This Steam Next Fest's second-biggest demo so far is like Valorant meets Paper Mario, complete with anime girls

Strinova
(Image credit: iDreamSky)

Online shooters like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant collide with anime girls and 2D Paper Mario-esque visuals in Strinova, a unique competitive game with a new demo already dominating the charts this Steam Next Fest.

Strinova offers a one-of-a-kind shooter experience - players can freely swap their characters between 3D and 2D forms, transforming them from anime-esque figures that look as though they were plucked straight out of Genshin Impact into Paper Mario-like people that resemble themed stickers. It's a feature that the genre has certainly never seen before, but it's already proving a popular one with the game's demo currently dominating.

Thanks to this month's Steam Next Fest, fans can get a quick glimpse of the multidimensional shooter ahead of its upcoming release - and boy, are they. Compared to every other demo now available for download during Valve's seasonal event, Strinova's boasts thousands of players and is second only to Delta Force. The charts speak for themselves, and I'd argue they point toward an unsurprisingly successful future for the free-to-play game.

If you'd like to hop into the fray and find out just why so many people are obsessed with the shooter-meets-anime-meets-origami for yourself, you can test the Steam Next Fest demo now for free. There's no telling when the official public launch will happen just yet, but developers previously cited a potential release window in an interview with Dengeki Online, which falls sometime between October and December 2024.

Check out our roundup of other new games coming this year and beyond for even more to look forward to.

CATEGORIES
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

Read more
A hangar door opens, throwing two mechs into close-quarters battle in Mecha Break
PvP shooter Mecha Break is dominating Steam Next Fest with player numbers matching Marvel Rivals and GTA 5 even as it suffers mostly negative reviews
Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark demon sisters in maid uniforms
The most popular Metroidvania in Steam Next Fest is just what I'd expect from one of the best names in anime games, and it's also coming to consoles
Screenshot from Beyond Citadel
One wasn't enough, so here's a second Doomer Shooter "inspired by the FPS classics of the '90s" where Doom Guy is an anime girl
Shape of Dreams heroes stand around a fire
Someone combined Diablo and League of Legends for a roguelike co-op MOBA with Risk of Rain energy, and it deserves the hype it's getting in Steam Next Fest
Blade Chimera title art
The folks behind some of the best anime-style games of the past 5 years have a cyberpunk game out this week, and it's my first must-try Metroidvania of 2025
Eito Aotsuki uses his scythe to launch an ultimate attack in The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
Dying becomes a skill in this JRPG from the Danganronpa devs, and its Steam Next Fest demo is already Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam
Latest in Third Person Shooter
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2 has a Major Order problem, but the solution isn't simple because "having 100% participation means the MOs will always be won and that introduces other issues"
Marvel Rivals Clone Rumble
Marvel Rivals' new Clone Rumble mode sounds like the kind of absolute chaos multiplayer games need more of
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 has an endgame problem, but a developer assures us "things are coming," they just can't say what yet because otherwise our expectations will be too high
Jeff the Land Shark as he appears in Marvel Rivals
"Sounds like a skills issue": Jeff the Shark co-creator says Marvel Rivals players "should get better at the game" if "my boy is beating your ass every night"
Helldivers 2 intro cutscene helldiver thumbs up
Helldivers 2's Galactic War resumes as Arrowhead fixes its broken liberation rates, and High Command insists anyone who saw anything weird "may be suffering from Illuminate mind-influence"
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Sweet liberty, a Helldivers 2 update "is breaking the Galactic War" so now the whole thing is paused, but good news: "We are not going to revert any of the damage done by this"
Latest in News
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds art director and 20-year series vet says the new game intentionally leans into a question fans have debated forever: "What is a hunter?"
Absolum
The other devs behind the best retro beat-em-up in recent memory are making a co-op roguelike brawler that "channels the spirit" of Capcom's classic D&D games
Battlefield Bad Company 2
"I am freaked out by how much might actually have been accurate": Battlefield Bad Company 3 writer unearths forgotten script
Skyrim
Skyrim is still an all-time great for asset reuse: this hunk of human flesh could be some poor guard's glute, or probably just a piece of repurposed beef
best zombie games
"Don't bet on there being more of Last of Us": Asked about The Last of Us 3, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann says "this could be it"
Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace
"Wise mentor" or "awful Jedi"? Star Wars fans are debating if Qui-Gon Jinn is to blame for Anakin's turn to the dark side