Steam Next Fest October 2023

The Thaumaturge – Demo Impressions

Taking demons for our own.

The Thaumaturge

Developer: Fool’s Theory

Release Date: 5 December 2023

The Thaumaturge is a story-driven RPG with morally ambiguous choices, taking place in the culturally diverse world of early 20th century Warsaw. In this world, Salutors exist: esoteric beings that only Thaumaturges can truly perceive and use for their needs.

The Thaumaturge drew me in with its well written dialogue, and kept me with the hellish creature design, intrigue, setting, atmosphere and gradual learning curve. While it isn’t the most polished game that I have ever played, the ambition of this game is to be respected and I am amazed at how few issues I had considering the scope of what is on offer.

Fool’s Theory are clearly aiming for high quality in every aspect in the game and while performance has a little bit to go (at least for me on my machine), they are well on their way to their goals and I see no reason that they don’t achieve them with flying colours.

The game itself looks stunning. The environments make me want to be there despite eldritch horrors and the cold – and I hate the cold. The characters look fantastic which is not an easy feat, and the UI is not only cohesive but it is obvious how much care has gone into creating the entire look of this game. Opening the menu and exploring the various pages is a treat for both lore junkies and art appreciaters alike.

As for the rest of the game, we play as Wiktor, a Thaumaturge which is a person with the ability to not only sense Salutors – the best way I can describe them are demon type creatures in a parallel plain, affecting the world around us – but can learn to control them too, to both great personal gain, and cost. This links the story and the combat, as solving others problems benefits us in ways they do not know. Once we control a Salutor, they help us out in the turn based combat.

While combat felt strange and barebones at first, that is for a purpose. The further you delve into the demo, the more elements are introduced, converting it from a brutal fist fights to intricate battles. Enemies hit hard and you dont have a huge HP pool, which makes health management an essential part of every choice you make. Hurting their focus being just as important as damage, with more options unlocking as you go.

Overall, I had fun with The Thaumaturge and I am certainly going to keep an eye on reviews. Wishing all the best for release at the end of the year!

Demo Length – 1 hour 45 mins.

At a glance
+ Ambitious.
+ The writing/dialogue.
+ The art in the menus.
+ Creature design.
+ Everyones hair.
+ The progression of combat. There is more to it than there initially seems and they make sure you understand one element before adding the next.
– Cutscenes and loading in weren’t the smoothest but the demo makes clear this isn’t representative of the final quality.

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Horticular – Demo Impressions

Gnome and behold.

Horticular

Developer: inDirection Games

Release Date: Coming Soon

You have been magically summoned by mysterious gnomes to restore a long-lost garden. Attract adorable animals, build a lush environment, and immerse yourself in this relaxing garden-builder. Will you manage to reclaim the wasteland or succumb to a looming corruption?

Horticular feels like a mixture of two genres that I individually want to love, but together may be a winning recipe. The two genres that I refer to are cute sandbox builders, and zoo management games. While neither of those things are entirely what this game is about, it takes – in my opinion – the best part of both and merges them together in an ultimate, zen experience. But the kind zen that requires some planning and thought… but not too much!

In Horticular, we are recruited by a council of gnomes to restore a wasteland, reviving the ecosystem and attracting more wildlife into our custom made, picturesque environments. There is an impressive amount of beautifully crafted pixel flowers, terrains, items, decorations and so on, allowing for maximum creativity. Of course they aren’t all available to you from the start. The more that you restore, the more money you can make to continue restoring and unlock new options.

All of these items impact the environment in different ways, mostly being the deciding factor of whether an area is habitable for certain creatures. The more creatures you attract, the more you will learn about their needs, which helps you to invite more creatures. The more creatures you have the more resources you will gain, and the more pride you can have that your environment is thriving. It is a cycle of absolute pleasantness to the highest degree.

Even from the demo I feel like this is a game that I have been looking and hoping for for a long time. The developers are doing an outstanding job and I wish them every success. I hope this game can get the attention that it deserves.

Demo Length – I played for 2 hours and got the impression there was quite a while to go.

