NikuNicole || FreakingIndie.com

I just launched my non-corporate blog FreakingIndie.com - a safe place for everyone to bask in the magic of indie games and find treasures. Best viewed on PC but works on other devices and will be improved along the way. For now, I appreciate anyone checking it out! Thank you <3

CUCINA STELLATA RELEASED AND IT'S FREE That settles my afternoon plans

Updated my Steam Hype demo roundup with the stuff I've played this weekend so far! 25 picks now. There's a couple more that I've found interesting (like Patricide) that I'm not sure I can recommend yet.

Repeating for anyone who missed it: While it was AI hell for the first two days, the Next Fest main page is now ranked by both public playtime and personal recommendations. I already follow WAY too many indie games, but just by scrolling down, I found another 50 cool ones I'd never heard of before!

More than 1 in 3 Steam Next Fest demos declare AI on their store page. So I made a list without them. 4,502 demos, filter by tag, or sort by fewest players and dig up the ones almost nobody has found. playfeed.games/nextfest #Steam #IndieGames #gamedev #pcgaming

TD fans this one is for you! Our Pelikeeper Demo is in #SteamNextFest 🌠NEW Astral abilities 🐭More animal towers 💪New player upgrades 🪽More levels 🤩TONS of polish We make heartfelt games(without AI), and this one is no exception!🤍RT's appreciated🤍

500 FINGER FILLET is a horror roguelite about stabbing yourself in the hand to escape a deadly trap. Zero AI used in development! 🔪 Gamble with your fingers 🔪 Unlock special knives to stab yourself with 🔪 Fall in love with an eldritch hand monster store.steampowered.com/app/4973880/...

The Draftula demo out Now! The Count has risen to wreck havoc on the Mortal World. But first, you must build his castle. My game is a roguelike twist on the block-dropping puzzler where you try to build up his fortress before the pesky hero comes to knock it all down.

We're excited to announce that Checkmage! will release on... October 29th! See the trailer and more info at: checkmage.net Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3613550/... Itch: oleogustus.itch.io/checkmage #indiegame #chess #deckbuilder

There's 8,201 demos in this Next Fest, which will you play? If DWARRF: A Pinball Roguelike is on your to-play list, you could win a $50 Steam voucher! Got to find some way to pay for all these awesome new games that are coming out 🤔 store.steampowered.com/news/app/363... (No ai slop - as always)

DEMO IS OUT RIGHT NOW!!!! darkroomsgame.com #gamedev #indiegame #darkrooms #demo

Here's mine. Part-time solodev. I made everything except the music, which was made by @juliengcomposer.bsky.social It's a niche speedrun platformer inspired by the Target Practice minigame from Smash Bros. Simple concept but the skill ceiling is quite high! store.steampowered.com/app/4060480/

Our upcoming game Neuron Activation is on #SteamNextFest. The demo has 100% positive reviews! 💯 - operate a futuristic control hub - beat your high score - make uncomfortable choices - don’t ask questions 😈 The full game is coming to Steam on October 28th.

This one's shaping up really good. Featuring work from some of the biggest Mario 64 romhacking sickos alive. People who have made 10+ full-length Mario 64s by themselves.

Calling all co-op, golf & platformer enjoyers! We are looking for playtesters for Bye Bye Bonnie (from the amazing @brainwashgang.bsky.social) for a test starting in December 🚨 If you wanna sign up, the link is in the comments:

Fangamer is publishing a physical PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 version of 'Denshattack'.

Steam Next Fest demo thread: Inkbound: I really should have checked this one out earlier. Gameplay is more Strange Antiquities than Golden Idol. Love the MS-Paint-spraycan-style art, but the real selling point is the bizarro-creepy worldbuilding. store.steampowered.com/app/4114100/...

My game – Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart – is a short, narrative experience where you attend an a-spec meetup, chat to characters, hear their stories, and play mini-games! The demo is set one night before the events of the full game. Try it out: store.steampowered.com/app/5213300/...

👻 Usual June has a free demo on Steam! Beat up spectral crabs, talk to ghosts, meet June's friends, and get a taste of a mystery threatening to obliterate an entire city 👀 🪦 s.team/a/2702430/ | Full game January 20th! #usualjune #SteamNextFest #indiegame

Ooh, this one's legit. Great sprite art, cool music (even if some of it is more Mega Man-ish sounding) and some interesing new mechanics layered onto the Doctor Mario formula. Give this demo a try.

I'm not actually in Next Fest but funny thing about demos is that you can play them any time you want. Which is now. Play I Won't Let You Level Up In My Goblin Town now.

In case the algorithm missed you (as it does), Inkblood Demo is available for everyone on Steam Next Fest! Investigate murders, catch cultists, but DO NOT leave your carriage at any cost. Your life depends on it. also don’t touch the locked compartments - they will notice.

"Forbidden Solitaire: The Discarded" DLC is out really soon. Please share + wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/5238350/... Thanks! Hope you enjoy it :-)

New Review! One I'm actually really proud of, at least at the moment. I finished Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and game I found more frustrating than anything, but also deeply fascinating, and it feels the good kind of rebelious simply by existing. deemoncove.neocities.org/posts/Chain-...

An excellent video. I thankfully avoid right-wing internet spaces like the plague, but I am absolutely unsurprised to see all the big talking heads talking THEMSELVES into arguing that gender-swapped underage hentai fanfic is their straightest, most morally pure spear-tip of their culture war yet.

