Here's Everything You Can Play During Steam's Big October Event

Steam Next Fest, previously known as the Steam Game Festival, is a week-long event in which users can play demos and watch previews for upcoming games, chat with developers, and give feedback on new titles, is returning for another round this October. The demos will only be available to play during the week of the event, which runs from October 1 to October 7.

Here’s a quick rundown of the games that have been announced so far for the Steam Next Fest:

• The Last Campfire, developed and published by No Man’s Sky creators Hello Games, is a chill 3D puzzle adventure game that came out on other platforms last year which we really liked. It is scheduled to release on Steam on October 7.
• Starship Troopers: Terran Command, developed by The Artistocrats, is a real-time strategy game based off of the movie universe, where you command a mobile infantry against massive insects. It was originally scheduled to release in 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic.
• Tunic, developed by Andrew Shouldice, is an action-adventure in which you play as an adorable fox who explores ruins and battles less-adorable creatures with his sword.

• Airhead, developed by Octato Games, is a puzzle platformer where you save a head-like organism from, yes, leaking air, while battling creatures in a metroidvania style world. Odd!
• Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy, developed by Ludomotion, is the sequel to 2017's roguelike action role-playing game Unexplored. Having conquered the Dungeon of Doom, this time you’re on a quest to destroy the Staff of Yendor. The game’s cel-shaded art direction is stunning, if you don’t mind me saying.
• ANNO: Mutationem, developed by Thinking Stars, is a cyberpunk role-playing game that has you running through a pixel-art city battling mechs with a laser sword. As one does. Between the 2D and 3D pixel art, cyberpunk aesthetic, and the promise of a “dark and bizarre plot,” this game has my attention. Although I’ll need a voice coach to help me figure out how to pronounce “mutationem.”

• Biwar Legend of Dragon Slayer, developed by Devata Game Production, is a third-person action-adventure in which you battle fantasy creatures from Indonesian mythology. The graphics look very impressive and the combat marks a surprisingly bombastic tonal shift coming from the trailer’s relaxing environmental shots.
• Mahokenshi, developed and published by Game Source Studio, is a deck-building, turn-based strategy board game in which you play as a Mahokenshi, a samurai mage, as you battle forces of corruption that threaten the Celestial Islands.
• Decoherence, developed by Efecto Studios, is a turn-based top-down strategy shooter that lets you build and design robots (one resembles a penguin) to fight alongside you in arcade-like battles. The art style looks great, and the game’s due in October.

• Inscryption, developed by Daniel Mullins Games, somehow combines card-based roguelike elements with horror-filled escape rooms. In the words of Ikumi Nakamura, spooky...
• Negative Nancy, developed and produced by FEED is an “interactive sitcom” where you play as a retail clerk who takes control of their life by only saying “No” to their bosses, friends, and customers. Definitely a good skill to cultivate.
• Life of Delta, by Airo Games, is a sci-fi point-and-click adventure game where you play as a robot seeking its friend in a post-apocalyptic future. It has gorgeous production values for this sort of game.

• Finally, speaking of gorgeous, Grimbart Tales’ Itorah is a fantasy 2.5D action platformer in which you’re a lone human who has to save the world from a plague. Seriously, check out that trailer.

While not all of these games have firm release dates, according to Steam, all the games previewed during the Steam Next Event are required to have a release window between October 7, 2021 and May 1, 2022. So if that qualification is anything to go off of, you can expect all of these games to hit the most popular PC storefront within the year.