Steam Next Fest October 2025
Carnival Hunt
A five versus one, multiplayer game that adds layers of mechanics and interactables to add depth to a genre that doesn’t necessarily need it. The theming being decrepit puppetry is unique and the carnival aesthetic does make it stand out from others, but the menagerie of things to do makes the objectives unclear. The tutorials for both the killer and the survivors are obtuse and don’t explain the game well. Bunnies are supposed to power up mechanisms to reach higher floors, ultimately the exit and escape. The killer is obviously trying to kill them before they do that and there are multiple ways the map can help and impede that objective. Ticketmasters give the killer traps that reveal the bunnies, but they have traps of their own. Marbles and mousetraps can slip the killer up. Bunnies also have fireworks, which can be used to save bunnies captured in the killer’s grip, or just to blind them for a quick getaway. “Quick” being an inaccurate adjective as the entire game is just too slow. Game timers are thirty minutes, which wouldn’t be too bad, but the characters just move way too slowly. Both the killer and the bunnies are exceptionally slow, and when you get stunned or fall from a great height, the recovery time is ridiculous. There’s also an arbitrary energy system where, since all players are puppets, the player must rewind their gears to replenish their actions. If you don’t, you get stunned and can’t move for a certain period. Bunnies and the killers both use their keys for this as well as environmental interactables. Gates, ticketmasters and other interactables use this resource, so gathering them is essential. It could lead to a sort of risk/reward scenario, but really you’ll likely have all you need for the entire game. In addition to all this there’s a crafting system in the main menus for meta progression, which could add further depth to an already dense experience. It’s just a lot of ideas at once and the game doesn’t explain them well. While it’s not overtly a bad game, it’s not one I could see myself playing in the long term.
Dead Format
An intriguing premise that delivers on atmosphere, but not much on the gameplay. You’re heading to your brother’s apartment to stay for a while, but he’s nowhere to be found. He leaves behind an old video tape about an evil violinist haunting a crypt. You watch it, but when it finishes the front door opens to the world of the film. From there you have to make your way through the world while avoiding the undead violinist and find the next tape. (It happens to be a sci-fi movie about aliens.) The initial black and white world was interesting and the way it was designed really gave the feeling of transporting back into an old movie, but it was mostly a walking simulator. The enemies don’t catch you and auto-kill you, they hit you and damage your health, so you can take a few hits if need be. It kind of makes them less scary than they should be, but given the cheesiness of old school horror films, maybe it’s not supposed to be. Regardless, the “puzzles” weren’t very engaging and though the sci-fi movie has a gun, it doesn’t have much kick to it. I’m onboard for the idea, but there needs to be more gameplay variation before I can really recommend it. Short demo too.
Ground Zero
An analog horror title that doesn’t take place in an American setting? Sign me up. You’re an agent with Korea, partnered with one from Canada and your mission is to figure out what happened near the sight of a meteor strike. An organic lifeform has taken control of the dead and you need to solve the mystery and get out ASAP. It’s a serviceable setup with all the other trappings of a classic survival horror title. Fixed camera angles, combinable healing elements and environmental puzzles are the standard, but this game’s setting is unique. Being in Busan, the environment reflects the region in every detail. Exploring the neighborhood provides keys, codes and clues to progress. There was a decent amount of backtracking in the demo and while it wasn’t egregious, some sections seemed more tedious than others. There’s one where you need to get gasoline to lower a forklift to get over it, but you’ll go back over that barrier at least three times by dropping down another ledge. It wouldn’t have bothered me, but there’s a dumpster right below that ledge which the character easily could have climbed up from. It didn’t really make sense. Enemies are threatening and when you shoot them they come at you faster, adding to the tension. The gun has a very satisfying, powerful sound effect to it, that I hope the other weaponry maintains. There’s an execute mechanic that looks cool, but rarely comes into play. If you could shoot a zombie’s leg to get them to fall over then execute them, it would give this mechanic value. Also the save stations require a signal booster to use, but they power up the station forever it seems and most stations have them on the ground nearby, so what’s the point? The same could be said for the safe cracking mechanics. They require you to do basic math, but there’s also an item that will open them so you don’t have to do the puzzle at all. These safes are where you store your items, so they’re not really optional, which makes this choice really strange. Overall though it has a specific charm to it. Using some key items involves a little cutscene and even sound effects to go along with them, increasing immersion. Also Seo-Yeon only speaks in English when talking to her Canadian partner, while reverting to Korean when talking to her agency and herself. These small details coupled with the setting are why I’ll definitely be checking this game out on full release.
Ire
You would think a game about being stranded on a boat in the Bermuda Triangle would lead to some crazy antics. This demo was not a great setup for any of that. You’re a teenage girl, trying to reach out for help or get your boat working again. Your parents and the rest of the crew have disappeared, and there are random doors that appear, taking you to the next loop. It’s crazy how mundane the tasks are. You need to first restore power to the command center to call for help and when that doesn’t work, refuel the ship and get the engine room ready. To do these things you get keycards in the first room you start in and simply have to walk to the rooms. There are a few switches to flip, but it’s not really a puzzle. When the bad guy appears, it’s just a black smoke figure and it catching you has no specific scene or anything special. It’s also not scary at all. This could be because the character you play as is constantly talking out loud to herself and telling the player, not-so-subtly, what to do and where to go like it’s crazy complicated. All you do is complete a task and walk through the glowing green door. There’s apparently 13 of them and you’re counting down, but who knows what happens when you get to the first one. The mystery isn’t really set up well in this prologue and I really don’t care if the gameplay stays the way that it is here. I would pass on this one.
Ledgerbound
This game centers around a heroes insurance bureau and how they seek to deny claims to stay in business. It sounds really dull, but it does have some charm to it. The character art is well-presented and I really liked most of the designs. Each has a unique personality, both visually and auditorially, and their banter had a nice back and forth cadence to it. It’s essentially a comedic visual novel with (some) woke and stereotypical humor presented with a heaping helping of satire. While some of the dialogue is quite charming and I definitely laughed a few times, there’s just way too much of it. The tactical battles are sparse and usually over within a couple turns. With a fire, water, plant system, there’s an obvious right way to approach scenarios. Battlefields have sigils bearing the corresponding elements to power up characters, but it doesn’t make a notable difference. It’s not that deep. Really, there’s not much game here and the relationship/equipment management systems were only hinted at in the demo so I’m not able to provide much insight into them. If the gameplay doesn’t get more challenging or diverse as it goes along, there’s not really any reason to play it. You’d be better off watching it once someone inevitably uploads a “let’s play” as it’s relatively shallow in its current state.
