Remember how we previously said that there are so many games in the Steam Next Fest event that it’s hard to keep track of all of them? Well, it turns out we were more correct than we thought.
After digging through the event page some more, it turns out that only five titles aren’t enough to highlight some of the best we could find, so the obvious solution is to keep going!
This is part 2 of our February 2025 Steam Next Fest coverage, bringing in five other titles we think you should check out. Before moving on, make sure to take a look at part 1 right here, and enjoy!
Haste: Broken Worlds
Who wins? The end of existence and all things we know, or one girl who runs really fast? In Haste, players are put in the shoes of Zoe, a girl who can casually accelerate to 125 mph as she tries to outpace the end of the world.
There’s something incredibly freeing about Haste‘s gameplay, as the player dashes through levels at breakneck speeds in a way that still feels manageable and enjoyable. It’s quite rare that games let you move this fast, and even rarer that they manage to do that without feeling janky or impossible to comprehend.
Haste‘s gameplay is pretty low maintenance, featuring a simple control scheme that essentially only uses the joystick and two buttons. There’s still a skill component to the game, though, as players have to understand how to interact with the terrain in ways that will accelerate them as much as possible.
Haste‘s demo gives us access to one full run, which showcases the game’s roguelike structure and sprinkles in a bit of story content. We get to meet the elusive elf Riza, as well as the eccentric shopkeeper Gan, who aid Zoe in her journey. If you are a fan of movement simulators, enjoy going fast, or simply wish Sonic was more enjoyable to play, then try out Haste‘s demo right here.
Conquest Dark
Conquest Dark is a survival ARPG where players fight through endless waves of undead and other evil creatures.
The game is a very fun take on the survival genre, taking place in a brutal Conan the Barbarian-esque world, nailing its aesthetic and featuring incredibly smooth gameplay divided between different classes, all with their own unique upgrades and weapons.
Conquest Dark also brings in a few mechanics of its own to the genre, like giving the player a generous 10 health bars, but with a catch. Once the first health bar is depleted, players start bleeding out, slowly losing the other nine health bars, with the bleeding ramping up as you approach death.
There’s also a lot of novelty that comes with spawning in completely naked, even if it’s pretty harmless due to the game’s low-poly models. Conquest Dark has everything set in place to be the next big survivors-like, standing amongst titles like Halls of Torment and Soulstone Survivors as a fantastic genre mixture that works surprisingly well. Try out its demo right here.
FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ HOLOLIVE ALTERNATIVE
Developed by PEPOSOFT, a member of the unbelievably talented Team Ladybug, Zero in on Holoearth follows Vtuber Shirakami Fubuki in her adventures as the defender of Yamato.
Zero in on Holoearth is a fast-paced 2D platformer, having players blasting through levels with their katana while trying to close mysterious portals that have brought other Holomems into Yamato, some of which have been possessed by an evil aura called stigma.
The demo gives us access to two full levels, as well as boss fights against the definitely 17-year-old pirate Houshou Marine, gamer robot girl Roboco-san, and war criminal Minecraft expert Usada Pekora.
Featuring colorful visuals, very tight gameplay, and a fun alternative storyline that seeks to expand the Hololive universe, Zero in on Holoearth is a must-play for fans of retro platformers, as it doesn’t require much previous knowledge about Hololive or its characters. You can find the demo right here.
Tenebris Somnia
Tenebris Somnia is a throwback to NES-era horror games, but with a modern FMV twist.
In Tenebris Somnia, players are put in the shoes of Julia, a film student who recently broke up with her boyfriend. Julia has frequent nightmares where her ex-boyfriend is killed, and upon going back to their apartment, finds out that maybe those nightmares are more real than initially thought.
The game mixes its retro 8-bit horror gameplay with ultra-realistic shots, immediately giving a terrifying amount of detail to the creatures and supernatural scenarios that players encounter.
The way the FMV shots are blended within gameplay is not only masterful but also incredibly unnerving. The player is conditioned to always expect the worst whenever the game cuts to realistic video, which lets the developers play around with expectations a lot.
So far, the puzzle logic that we see in the demo seems to be just the right amount of difficult. Puzzles are complex and layered but don’t follow outlandish logic or are poorly explained to the player, which means the game is picking the correct aspects of retro horror to emulate.
Tenebris Somnia blends the best of NES-era horror with modern filmmaking, showcasing just how ahead of its time FMV truly was, as it arrived a little too early in gaming to be taken seriously. You can check out the game’s demo right here.
Shape of Dreams
Closing out our list, we have Shape of Dreams, an isometric roguelike with a heavy emphasis on MOBA gameplay. This mixture of genres results in a fast and cooldown-based combat system.
The demo gives us access to five playable characters, as well as a handful of bosses, giving us a lot of insight into the game’s systems and upgrades, which really let you customize each character freely.
When it comes to its combat, Shape of Dreams puts most modern roguelikes to shame. There are no awkward animation locks, lack of skill variety, or worthless upgrades; everything flows like butter, and each level up is immediately felt in your build.
Even comparing Shape of Dreams to titles that do MOBA gameplay well, like V Rising, would still be underselling it. If you have any interest in fast-paced titles like Risk of Rain 2 or Hades, then you will be right at home.
With lots of class variety, a smooth gameplay system, flashy visuals and a good chunk of meta progression, Shape of Dreams is a roguelike after my own heart. You can check out its demo right here, just be warned, it is very addictive.
