MakeMonsters

I should make a Next-Fest thread! This will all be demos I've played, not just stuff that's interesting me, but I might put in some mentions of ones I've played in previous Next Fests that are up in this one as well! I'll add to this as the week goes on!

Someday someone is gonna discover my one weakness: telling me they think Kino’s Journey (2003) is mediocre. Luckily the result of hearing that is it just makes me sad, so it’s pretty low on that scale of secret weaknesses, but still. You know.

If I was in Termina during The Festival of Termina I would simply not allow my form and my soul to become twisted by the expansive and oppressive influence of the ancient moon-god Rher. Built different.

Okay now I’m finding out that not only do people not like Circle of the Moon, but they also don’t like Harmony of Dissonance. Man, apparently even when I’m not trying I’m picking the freak-games over the favourites.

store.steampowered.comBigWall: WildKnight on SteamThe knight arrives in the wasteland and begins a so-called adventure. Will he mess everything up? Or will he gather himself and keep moving forward?

Making a solo-post from the Next Fest thread because BigWall: WildKnight is so crazily "me" that I desperately want everyone to give it a shot. I hope the demo sticks around, but if not you need to wishlist this game. It's absurdist sincerity thrown in a washing machine and set to cook. Fantastic.

steamhype.com25 of the Best Demos from the 2026 Steam Next Fest (Updated: Oct 24th)All Killer, no AI Filler - updating daily!

I’m going to take this further. The platforming sequences are actually the best part of the game. That’s not a dig in the combat, it’s just that the platforming/ puzzles are so well integrated with the exploration they’re practically seamless. Bite sized little challenges that are always rewarding.

MakeMonsters@makemonsters.bsky.social

That said, when you're expecting the standard platforming in a classic or Igavania it's... understandable to be annoyed. I empathize, and this likely WILL be a turnoff, but my only counter is that games change and evolve, and I sincerely believe it was done well here without clogging the game.

MakeMonsters reposted

Dominic Tarason

@dominictarason.com

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.

Okay, so the game gets a lot better on the back half. The "you're over-leveled if you explore a lot" never goes away but the actual movement kit you end up with makes combat VERY smooth. I've heard a lot of people saying "if you don't parry, you're screwed" and this is entirely untrue.

MakeMonsters@makemonsters.bsky.social

Belmont’s Curse bouncing between really fun castle expansion moments / appealing combat gauntlets to whiffed whip grapples and difficult to distinguish visual cues/ too much visual-noise for a more zoomed out perspective. So far I think it’s a good game, but it’s fighting with itself a lot.

Anyway! Bosses too easy, and exploration is free enough that if you know what you're doing you'll overlevel the challenge fast. Lots of the zones have great environmental puzzles + as movement opens up, the game shines. The first 2 hours are a BAD indicator of quality. Good game! I'd play another.

MakeMonsters@makemonsters.bsky.social

I've also done... well everything, save for the 4 hour speedrun, and I can also confidently say people's complaints about the spikes and the platforming is somehow, at the same time, accurate and completely overblown. There IS a lot of it, but along the golden path it is EXTREMELY easy.

I'm a little loathe to make this claim, cause I -love- platforming like this. I'm a path-of-pain fiend/ Silksong runback/ evil-zones-from-hell defender, so my "normal" is skewed, but the absolute pinnacle platforming challenge in this game isn't even half as hard as any medium-difficulty one in HK.

Sometimes I think about the (overwhelmingly correct) criticisms of entertainingly trashy BBC show ‘Sherlock,’ and get stuck on the claim that making him a unique super genius is bad (true) but mainly because it makes the mysteries unsolvable, and like… the Conan Doyle originals were not solvable.

So to see a criticism of Sherlock Holmes media be that the mysteries aren’t solvable without magical detective-ing… I dunno man, I feel like you’ve misunderstood what you signed up. The real issue is the format doesn’t give you that removed view, so you see all the magic bullshit literally happen.

The genius of the Watson buffer is he’s not even present for the detecting half the time. Holmes literally solves like 60% of the cases off-page, and explains how to his buddy in retrospect after they’ve sprung their clever trap or he’s insulted an aristocrat. That shit rules. More of that.

c.e. chant/hades 💀🐊 💬 too many comics

And to be clear, I like that. I’m a fan of detective stories that aren’t built to be what we’d traditionally label as mysteries, at least not these days. The original stories pretty cleverly dodge the issue by making Watson your narrator, so you only get his retrospective (and altered) view.

MakeMonsters reposted

@portaltohades.bsky.social

GUESS WHAT. Those that said they wanted to read this, finally CAN! Chapter 1 is available for $12 over on my kofi shop [lettering by the fabulous @rayday.bsky.social !!] & proceeds go towards my med bills ! So not only are you reading a cool comic you're helping me survive! ko-fi.com/s/5dea53c777

c.e. chant/hades 💀🐊 💬 too many comics@portaltohades.bsky.social

Tyree is about a mute son of the Moon that wasn't supposed to exist. He strikes a deal to return Death's sword to her temple in hope of winning her favor and being turned human. It is inspired by pre-hispanic mesoamerica & deals w/ themes of grief, war, trauma, and discovering yourself. #tyreecomic

I'm very clever.

I like fanart, but one of the saddest things I've seen happen over and over again is artists with OCs and original projects get slowly demoralized by their original work getting infinitely less traction than their fanart, and ultimately posting their OC stuff less and less. I LOVE THE OC ART MORE!

SCP Foundation/ many backrooms stories have convinced a whole generation that not only is "familiar but different" intriguing (positive) but the best way to represent that is with a whole whackton of measurements and numbers (so painfully negative I would like to hunt those responsible for sport)

I understand that, in theory, presenting a lot of these stories as if they're reports and/or fact finding missions or whatever leads to their credulity, or at least anchors them in a more concrete world, but lord it's the most boring, hack-writer way I can possibly think of to accomplish that.