I'm sick and tired of people sitting on the fence. Being lukewarm is what made fascism rise again. We need bold statements vehemently rejecting it. Penguin Colony is one such statement.

Because we haven't said it enough: THE SPIRIT LIFT uses ZERO AI! Our scrappy team of six humans did it all! store.steampowered.com/app/1727590/... #gamedev #indiegames #horrorgames #deckbuilder

Steam Next Fest is here for its last festival of the year and with 8,000 demos to choose from, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find the next hidden gem. Thankfully, Elizabeth has put together a guide to surviving the event alongside some of her favourite demos she's experienced so far.

Steam's NextFest is live and the DEEP SIX demo has the corner on the market for WW1 Stealth games. Literally the only one by those filters! store.steampowered.com/app/3556510/... #NextFest #Steam

Steam Next Fest is upon us - the Demo for GRIDHACK, our sci-fi nonogram battler, is now OUT! It's made for curent and future Picross-Sickos™️ , so please check it out! I'm going to shout out some people below! store.steampowered.com/app/5351100/...

NEW VIDEO! More rapid-fire recommendations from this October's Steam Next Fest (and guests from the Sonic Amatuer Games Expo) featuring Artius: Pure Imagination, Hyper Bun Buster, Militsioner, and many more 👀 📼 youtu.be/0w6h-W4My2I

'MOLTYN' is #Noita, #PowderToy and #Superman all rolled into one crazy #sandbox! 🌋 If you have a spare afternoon, go try out the #demo, you won't regret it! 🔥 #Wishlist it on #Steam now! #marketingmonday #indie #game #pc #2d #particle #physics #liquid #superhero #volcano #waspbot

Steam Next Fest is now upon us once again. We've got 3 awesome demos for you to check out! A dark investigation mystery: @hillthorngame.bsky.social, Pinball with firepower: @appulsegame.bsky.social & your next favourite dungeon crawler: @dungeonautomata.bsky.social. Check them out on Steam NOW!

✈️STEAM NEXT FEST✈️ My horror flight sim is part of Steam Next Fest! You’re an engineer tasked with repairing comms towers in the megastructure - what could possibly go wrong? 👀 Try the UPDATED DEMO now 👇

'TETRIC' launches October 27th on PC! Demo out now! "Battle enemy blocks with magic, logic, and tactical cards. Buy, grade, and sell cards to fund your quest, unravel sinister mysteries, and help Don Femur save the kingdom of Calaberia." youtu.be/A6u5HJArehQ store.steampowered.com/app/5194510/...

DOCTRINEERS - turn based strategy for sickos - has a PvP demo live. If you like playing strategy games against other people, hop on. Free copy of the game for anyone who beats me during the demo period. store.steampowered.com/app/3080370/...

GOOD NEWS! we're keeping the Bad Magpie demo up! although LudoNarraCon, Unmistakable Festival and Birds of Play have ended, we're going to keep the demo up on Steam and XBOX on PC as you've all been enjoying playing so much so go tell your friends, magpie chaos remains

I tried Demi and the Fractured Dream last Next Fest and let me tell you: it's great. Heavily inspired by Windwaker, it is one of my most highly anticipated 2027 games.

Looking for cool demos to play this week in Next Fest? I’ve got you covered with this video featuring some of my favorites! youtu.be/TZQXwXuadv8

🧠 How far into her mind must Astrid Kepler go... 🚪 To discover the truth? 👤 'Incoherence: Dark Rooms' is an incredible cinematic experience! 🎧️ Headphones recommended! #Wishlist it on #Steam, and #play the amazing #demo now! #showcasethursday #indie #game #pc #fps #scifi #puzzle #storyrich

october means it's time to tuck into some horror games, I'm kicking it off with the dreamcast's late-era theme park oddity Illbleed. the trap detection is much less robust than it initially appears, but the designers thankfully hedge on it, focusing on bizarre setpieces instead. link below!

ECHO's palace is haunted by an infinite future that never came to be. Read our first article on Abandoned Places, written by Florence Smith Nicholls. https://www.eteogames.com/a-lonely-reflection-kenopsia-and-echo/

Heck yeah, Guns of Eschaton launching December 8th. Been excited about this one since I played an early build during a PR gig. An FPS souls-like that doesn't play like any other FPS or any other souls-like. There's a BIG demo you can try now. My advice: Cash in those early kills on levels & guns.

New blog post! I was able to play Beat, Heart, Beat ahead of release, and it was an amazing experience that got me thinking about what makes rhythm games what they are, in more ways than the strictly formal. You can read it here!: deemoncove.neocities.org/posts/The-He...

We continue to explore dark demos for spooky season in this late-night stream. Including: Mops & Mobs Welcome to Elderfield The Doll Shop Not a Crow

My Penguin Colony review might have focused on the game at hand, but holy shit does Bri knock it out of the park here. She is seriously one of the writers gaming journalism needs right now. brickthrow.com/post/penguin...

Stealth levels are back but now with 🔥FIRE🔥 in our new DLC, Forbidden Solitaire: The Discarded Wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/5238350/...

GROBNOPOLIS DEMO IS NOW AVAILABLE ON STEAM No sun, no hope, no way out. Learn for yourself that dying from curiosity is a mercy. Now available in a slew of new languages, and with controller support. s.team/a/4670260/