October Steam Next Fest 2024 Roundup

Being busier than Xaviera Hollander in the 60s, but getting paid much less for it, covering demos individually during the Steam Next Fest is like asking me to drop every other bit of work I’ve got going on to suddenly care about things that are not even out yet. So I thought I’d give a short rundown of interesting-looking games I’ve found through my emails and found in the Steam Next Fest itself. Some of which you might want to check out for yourself while I don’t have as much time to while playing everything else. Yes, I’m giving you homework.

We’ll start with one that is only releasing next month but does have a demo available right now, RTS Tactical Warfare. Given I’ve covered Total Annihilation and Rusted Warfare – RTS, it should be no surprise I’m excited to see another RTS in that sort of vein. Not too flashy but also not too dated-looking, the only thing that seems odd is the story as told through the press release I’ve seen.

More so the phrasing, “players navigate an interstellar conflict between Earth’s defenders and refugees from a parallel planet, requiring strategic planning, resource management, and balanced tactics.” Make of that what you will. Releasing November 29th, you can play the demo until the 21st of October during the Steam Next Fest.

This one is more of a broad appeal option than something I’ve been specifically invested in. I never got around to Citizen Sleeper when it was released; Maybe I’ll correct that during our festive break. Nonetheless, those who chat my ear off about the series being the best thing since sliced lesbians can enjoy the Hexport demo of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. There’s still no release date set, but we know there is an aim to release Citizen Sleeper 2 next year.

Though if you’re a fan of detective-y, Noir-y, thriller, good times, then I’ve got another title that is said to be coming in 2024, Kill The Shadow. As the premise of the article suggests, there is currently a demo available from this beautiful pixel-art/that Octopath–Triangle Strategy 2.5D depth of field thing in an alt-history post-war Chinese walled city. The demo is only 30 minutes long, but Shadowlight Sanctuary hired an American writer to rewrite the story while being true to the original Chinese story but also to make sense of a literal translation that might not work.

No release date, but the release window noted on Steam does suggest 2024, so here is hoping there is more news soon.

Another that has been on my Steam Wishlist for a while now, and actually has a release date to announce alongside the demo is The Stone of Madness. Coming to consoles and PC early next year, The Stone of Madness is a real-time tactical stealth title set in an 18th-century Spanish monastery from the developers of Blasphemous (1) & 2. With a meaty demo on hand, you can “play through the game’s multi-hour prologue” to get a feel for The Stone of Madness before its January 28th, 2025 release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.

For the VR players among us, though I’ve been a bit too busy to even strap a box to my face, there is Something Random’s “fast-paced VR shooter where you smash alien critters, argue with your dysfunctional crew, and destroy everything in sight.” Harpagun looks interesting, I’ll give you that. Though as we always have to note with these VR titles, space requirements and movement controls might be the limiting factor for you wannabe space-junkers who is stranded on a hostile planet. No release date, even in the press release nor a window to expect Harpagun.

Another that is offering a demo ahead of its release in November, Toads of the Bayou is something we’ve seen a few times before via faux-E3 shows. A heavily stylized “frog-like” deck building “turn-based roguelike strategy” coming on November 19th, the Louisiana-infused title does a lot with its art and frog/toad-based revolutionary style. Despite being on my wishlist, I think I still need more to sink my teeth into (maybe the current demo) before I make decisions either way.

One that Alexx covered the other week in terms of news, the shopkeeper simulator genre is certainly taking off. Between Supermarket Simulator, TCG Card Shop Sim, as well as the restoration genre with its somewhat shakey experiences, Trash Goblin seems to aim at being the best of both. The current demo which is available ahead of Trash Goblin‘s November 6th early access release is the first 30-ish minutes. There isn’t much to the press release on this one that you don’t already know.

Since I spread my legs for everything management-based, I thought the penultimate game had to be Business Heroes: Street Grub. No release date or window for Visionaries’ upcoming title just yet, but as the title might suggest you start a street food business, decked out with graphs, charts, menus, caricatures of Jeffrey and his smug face when you go bankrupt, and more. Looking like it fell right out of the 2000s, Business Heroes: Street Grub looks interesting to say the least. Certainly, one to keep an eye on.

Set in the 80s, I’ve been excited to play The Precinct for several months, maybe a year now. A Grand Theft Cop ’em up, you play as a young beat cop in a sandbox full of crime. Unlike Beat Cop‘s overt use of “watermelon smile” stereotypes to highlight the problems of the time, The Precinct looks to be a touch more subtle, building on the developer’s previous classic GTA-style game, American Fugitive. Still no word beyond “Q4” of when you can get fully hands-on with Officer Matt and Averno City, but one I’m excited for.

Maybe later in the week, I can drum up another set of demos to check out before this week’s Steam Next Fest wraps up. Or maybe Santa Gabe can pull his finger out and make the Steam Next Fest last longer than a week so those of us who are busy aren’t rushed off of our feet.