Valve has been offering us for a few years now, with its Steam Neo Fest (or Steam Next Fest), an event steeped in demos where you can also interact with developers and attend numerous live broadcasts. 2023 will be no exception to the rule and these are still hundreds of titles unveiled for a week, until February 13.
Some are not at their first appearance, others will undoubtedly panic the radars of amateurs and amateurs of indie. Faced with this whirlwind of games, we offer a small non-exhaustive list of those that will certainly be worth a look.
Darkest Dungeon II
Darkest Dungeon IIthe sequel to the very good roguelike/RPG has already come a long waywhich will be released on May 8 on Steam and the Epic Games Store, after a year and a half of early access only on the second platform.
So if you haven’t participated in this one or you swear by Steam, the Neo Fest is a good opportunity to try out the new features of the title from Red Hook Studios. Rest assured that the license will respect its DNA, as satisfying as it is ruthless, with its replayability enabled by procedural generation and the permanent specter of definitive death, hovering over your characters.
Lakeburg Legacies
Lakeburg Legacies sees itself, according to the developers, as a cross between The Sims And Crusader Kings. The idea is to develop a population from the beginnings of a village to end up in a prosperous kingdom, in the middle of medieval times. The management of the resources necessary for the constructions will not constitute your only concern, since it is also necessary to manage the inhabitants and their social relations.
Putting the right people together in order to form the bloodlines best able to ensure the best possible evolution of yours will therefore be very important. But since you always have to spice things up a bit, even for a less rough than average management game, the games respond to a system of random events, in addition to being procedurally generated. It will therefore be necessary to react as well as possible so as not to jeopardize the good development of your small company. The French title from Ishtar Games will arrive in the second quarter of 2023 on PC via Steam.
Planet of Lana
Console exclusivity on the Microsoft side, Planet of Lana can be approached on its PC version during this Steam Neo Fest. The title developed by Wishfully, cute as can be, has been desired since 2021 and its announcement during the Summer Game Fest. Being able to test it is therefore good news while waiting for its release scheduled for spring 2023.
The 2D adventure game where platform and reflection mix should, with its demo, reinforce the expectations of players legitimately motivated by its visual and sound aspects. It is also an opportunity to experience the relationship between Lana and Mui, at the heart of this puzzle gameplay, and both concerned by the strange invasion that their planet is undergoing. In short, a future highlight of indie in 2023 to discover right now.
The Last Case of Benedict Fox
Another indie title that will have Day One its heyday on Game Pass is The Last Case of Benedict Fox. Probably on paper a little less accessible than its 2D compatriot Planet of Lanathis metroidvania is no less intriguing, quite the contrary.
Inspired by the work of Lovecraft, the production of Plot Twist above all offers a superb artistic direction, which risks being enhanced more by the exploration and the investigation system than by the combat mechanics. At the very least, it’s an aspect that requires a bit of learning to be appreciated, and that’s good since we’re talking about demos present at Steam Neo Fest. So go get to know Benedict while waiting for April 27, the day the game is released on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series.
Sherlock Holmes the Awakened
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, and more precisely the remake of the original title released in 2006apparently won’t be long since it’s still loosely scheduled for release between February and March of this year.
This redesign, developed by Frogwares, is certainly a transition project for the studio, but presents itself as a worked remake of an adventure that will further highlight the Holmes-Watson relationship. This return to a young Sherlock, like that of Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, will also be done in horrific and esoteric conditions with Cthulhu in the air. A small hour is granted to us on this demo which will familiarize us a little with the investigation game.
Elypse
The French from Hot Chili Games will offer their metroidvania Elypse over the year on PC, PS5, PS4 and Switch. In the meantime, you can test the 2D action-platformer and discover a dark universe threatened by the Abyss, a plague that forces you to sacrifice one person to save an entire people.
Future victim of this ritual, Fay will try to put an end to this morbid cycle, accompanied by his sidekick Nyx, in an adventure punctuated by dynamic and aerial gameplay, and enhanced by an attractive artistic direction.
Songs of Sennaar
In terms of artistic direction, Songs of Sennaar is also placed there with a dive into the myths of Babel and the mysteries revolving around.
In this title from the Toulouse developers at Rundisc, we embody a Traveler who, according to legend, could unite the Peoples of the Tower who have not exchanged with each other for a long time. By observing, exploring, solving puzzles but also by infiltrating, we will gradually succeed in understanding these ancient languages, whose occurrences are very present within the Tower and its surroundings, in order to reveal to daylight a dark truth. The complete adventure will arrive this year on PC and Switch.
Meet Your Maker
Behavior Inc., best known recently for its asymmetrical multiplayer Dead by Daylightalso in the boxes Meet your Maker, due out April 4 on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, and Xbox One. We clearly change direction since here, we face an FPS which will be appreciated in two different ways.
First, we play as a Guardian of the Chimera destined to protect life on Earth, who must shelter Genetic Material, an extremely precious resource, by building a secure base full of traps, block by block. Then the game takes an FPS turn and invites us to go infiltrate the base of other players and steal this MatGen to improve our base, and so on. This permanent crossover promises frenetic action and nice puzzles to establish the best and most durable fortress possible.
Mika and the Witch’s Fountain
Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is the pipou trump of the selection. Co-developed by Chibig and Nukefist, this adventure-oriented sandbox puts us in the shoes of Mika, an apprentice witch hoping to become an accomplished magician. But here, no fight, as one might imagine.
Our heroine will rather play the delivery girls with the inhabitants of an island, riding her broom and fighting against the elements during certain journeys. But open world sandbox style obliges, the independent title will conceal some secrets and other stories to discover as deliveries progress. Relaxing and colorful, Mika and the Witch’s Mountain should land this year on PC.
god of rock
Mixture of fighting and rhythm game, god of rockleaves us some playable scores in order to measure its potential. The small curiosity of Modus Games will allow us to choose from a dozen fighters to distribute soup of phalanxes to our adversaries on a background of frenzied music with frenetic input.
Using this or that type of stroke will vary the tempo, and the more powerful ones will make the track less obvious to follow. With 40 tracks composed by the developers themselves, online clashes and the ability to share our own tunes, the scene is set to be ignited on April 18, 2023 on PC via Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Switch.
We could go on with this list for hours, but we’ll let you express your curiosity. Do not hesitate to consult the whole selection of the Steam Neo Feststill accessible for a few days, and share your personal favorites in the comments!