Here Are The 10 Most Played Steam Next Fest Demos
The latest edition of Steam Next Fest, which began in 2021 as a successor to the Steam Game Festival, kicked off earlier this week on June 10. The event, a successor to the Steam Game Festival, runs several times a year and is a way for in-development games to offer public demos. We’ve been through the latest batch and highlighted our own picks for the ten games you should try out, but now we know what most players have spent their time on the last few days.
As revealed by Valve in a press email, these are the ten most played games of the June 2024 Steam Next fest so far. If these, or any other, demos spark your interest, make sure to play them as soon as you can. The festival ends on June 17, after which some developers will pull their available demos.
Once Human
Once Human likely ended up on this list thanks to a recent trailer at Summer Game Fest that game revealed a July 9 release date. It’s an open-world multiplayer survival shooter (so many descriptors) set in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Once Human is a PvE game that centers around you and your friends trying to build shelter and gather resources in order to protect yourselves from a horde of gruesome monsters. If you have a group of gaming friends who like survival titles then you should probably try this out.
Level Zero: Extraction
Another multiplayer shooter, Level Zero is an extraction FPS. What appeals to me is its tactical gameplay, which is reminiscent of Rainbow Six, with mechanics like leaning around corners and less health, making combat feel more frantic and dangerous. If you would rather not try to survive the hordes, then you can also try out playing as the enemy and hunting down your friends, which offers a nice entry in the asynchronous multiplayer genre.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
I love a good open-world driving game and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is shaping up to be one of those. While beautiful graphics and great driving are nice, I am honestly most blown away by the game’s setting, which is an extremely accurate recreation of Hong Kong. There are also social aspects to the game, as well, so you can meet other players in races or in hubs with your in-game avatar.
Tiny Glade
I feel like I’ve been seeing adorable TikToks of Tiny Glade forever. It’s a cutesy building sim game in which you essentially are doodling 3D castles in beautiful environments. If you aren’t familiar with building sims and think it may be overwhelming, have no fear, Tiny Glade’s systems make it super easy to build whatever you can think of with as little friction as possible. You are guaranteed to make an adorable medieval-style abode that you want to run away to.
Wizard of Legend 2
Like its predecessor, Wizard of Legend 2 offers multiplayer roguelite adventures with a fantasy flare. Much of the mechanics and systems from the original are lifted wholesale for the sequel and that’s not a bad thing, but there are also new spells and attacks to master. If you’ve never played the series before just imagine Hades with friends.
Metal Slug Tactics
Metal Slug Tactics brings the run-and-gun franchise back to life with a tactical twist. In the form of a roguelite, players will shoot weapons at enemies, but this time in a more strategic setting. The demo offers a fun taste of well-designed tactical combat that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy,
DUCKSIDE
The Steam description of DUCKSIDE sums it up pretty well: “Imagine DayZ or Rust but you’re a duck.” That’s about it. It’s a survival game with PvP, PvE, crafting, base building, and more. You are just a duck the whole time. So until DayZ, Rust, or Fortnite get duck skins I think DUCKSIDE will do just fine.
The Alters
In a fun twist on single-player survival games, The Alters lets you create copies of the protagonist in order to better tackle missions. In a setup straight from The Martian, you are stuck on a planet and must try to survive, just with your clone aid this time. Once you make alters you can use them to complete tasks but also bond with them and try to influence their decisions. It’s a wild demo that teases an even wilder game.
BUS: Bro u Survived
Another multiplayer game on the list, BUS tasks you and a group of friends with building a bus that you have to protect from a hoard of zombies while driving on the many roads in the game’s island setting. But that’s only part of the game, as you can also build a base on the map and adventure out from there, exploring the world and trying to survive the best you can.
Dungeon Clawler
This is another genre mashup, bringing in elements of dungeon crawlers, roguelikes, and deckbuilders. As you work through the map of Dungeon Clawler and encounter enemies you must do a claw machine game that then gives you items and weapons with which to fight. It adds an element of randomness to battles that people who like improvisation in combat will enjoy.
If you get through the ten most played demos and still have time to check out the other offerings at Next Fest, maybe start with our list of the ten demos you can’t miss.
