Steam Next Fest has been and gone and it was bursting at the seams with new and interesting demos to try, 2661 of of them to be exact. Despite not dipping my toes into demos for years I really enjoyed the monthly demo club hosted by the Turn Based Thursday crew. It was great to be able to put some interesting new games on my radar while giving feedback directly to the developers.
So we’re going to do it all over again! Round 2 baby! Steam Next Fest Edition! One demo a day for a total of 7 interesting, up and coming, turn based titles. These titles were mainly picked from the Turn Based Thursday community so if you are interested in joining then hop in.
Day 1: Dice ‘n Goblins
After mentioning I was considering writing a piece on this, ColdEmber, developer of the turn-based dice fuelled dungeon crawler Dice ‘N Goblins immediately jumped in to recommend their own game. At a certain point you have to respect the hubris so I opened the store page, became immediately endeared by the cute Paper Mario-esque cut outs and hit download without further thought.
The short description advised this was a turn based RPG but for some reason I didn’t expect to find myself in an old school first person dungeon crawler. I spent an hour moving around the dungeon, stuffing new weapons into my backpack and beating down the monsters in turn based dice battles before conquering the final boss. The elevator pitch would be Legend of Grimrock meets Dicey Dungeons in the style of Paper Mario and I can attest to the blend going down smooth.
By Dice ‘n Goblins own admission, the meat of the game is going to be finding item synergies for the best “combos”, certain dice rolls that lead to bonuses based on your equipment. Your plucky Goblin can make use of a surprising amount of items at once so be prepared for a whole lot of choices to build your perfect arsenal with some tense decisions on when to risk a reroll.
Verdict: I like this one. Minor usability issues aside I couldn’t find much to criticise. The first person dungeon crawler view is probably going to make or break this game for a lot of people so if the elevator pitch sounded appealing to you, go and give it a wishlist.
Day 2: Islets Defense
We don’t talk about board games much on this site but the latest addition to my shelf is a zoo builder called “Ark Nova” which recently gained a whole lot of traction in the board game community. Maybe it’s frequency illusion, maybe it’s fate, but when I saw a comment highlighting that a key inspiration for Islets Defence was Ark Nova it jumped straight to the top of my list.
A turn-based tower defence is a twist by itself but what really sold me on the title was the card power system that Islets Defense shares with Ark Nova. You have 4 basic actions and the strength of each action depends on how many of the other actions you have used prior to this one. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to use a power twice in a row the second use will be at minimum power and severely limit your options.
This makes for a surprisingly strategic juggling act. Do you risk wasting a turn on an action you can’t fully utilise to power up another action? The choice is yours and to its credit, Islets Defense makes a number of smart design decisions to make you feel like your turns are never truly wasted… even if they aren’t optimal.
Verdict: Pair some interesting tactical design with vibrant, welcoming art direction and Islets Defense becomes an easy recommendation for pretty much anyone. The full game promises 15 stages with 10+ hours of gameplay which feels like the right amount of time for it to not outstay it’s welcome. I’m not exactly a mobile gamer but my gut says this would be a great “on the go” game if it ever gets ported to mobile.
Day 3: Graphite
If I had a nickel for every turn based strategy game I played in this Steam Next Fest featuring characters with a distinct pencil drawn style, I would have 2 nickels. Which isn’t a lot… but it’s weird that it happened twice.
So Graphite is the demo I actually put the most time into and despite that I am still not entirely sure how to describe it. The set up of a game playing out on a desk through the use of several card decks immediately brought me back to memories of Hand of Fate but while that game leaned into Arkham style combat, Graphite instead opts for a turn based timeline system. This felt like a breath of fresh air as while I have played games with similar systems before (Star Renegades comes to mind) they never allowed you the full freedom of waiting to select moves at just the right moment. Combine the freeform timeline with Graphite’s stagger system called “poise” and battles turn into a dance of blocking at just the right moment before riposting with your own blows.
On the first run I felt rather overwhelmed by all the varying systems going on as well as the shifting styles between the fights, cutscenes and school setting but by the end of the second run through I was starting to get to grips with it. To give you an idea, take the relics from Slay The Spire and now imagine every character, including enemies, building up a veritable museum of them as the game goes on and you can imagine how many effects you are going to be dealing with at any one time. Rather chaotic but it’s certainly going to appeal to some.
Verdict: Out of all the demos I tried I think this is likely to be the most divisive. Some people are going to bounce of this game early on but for those that get stuck in, there are hundreds of hours gameplay in an ever escalating difficulty creep up the leader boards.
Day 4: Total Loadout
Despite covering them and their popularity previously, I have never actually tried an inventory based auto battler. Something about the interesting character designs of Total Loadout pulled me in so I decided this was the the perfect chance to give them a go. I was midway through my first “tournament” when it suddenly dawned on me quite how many ways a grid based system allows you to arrange items and my mind boggled at the possible combinations. I set to work trying to get to grips with Alice, a punked up version of Lewis Carroll’s titular character, stacking my inventory to fight Sun Wukong… which is not a match up I had ever considered before.
It’s hard for me to properly evaluate this title because I haven’t played others in the genre for comparison. For what it’s worth it felt like a solid inventory battler with an interesting weapon system and standout character designs although there is some slight RNG involved in battles which isn’t going to be for all. By the end of the second tournament I understood the appeal of having a game like this up on a second monitor as a bit of a background engagement, trying to perfect my strategies and use different builds. The asynchronous multiplayer leads itself to a more laid back experience as the battles don’t require active input and you aren’t in a live match against another player.
