Steam’s Next Fest is currently live – and has been for a few days already. With some time to gloss over the whole catalog of game demos available for free right now, we’ve put together a list of some favorites. If you’re a PC gamer and have some time to kill this weekend, why not check out some of the best?
Steam Deck owners may want to see our guide to the best Steam Deck games in Next Fest instead. With that detail out of the way, let’s see how the event is treating us so far.
What is Next Fest and how long does it last?
Next Fest is an event on Steam that’s all about looking forward to new games via the medium of demos. It feels like nearly every game had a demo way back when, and Valve is helping revive that with Next Fest. It takes place at several points in the year, the last one being in June.
The current Next Fest (October edition) is running between October 14th – October 21st, ending at 10 AM PT. So, to anyone on the lookout for new games to try out for free this weekend – without the commitment of a hefty download – this event is for you.
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Our top 5 free demos
Let’s jump straight into our top five this October.
Delta Force
Delta Force is an upcoming reboot of the tactical FPS that was originally released way back in 1998. Now we have a much-needed refresh of the series and this new game offers large-scale PvP warfare, a single-player campaign, and more. The game will actually be free to play, but no release date has been officially announced. The free demo currently acts as a public playtest with online matches and is certainly one for fans of Battlefield or Escape From Tarkov.
Blood of Mehran
For a single-player experience, we recommend trying out Blood of Mehran. It is described as a hack-and-slash adventure with “intuitive stealth and cover mechanics”. A story-rich game, its setting is drawn from “Arabian Nights” folk tales and the demo seems to have some positive feedback on the Steam Community Forums.
Rivals of Aether II
We’ve already recommended this for Steam Deck, but it’s worth another mention for any PC player. Rivals of Aether II is a Smash Bros-like platform fighter, so if this genre appeals to you, it’s 100% worth trying out. Like many of these demos, it doesn’t ask for much storage space. It’s also pretty easy to run. The launch roster includes a total of 10 characters and you can fight against both CPUs or players online to gear you up for the full launch.
Permafrost
Moving on to a great co-op adventure if that’s what you’re looking for. Permafrost is a survival game set in a perpetual winter in the wilderness. It’s full of the usual building and crafting mechanics we’re used to seeing in survival games. As we said, it can be played co-op, but single-player is also available. Overall, a great pick if you want something open-world to try out.
Echoes of the Living
Last, but not least, we have Echoes of the Living, which looks to capture that classic Resident Evil feeling. It’s a homage to classic survivor horror games from the 90s and as you may have guessed, is full of zombies. Just like the original RE trilogy, it opts for a fixed camera perspective. For anyone with an affinity for those old games, or just someone who wants to try out something similar for the first time, this free demo is a nice horror pick just ahead of Halloween.
