Tag: Steam Next Fest

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.

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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 What secrets hide in this eerie adventure of cryptic games and outdated software?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)

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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

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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

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Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop – Demo Impressions

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Fast is panic. Oops, let me repair that for you. Repeat.

Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop

Developer: Beard Envy

Release Date: November 2024

Come on down to Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop, for all your roguelite spaceship repair simulation needs!

WARNING: Untested genre not suitable for people with tentacles for arms or an aversion to dying horrifically. Side effects include improved reading comprehension under pressure and a furry fetish.

Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is a roguelite puzzle game that is built around minigames. We have been soulbound tasked to run the local Rocket Shop, and not only do passers by need their ships fixing to the highest standard for you know, safety, we have rent to pay and the better job we do, the more sweet sweet space cash we earn.

This is a game about problem solving, following instructions and being strategic where it matters. In focused mode you can take your time, meticulously getting to know the machines you are repairing and the components within. In frantic mode, the more jobs that you get done within a certain timeframe, the more money you earn. Personally, I enjoyed the idea of frantic mode, feeling reminiscent of games like Among Us, Tin Can, Keep Talking and No One Explodes and Papers, Please. However, for me, focused mode was the way to go, feeling more akin to House Flipper or a building flat pack furniture situation, allowing me to take my time, dig deep into the detailed and amusing instruction manual, and still somehow manage to do something wrong.

Not only does the gameplay have a high concentration yet flow state inducing element to it, the entire design is great. Everything is simple enough and clear to read, while also being very distinct and colourful. Everything you click on is responsive and makes visual changes that communicate to the player clearly. The design of the different aliens arriving at the shop and the vehicles in tow are creative and fun, the dialogue is funny, the random events that occur always made me smirk and I continued to be surprised at the new things occurring each run.

The game has run based progression that is erased when you die/lose, as well as a classic meta progression system that ticks over with you onto your next run. Dialogue and scenareos are slightly altered each run, adding more elements and allowing forward momentum as you get more familiar with the loop. It is the type of game where familiarity is going to help you improve equally as much as the upgrades.

The attention to detail is fantastic, the game play is silky smooth and my time with the demo was an absolute joy. I am going to be keeping an eye on this one for sure.

Demo Length – 2+ Hours
At a glance
+ High concentration yet flow state gameplay.
+ Funny.
+ Polished.
+ Two key options for gameplay offer different experiences.
+ Keeps on giving.
+ The roguelite aspects feel seamless.

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The Operator – Demo Impressions

I’ll be your newly hired guy in the chair. How can I help you today?

The Operator

Developer: Bureau 81

Release Date: 22 July 2024

Welcome to the FDI. As our newest Operator, your role is to use your detective skills to assist our field agents and investigate mysterious crimes. Use cutting-edge FDI software to dig for clues, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth.

In The Operator, we take control of a high security computer, using the tools available to us – such as a person database, evidence files, photo and video analysis and more – to assist the agents that are out in the field.

I have played a few games that take place within a computer interface and I am thoroughly impressed at how this particular game has implemented it so far. In order to recieve files to investigate we communicate with agents via phone call. These are fully voiced and continue running regardless of whether we are listening intently, or furiously doing our own research in our other files. It is all transcribed and logged in-case you need to re-read and the dialogue itself feels natural and easy to follow.

At it’s heart this is a puzzle game. We are provided with information and questions, and it is up to us to solve the query, whether it is as simple as finding someone’s last known address, or a little more complex like pointing out discrepancies in a victims testimony. A notable point is that we don’t loose access to the previous case we were working. I am very curious to see how far they take this. Can you imagine the web of mystery that we could uncover, finding minor, seemingly unrelated details that weave together further down the line, unravelling a mystery that we didn’t even know we were trying to solve? Someone get me a corkboard and some string!

While the demo is brief, it told me everything that I need to know about how The Operator plays, showing that I am not in for a railroaded experience and will be required to use my brain in detective-like ways. Not only that, it laid plenty of ground to get me feeling very intrigued. The opening minutes of the game set a scene that is unexpected for a computer based experience, and the final minutes confirmed that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Demo Length – 30 mins
At a glance
+ Polished.
+ Allows player freedom.
+ An unexpected but intriguing mystery.
+ Potential for some complexity.
+ Very user friendly.
+ Good voice acting and dialogue.

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Vampire Therapist – Demo Impressions

Centuries of experience brings centuries of baggage.

Vampire Therapist

Developer: Little Bat Games

Release Date: 18 July 2024

Guide vampires through centuries of emotional baggage, decades of delusions and the odd bout of self-loathing with real cognitive behavioral therapy concepts and become a Vampire Therapist! Even vampires need a shoulder to cry on when a neck to bite just won’t do.

Vampire Therapist caused my brain such conflicting opinions that despite the game not feeling entirely for me, I had to write up some impressions. Generally, if I don’t completely vibe with a game then I don’t do a write up as indies need all the help they can get, deserve all of the love, and if a game is not for me that is ok, it is probably for someone else. This demo, just like life, had its peaks and valleys, and once I got to the summit I just wanted to shout about it, despite the trudging I felt I had to do to get there.

