A guide to the best demos of the October 2025 Steam Next Fest

This week is the final Steam Next Fest of the year. There are hundreds of free demos available to download right now on Valve’s storefront. Next Fest celebrates the exciting upcoming titles that game fans are looking forward to. This guide aims to help you narrow your selection, since there are simply too many to fit into one week. Some demos might stick around after the event ends on October 20th, but not all of them.

A helpful guide to October 2025’s Steam Next Fest: check out these free demos

Earlier this week, I gave a curated selection of demos that caught my eye, so if even this shortened list is overwhelming, that is a great place to get started. The list is organized by genre and category to help you find games that are right for you. The categorization may not always be perfect. If you are enjoying a demo and don’t see it on this list, feel free to leave a comment!

• A helpful guide to October 2025’s Steam Next Fest: check out these free demos
• Action / Adventure
• Horror
• Party / Co-op
• Adventure
• Simulator / Cozy
• Puzzle Platformer
• Tactical / Strategy
• Story Driven

Action / Adventure

This is already a nebulous genre category by my standards, but with the wide variety of games participating in Next Fest, it was actually very helpful to be able to stick a few standouts in this category. If you like going on adventures, fast-paced action, or both, I recommend trying out some of these demos!

• Constance: This 2D action-platformer is the perfect follow-up if you’re looking for more Hollow Knight. Explore a beautifully hand-drawn world and utilize your artistic powers on this epic adventure.
• MOTORSLICE: Parkour through an abandoned megastructure and fight massive, corrupted construction vehicles by climbing onto them and using your trusty chainsaw sword.
• Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road: Combining tower-defense with the survivors subgenre, fight swarms of enemies, gather resources, all as your fortress is constantly on the move.
• Relooted: Build a crew, plan the heist, and escape with the precious cargo of real African artifacts held by Western museums in this “Africanfuturist heist game.”
• Tears of Metal: Lead Scottish battalions deeper into enemy territory to uncover the mystery of a supernatural meteor in this hack-and-slash action roguelike.
• SWAPMEAT: The core concept of this third-person shooter roguelike is swapping out body parts with fallen enemies to unlock ridiculous powers. By the end of a run, you won’t recognize yourself.
• Rubinite: Take back your kingdom as the escaped princess Ruby in this dark fantasy boss rush souls-like game with stunning pixel art.
• Don’t Stop, Girlypop!: Damage in this chaotic, stylistic first-person shooter is amplified by how fast you're moving, so whatever you do, don’t stop.
• Broomstick Exorcist: Play as Vikka in this manga-inspired, hand-drawn 2D beat ‘em up horror adventure. Keep the streets clean and hunt demons with your trusty broom.
• Regions of Ruin: Runegate: Explore a beautiful pixel-art world as you “attempt to re-establish a haven for the lost dwarven civilization.” Gather resources, build a new home, and fight off goblins.

Horror

It is Halloween season after all. This might not be the genre you expect to get a lot out of with Steam demos, but there are definitely a few noteworthy inclusions.

• REANIMAL: From the makers of the original two Little Nightmares games comes another co-op horror adventure. Siblings journey through a dark world to find their missing friends and escape their home.
• LOVE ETERNAL: Combining an unsettling horror narrative with challenging precision platforming puzzles, this game might be the first psychological horror platformer.

Party / Co-op

There is a surprisingly great selection of multiplayer games available during this Steam Next Fest. There’s a sequel to a beloved party-game classic, a follow-up from the developers of Peak, and another great beat ‘em up game from veteran developers.

• Ultimate Sheep Raccoon: The follow-up to the beloved Ultimate Chicken Horse, this new game ditches running and jumping in favor of riding bikes and supports up to eight players, both online and locally.
• Marvel Cosmic Invasion: Team up with up to four players in tag-team combat from the legendary beat ‘em up developers behind TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge.
• Crashout Crew: From one of the teams behind Peak comes another chaotic co-op game about managing a warehouse while driving forklifts.
• GODBREAKERS: Party with a team of up to 4 players in this action roguelike where you turn the powers of your enemies against them.

Adventure

Sort of like if Action / Adventure had less action. These games generally focus more on characters going on a journey of some sort. Some of them have action, but there’s more of an emphasis on exploration and story.

• VORON: Guide lost souls to the afterlife in this story-driven, Norse-inspired adventure where you play as a raven. Master flight, solve puzzles, and uncover secrets in this semi-cozy game.
• Hermit and Pig: A story-rich, turn-based RPG following an old man and his trusty pig as they get into all kinds of shenanigans with the primary goal of foraging for mushrooms.
• Skate Story: You are a demon made of glass and pain. Your goal: skateboard through the underworld and devour moons. Just don’t fall over, since you are made of glass after all.
• Big Hops: Use all the powers of a frog in this adorable 3D platforming adventure to solve puzzles, unlock tools and abilities, and ultimately find a way home.
• Cairn: Plan your route carefully in this survival-climber about reaching the summit of a mountain that has never been reached before. Manage resources and pitons to achieve the ascent of a lifetime.
• Fish3: Fishtastic Fishing Fishscapes: This game is just as ridiculous as it sounds. This surreal adventure has you racing on a boat pulled by a fish while simultaneously playing a fishing mini-game.
• Goodnight Universe: Play as Isaac, a 6-month-old baby with psychic powers, and use your eyes as the controller, building on the innovative mechanic introduced in Before Your Eyes.
• Origament: A Paper Adventure: Play as a letter and go to great lengths to deliver yourself Change shape to fit the circumstance in this creative 3D platformer.
• The Legend of Khiimori: Become a courier in 13th-century Mongolia. Breed and train horses “with specialized abilities,” survive challenging deliveries, and explore a gorgeous landscape.

