The first Steam Next Fest of 2026 is now live, offering hundreds of demos for new and upcoming games to download and play. As in past events, there’s a smorgasbord to pick from, with so many cool and genuinely exciting new titles to check out.
To get the most out of Steam Next Fest, it’s best to pop in for yourself, browse any game demos available from your wishlist, and pick out some shiny-looking titles from the home page. But if you’re keen for a head start, there are plenty we’d recommend, from surreal action-adventures to mystery titles, organisation sims, and beyond.
Here are our picks of the major stand-out game demos from Steam Next Fest.
Most demos will only be playable for the duration of the event, so you’ll want to make time to experience them as soon as possible.
Steam Next Fest highlights – quick links
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies
Following tense legal drama at acclaimed Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM, the new development team is on the brink of releasing its next major title.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies treads in the footsteps of its predecessor, as a layered RPG with a top-down perspective. For a better look at how it connects, it’s check out its dark, stylish Steam Next Fest demo. Here, you can get a taste of its surreality, and its choice-based decision-making. Check out the demo.
Momento
Momento is a cosy organisation game that allows you to rearrange various rooms in a home, while also experiencing an unfolding series of events.
Any choices you make early in the unseen protagonist’s life will carry out over their lifetime, so there’s added weight to each object placement and how you arrange each living space.
This Steam Next Fest demo experience is perfect for those who loved Unpacking, with light twists on the formula. Check out the demo.
The Mermaid Mask
The Mermaid Mask is the follow-up to indie mystery darling Tangle Tower, and it once again follows a strange and seemingly magical murder-mystery.
You’ll guide two sharp investigators through an array of strange and secretive locations, using your wits to puzzle through various mysteries.
There are elements of Scooby-Doo in this game’s aesthetic and style, so any fan of the series should make time to check it out during Steam Next Fest. Check out the demo.
Let’s Build a Dungeon
Let’s Build a Dungeon, the long-awaited follow-up to Let’s Build a Zoo, follows a group of game developers who are attempting to make ‘the world’s greatest MMORPG’.
It’s a metanarrative game where you’ll be developing a studio – hiring staff, managing their tasks – while also getting hands-on in the dungeon, creating an experience that’s worthy of your visitors.
While there are layers and layers to this game, its bright and colourful Steam Next Fest demo helps illuminate more of what to expect. Check out the demo.
The Dungeon Experience
The Dungeon Experience is a funny, funky adventure game where you chart an esoteric dungeon created by an ambitious but (arguably) untalented mud crab.
Guided by his ambitions, you’ll chart various strange realms in this Steam Next Fest demo, meeting a host of odd characters, while also attempting to attain to ‘true bliss of Financial Freedom’.
If you love comedy and love games, The Dungeon Experience is shaping up to be a delightful combination of both. Check out the demo.
Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts
Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts, companion title to Yaza Games’ Inkulinati, is all about creating beautiful, decorative manuscripts in a medieval setting.
A dedicated story mode, which features in the Steam Next Fest demo, lets you take on commissions from an array of patrons, and then use their requests to create beautiful, elegant manuscripts for display.
There’s also a separate ‘creativity mode’ where you can spend time creating works without any restraints. Check out the demo.
Pro Jank Footy
Pro Jank Footy is an Aussie-made adaptation of Aussie Rules footy, complete with wild and magical rules to shake up gameplay.
While you can play a ‘normal’ mode where you’re stomping through rounds of footy in retro-modern style, the main gameplay is all about attempting to win at footy, while your teammates turn into birds, travel through portals, suddenly become big, or otherwise interrupt your play.
This game is silly and loud, and absolutely wonderful. Check out the demo.
Titanium Court
In whispers around back alleys, you might have heard of Titanium Court. This upcoming ‘surreal strategy game for clowns and criminals’ is entirely compelling in its oddness.
It’s the sort of game you’ll want to approach with very little context, as its mystery is what makes it so compelling. There are elements of match-three gameplay here, as you corral various tiles into set patterns, but of course, the game is so much more than this. What more is up to you to discover. Check out the demo.