Between fights the act of combining of items results in you getting yet more items which consistently gave me the little serotonin shots as my items literally wobbled in anticipation of being combined. Seeing your items get stronger and unlocking rarer items as you go constantly asks you to make interesting strategic choices between adding space to your inventory, upgrading existing items or trying to pivot your strategy around new items.
Verdict: This felt like a good entry point for anyone who might want to dip their toes in this particular sub genre. Time will tell if it does enough to standout from it’s peers but for those who like auto battlers I think you should at least give Total Loadout a try and see if it appeals to you. The characters feel distinct with multiple build paths and the full game promises multiple other characters to sink your teeth into.
Day 5: Flocking Hell
I was saving what I assumed would be my favourite title of Next Fest for Day 7, end on a high note. Imagine my surprise when this underdog sheepishly moved in to the top spot. I have a real weakness for games with a fairly unique concept and small scope done well. Flocking Hell and Islets Defense both fall into this category but I am an absolute sucker for roguelite progression which only the former really provides.
Despite the name and the abundant sheep that can be found in an average game of Flocking Hell it really isn’t all that sheep themed. Instead you will be exploring a small map to find lost towns and connect them to gradually strengthen them against an encroaching demonic hoard. To do that you are going to need roads… built out of sheep? Just go with it. This kicks off a delicate resource balancing act. If you spend all your time exploring, you wont build enough connections to survive the coming invasion but then you can’t connect without exploring to gain resources.
The key is trying to maximise your efficiency. Use abilities wisely to help pin down town locations, divide your sheep carefully between the roads and the mines ,which allow you to drop a spirit bomb on the invasion. It leads to a lot of tense finishes where the demons get halted at the last moment and level modifiers and campaign upgrades go some way to keeping the simple formula feel fresh.
Verdict: I really like Flocking Hell. I have some minor gripes with it and I think it’s a harder sell to people than some of the other titles on this list but if you want a chill strategy experience that is always putting interesting decisions in front of you, then check this out. The full game is due to release this month so if you enjoy the demo, you wont have long to wait to get your hands on the whole thing.
Day 6: Mystical Tactics
One of my most played games on Steam is Battle Brothers, after almost 500 hours of tactical grid based combat I still haven’t given up on the goal of one day being passable at it. Until then I console myself by trying other games that give me a similar feeling and Mystical Tactics was this Next Fest’s attempt to fill the void although a better comparison might actually be a non auto battler Seer’s Gambit which I reviewed on Turn Based Lovers previously.
It’s a roguelite tactical turn based RPG where you lead a group of intrepid adventurers across the land with the aim of defeating the dark lord. I know this sounds like it could be the generic description of a hundred different games but the main focus of Mystical Tactics is the bite sized tactical battles. Most areas will put you into a battle on a small hexagonal map where you control your party and utilise their special abilities to defeat your foes.
As you progress you will be unlocking new skills, buying new equipment and recruiting new party members. Given the more truncated nature of your journey the progression is quick and you can quickly get into some very satisfying ability and item combinations across your team. Meanwhile the height system on battle maps along with the fact that damage persists between levels reinforce the strategic nature of the battles.
Verdict: Mystical Tactics succeeds in serving up small tactical campaigns but I was a little concerned around if it will manage to stand out from crowd in a fairly saturated market. Perhaps the most interesting thing here is that Mystical Tactics is being developed alongside a grander 4x game called Mystical Conquests allowing players to choose which entry point into the universe most suits their tastes.
Day 7: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown
This was going to be the coup de grâce of the week. I had seen articles praising this game. Strange Scaffold’s previous release, I Am Your Beast was one of my favourite experiences of last year, it’s not turn based but go play it please. My expectations going into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: Tactical Takedown were sky high and I want to be clear that I did like it…I’m just not sure I loved it.
The demo took me through a tutorial and 4 levels, one for each of our shelled siblings in tactical turn based fights. In each stage you will utilise a single turtle’s skillset to carve your way through foot clan goons and perhaps more importantly to keep advancing as the level drops away and falls into place in front of you. It’s an interesting system that really forces the player to be extra cautious of their positioning and with each turtle having noticeably different playstyles there is some variety here.
This was all slightly undercut by combat being a bit repetitive once you had got the move set down. There were also clear areas the demo needed a little longer to cook as I found multiple bugs and got hit by a car thanks to poorly explained floor symbols. Having said this I do see why the game has got such a positive reception, it shows clear reverence for the beloved characters and goes with an interesting tabletop model aesthetic where character poses change based on their last move gives it a nostalgic childlike feeling. I just hope the final product has some polish and variety to keep me hooked although the music might do the job by itself given I Am Your Beast composer rj lake is already back with some bops in the demo.
Verdict: My expectations were too high on this one. I have absolutely no doubt it’s going to be a good finished product and a turn based turtle game is something a lot of fans clearly didn’t know they wanted. The style will carry it through into a lot of people’s hearts but I do hope we get some crossover between the brothers so I am not just always controlling one solitary turtle.
Well that’s my round up. Did I miss some fantastic turn based demos? What were your personal picks? Head on over to the Turn Based Lovers discord or follow me on Bluesky and let me know.
