Steam Next Fest – June 2025 Edition

In between all of the showcases happening at the moment, there’s also a little event called Steam Next Fest that’s happening right now. Yes, the summer edition of everyone’s favourite discovery festival has arrived, bringing with it over 2,000 demos for upcoming games. The number might be down a bit from the last edition – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – but the quality on offer seems to have risen substantially. Still, it can be incredibly overwhelming to select which games to try, so here’s a selection of demos to enjoy during the upcoming weekend!

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault

One of the big hitters arriving this Steam Next Fest, with the full game supposedly arriving soon after given its summer release window, is Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. Yes, in a surprising turn of events, the original shop simulator/dungeon crawler has received a sequel, and it looks like the developers went bigger and bolder in just about every way. The biggest change you’ll notice immediately is the graphical update, with the game leaving the original’s gorgeous 2D pixel art behind for a 3D upgrade.

Most of the game has remained the same, though, with you still exploring dungeons during the night so you can stock up on goods to sell in your shop during the day. There have been some quality-of-life updates to the game, like no longer deciding your own prices for the wares you’re selling, which will ultimately define whether you like the sequel or not. But with a free demo, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try!

Discounty

A different kind of shop simulator can be found in Discounty, which has long been on my radar but finally receives a playable demo. In Crinkle Cut Games’ beautiful pixel art game, you manage your own discount supermarket! It used to be your secretive aunt’s own store, but she decided to join the Discounty franchise, and now it’s up to you to make it work! Strike deals with local producers to sell their wares while getting involved in the small town’s drama. And maybe, just maybe, there might be more going on than you’d think at first…

Gameplay is a lot of fun for people who enjoy things like farming simulators, with you ordering stuff, putting it up for sale and then servicing customers at your till. But it’s the characters and the writing that elevate this game to something special within the genre. You won’t want to miss out on this one.

My Card is Better than Your Card

Now, people who have been following our website for a while will know that I do adore a good roguelike deckbuilder. And while there are a good number of those to be found within this edition of Next Fest, none present themselves with the absolute charm of My Card is Better than Your Card. This colourful game by Utu Studios combines the childlike wonder of this year’s Kabuto Park with the wholesomeness of Sticky Business, and it is a ton of fun.

You play as a child, trying to dominate the playground by creating the best cards. Yes, you actually get to create your own cards by using the stickers you can find and buy, adding a whole new layer of strategy to a genre that can sometimes feel a bit stale. The number of stickers you use will influence both the effects of said card and how much it will cost you to play, so there’s plenty to tinker around with. And all of that is presented in just an utterly adorable way. Although the kids who lose to you do tend to cry when you defeat them.

Consume Me

Consume Me also harkens back to the days of your youth, but in a less wholesome way. It’s a semi-autobiographical life sim about dealing with your weight as a teen when all you want to do is enjoy the summer. Through different minigames, you’ll manage your meals, do chores to earn money and try to save up for a bathing suit for the summer party of the year while also making sure you have the summer bod to look your best.

The game deals with very sensitive topics, which might be a bit much for people who have trouble with eating disorders and the like. But the game presents these themes with the right balance between seriousness and lightheartedness, making it an enjoyable experience to play while also treating mental health and physical issues with respect.

Rue Valley

Speaking of mental health, in Rue Valley you are stuck in a motel where you are receiving therapy for something that has happened in your recent past. You’re not really excited by the whole idea, but you have to stay there nonetheless. This Disco Elysium-inspired narrative RPG sees you talk to your therapist and meet some of the other folks at the motel, all before the sky is set on fire and everything ends… only for you to wake up again, back with your therapist.

Yup, this one’s a time loop game, but it plays with its own setup in an interesting way. Every time the world ends, you go into some kind of mind palace, where you can remember everything you’ve experienced and grow new ideas when linking those memories together. The more days you go through, the more you’ll find out about why you’re stuck here and what exactly is happening. With its unique art style, this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

The Lonesome Guild

One thing that can lead to bad mental health is loneliness, although in The Lonesome Guild, that becomes an even more dangerous thing! After a comet crashes into the planet, the world of Etere starts to become engulfed in a loneliness mist that damages whoever comes into contact with it. On top of that, you are a translucent spirit who doesn’t know who they are or how they got there.

Creating a party with a number of other characters, you set out to uncover the truth: what is happening to Etere, and what is your role in all of this? With the game being published by Don’t Nod, you know this is going to be a quality game, from the writing to the surprisingly intricate combat. Jump from character to character and use your combined powers to defeat your enemies, and maybe save the world while you’re at it.

Dispatch

Saving the world isn’t an easy job though, even if you’re a superhero. Just ask Robert Robertson, aka Mecha Man. When his mech gets destroyed in battle, he gets an offer he can’t refuse: work as a dispatch officer for a team of Z-list superheroes, and you might just get your mech back. But dealing with these don’t-really-want-to-be-heroes might just prove more of a fight than you’ve ever handled.

Coming from a team of developers that made Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us, Dispatch is a workplace comedy where the stakes might just be higher than you’d anticipated. With a voice cast of excellent actors, featuring Hollywood actors, Critical Role actors and famous YouTubers, the world of Dispatch comes to life in a way seldomly seen.

Nova Hearts

But what if you suddenly discovered you had superpowers? All while the city is under siege by fluffy monsters? That’s the premise for Nova Hearts, a visual novel/turn-based tactics game where you don’t just become magical girls in the vein of Sailor Moon, but you get to date them too! Yep, you play as a young woman who returns home after flunking out of school. While at the summer’s biggest party, an event happens, leaving her and her friends with newfound powers.

The writing is easily one of the best parts about this demo, with all of the characters feeling very relatable, even if there is a LOT of flirting. The game is very queer, has gorgeous visuals and isn’t afraid to have you make mistakes, possibly hurting those you love.

Crown Gambit

More novice heroes can be found in Crown Gambit, a dark story about a terrible war of succession. You play as a trio of young paladins who fail to protect the king of this medieval kingdom and have to deal with the fallout of his death. The game is a tactical card combat game, but not a typical roguelike deckbuilder. Instead, your characters are cards on a board, where you’ll have to move them around with the right strategy to survive.

The story isn’t just card-based, though, with dialogue choices and many different options on who you want to ally with being available through visual novel-type gameplay. The most impressive thing on show, aside from the card-based combat, is the huge amount of lore that brings this world to life. This feels like it’s part of a multi-book fantasy franchise, not an indie game.

Tiny Bookshop

And finally, if you prefer to take things a bit more easy this weekend, why not give the new demo for Tiny Bookshop a try? After receiving a lot of feedback on their first demo, the developers seem to have listened and made a ton of quality-of-life improvements. Manage your own tiny bookshop, selecting where to set up shop for the day, acquiring more books to sell, and aiding your customers in finding the right book.

This feels like a real summer game, which is reflected in its August 7 release date. It’s a cosy time, with no huge fail states to worry about. You just get to know the townsfolk, decorate your bookshop to make it truly your own, and celebrate reading – or buying books anyway – as a passion.

There you have it, ten excellent indie game demos to check out during this June weekend. Have you already tried any of these? Which other demos would you recommend? Let us know over on BlueSky and be sure to keep an eye on our YouTube channel this weekend as well, as we’ll be selecting even more of the best demos from this edition of Steam Next Fest.