The complication with writing about my valley is that it is all about the tone of the game, which of course is entirely subjective. Horniness around vampires feels like a well established trope at this point, and while I believe it is supposed to contrast with any more serious tones occurring, I just personally didn’t find it endearing at all. If anything, it was a little off-putting. However, once I reached the meat of the game, it felt worth it.

Vampire Therapist is a visual novel where we play as Sam, a vampire with a mission to help other vampires. Over his centuries alive he has met a few people and learned some things. He is now ready to pay it forward under the mentorship of an already established therapist. While part of me expected a meme game, it didn’t take long from this point to provide me with legitimate profound moments, suddenly making me want to take it a whole lot more seriously.

As Sam is chatting to his new mentor about himself, you are taught about certain thought patterns that can occur – generally unhelpful but sometimes involuntary habits that you may not even recognise that you are doing. The aim of the game is to recognise when your client is expressing these behaviours, identifying which it is and calling them out on it. In the demo I spoke to two clients, and since then I have also caught myself doing almost every one of these same behaviours in real life. That is what flipped my opinion of the game and made me want to play more despite not enjoying the rest of the style very much.

Anyone who has ever had therapy before knows that therapists can’t solve your problems. What they can do is give you a safe space to address things, and share tools, growing your own toolbox so that you are better equipped to deal with the challenges that face you. I feel like, so far, the game represents that really well.

Overall.. I could be bitter, deciding not to play or recommend the game as the tone is not catered to me. OR, I could take the parts that resonate, let go of my control fallacy enjoy the game for what it is, which for me is a thought provoking environment to practice healthy habits through entertaining stories.

Demo Length – 1 hour
At a glance
+ Could help teach habits of checking and identifying your own thought patterns.
+ Very forgiving, these is no failing.
+ Centuries old characters have so much opportunity to have interesting stories.
+ Fully voice acted.
+ Recurring characters.
+ Treats therapy respectfully.
+/- The tone.

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Goblin Cleanup – Early Impressions

This dungeon is closed for cleaning. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Goblin Cleanup

Developer: Crisalu Games

Release Date: To be announced

A co-op cleaning game where you have to clean and rearrange a dungeon before the next adventurers come to complete it again.

As evidenced by my Powerwash Sim and Crime Scene Cleaner love, I have a bit of a tendency towards a nice, cleaning, task simulator. I am always so grateful when another game pops up like this and they are good. The line between compulsive and boring is surprisingly thin, it would be so easy to misstep, but this demo – along with the other games I mentioned above – sits on the compulsive side.

The game is planned for an Early Access release (no date at the time of writing) and that makes Goblin Cleanup all the more exciting to me. This was a great, fully functional, polished demo that showcases the core concept of the game. Community feedback will inform the direction of the rest of the game and the functionality of the demo makes me have confidence in the developers to really deliver the content.

What I mean by that is everything just worked so well. Goblin Cleanup is a twist on the genre where your job is to clean away the blood and gore of heros and adventurers that have fallen in the clients dungeon. Through the grime you will be both avoiding and resetting traps, placing the furniture back where it belongs and wondering what the heck happened to make such a mess. It is user friendly, snappy and there was only one mechanic that I would have liked an upgrade for.

The traps add a new idea to a tried and tested core, adding a slight order of operations puzzle to ensure maximum efficiency. After all, you don’t want to trip the crossbow to shoot you point blank because you didn’t move a piece of furniture earlier, spilling your own blood and meat over your freshly mopped floor. Navigation is also part of the fun, finding the best way to get the furniture to where it belongs without stepping on a pressure plate because you couldn’t see in front of your feet, because you were carrying furniture. Each dungeon has a large amount of levels, allowing you to experience the journey that the unfortunate heros themselves would face, with interesting winding level design and no way of knowing how to navigate until you try it for yourself.

I can’t speak for the co-op experience as these types of game are a solo endeavour for me, but it is certainly going on my wishlist as a podcast/tv show companion game. I only played 2 levels but I am sold that this is a fun time, worthy of it’s place in the genre. Adding magic to cleaning is an angle I didn’t know that I needed.

Demo Length – 2+ hour
At a glance
+ Another fine example of the genre with its own twist.
+ A funny concept.
+ Plays smoothly.
+ User friendly.
+ Compulsive.
+ Stays on the right side of fun vs tedious (so far).
+/- I did not get as far as levels with enemies yet so I can’t comment on whether that adds a fun challenge or frustration.
– My one problem was walking backwards and forwards so much to get fresh water, I could have used some pockets for my slimes.

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Blue Prince – Demo Impressions

Schrödinger’s Mansion.

Blue Prince

Developer: Dogubomb

Release Date: To be announced

Welcome to Mt. Holly, where every dawn unveils a new mystery. Navigate through shifting corridors and ever-changing chambers in this genre-defying strategy puzzle adventure. But will your unpredictable path lead you to the rumored Room 46?