Simulator / Cozy

Not all games need action and danger. These handful of demos are great to check out if you’re looking for something more chill and relaxing. Maybe during breaks between some of the other, more intense demos.

• The Berlin Apartment: Explore the many stories of the people who have lived in this small apartment in Berlin over the years. Experience the unique, cartoony art style and hunt for hidden treasures.
• Winter Burrow: Return to your childhood burrow as a young mouse, only to find it in need of repairs. Survive the winter by venturing out to collect resources and craft what you need.
• Long Drive North: With up to 4-player optional co-op, traverse the unforgiving American wilderness in your RV. There are no threats waiting for you, just an old RV that often needs repairs and new parts.

Puzzle Platformer

While I couldn’t find a large number of these games, these two do deserve their own category. In many ways, the puzzle is figuring out how to move.

• Monumentum: There is no jumping in this unique platformer. Instead, you’ll need to use the long-dormant mechanisms in the environment around you to progress in this rage-inducing side-scroller.
• InOut: This minimalist puzzle platformer is full of hidden secrets and creative mechanics. Explore every part of each level and let the game rewire how your brain thinks about movement.

Tactical / Strategy

From tactical RPGs to roguelike deckbuilders and even an impressive-looking CRPG set in a dark fantasy Japan, there are tons of great options for fans of tactical and strategy games during this week’s Steam Next Fest.

• Forestrike: Use the ability of foresight to plan out your moves and then execute in this 2D martial arts roguelike. Unlock various techniques and search for the ultimate victory.
• Smash It Wild: Upgrade your players in a tactical, turn-based roguelike game combining volleyball and dodgeball, all with anthropomorphized characters and fantastical abilities.
• Paraside: Duality Unbound: Manage tactical battles on two planes at once as you lead Earth’s remnants against cosmic threats. Fractured worlds collide in this turn-based tactical RPG.
• Master of Piece: Build a crew of mercenaries in this turn-based strategy deckbuilding roguelike. Engage in small-scale tactical battles in a medieval fantasy setting to uncover the secrets of the Dragon Orb.
• Shadow of the Road: From publisher Owlcat Games comes a story-driven, turn-based CRPG set in a dark-fantasy, steampunk version of Japan.
• Decktamer: Combining monster-catching mechanics with a roguelike deckbuilder, this game sends the player into the abyss, constantly deciding whether to tame or kill them.
• Below the Crown: Described as a “love letter to roguelikes, dungeon crawlers, and Chess,” this turn-based strategy game combines all three into a wild, challenging experience.
• The Killing Stone: “A deckbuilding card battler wrapped in a 17th-century folk horror narrative.” Strategize and synergize to defeat a series of demons, culminating in the devil himself.
• Repel the Rifts: A tower defense roguelike set in an alien world. Hold back chaotic alien beings by strategically placing defenses, while the alien terrain changes with each wave.
• Slots & Daggers: Imagine if a turn-based dark fantasy RPG were played through a slot machine. Risk it all in this unique, retro, “mini-roguelike” game.

Story Driven

Interactive storytelling is at the heart of many video games, and these demos all have a story to tell. Just try not to get too hooked, as the full game may not be out for a little while longer.

• Aether & Iron: This narrative RPG is set in an alternative 1930s where anti-gravity technology enables floating cities and cars. Uncover a mystery in a story where choices and dice rolls matter.
• The Séance of Blake Manor: Play as a detective solving an other-worldly mystery about the disappearance of a woman at a remote hotel in 1897 Ireland.
• The Tragedy at Deer Creek: Play as a photographer in this atmospheric point-and-click adventure about documenting a long-deserted logging camp that might still hold some long-hidden mysteries.
• OPUS: Prism Peak: Embark on an adventure with a girl who’s lost her memories. Play as a weary photographer and uncover the mysteries of the land through your camera to find your way home.
• Dead Pets Unleashed: This game combines narrative-driven slice-of-life with a chaotic demon-filled punk rhythm game that’s full of mini-games and cartoonish humor.
• The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time: The last hour of a non-existent JRPG that has been “remade.” Play the end of an RPG with director’s commentary, archival footage, and more in this odd, experimental game.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion

December 1, 2025

Rate It!

• Overview

• indie games
• demo / trial versions
• Steam Games Festival / Steam Next Fest