The most-played Steam Next Fest demos have been revealed, and Valheim meets Dark Souls in the survival RPG at the top of the list

Enshrouded
(Image credit: Keen Games)

The most-played Steam Next Fest demos have been revealed, and I'm not surprised to see what's topped the list. 

The October 2023 edition of Steam Next Fest is officially over, so Steam has compiled a list of the top 50 games played during the event. The games are "ordered by the number of unique players during the weeklong event" and we've played several of the games in the top 5. You can see the list for yourself over on Steam, but here's what you may have missed out on last week. 

In the top spot, you'll find Enshrouded - a Valheim-style survival game with Dark Souls-style bosses that very quickly became Steam Next Fest's most popular game shortly after the event launched. After this, you'll find Japanese Drift Master, a gorgeous open-world racer inspired by the 'Initial D' manga. To round off the top three, we've got Sky: Children of the Light, a rare chill MMO that's the perfect calm to the busyness of Final Fantasy 14.

There are plenty of other great games that make up the top 50, but to pick out some of the highlights we've also got action-roguelike Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, FPS game Robocop: Rogue City, cyberpunk-style action game GhostRunner 2, and rhythm battle royale Headbangers.

During the event, we also highlighted a number of our favorite demos, including JRPG Astra: Knights of Veda, strategy game Stronghold Definitive Edition, roguelike Cursorblade, survival horror Echoes of the Living, farming sim A New Leaf: Memories, city-builder Pioneers Of Pagonia, Soulslike Another Crab's Treasure, horror RPG Little Goody Two Shoes, and so many more. 

Steam Next Fest may be over but it's not too late to try out a lot of these games' demos. If anything we've mentioned takes your interest, head on over to its Steam page as you may find it still has a demo available to try out.

Want even more suggestions? Here's our best Steam Next Fest demos list.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
Wanderstop screenshot of two characters sitting together on a bench, one holds a wooden spoon
The 10 Steam Next Fest demos you need to play this weekend
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
a bulldozer on a dirt road
We all yearn for construction jobs as simulator RoadCraft takes a podium spot in Steam Next Fest's most-played demos just behind PvP mech game Mecha Break
Solarpunk airship interior
The most popular open-world survival game in Steam Next Fest is coming straight for my JRPG-born obsession with floating islands
The Steam banner for the Steam Next Fest 2025 event in February.
Steam Next Fest 2025: all the dates, details, and everything else you need to know
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
Latest in RPG
Fighting a dragon with a sword and shield in Skyrim
Former Skyrim dev says "a lot of the great stuff" in the RPG came from the devs having "quite a bit of freedom" to create what they wanted, even if it wasn't "on schedule"
Yasuke standing in front of a Kofun tomb in Assassin's Creed Shadows
It took me over 20 hours to unlock Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, and a Kofun turned out to be the perfect training ground
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Reclaiming their crown, pacifist Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 player beats the whole RPG as "Merciful Henry": 1,741 strikes blocked, 472 knockouts, and zero kills
Top-down screenshot of Monsterpatch, showing a grid-based town with Pokemon-like creatures, GBC graphics and vegetations sprinkled about.
This cozy RPG promises a Pokemon and Stardew Valley mashup with "limitless customization," 208 monsters, and more, so no wonder its Kickstarter was funded in just 16 minutes
Dragon Age: The Veilguard art showing the RPG's companions grouped together
Dragon Age: The Veilguard director is leading an unannounced game for Wizards of the Coast, which recently hinted at more Baldur's Gate
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Skyrim
Ex-Bethesda dev says his new studio isn't making a "little Skyrim," but does channel a key part of the iconic RPG: "Stuff got built because somebody cared about building it"
Wyatt Russell, Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen and David Harbour in Thunderbolts
The new Thunderbolts teaser namedrops the Avengers twice, less than a day after the cast was confirmed for Doomsday
Marvel Cosmic Invasion promo art showing various heroes teaming up against Annihilus
The spirit of those incredible '90s arcade comic book brawlers lives on in Marvel Cosmic Invasion, a new retro beat-em-up game from the creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows shoots past 3 million players and 40 million hours played with the "second-highest day 1 sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history"
Masc presenting person napping on gaming chair next to Boulies MagVida desk with laptop and controller next to tea cup, lamp, and flip calendar
Chair makers Bouiles just launched a new standing desk that only takes five minutes to put together