14 games we’re excited to try at Steam Next Fest February 2025

This week is the first Steam Next Fest of 2025 and, as always, we are excited to try out new game demos. What makes Next Fest particularly special is that since a game is only allowed to exhibit at one event ever, you end up with the vast number of new demos being indie games (although occasionally a major title does work its way in there).

Here are 14 games we’re going to be sampling from this year’s event.

Kill the Music

A rhythm action roguelite, Kill the Music combines the gameplay of Hades and environmental rhythm games like Crypt of the Necrodancer — the game was basically made for me. You play as Roxie, whose band is trapped playing music for Death for eternity. Roxie lets them take possession of her body so she can play all the instruments helping her to level up and hopefully winning their freedom.

Squirreled Away

It’s a squirrel simulator! Now you too can roam around and steal all the food from my bird feeder discover a vibrant urban park. Scamper and leap and build the tiny treehouse of your dreams. You can even play with your friends in co-op mode! Just stay away from my bird feeder!

Koira

The game’s description starts with “Save a puppy” and frankly that’s all I need to know. If that’s not enough for you, I’ll also point out it’s a hand-drawn adventure that has you exploring a musical forest while solving puzzles, befriending other creatures, and watching out for the hunters lurking in the shadows as you try to make your way home. This game is also scheduled to release in early April so if you fall in love with the demo you won’t have to wait long to finish the journey. Koira is being published by DON’T NOD, the creators of the original Life is Strange which also gets my attention.

Wanderstop

On the surface, Wanderstop is cozy story about a former adventurer running a tea shop. There’s a little bit of a twist though: unlike other entries in the cozy merchant genre (both games and books), the protagonist doesn’t want to be there! So it’s not just about making the right tea for your customers but also about how you handle change that may be unwelcome in your life. I’m very fascinated by this approach to the subject and am looking forward to how it handles the balance between cozy and change — which can often be the opposite of cozy.

Rusty Rabbit

In the future the humans have abandoned Earth. In their place has arisen rabbits! A side-scrolling adventure, Rusty Rabbit has you piloting a mech through the ruins of a frozen world. There are also RPG elements as well as you can use materials collected to upgrade your mech and your own abilities. What will you find in the remains of human civilization? And will you confirm that the book “Peter Rabbit” really is the Bible?

Bao Bao’s Cozy Laundromat

Have you ever wanted to run a laundromat for pandas? Of course you have, and now you have the chance to! Provide necessary services, expand your laundromat, and play with the cats all while listening to a lofi soundtrack.

An Elaborate History of Chess

One of the more peculiar entries in this year’s Next Fest, An Elaborate History of Chess is all about the evolution of the game of chess … allegedly. The game mixes elements of crafting strategy games with chess gameplay as you look to expand your village and keep your pieces fed — all while protecting the king.

The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy

From the creators of Danganronpa and the Zero Escape series comes a new adventure: The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy. You are among 15 students tasked to defend a school for 100 days against monsters, leveraging each student’s skill to help defeat the invaders. With tactical gameplay and social bonds this game is sure to appeal to players of the Fire Emblem and Persona franchises as well.

Mossfield Origins

Mossfield Origins describes itself as a cozy builder without time pressure or outside forces to contend with. Your community is improved via a tech tree, and it’s suggested that the game is going to have a puzzle-solving aspect — figure out which combination of tech and buildings will meet your residents’ expectations to advance. Since there’s no pressure though it seems like the game is built in such a way that you’ll be able to take your time in finding the right answers for your citizens’ contentment.

Monster Train 2

This sequel to the popular Monster Train roguelike deckbuilder expands on the original by offering new clans to fight with, new enemies to fight against, and new modes — including the long-desired Endless Mode. Fans of Slay the Spire who missed the original should definitely look to board this train.

Mochi’s Cosy Quest

I know what you’re thinking — “another cozy game?” — but hear me out: you get to play as a capybara in an environment puzzler where all you want to do is get your little capy some fruit. And also put on cute hats. I’m not going to suggest this is the Game of the Year but I expect it to get a few nominations.

Dragon Heartburn

It’s your typical day: you, a dragon, got heartburn at lunch and need to get to the infirmary to get it taken care of. But to get there you need to make sure you don’t burn any of your coworkers. This is essentially a puzzler as you need to get through each of the 77 levels successfully, but it also has aspect of top-down shooters as you can take out furniture and office equipment that gets in your way with your fiery breath — just don’t harm your fellow workers!

Is This Seat Taken?

Another puzzler, Is This Seat Taken is of the logic puzzle variety. Your job is to solve each situation by making sure everyone is happy where they’re seated. Make sure the kid is sitting with their parents, but also make sure that someone who doesn’t want to be near a stinky kid isn’t seated nearby. While it looks easy enough, I’m sure as the situations get more complex it’ll become harder to get everyone seated and happy.

Run TavernQuest

Our final selection is a throwback to old text games like Zork and Colossal Cave Adventure. Only this time you’re not the player; you’re the CPU and your mission is to help complete the game by figuring out what the player is trying to do. One gigantic catch: the player is an idiot. Good luck!

That’s a lot of games to sample, but fortunately developers often keep the demo available until the game releases — and sometimes beyond even then. Not all demos stay up past the end of Next Fest, however, so make sure you try out the ones your most excited for now while you have the chance.