At a glance
+ Beautiful.
+ Peaceful.
+ Loads of options to make your garden your own.
+ Ground types only cost time which allows you to be creative.
+ It is exciting when a new animal arrives.
+ I enjoy the gnome theming.
+/- It has management game elements without going really far in that direction. Perfect for people like me who fall off those games when it starts getting too complicated. Maybe not so if you are looking for something extremely complex.
+/- I am not sure how keen I am on the corrupted gnome attacks. Difficulty options make this a none issue though, and I can’t judge it this early as there is an entire progression route to it.
– I had trouble seeing nectar that had been dropped.

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Europa – Demo Impressions

Melancholic yet magical meandering.

Europa

Developer: Helder Pinto

Release Date: 2024

On the moon Europa, a lush terraformed paradise in Jupiter’s shadow, an android named Zee sets out in search of answers. Run, glide and fly across the landscape, solve mysteries in the ruins of a fallen utopia, and discover the story of the last human alive.

Playing the demo of Europa without context, I felt like I was exploring a beautiful land full of whimsy. There was a tinge of sadness but that was continually overridden by the joy of movement. There is a heavy sense of a thriving ecosystem that bustles in every biome, making the place feel alive, allowing an extremely important – and potentially disturbing thought – to hide in the back of your mind, buried but niggling. That question – where are the people?

Fast forward to writing my impressions which allows me to read the Steam description (see above). I did read it some time before but I also read about 40 others so I unfortunately don’t tend to remember the specific details. Upon a reread knowing what I know now, my reaction was one of confusion, shock and sadness. This additional context changes a lot of the mulling and theorising I was doing while playing. It takes away a lot of the hope that I had and makes me approach the story in a whole new way. The rug has been pulled, a plot twist without even being within the game.

Playing Europa felt reminiscent of Journey. It has more means of storytelling, for example the excellent journal that pages you pick up, but it is largely a game of cinematic exploration through kinetic means, soaring your way through seperate levels, taking in the environment and solving a puzzle to move onto the next one.

The game is full of neat little details. The way it guides you to areas of interest with the use of wildlife is lovely, along with being able to interact with mysterious creatures, which you will seemingly learn more about as you go. The use of particles and so many other wonders filling the air makes Europa feel like a slightly alien yet magical place. Surfing across water is always fun and methods of movement are introduced at a great pace, making exploring these areas much more of a pleasure than a chore.

I am definitely interested in playing the rest of Europa, although I wonder whether it will be one of those games that I need to be adequately emotionally prepared for, as under the colourful, perfect aesthetic, dark themes are being explored.

Demo Length – 35 mins.

At a glance
+ Movement is fun.
+ The abundance of nature (and evolution of it?).
+ Areas felt the perfect size to do a little exploring and then move on.
+ The colours, particles, effects and general art direction.
+ The book pages.
+ The teaser at the end showed lots more to come.

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Paper Trail – Demo Impressions

No ripping or tearing here.

Paper Trail

Developer: Newfangled Games

Release Date: 2024

Paper Trail is a top-down puzzle adventure about leaving home, set in a foldable, paper world.

Paper Trail is an artful, puzzle game. I recommend turning the lights out, having no other distractions and getting absorbed in the atmosphere provided by the stunning colour palettes and understated but beautiful soundtrack.

Played entirely with the mouse, Paper Trail feels silky smooth to control. Every location that you enter is a piece of paper that can be folded from any of its edges. What is on the back of the paper is different to what is on the front, providing new paths for Paige to bypass the obstacles in her way should they be folded correctly.

The game gives you the ability to view what is on the back of the page, and doing so felt like a glimpse into another world. While the function of this is for puzzle solving purposes, I liked to imagine that what we see on the flip side is a view of the same location in times long gone. Seeing where our character stands now through the page, encouraged by the melancholic music evoked feelings of a history lost to time, a sad but inevitable thing that thoroughly captures my imagination.

The closest game that I have played to Paper Trail is Gorogoa, a puzzle game taking place on panels. While they play differently and each have their own unique mechanics, if you like one there is a big chance you will like the other too for the ingenuity, commitment to the idea of their craft and a roundabout exploration of a fantasy world a little different to our own.

