Another Steam Next Fest has come and gone, and we often highlight games that are outside of the current release window. Many demos often get overlooked because the full game is just around the corner. Below are 15 demos I played during Steam NextFest in October 2025 that are coming soon or have just been released.
October
October 24, 2025 – This game takes place after the recent Netflix film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. Your mission, because you have to accept it, is to free all the chickens. The demo takes you through a few tutorial missions that each have different objectives, from rescuing chickens to making your way to a specific door. You can earn up to 3 stars per mission and collect various currencies, all of which allow you to recruit and upgrade chickens as well as purchase gear for your missions. Aside from the main story, there are also co-op-only missions you can play via split screen.
October 30, 2025 – This highly anticipated extraction shooter had its open beta this weekend, which was dubbed a “Server Slam.” Set in a futuristic Earth where machines seem to have taken over, it gives off a very Terminator vibe. Arc Raiders would be at the top if this list were in ranked order.
Up to squads of three enter the world via bunkers and have to take on machines and other Raiders (real players) all before all the elevators back to Speranza close, and you are trapped on the surface. We never had a chance to see what happened after the 30 minutes. My squad either died or made it into the elevators during our runs, sometimes crawling.
The setting is gorgeous. Embark Studios (The Finals) really did a fantastic job of keeping the tone tense throughout each run. A successful run will leave you with weapons, gear, and valuables to sell, while dying means you come back with nothing except what your faithful rooster Scrappy brings back, which, in the beta, was not much. In the full game, Scrappy will be upgradeable, and it will feature four additional maps and numerous items, enemies, and events. This is one to check out for sure.
November
November 6, 2025 – This is a third-person open-world RPG that is looking to let gamers get immersed and lost in the world. The game does not have quest markers, and the demo gave you a glimpse of this, making you do menial tasks without telling you where to go. The combat is unforgiving and forces you to master stances to defeat your enemies. The main protagonist is a cartographer, so the player is not given an OP character. The two learn along the way together. This is definitely a love letter to role-playing games.
November 6, 2025 – Waterworld meets iRobot in this open-world game where you play a robot on a boat. I would classify the game as a survival game because you have to worry about the things that keep you alive. In the case of a robot, it is power. The demo gives you a glimpse at some of the buildings you will encounter and what you have to go through to power them, as well as getting your boat started. The demo ends with you driving out into the open water.
November 12, 2025 – The nerd in me had a blast with this demo because this is a chill experience that will immerse you in the world of owning a Tabletop Game Store. Some of the items you will be able to sell are rulebooks, dice sets, paint brushes, paints, and miniatures. You can even set up game tables and painting stations that customers can pay to use. There is also a collect-them-all side game where you can open miniature packs and try and unlock all the different variations, then paint them, and sell them individually. Any mystery box collector can get their fix virtually, and it won’t cost any real money. This one seems to have rolled a Nat 20.
November 17, 2025 – Devolver Digital strikes again with this interesting take on roguelike 2d side scrollers. Each room is a fight against one or multiple enemies, but the catch is that you can practice what you are going to do before you do it by using your foresight. Each fight has optional challenges, such as not using your foresight so many times. Using different martial arts moves and techniques, take down your opponents and save the emperor.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide
November 18th, 2025 – The newest SpongeBob game lets you play as both SpongeBob and Patrick, but with a twist. While you are playing as one, the other must remain as a ghost. With a ton of collectibles, lots of laughs, multiple puzzles, and memorable scenes, Titans of Tide is another excellent 3d platformer in the series. Can you take down the Flying Dutchman and save Bikini Bottom once again?
Demeo X Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked
November 20th, 2025 – Combine Dungeons & Dragons campaigns with Demeo board game mechanics and what do you get? You have an excellent recreation of what it is like playing a tabletop game. The demo teaches you the basic mechanics from combat to ability checks. Play it alone or with up to four players. This is one any D&D fan should check out.
S.E.M.I. – Side Effects May Include
November 2025 – What would happen if you took platforming levels and stuck them in an insane asylum, then let the patients try and get through the levels? You get S.E.M.I. The other twist is the meds the patients can take. These will give the player abilities, boons, and detriments. One I tried in the demo made me really small and really big in an alternating pattern. Along with YapYap, this feels like the next game, like REPO and Peak, that will have the internet ablaze.
December
December 1st, 2025 – The demo for this much-anticipated side-scrolling beat-em up Marvel game solidified the expectations for many. I only played the first level of the demo because I did not want to spoil any of the story that I know I will be playing. I used Wolverine and Rocket Raccoon as my two heroes. Both characters did not disappoint. Wolverine was jumping around with his adamantium claws, and of course, Rocket had his crazy arsenal of weapons. For many, this will be a day one purchase, and now we know when the game is coming out.
December 6th, 2025 – This is a demo I never would have found were it not for an X post reply to my own X post. I am very glad Alessandro Capriolo did because Citizen Pain is a fun experience, and the demo is most likely only a small slice of the craziness. The game boasts old-school first-person melee combat. Playing it, it felt like an old-school souls-like. Back in my day, you could not roll and dodge, but instead you had to time the block. It was all about the block. In Citizen Pain, you’d better block or else. Look out for more coverage of the full release for Citizen Pain.
December 8th, 2025 – As a demon, you must take your skateboard, skate through hell, and go try to eat the moon. Yes, you heard that correctly. Only then will the Devil free your soul. Crazy visuals and an even crazier story make Skate Story worth checking out, especially if you are a skateboard game fan. The controls feel very streamlined, which is what you would want out of a skateboarding game. Throw on the weirdness, and why wouldn’t you want to check this one out?
Q4 2025
Q4 2025 (delayed to Q1 2026) – Keep typing or get shot. This is the basic premise of one of the most played games of this past NextFest. There is really nothing else to say about this game except that it is a great concept. In a world where we are so focused on clicking as a skill, a game actually utilizes that to teach a skill. For all of us who grew up with typing classes, this one’s for you.
Games Now Available
The demo gave us a slice of the chaotic fun that the full game should deliver on. People loved the original but have been leery about this remake. However, do you like chaotic fun because this one feels just as crazy as it looks? Unique weapons and hordes of enemies to kill should supply hours and hours of fun for any classic FPS fan.
Now out in early access, I took the demo for a short spin and had a blast because the ability to swap body parts with different abilities was very pleasing. Some of the body parts I experienced were acid-spitting bug heads, robot jet treads, and wasp wings. This will be a game to watch as it heads toward its 1.0 release.
Probably Missed a Few
This was a fantastic NextFest. There are always games that you do not expect to wow you, let alone play at all. This list is just a fraction of the demos I played this past week. I realize there are probably plenty of demos for games that are coming out in the next month. I did not get a chance to play, but this list is definitely one full of titles any gamer should be excited about.
