This week, Valve kicks off the fall edition of the Steam Next Fest event. For those who do not know, it is a week where hundreds of developers share demos of the projects they have in hand. The only condition is that the final versions of these games must be ready by spring 2022. An initiative that in 3DGames, we find charming.
We are the first to get excited about New World or Battlefield 2042, but thankfully we are part of an industry full of independent companies that manage to surprise us with original and fun ideas. Realistically, if you are a regular Steam user, in the next few days you will be discovering new great games that you didn’t even know existed; we want to honor that with some suggestions plus.
I have taken the liberty of asking the magazine writing if they have a hidden gem on the radar, something worth unearthing among a multitude of potential demos on Steam, a project they want to recommend to our readers. I hope that if you read this, you take at least a little piece of us that you can put in your watch list.
The most anticipated of Andrés Ruiz
One of the games I’ve been waiting for the longest is Potionomics. At E3 2020 we saw a trailer for a game that brings together everything I like: managing a store, potion creation and a chart system. It still has no release date, but I keep my fingers crossed for an approximate date, even if the game does not come out until the end of 2022.
The other one that I hope SOMETHING is from Silksong, but as Team Cherry has decided keep silence for years I’m going to shut up and see if I don’t wow him. Because they can’t take much longer, right? TRUTH?
Editor’s Note: Both Potionomics and Hollow Knight Silksong are difficult to pin. Neither of them have a release date, but at least the second one does have a Steam tab to keep track of.
The creative choice of Diego Emegé
I’ve been playing Rocksmith for years. Ubisoft was enriching the song collection with new packs year after year and the community itself has tens of thousands of songs that reach where Ubisoft has not. The Rocksmith + announcement greatly appeals to me, and I just hope the company opens up to a more direct participation from the community and the fantastic creators it has. Nothing healthier than playing an instrument!
Editor’s Note: The original Rocksmith is on Steam, but we assume Ubisoft will prefer to leave the sequel on Uplay for as long as it can. By the way, a good part of these song packs are against the rules of use of the game, so don’t listen to Diego if you want to avoid problems.
Beautiful and delicate: Rocío Torrejón’s favorite
With a Kickstarter behind me, Aveliana is one of the independent games that I most want to enjoy. Created only by one person Known as TheFrenchDev, I have been following its development very closely for a long time and it is possible that its adventure with touches of action and stealth will attract your attention, not to mention its unique and varied gameplay with environments drawn entirely by hand. If you liked GRAY, Aveliana will be a surprise for you.
Editor’s note: Aveliana has a Steam tab and a demo to download right there. The full version is expected to be ready in 2022.
What does Manuel Buzón follow?
Few moments more exciting for me throughout the year than the
different excuses that are grouped throughout it to add to my list of indies to play. They give me life. For this reason, I tend to be very attracted to
initiatives with the Steam Game Fest.
Last year I had Loop Hero signed up, which I really enjoyed during the festival, and I discovered a few other indies of which many of them have ended up in my hands; However, this year I go almost blindly to this (for me) obligatory appointment, and I say almost because, for those who, like me, will be left wanting more Cyberpunk after a year with comings and goings in the setting, I have thrown the keep an eye out for Chinatown Detective Agency, an adventure title with clear noir dyes Which, to me personally, I find the most attractive and I have under the radar since shortly after his Kickstarter ended in 2020.
Editor’s Note: Chinatown Detective Agency has a listing on Steam, as well as a downloadable demo. Theoretically, it should be finished this fall. But the realities of game development are what they are.
A medley on Mario Gómez’s wish list
I think right now about 40% of my Steam wishlist is alternative games. I’m looking forward to seeing how the fuses from Galahad 3093 and the fire-spitters from Century: Age of Ashes respond. The Day Before looks like the version of TLOU that I would really enjoy, and as a Pokémon fan I have Cassette Beasts among the highest in the top. Nor can I forget Gun Jam, a rhythmic shooter that mixes shots with musical sequences in the style of Guitar Hero; Not the hilarious Party Animals action, not a very intense Afterblast that I wish I had to see for the Next Fest.
Yes, there are many games there on the waiting list. But the one I look forward to the most of all is undoubtedly Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, the Jet Set Radio’s spiritual successor. Team Reptile may not be a very well known studio, but I love their previous franchise, Lethal League, and I think they know exactly what they are doing with their new project. Also, they have Naganuma (or what’s left of him) on the team.
All of these games have a Steam tab, but none of them have a demo. You can request access to the Galahad 3093 test phase, which is the closest thing. The rest should be available in the final stretch of 2021 or throughout 2022 if there are no delays.
As sinister as it is attractive, this is Raquel’s favorite
As a good fan of pixel art and futurism, I can’t wait to get lost in Phoenix-City in Replaced. This indie proposal from the Sad Cat Studios studio promises a dose of action in a decaying city controlled by a corporation that is dedicated to trafficking in human organs. With an interesting Artistic section in 2,5D and eighties touches everything indicates that I am going to add this installment to my catalog of cyberpunk works very soon.
Editor’s Note: Replaced has a tab on Steam and should be ready next year, but it doesn’t have a demo to try.