Demo Length – 40 mins

At a glance
+ Art direction.
+ Soundtrack.
+ Colour palettes.
+ Checking the back of the papers.
+ Played entirely with mouse.
+ Unique idea implemented perfectly.
+/- Not too difficult (so far). I managed to get through the puzzles through experimentation rather than figuring it out with logic.

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Été – Demo Impressions

Colour me in love.

Été

Developer: Impossible

Release Date: Q1 2024

Été is a relaxing painting game where you freely explore a city in the summer, collecting ideas in your album, creating artworks on canvas, and decorating your studio by selling your art to your neighbours.

The tagline for this post was going to be ‘Colour me impressed’, but some how that is not enough to do my feelings towards Été justice. This game is outstanding.

Été is an art game for both artists and none artists alike. If you love the idea of creating art but the idea of picking up a paintbrush fills you with dread, this game solves that in impressive ways.

Gameplay is split into two main parts. The first part is exploring the city, meeting the folks that inhabit it and seeking out opportunities as you go. The second part is creating your own art.

You are a watercolour artist that has just moved into the area. Everywhere you go starts off as, well, a blank canvas. But this isn’t your canvas, you have an easel for that. This is instead, your inspiration that will expand the more time you spend exploring it. As you take in your environment, colour enters the world, building a catalogue of references that you can use in your own art.

Not only is this effect striking on the eyes, the entire art direction of this game is a visual metaphor about inspiration, perspective and seeing the world in a different way. It encourages you to not only absorb the scene around you, but every little mundane object within, as it could be the subject of your next masterpiece.

In the second part of the gameplay, it is your turn to create some art. Using colours that you have unlocked and the objects from the world around you, it is time to add them to your canvas and create some magic. You can move them, scale them, re-order them, re-colour them and for live subjects, choose exactly which frame of their animation you would like to use. Commisions will give you a brief to fulfil, or you can make whatever your heart desires to fill the walls of your own apartment.

Through these modes of gameplay you are free to use your time as you see fit with no pressure other than the end of the day, and all that does is refreshes your energy, readying you for more collection and creating. The world is your oyster and the possibilities are endless.

The first time I saw the trailer I was reminded of The Unfinished Swan but after playing, they are barely comparable at all. Using colour to reveal the environment is the only similarity. Été is way more akin to Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist, but of course with its own look, feel and mechanics. I was completely blown away by this demo, this is a must play for me and I urge anyone to give it a go.

Demo Length – The demo lasts for 7 in-game days. I played for over 2 hours which was 5 in-game days. Progress will not transfer to the full game.

At a glance
+ The game is completely stunning.
+ You do not need to be good at art (particularly drawing or painting) to express yourself or get a lot out of this game.
+ Freedom to focus on commisions or take as much time as you like exploring, discovering new things, collecting subjects and decorating your apartment.
+ Optional collectathon.
+ The purpose of exploration may make you see the world differently.
+ Exploration is rewarded by expanding your creative options.
+ I didn’t encounter a single bug.
+ Never once felt limited by my options on the canvas (in fact kept being blown away).
+ It is fun to see your art fill the world as you hand in commisions.

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Nom Nom Cozy Forest Café – Demo Impressions

I’ve never been cozier.

Nom Nom Cozy Forest Cafe

Developer: Anaïs Salla

Release Date: Coming Soon

Nom Nom: Cozy Forest Café is a cozy and relaxing decoration and rhythm game where you manage a café and befriend cute animals.

The demo for Nom Nom: Cozy Forest Café is short but sweet. I like cute things, but I have a blurry, undefined line where too much cute has the opposite effect and pushes me away. Where it begins and ends is a mystery, but I just wanted to be clear that cute on its own generally doesn’t do it for me. Nom Nom stays on exactly the right side of the line while somehow making me feel the need to squeal with delight with everything I do.

I don’t know exactly how the core gameplay loop is going to go just from playing the demo, but meeting characters, creating designs for products such as cookies, drinks and t-shirts, and decorating your café are certainly a large part of it. Something else that I know for certain is that I want to meet every one of the characters that were teased so that I can marvel at their impossibly adorable character design.

