15 Steam Next Fest demos you have to play this October

It's time for another Steam Next Fest and with hundreds of developers taking part in Valve's event it's the perfect opportunity to play hundreds of upcoming PC games without spending a dime. Deciding which ones to give your attention to can be overwhelming, but don't stress as we're here to be your helpful guide to the best Steam Next Fest demos in 2023. 

Next Fest kicked off on October 9 and is running until Monday, October 16. That's just over a week to play as many free demos as you can manage. That's not all though, as well as finally playing the demo for a game you've had your eye on, there are also plenty of developer live streams to tune into. And don't forget to hit that Wishlist button, it's the easiest way to keep track of game releases, and it massively helps out the devs too.

With that in mind, below you'll find our picks for October's must-play Steam Next Fest demos. If you'd like to check one out, we've included a link at the top of each entry that will take you straight to the game's demo page. Played something that you love that's not listed below? Drop GR+ a line and let us know. The more demos the merrier.

Another Crab's Treasure 

Developer: Aggro Crab
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

Another Crab's Treasure is the upcoming game from the Going Under devs, but instead of fighting your way through the dingy dungeons of dead tech startups, you'll be battling through a crumbling undersea kingdom. Don't be fooled by its colorful art style and cutesy mascot, this soulslike is tough-as-nails. Combat is fast and furious, and you'll be fighting underwater giants who are ten times your size. There's humor too, as you'll need to keep scrambling for wearable trash that will buff your defense. Another Crab's Treasure is one of the most polished demos of Steam's event and is perfect for both seasoned souls-like fans and offers an approachable experience for newer players – like giving Kril a literal gun that can one-shot enemies and bosses.

My Work Is Not Yet Done

Developer: Sutemi Productions
Release date: TBA
Try the demo here

This investigative horror is a tough recommendation, but if you have the patience to explore this wonderfully dense adventure then it's a must-play. My Work Is Not Yet Done follows the final days of Avery, the last surviving member of a scientific expedition to a strange, haunted landscape. Playing as Avery, you're essentially left to your own devices in the demo. Walking around this eerie woodland, you can find and use different devices, presumably from the group's research. By using these tools – and paying attention to Avery's cryptic commentary – you can get small, abstract insights into what happened to the rest of the team. It's unsettling but also utterly engrossing. This is quite specific but if you love the book Annihilation or the vibe that last year's sci-fi Signalis was putting out, then you gotta play this demo.

Jusant

Developer: Don't Nod
Release date: October 31, 2023
Try the demo here

If you can't wait for Don't Nod's epic climbing adventure to release at the end of the month, the demo will hopefully scratch that itch. Jusant is all about climbing an impossibly tall tower that was once home to a lost civilization. Scaling this natural structure and reaching the top is your ultimate goal, and to do that you'll need to get familiar with your climbing tools, as well as a handle on your nerves. The demo covers roughly the first hour of the game, as the boy and his watery companion begin their ascent. Jusant's climbing system is the star of the show here. The controller's two triggers control each one of the boy's hands, and you need to keep switching from one to the other as you climb. It's an incredibly tactile climbing system and together with the other tools and move sets at your disposal, this tower essentially becomes one thrilling, vertical puzzle.

The Thaumaturge

Developer: Fool's Theory
Release date: December 5, 2023
Try the demo here

One of the strangest RPGs I've seen in a while is The Thaumaturge, an alt-history detective tale. You play as the titular thaumaturge Wiktor Szulski who possesses the power to discover hidden traits in people and objects. Together with his ghost pal Upyr, the two embark on a journey through 20th-century Warsaw. In the demo, the two find themselves in a remote Russian mountain village looking for a preacher – who turns out to be Rasputin – as Wiktor hopes this mystic can help him understand his powers. The demo also showed off Wiktor's Witcher-style thaumaturge senses which he can use to solve ghost crimes, as well as the game's turn-based fight system, one where you have the upper hand by having a powerful invisible ghoul on your team. The cutscenes drag a little, but The Thaumaturge's demo is a teaser of what's to come this December when the game releases.