Blue Prince is a first person, exploration puzzle game where you will be using RNG and resource management to make your way through an ever changing mansion. Almost all of what you find is temporary, but some lessons will stay with you as you reset each day, making another attempt at traversing this bemusing abode.

The gameplay is very decision focused. The house you are exploring is made up of Schrödinger’s rooms – every room simultaneously existing and not until you open the door. What I mean by that is, every door that you open will grant you a choice. Three different types of rooms are presented to you and you can pick which one you want to walk into, adding it into the bluprint map that you carry around with you. Layout, benefits and resources within all need to be carefully considered as you attempt to make your way towards the north of the house. 

I am going to make a potentially strange comparison so bare with me here, but I can’t help but feel a lot of very similar feelings that I get when I play The Binding of Isaac. Blue Prince doesn’t have combat and is an entirely different tone, but RNG and resource management are two stand out mechanics of Isaac, ensuring every run is entirely different and causing difficult decisions. Where Isaac has it’s keys, bombs, coins and health, Blue Prince has keys, gems, coins and steps. You are going to want them all but whether you get them is another question. Movement itself being a currency adds another complication, as your keys aren’t worth anything if you pass out as you open the door.

Continuing with the Isaac theme, you are not going to be able to do everything in one go. The items that you draw in TBoI inform how you play your run – for better or worse. A similar thing happens here, except it isn’t only the items that you have found, it is also the rooms that go with them. For example, you may find a room with dig spots but never make it to a shovel. This coulddd be considered annoying and even cruel, but if you are anything like me, it will trigger the synergy hunting and experimentation part of your brain. No run is wasted when you have a goal to try something new, and even if you don’t succeed, you are likely to run into something else.

The last thing that I want to bring up about my first impressions are how I enjoyed the whole concept of the puzzle solving, from the micro to the macro. Every type of room that you draw may or may not contain something relevent to the overarching mystery. This makes it extremely tempting to use new rooms immediatly, even when there is a chance that they will mess up your route or lead to a dead end. In doing this I managed to find some neat things that I will need to write down on paper for the full game. There are also individual puzzle rooms, containing bite sized puzzles that serve their purpose well. They take less than a minute to solve, you get your reward and then are back to the rest of the problems at hand.

I was impressed that by the end of the demo I had found so many loose ends that I had not found the answer to, and sad that I couldn’t continue on. I have never played a puzzle game like this, it is very unorthodox but it is exactly my flavour of dopamine and I really hope the rest of the game lives up to the first couple of hours.

Demo Length – 1-2 hours
At a glance
+ Overarching macro puzzles.
+ Smaller puzzles within.
+ Tough decisions.
+ Short runs.
+ Time to think.
+ So unique.
+/- Doesn’t hold your hand.
+/- Resource scarcity.
+/- RNG – was fun for the demo but has chance to get frustrating.

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Cryptmaster – Demo Impressions

Use your words.

Cryptmaster

Developer:

Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games

Release Date: 9 May 2024

SAY ANYTHING in this bizarre dungeon adventure where words control everything. Fill in the blanks with text or voice to uncover lost abilities, embark on strange quests, and solve mindbending riddles. Can you conquer the crypt and uncover the mystery at the heart of CRYPTMASTER?

I have never played anything quite like Cryptmaster before, and that is not only down to my lack of dungeon crawling experience. In Cryptmaster, you gain your powers through words. Exploring, finding chests, solving riddles and killing enemies grants you letters, aiding in figuring out your characters next ability in this dynamic game of hang-man.

Is it cruel to make a crew of dead people play hang-man? Probably, but it is also very fitting with the games humorous tone. A huge part of the gameplay is being able to type words at any time, which you can use to take as many guesses at the game of hang-man mentioned above, but also to interact with the world around you. Our ever so slightly demonic looking guide will converse with us depending on what we try to do, resulting in me getting chastised for my virtual kleptomaniac tendencies more times than I should probably admit.

Combat didn’t fully click with me during my two times through the demo. The first time I tried the recommended ‘real time’, but the juggling act of remembering the words and typing them accurately with haste would send me off into a clumsy panic, struggling to decipher whether what I was doing was effective or not. The second time I decided to try the ‘turn based’ approach. While I did get hit less during this mode, I didn’t quite understand what consisted as a turn. Thankfully though, the riddle based sections were enough fun to compensate for the difficulties I was having.

The last section of the demo showed a preview of mechanics yet to come, but it ended before getting to experience them, including some resource management regarding using words. Time will tell whether these mechanics will work for me personally, but I can imagine the audience that thrives on this gameplay. For me, this feels like it would be a really fun live-stream game, as the collaborative effort of solving the riddles and the over-arching word puzzle of the abilities would be a lot of fun for everyone. Not to mention, getting to meet some absolutely bizarre characters with very fun performances.

Demo Length – 45 mins
At a glance
+ The riddles are fun.
+ Being able to type at any time is a great choice.
+ The freedom to explore.
+ Fun performances and character designs.
+ The sketched art direction compliments the word based gameplay.
+ The humour is fun.
– Realtime combat felt difficult, turn based felt confusing.

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