This game is actually providing a service that I have wanted for a long time. Every so often I get the urge to decorate food. Cakes, cookies, either works. The only thing is, it never turns out great and I end up ‘decorating’ the entire kitchen in the process. I don’t know how I do it, but it happens often enough that I know better than to divulge in these urges, lest I be cleaning chocolate from the walls and my hair. Then, I end up with a tonne of sweet treats that I WILL eat in two days because splitting them between two days is the best my self control can do.

I know I am not the only one out there like this, and I am honestly excited at the prospect of this game taking those urges away by making some digital delights instead. These, as well as taking place in an aesthetically pleasing, well polished, user friendly environment that is clearly made by someone very passionate and talented at what they do, is why I wanted to highlight this game!

Demo Length – It depends how much time you want to spend designing cookies. The demo only contains one design slot. I played for 30 mins.

At a glance
+ Difficulty options for the rhythm game so you can customise your experience.
+ Soo many options for decorating the cookies, I wanted to make so many different types.
+ Love the pixel drawing, it is simple enough while also being precise.
+ Character designs are ADORABLE.
+ Furniture is stylish and customisable.
+ Full game features listed at the end of the demo sound fun.
+ Everything works so smoothly
+ It’s just so cute.
+/- Since this demo felt like a teaser, I am unsure on what the gameplay loop of the full game is going to be.

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Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor – Early Impressions

I dig it.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

Developer: Funday Games

Release Date: Q1 2024

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a single player survivor-like auto-shooter. Wield the full arsenal of Deep Rock Galactic, take on hordes of lethal aliens, mine riches, and unlock powerful upgrades. It’s one dwarf against all of Planet Hoxxes!

In case you don’t know, the idea of the ‘survivor-like’ genre is like a giant game of tag. Everyone is ‘it’, they are all monsters and if they touch you, you aren’t going to live for much longer. In order to survive, you have weapons that automatically trigger on a cool down basis. Every enemy you kill drops XP which you can then collect to upgrade your weapons and your character, never allowing you to be too far away from the chaos as you retrace the trail of death in your wake, absorbing all of the gains along the way.

Stemming from the game-changing innovation that is Vampire Survivors, these games are particularly popular on the go as runs tend to be relatively short and meta progression can make even a dud run worthwhile. They don’t tend to require memorising buttons, making them very easy and satisfying to pick up as a palate cleanser between other games.

What makes Deep Rock Galactic: Survivors stand out among an ever-growing genre isn’t necesserily just the IP. The digging mechanic opens up a breadth of possibilities that takes engagement up to a whole new level. Not only are you playing this game of extreme dodgeball, having the ability to mine resources forces you to choose how you want to spend your time, how much risk you are willing take to become more powerful, gives you something to juggle in the opening minutes of the level and opens up manoeuvrability options that can save your life, or get you killed.

I had 3 runs, the third of which got me my first clear. It was intense, the adrenaline was high and I got out by the skin of my teeth. The difficulty rising throughout the levels feels consistant, every run giving you more information and a chance to be better equipped than the last.

While I haven’t played enough of either Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor or Vampire Survivors to make definitive statements, this game has huge potential to have the holding power that Vampire Survivors didn’t quite have for me. I highly recommend giving this one a try if you are even slightly curious. The game doesn’t hold your hand but the learning curve truly is a pleasure.

Demo Length – As long as you want, there is quite a bit of content. There is a disclaimer that it probably wont transfer to the full game. I played for 1hr 30mins.

At a glance
+ Outstanding Survivor-like.
+ Visually easy to read.
+ Mining adds an entirely new strategic layer.
+ Enemy variety.
+ Lot’s of content.
+ Runs feel well paced.
+ Satisfying progression.
+ The components of Deep Rock Galactic blend exceptionally well into this genre.
+/- Progress is probably not going to transfer over to the full game.

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Jusant – Demo Impressions

Where did the tide go?