Europa

Developer: Helder Pinto
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

You wouldn't be wrong in thinking that Europa's screenshots look like they were taken from a Studio Ghibli movie. In this whimsical adventure, you play as a robot boy named Zee who has been asked by his creator to travel to the island of Europa, a terraformed paradise with a  mysterious past. The demo lets you explore the first area of the game, a lush green meadow with rolling hills and glassy lakes. It's all picture-perfect, made even more delightful with Europa's fluid movement system. Using your jetpack you can boost, slide, fly, hover, and surf your way through this utopia, exploring ruins for balls of light to keep your pack fully energized. Together with a handful of platforming puzzles to keep you busy, if you love the laid-back vibe of noodling around a pretty landscape, Europa's got you covered.

Exhausted Man

Developer: Candleman Games
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

In this absurd comedy puzzler, you play through a string of scenarios that feature a person who is exhausted but cannot sleep until they have finished their goal. Each person is too tired to stand up, meaning they must do everything lying down. The result is each person is only able to slither across the floor, which proves to be both nightmare-inducing, but totally hilarious. A task as simple as 'drink a cup of coffee' can turn into a squirmy slap-stick dance. Playing Exhausted Man is like someone has fused Snake Pass, QWOP, and the bizarre work of Keita Takahashi. The second level sees a game developer try and make a demo of their game in time for an online event. Hmmm, sound familiar? 

Turnip Boy Robs A Bank

Developer: Snoozy Kazoo
Release date: 2023
Try the demo here

Looks like Turnip Boy is up to mischief again. If committing tax evasion in the first game wasn't enough, his life of crime has led him to rob a bank. Turnip Boy has teamed up with the fearsome Pickled Gang to take on the owner of the Botanical Bank a sleazy mustachioed onion named Stinky. It's a fast-paced action roguelike where you need to scramble guns blazing into the bank, raiding golden vaults, stealing pocket change, and avoiding incoming fire from veggie swat teams. You can surf the dark web for wacky weapon upgrades and collect accessories to kit Turnip Boy out in the best gear. It's fun, frantic, and playing as a small turnip unleashing hell with a machine gun will never get old.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

Developer: Funday Games
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

Funday Games have taken their dwarven folks in a totally different direction with Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Where DRG focuses on four-player co-op FPS, Survivor is a single-player survivor-like auto-shooter – and you know what, it works. In a similar style to last year's indie breakout Vampire Survivor, you're attacked by hordes of underground nasties and you need to make them eat bullets with your devastating array of guns. Defeat waves of alien bugs to delve deeper into the caves, complete your mission objectives, and grab loot. One smart ability that makes Survivors different from other bullet-hells is that your dwarven miner can burrow into the group, creating handy escape routes if you get overwhelmed by a horde – a game-changing addition to the formula. 

The Talos Principle 2

Developer: Croteam
Release date: November 2, 2023
Try the demo here

If you thought the puzzles of the first Talos Principle were mind-bending, this second one is going to blow its predecessor out of the water. It's been almost a decade since the first game was released, and Croteam hasn't strayed too far from its foundations. The Talos Principle 2 may have the same puzzle design philosophy as the first, but this time there's a much wider scope concerning worldbuilding and story. It all looks incredibly lavish too. The demo takes place in the opening hour of the game, with a string of fairly straightforward tutorial puzzles. But what's immediately different is the tone, lots of talking about renouncing humanity and not repeating the mistakes of their squishy human predecessors. The Steam page says that new puzzle abilities involve gravity manipulation and mind transference – so we've got those baffling mechanics to look forward to when this thought-provoking odyssey releases this November.

1000xResist

Developer: Sunset visitor
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

With the most dramatic opening of any demo on this list, 1000xResist has quickly become a must-play for those looking for a thrilling, sci-fi mystery. Here's the set-up: humanity has been wiped out by an alien virus, and the only survivor – Iris –  has since built a new society entirely of her own clones. You play one of these clones called the Watcher who has the ability to relive human memories. Suspicious that Iris isn't who she says she is, Watcher explores her memories hoping to find the truth about the alien virus and the one who survived it. The demo takes place in one of these memories and you'll be using your memory-jumping ability to travel forwards and backwards in time. This is all on the backdrop of an eerie, surreal retro-tech world, one that hangs in the balance of an important revelation.

