Steam Next Fest February 2026
BloodLetters
A card game about managing the health and faith of a village under siege by a malevolent force is pretty unique. I really enjoy the art style, but the longevity of the experience isn’t there for me. The villagers don’t really speak to you, so they’re just arbitrary beings that you need to protect and I felt no real attachment to them because of it. While the art has character, the characters don’t. Also, the card game is pretty standard from what I saw here. Some have drawbacks, like “restore 10 health but lose 5 faith” and poison and trust mechanics to further layer the gameplay, however I wasn’t too invested in it. After each day you can pick an upgrade based on who you have a trusting relationship with, but outside of that there really isn’t much here. You can choose the entity to protect the town from for some more variation and while it has the opportunity to spice it up a bit, I don’t see myself playing this in the long term. BloodLetters is cool, though unfortunately not for me.
Titanium Court
A match three game with an overarching narrative and worldbending elements, this game is a trip. Matching the elements gives you resources and then you have to do a sort of tower defense phase which leads into a “choose your route” section as you progress. There’s a story here too as you play a girl that’s seemingly the queen, though she doesn’t remember it. You actually get to wander the grounds of your court and talk to people, further giving context about the world. The writing of the characters lead me to believe they know more than their letting on, and the metanarrative elements did produce a chuckle once in a while. It looks strange, like an old school Atari game or something, though the vibe it exudes is all its own. The game won’t resonate with everyone and I’m honestly not sure where I fall on that resonation scale either, but I’m interested enough to give it a second look upon release.
Blood Reaver
Looking at this game, I did not expect it to be a COD Zombies-like. Except this time, there are demons busting down your base. With no explanation, the gameplay is easy enough to understand. Fortify your area, kill the bad guys, get upgrades and unlock more of the map. It feels a bit jank in the impact of bullets and such, but the basis is relatively solid. With some polish, this could be a wacky alternative that would serve as a decently good time. Currently, it’s just a bit too far from that state to recommend. It needs more of a direction as it’s currently hard to know when waves start or where enemies are coming from. It may be worth keeping an eye on as it clearly has had a lot of love put into it.
Far Far West
Horde survival with meta progression and heaps of discoveries to be made. Far Far West is full of content and it’s all unlockable. The gunplay feels solid and the robo-western get-up is a fantastically ridiculous mashup. Even on normal difficulty, this game doesn’t pull any punches. It’s chock full of varied enemies, weapons and abilities with tons of potential. It’s simple, but frantic fun and I think it’s going to do great things! I’m not even a huge fan of these types of games, but I can see myself dumping multiple sessions into this with friends. I can’t speak to the solo experience, though based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m sure it’s brutal. For a fun night with the homies, it’s an easy wishlist for me.
Slide & Magic
The game is a standard slide puzzle game. Nothing too difficult or groundbreaking here. I finished the demo in about thirty minutes and I think that was just the right amount of time. The full game looks to have a few more tiles, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back around to it. While relatively fun, its minimalist style with the art and music left me wanting something more. If the wizard guy taunted you or there was a bumping soundtrack or unique visuals, I’d be more inclined to stick with it. As it is, it’s a simple experience that I’ll likely forget about in the next week or so.
A Thousand Bees
The demo only lets you find 58 bees in one image, though I get the gist. Most of them are just out in the open and while others are hiding, they’re not doing so very well. Additionally, pictures of bees count too. Decoration, tattoos, jewelry, anything with a bee on it is clickable. This is a basic hidden object game, but they’re all bees. I can commend the adherence to the aesthetic, though I can’t say it’s something I really enjoyed. With no story and visuals that aren’t the best when zoomed in, there’s not a lot here. The music is chill and there are even sound effects like pouring tea and clinking glasses, but nothing else. It’s pretty barebones and the “cozy” atmosphere wasn’t really there for me. All in all, pretty dull.
Windrose
You were the captain of a pirate ship, until it sank and now you have to start over. It’s a survival crafter with pirate elements that include shipbuilding and hiring a crew. The environments are beautiful and the crafting embraces modern design with the system pulling from all available inventory and allowing pieces to snap onto one another. Gathering resources is faster paced than other crafters, though the inability to hold the button down when mining or chopping is quite strange. Additionally, you can parry enemy attacks with your sword, breaking their guard for more damage. It feels a little off, though the idea is really solid. As far as I could tell, there’s no durability for tools or clothing, though there are some repair kits in the game, though I think they’re just for buildings. I’m not sure. This game has a great foundation and I could see it picking up some real traction when it fully releases. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it.
Lexispell
As a spelling game, Lexispell is satisfying. You spell words featuring random letters dropped into a bag. Sometimes they merge and are worth more points or drop as gems that gain more points the longer you wait to use them. In each level, you’re trying to hit a specific point threshold to move forward. When you do, you get to visit a shop based on how well you did to purchase upgrades for your run. It’s a roguelite in a way, which I wasn’t too keen on once I discovered it. Regardless, the game is fun for bookworms like me, though I can’t see much going for it overall. It’s somewhat cozy and cute with its art and music direction, though the lack of any narrative or goal doesn’t inspire me to play it any further than this demo. You’ll probably have fun with it for a bit, though depending on the player, your mileage will vary.