Jusant

Developer: DON’T NOD

Release Date: 31 October 2023

Jusant(n.): a French nautical term for a receding tide

Enjoy meditative vibes in Jusant, an action-puzzle climbing game. Scale an immeasurably tall tower and ascend to new heights alongside your watery companion. Master your climbing tools, find your way up through diverse biomes, and piece together the tower’s past

Jusant opens with an understated screen. It reads ‘Jusant(n.): a French nautical term for a receding tide’. This is followed by a wordless cutscene, setting the scene of a sprawling wasteland, a mass grave littered with the remains of sea vessels as far as the eye can see. Not a word was spoken, and it didn’t need to be.

Our protagonist appears over the horizon, seemingly not of our world, carrying what can only be presumed to be precious cargo. They approach a towering cliff, a grand spectacle so tall that it fades into the clouds above, and thus begins Jusant.

There is no shortage of wildlife, contrasting the eerie stillness of the abandoned cliff village with the bustle of nature, bringing the environment to life. But a question remains, where are the people? and that is just one question of many that I have from playing this stunning demo.

Was the receding tide expected in this clearly nautical nation, did it used to be stable, where did it go and who are we? These are things that I hope that we will find out along the way. All that we know about the world are the items surrounding us left behind by the former inhabitents, and the letters that we find along the way offering a window into a past life.

It may be clear that the world enraptured me so much that the gameplay felt secondary to me. So far it is simple and forgiving, and while that might not be up everyone’s alley, I personally find it complements the pensive tone by giving us the ability to keep pressing forward on our journey for answers.

I dont know whether the full game will deliver on the Journey or Brothers: Tale of Two Sons-esque feelings that I am getting, whether the difficulty will ramp up or whether all of my questions will be answered. But one thing that is for sure is that I am really looking forward to finding out.

Demo Length – 1 hour.

At a glance
+ Fascinating world.
+ Unique setting.
+ Stunning vistas.
+ Gets the imagination going.
+ The creatures in this world.
+ I was feeling emotions without being told to feel emotions.
+/- It isn’t difficult.
+/- I looked for secrets but I didn’t really find any. May be a dissapointing thing but it is good to know early how thoroughly you have to look into every nook and cranny.
– A little buggy.

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Crime Scene Cleaner – Demo Impressions

Continuously kicking the bucket.

Crime Scene Cleaner

Developer: President Studio

Release Date: 2024

Once you get tangled with the mob, you will forever be a part of the mob. At least they pay a decent salary and all you have to do is clean up after their dirty work, but you know what you’re doing. So clean crime scenes, outsmart the police, and get ready for the next mission.

I am unsure whether I should be ashamed to admit that out of the 35 demos I currently have to try, Crime Scene Cleaner is the one that I absolutely had to try first. But crimes, fixing crime scenes, virtual cleaning, secret handouts… there is no shame there, that is a winning recipe if I ever saw one. The real shame lies when I skip my own chores to conscientiously scrub the splattered viscera of the former owners from every surface of their enviable mansion, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

This demo exceeded my expectations in just about every way. As a PowerWash Simulator appreciator and someone that is eagerly awaiting House Flipper 2, my curiosity was piqued but I could not have imagined that this would – in my opinion – live up to both of those titles. Sure, you don’t have the design options that you have in House Flipper and you don’t have the unlimited water that you have in PowerWash Sim, but this game brings other mechanics to the table.

In Crime Scene Cleaner we are playing as a character with a personality and a life. His one liners are consistantly fun, almost feeling like an homage to a horror protagonist. School janitor by day, alternative janitor by night, we are trying to earn money to be able to pay for the treatment of our seriously ill daughter. Not only do we need to clean up the horrendous crime scenes but we have to manage our suspicion levels as we decide how much of the crime scene we can get away with quietly taking for ourselves.

I never realised I wanted a gory cozy game but so far, that is exactly what this game feels like for me and I eagerly await the full experience.

Demo Length – 2 hours. Certainly won’t take that long for everyone but I wanted the place to be spotless and kept finding secrets upon secrets rather than the dining chair that I was looking for.

At a glance
+ Level design
+ Satisfaction
+ Felt like a great tutorial
+ Potential for depth to the game beyond only cleaning
+ A charming amount of jank
+ Secrets
+ Humour
+ The character we are playing as has a personality
+/- This is not going to appeal to everyone
– I had a couple of UI/visual bugs, I have reported them to the devs!

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