Beacon Patrol

Developer: Shapes and Dreams, BrutalHack
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

This laid-back tile-placing puzzle game is a digital adaptation of the charming board game of the same name. If you aren't familiar with it, Beacon Patrol is a relaxing exploration game where you play as a Coast Guard navigating the North Sea. To move your little boat you need to place tiles down on the board, creating pathways for your boat to sail through. The drawings on the tiles must make sense in the context of the surrounding tiles: land must meet land and sea to sea. If you place a tile with a buoy or a lighthouse, you get points. It's straightforward and incredibly charming, not to mention super tactile. Placing your tiles down and watching your little 3D boat mosey across your watery pathways feels oh-so-satisfying. Plus, Beacon Patrol has an online multiplayer co-op, so friends can join in too.

Communite

Developer: JimJum Studios
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

The cutest game on this list (and possibly the entire Next Fest event) is Communite a wholesome city-building multiplayer game. Like other city-building games, you start off with a handful of basic environmental items and, as you place them in the world, you level up and unlock more – starting with some grass, trees, and flowers then progressing to crops, housing, and other terrain types. What makes Communite different though is that you need the help of other players to perform actions, like building a structure or picking fruit from a free. Helping out each other is as easy as clicking on the tile that needs assistance and then poof, suddenly your pile of wood is now a home thanks to the kindness of strangers. JimJum Studios has set up a Next Fest-specific server for players to jump into, so if you're looking for some cutesy city-building go check it out.

Laika: Aged Through Blood

Developer: Brainwash Gang
Release date: October 19, 2023
Try the demo here

With a release date straight after Next Fest ends, the Laika: Aged Through Blood demo is a great opportunity to see if this western-inspired 'motorvania' is for you. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, you play as a coyote biker who sets out for vengeance against the powerful militarised force. The word that best encapsulates Laika is 'slick'. Trials-style bike work has you performing jumps, flips, and drifts as you navigate this Mad Max-inspired hand-painted world. Shooting enemies from your two-wheeler is as easy as aiming with the mouse or joystick, although it does take some getting used to as you're also taking note of the speed and momentum of your bike. Chapters are bookended with some solid animation work too, a staple of Brainwash Gang's work. Laika: Aged Through Blood is a solid demo, and a great teaser if you're looking to buy the game later this month.

American Arcadia 

Developer: Out of the Blue Games 
Release date: November 15, 2023
Try the demo here

American Arcadia was the biggest surprise on this list, and, lesson learned, it shouldn't be overlooked. You can read Heather's more in-depth impressions, but in short, this retro-futuristic adventure follows Trevor Hills is an everyday average man who discovers a not-so-everyday average secret – he's part of the world's most popular reality TV show. The demo follows Trevor trying to escape his workplace with the help of Angela Salano but here's the kicker – you play Tevror's parts as a 2D sidescroller but Angela's bits are in first person. As the perspectives switch back and forth so too do the puzzles, with Angel's focusing more on hacking cameras and cracking passwords, Trevor's more focusing on puzzle platforming. It's a fantastic idea, with an equally fantastic implementation.

Cataclismo

Developer: Digital Sun
Release date: 2024
Try the demo here

Real-time strategy meets tower defense base-building in this dark fantasy game. In Cataclismo you must craft fortresses to defend your warriors against hordes of strange nightmare creatures. Many tower defense games have you stuck in one location, but in Cataclismo you use your crafting and building tools on the move. A big part of the game is leading exhibitions into the unknown, helping your party of humans reclaim ruins in an attempt to rebuild humanity. The demo opens with a group looking for a mysterious scholar and teaches you the basics of building on the go. First, you'll be using your skills to help the group climb over environmental obstacles but it slowly escalates to building a fortress to protect your group against waves of pale monsters. Both the RTS elements and building mechanics work solidly together, and the result is one of the most unusual – but smart – game combinations I've seen in a while.

Steam Next Fest for October 2023 concludes on October 16. When you're done checking out all these excellent demos, why not dive into one of the best PC games.