That means you haven't known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high-school football.

Okay, got her to table and my girl rules as a vehicles deck.

The ‘considering’ section is massive because I had to throw her together in about an hour and a half to get to play tonight, and there are at least 20 cards that are just placeholders for when I dig up the other stuff I’d rather play, but even in this form it was rad.

Even after years of selling games when rent was tight, I still have a few cool bits and bobs here n’ there. One of my absolute faves is the VP2 big box, with such bangers as ‘Soundtrack CD I can’t listen to, Alt slip cover, worst VP figure ever made, cool replica ring, and nice mini artbook’

Silmeria was one of my favourite games on the PS2, which was why it was so confusing to me when I found out none of my RPG-loving friends cared about it. Think it was due to a combo of timing, competing RPGs, and a lack of connection to the previous (very hard to get) game and Tri-Ace in general.

The slightly-above-average RNG (your attacks CAN wiff) actually made me lean into ways to mitigate it, finding a really cool secondary resource system you pool and spend to guarantee hits/ higher power. Considering I got through to the end on my first try... at 4 HP, I figure that's good balance!

I believe @astrolabegames.bsky.social is the publisher for this one. Just wanted to say it was a great demo from the dev team; I had a blast.

The environments are very limited, but that doesn't stop it from having some pretty great atmosphere, handled primarily through enemy design and brief character dialogue/ some LORE (tm) written on pedestals/ walls. If it gets fleshed out a bit and the final product is balanced, it'll be rad as hell.

store.steampowered.comHARMA Demo on SteamHARMA is a retro dark fantasy roguelike deckbuilding game featuring a story-driven campaign. Uncover the truth behind the fallen knights, the burning kingdom, and your missing father. Harness the powe...

Next up! Harma got an updated demo with co-op(???) and another chapter, and since I missed playing it before, this worked out great! Unfortunately I don't have someone to jam co-op with at 2:30AM, but I really enjoyed the single player. It's a slick-looking deckbuilder with some cool wrinkles.

store.steampowered.compolymorphite on SteamRhythm-dodging adventure game about a mysterious set of murders. Come then; decide the past, so that we may glimpse at a better future.

Next up, @hajimeli.net's Polymorphite! A rhythm game with a cute cyber-aesthetic and -excellent- use of the mouse as part of the traditional Rhythm-game suite of inputs, adding an almost bullet-hell quality as you mouse around the track to not only hit notes, but avoid obstacles too. VERY engaging!

store.steampowered.comFallen Starborn on SteamStar creatures, fallen to Earth like shooting stars, together with their Lupine Lord, Vehord. They bring destruction and suffering wherever they go. Join your team of Moonlit Travelers, explore the Un...

Only one today so far: Fallen Starborn by @rksproductions.bsky.social (who I think isn't on here much XD) A neat dungeon crawler that uses turn based combat with a real time block/dodge input, and loads of build variety. The dodge is definitely too strong ATM, but the overall package is very fun.

Every couple years the Japan Vs Everyone Else piracy debate crops up again, and always it’s exactly the same. Every. Time.

I was struggling to figure out how I wanted to build Jeskai Vraska (I have already have a juiced spellslinger, deck and I really don't need Kykar 2.0) but then I realized she's the perfect vehicle commander, and my third eye immediately opened.

store.steampowered.comTHERMOCLINE Demo on SteamA BLIZZARD RAGES. Lone survivor, you are STRANDED upon a FRIGID CORPSE-PLANET. THEY seek your warmth, sucking Soul from the shadows. AND TONIGHT, THE WIND IS YOUR CLOSEST SEMBLANCE OF A FRIEND.

First up, I already made an individual post about Thermocline, but this was the first demo I played this Next Fest and like... I dunno man I might have found my favourite right off the bat. The game is drowning in atmosphere, and is doing a lot with the turn based RPG premise. Big reccomend.

Give @decenttreatment.itch.io a follow, this is legit such a special game.

Played this demo. It's quite short, but that has no bearing on its quality; I was absolutely blown away. Atmosphere is STUNNING and the RPG mechanics mixed with temperature management was so engaging. The UI, environments, and the mystery of it all was just so so good. PLEASE play this demo.

DECENT - THERMOCLINE DEMO OUT NOW@decenttreatment.itch.io

👉👈 Thermocline demo is up 🥹 store.steampowered.c... okbye #indiegame #Indiehorror #horrorgame #rpgmaker

I haven’t been able to get any reality fracture stuff due to financial stuff, but one of my pals sent me some cards as an early x-mas gift! He knows how much I love Vraska, and also weird freak-dogs and cute stinky rats.

My partner started getting back into watching pro wrestling recently, and it's been a joy getting them to branch out into competing companies/ the indies. WWE is fun, but so often it's extremely limited.

Every time someone says X game ruined X genre all I can think is that they are extremely boring and weak and will not see the dawn.

MakeMonsters reposted

Noppy

@thomasnoppers.com

Just a cat warrior.

Started up NuVania. It's pretty good. Once you get around to the idea that the bosses want you to slide through/ under them + jump over them, patterns become pretty easily abusable which is a bit disappointing. I actually enjoy the traversal a lot so far, and the art-style works for me.

youtube.comUltima VI: False Prophet OST - Character Creation [20 minutes Non-Stop Loop]YouTube video by New DOF

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My secret Gamer Shame (tm) is I actually loved Ultima IX on release, bugs and all. It was so mysteriously open-ended. I had simply never played a game like it. Tho to be fair to Ultima, I had only played one other Ultima, 6, for a total of 1.5 hours at that time, on my parents' friend's computer.