Cupiclaw
For a claw machine game, this is pretty standard. You’re trying to grab as many high value items as possible to progress and after each level, you get the choice of an upgrade. It’s a light roguelite and each floor you complete gets you a bigger upgrade. There are some keys you have to grab on specific floors and other items that let you reroll the upgrades and even remove items from the claw machine. I didn’t find the ability to remove items all that common as I barely was able to grab the items that allowed removing others. It seemed they were pretty sparse, but their power must outweigh that scarcity for a reason. The music was a charming jingle and the claw itself having a straining animation when it was trying to hoist a ton of loot was cute, though there wasn’t much in the way of real satisfaction. It definitely is more skill-dependent than a real claw machine, but not by much. The second floor featured a different layout for the machine which helped change the pace a bit and there’s promise in the full release as it seems there’s a story mode being developed, however, I don’t think this is a game for me.
FIRESTARTERS
A roller skating demolition derby game with an anime twist. You’re a prisoner and you only have one way to escape your sentence, compete in a roller derby battle royale where you either win and receive a pardon, or you die. It’s ruthless and the characters don’t take their choice to compete lightly. There are some narrative elements that help flesh out the characters and their designs are visually appealing distinct. The gameplay involves rollerskating around an arena and blowing up robots with an arsenal of weapons. Some require specific methods of dispatching, while others you can simply gun down. Melee kills give you health, armor and ammo so it’s recommended to use it as much as possible. Additionally, you get more points for killing enemies with different weapons, which are used at the end of a wave for upgrades. I don’t find the upgrade system really necessary. Keeping the action going would be a more desired structure in my opinion. The skating, boosting and blasting felt good, though they took some time to get used to and the narrative was interesting enough that I think I’ll have to check it out on full release.
Last Flag
Capture the flag was never my favorite game mode. It’s bold to make an entire game based around a mode that’s pretty polarizing, but Last Flag does just that. The game is structured as a retro game show, which helps give it its own identity. Find the enemy team’s flag and take it back to your base, defend it for 30 seconds and your team wins. Matches can be over in as quick as 5 minutes if your team is lucky enough to find the enemy’s flag early on. You can capture towers to help reduce the area you’ll need to search for the flag and they allow you to fast travel to them upon respawn. This method tries to keep the action going, but there’s really not much to do. Across the map are cash bots that you can kill to get money to upgrade abilities. The upgrades aren’t noticeable and could be removed altogether. What I think hurts the game the most is the downtime. Searching for a flag can take some time, which is fine, and the radio tower skirmishes do help with match pacing, it just feels like there’s something missing. The final defense of the enemy flag doesn’t feel climactic as it is. Maybe if you had to capture their flag 3 times and the arena was a bit smaller, then they might have something. I tried a few characters and they each felt quite different and rewarding in their own way. There is a turret character, which I abhor, a lumberjack with a massive axe, a stealth assassin, stuntman and more. The characters are flashy and distinctive, just the gameplay isn’t much of anything. If they don’t find a way to keep the action more constant, then it won’t survive.
ShantyTown
Another cozy game that I thought looked neat. You’re essentially building shacks and shops in small areas, trying to maximize the space. It’s a cool idea, but it lacks freedom and variety. The game gives you the objects to place in a group of three, and you don’t really get to choose when to stop. You have to place everything and it doesn’t matter where. You can pile everything in a way that’s unusable and it doesn’t matter. If there were some limits on making it walkable or freedom in what you can place and when as well as some customization, I would have actually enjoyed it. There’s some small stuff you can change like the color palette of a building, but it’s from a subset of options. In a game like this, the inability to make your own creative decisions, then what’s the point? A creative mode does exist though most of the assets are not present in it. I’m not sure if this is just a demo restriction, but it does stink. A simple scoring system and access to the whole catalogue would make this more enjoyable. As it is, there’s just not a lot going for it.
Dawn of the Dying
This is an abysmal piece of software. The gun fires reliably enough but hit detection is all over the place. Melee weapons don’t work half the time and zombies will sometimes just phase through you. Windows don’t break and I found a pickaxe, but there was nothing to use it on. Compared to any other survival crafter or zombie infested title, this is a joke. I hesitate to even call it a game at all. Seeing the environment filled with nonsensical roads made me stop and think, so I went to the Steam description. Yep, it used gen AI. Do not even think about playing this one, I’m upset I wasted even 10 minutes on this slop.
The Skin Stapler
Retro horror is a vibe that I heavily mess with. I played Tainted Pact’s most recent release, Flesh Made Fear, and really enjoyed what I played. This game is first person and features multiple playable characters, though the gameplay itself is stripped back in comparison to their previous title. The story they’re telling about a serial killer that staples their victim’s skin to walls is a raw premise. Vibes are also immaculate. The city is the right kind of grungy and the graphical style helps set the mood perfectly. The dialogue, though, leans a little past camp and into cringe territory. It’s not a complete dealbreaker for me, but it was a bit too generic at times. Also, there was a notable lack of polish. I know it’s a demo, however, this studio's previous demo was basically a finished product. Here, the quick-time-events felt slightly off and the on-screen text didn't match what the characters were saying half the time. It was a little surprising that it felt unfinished, considering what I know of their track record. Regardless, the atmosphere really sells it for me. The voice acting was passable and some were outstanding, the skin stapler himself being a standout. It’s just the offshoot humor didn’t land for me and the generic dialogue sounded like it was straight out of a teenager’s mind. I will still most likely be picking this up when it comes out, and if you don’t mind a little toilet humor and like these artistic, retro horror games, then you’ll probably enjoy it too.
