

Tidy Up – Demo Impressions

Someone get this Noob some rubber gloves.

Tidy Up

Developer: Debug Games

Release Date: Coming soon

A peaceful cleaning and organizing game where you explore different locations, collect trash, clean stains, and arrange items to turn mess into perfection.

In Tidy Up we are a cleaner hired to clean, tidy and square up some absolutely filthy spaces. The demo consists of two levels, a coffee shop and a garage. It is short and sweet and gave me the quick hit of dopamine that I long for when I play these types of games. In fact, the speed at which I could complete the tasks got rid of that feeling of ‘why am I doing this when I could be cleaning my real house’ that I sometimes get from playing cleaning games. It feels less of a simulator and more of a ‘jump in and out when you need a break’ type of experience, as opposed to Powerwash Simulator where some of the levels took so long that I was questioning my sanity about why I could not stop.

If it wasn’t obvious, I am partial to a compulsive cleaning game or two, and I found that this one hit the spot. It reminds me of my favourite part of House Flipper 2 – the beginning phase where you first walk into a disaster zone, wondering where the heck you are going to begin. You pick a task and soon enough, you have a fresh clean space and a job well done. Perhaps listening to a podcast or decluttering your own brain as you go.

I mentioned Powerwash Simulator, and that is because Tidy Up occupies a similar brain space, without actually feeling similar to play. I find the variety of tasks here in the Tidy Up demo almost more satisfying, likely because of the faster pace that I mentioned.

The game offers variable ‘difficulty options’, as in, you can customise how terrible of a state you want the environment to be in when you walk through the door. While this is nice to have, I do fear it could take away the potential for environmental storytelling that a game like this has (I’m looking at you Crime Scene Cleaner). That doesn’t have to be a negative, but it is something to be aware of, possibly expecting more of an arcade experience than a narrative. Having said that, a fun feature of the Tidy Up experience is straightening up the furniture, restocking areas and putting objects back where they belong. These little touches could be used in clever ways should the developers choose to!

I really feel like Tidy Up has a lot of potential. The length of the full game will depend entirely on the amount of maps available, and while I was praising the snappiness of the levels so far, I think the loop is fun enough to expand. I want office buildings, mansions, schools, hospitals, prisons, supermarkets, warehouses. One of every type of big building that exists, and plenty of smaller ones too.

Demo Length – 20 mins
At a glance
+ Snappy levels provide less worrying about whether I am wasting time doing virtual chores and more satisfaction from completing the jobs and seeing immediate results.
+ Dopamine babyyyyy.
+ A nice variety of tasks including bog standard cleaning, but also tidying up objects and restocking shelves.
+ UI/UX meant I always knew what I needed to do.
+ Lofi mess to chill to.
+/- The ability to customise the mess is a nice feature. There is just something about it that makes me unsure, like I would rather have the intended experience first.
+/- I wouldn’t be expecting a huge game. It does have the potential for expanding scope but that doesn’t guarantee anything.

More from STeam Next Fest

More Demo Impressions

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Indie Showcase – Steam Next Fest 2026

Here you can find all of my coverage of the games taking part in the Steam Next Fest June 2026.

Check back often to see the latest posts!

More from previous Festivals

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Desktop Explorer – Demo Impressions

Step aside logic puzzles, there is a new contender in town.

Desktop Explorer

Developer: Recurring Dream

Release Date: 17 Jul 2026

Rummage through the abandoned profiles of an old PC to unravel an inherited mystery. What secrets hide in this eerie adventure of cryptic games and outdated software? Who was using this computer? And what happened to them?

Desktop Explorer is what I want to call an OS exploration game, but not like any other I have played. The entire premise of the demo revolves around solving the puzzles on the system, incrementally unlocking new folders and using the files within to solve the next puzzle. They are presented to you through a light horror adventure, laterally unravelling the presumably real life mystery of your uncles amnesia/history/life.

The immersive nature of the OS threw me at first, as puzzle solutions can and will be found throughout the functions of the programmes themselves. Every solution had me feeling like a tech genius, despite – or should I say, especially because of – the brain scratching moments that had me starting at the screen, browsing back and forth wondering what on earth I was supposed to do. The information is there for those lightbulb moments and I feel that is all that you should know going into this game.

After seeking out logic puzzles for the last while, Desktop Explorer is an absolute breath of fresh air and I can’t say I have played anything else like it. I was thoroughly invested in this demo both mechanically and narratively and I highly recommend checking it out for yourself.

Demo Length – ~1 hour
At a glance
+ Excellent puzzles
+ Diagetic puzzles
+ Diagetic hints
+ Immersive
+ Engaging story
+/- Doesn’t feel hand holdy
+/- Disturbing enough. Not too scary (yet)

More from Summer Game Fest

More Demo Impressions

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division – Demo Impressions

The most engaging, useful, hilarious online course I have ever taken.

Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division

Developer: Thomas Hsu

Release Date: July 2026

Solve criminal cases through the power of SQL queries! Help out the city of Los Zorangeles by becoming a Database Detective in this new (unpaid) work from home opportunity.

Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division is truly the type game that I have wanted for my entire life.

It is your first day on the job as a Database Detective, which entails examining evidence and searching through databases to solve who commited these most heinous crimes, taking them off of the streets for good. You can then sleep soundly at night knowing that that elderly lady will never litter, ever again.

The game teaches you SQL, a real life programming language used to interact with databases. Through the brilliantly written manual for dummies and contextual practice, you will learn the basics. Each case adds on a new feature. Using those new features alongside what you have already learned allows you to find the data that you are looking for, and find that pesky perpetrator.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the best online course that I have ever taken. I am currently 3 chapters into a Python course and the entire process so far has consisted of ‘watch me do this’ and ‘copy that’. The reason Database Detective works so well is that even from the very first case, it does not tell you the answers directly. The instructions are very clear on what you have to do but you have to engage your own brain to input the commands relevent to the tables that you are working with. The entire process feels less like learning and more like solving a really satisfying puzzle.

The learning part is outstanding, but that isn’t the only thing that impressed me so thoroughly. The entire package of this game is a delight. You aren’t just solving any cases, you are solving the pettiest of crimes. The entire process feels completely ridiculous, not least when the air horns go off and confetti fills your screen on a successful arrest. It is a hilarious time that will make jumping back in to learn so much more of an easier process than picking up a book or watching a video would. The CopOS that you are navigating is thematically perfect, and I can feel a passion for not only teaching, but teaching through a quality product oozing through every interaction. 

I have no SQL experience and the demo took 1 hour. I wouldn’t say I am competent by now but the handbook is a fantastic reference and I presume any future cases will allow you to build on the basics while also introducing more complexity.

Some games are worthwhile because they make you feel something, help you see the world in a new light, or provide invaluable distraction. Database Detective is valuable as it showcases the astronomical potential for educational games, with the genuine potential to change the course of lives by making learning accessible, engaging, interactive and fun. I truly see the future of learning being infinitely better because of projects like this.

Demo Length – 1hr
At a glance
+ Genuinely educational
+ Great humour
+ Builds on itself
+ Seamless
+ Learning disguised as a puzzle

More from Summer Game Fest

More Demo Impressions

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School – Demo Impressions

Stupid-smart puzzles. Genius, dumb fun. Clever all around.

Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School

Developer: Coin Crew Games

Release Date: To be announced

Class is (back) in session with Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School! Get a first look at next year’s curriculum with this new playable demo. Escape from a death-defying introductory puzzle course, kick it with new and familiar faces on campus, and enjoy a sneak peek at our brand new quest system!

There is something to be said for frantically zooming around a scene, on the clock, clicking on every little thing to help find your puzzle solutions and at least 50% of the time being provided with a pun instead. Whether the jokes land or not doesn’t matter, it is a delightful experience and surprisingly enough, the majority of them do.

Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School is the upcoming sequel of Escape Academy, where you are student at Escape Academy, learning to… well, escape. The pressure is high and the consequences for failure can be deadly, but that is just another day at the prestigious school. The entire premise and the writing alongside it are the dumbest of fun and I couldn’t have more affection for it. The sequel feels like an expansion of the formula of the first game in the most exciting way.

The writing is fun, the vibes are peak, and the gameplay is equally strong. There are themed escape rooms galore and the demo gave a wonderful and substantial taste of the variety ahead. Between main puzzles there are optional side puzzles, an abundance of your peers to chat to with the best – and worst – names, and an ever expanding environment to explore as you prove your capability by not dying in class.

I am usually allergic to rushing, in games and in real life, but in the case of Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, I do recommend choosing the timed option, providing you are at least a semi seasoned escape roomist. The urgency adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game and so far I had enough time for every puzzle while also thoroughly exploring every nook and cranny of the room. You will never know whether a one liner will be worth the 10 seconds of your precious time until after you have read it, and that was a gamble that was always entertaining to take. If you prefer though, you can turn the clock off and take the game at your own pace.

Everything feels so serious and yet so light-hearted simultaneously. You will solve a puzzle so intelligently to be greeted by the dumbest joke. The puzzle itself may be a dumb joke. That is what sets this game above so many other puzzle games for me, and why I recommend it so highly. Despite the silliness, I even had to pull out a note book a couple of times! There are local and online co-op options available too.

Demo Length – 1-2 hours
At a glance
+ Engaging puzzles
+ Abundant jokes and amusing writing
+ An improvement of an already great game in the way that great sequels are
+ New open world providing more opportunities for laughs and brain scratchers
+ Substantial demo really shows what you are getting into
+ Snappy pacing
+ Difficulty options

More from Summer Game Fest

More Demo Impressions

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!