NEXT FEST 2025 - Why Can't I Hold All These Games!?

I am running out of ideas on what to write in the intro here. We are just continuing our descent into the endless mines of Steam Demos for the glorious NEXT FEST. It is a time of great plenty, and there are so many great little games to look into! I sure do hope y'all have a good time finding out your next games in this festival of anticipation. And to help you out, we played another three games to give you our honest impression. Here we go!

THE BLUE PRINCE

In this first "house tour" demo of THE BLUE PRINCE you find yourself the heir to a giant fortune. But your BBQ-house warming party in the royal garden for all your friends and probably green-with-envy relatives has to wait. Because you actually first have to earn the right to keep everything. You are tasked to discover the location of the 46th room in a 45-room mansion. A house that changes its layout every day. Why this all is, remains to be seen.

The demo shows a fairly simple game loop. Your goal is to reach the illustrious 46th room with a blueprint that refreshes every morning. Opening a door initiates a shuffle for 3 different types of rooms, all with different layouts and contents. Choose wisely or you will find yourself having blocked your path like a dumdum after the first few rooms, like it happened on my first day by accident. The game also contains resource management elements. You can find different objects that help your progression and you can only take a set amount of steps before you have to end the day. And some rooms can only be built after payment.

The only nitpicks that I had with the demo so far, are firstly the somewhat sluggish run speed. And secondly the low interactability with objects in the environment. I wish I could pick up a lot more objects that could be hidden in different positions of the rooms and analyze them. But as mentioned this is only a nitpick, I found the demo already very intriguing.

The demo made me want to keep going further and further in. Becoming better at the game every progressing day. And I believe, once this game releases I could invest many, many more hours before I may find the secret 46th room. What will I find there? We will have to wait for the finished game to see. I am excited to see what many more secrets and family dramas may lie hidden behind every door. Also, has birds.

Written by Börbo - our newest writer slash contributor.

BUNDLE OF JOY

I had no idea what to expect from this game, and the premise itself is not exactly relatable. See, I am not a Father. I don't have a little gremlin to take care of, nor have I ever, had any experience handling them. At best, I am an uncle to a couple of little lads and my contribution never was anything else than that taken from an Uncle's Playbook. Visit once in a while, give cool presents that parents scoff at, and play with the kiddos. So the idea of a parent-centric game focused on showing the challenges of having a baby isn't exactly aimed at me, I thought.

But I believe I was wrong! The game is a mix of two elements - Warioware-like gameplay of rapid minigames and moments of respite where the developers talk to us about the highs and lows of being new parents. Both elements have their merits! I'd be first to admit, that some of the text pushed at the player tends to be a little long, with lines upon lines piling up before we can go back into the Babycare Fray, but for the most part, it felt all very... earnest. You can definitely see that the folks behind this title really wanted to share their experiences, and for me, that means a lot - the best games come when the people behind them are so involved with the, hah, source material.

The gameplay is the fun part, for sure. If you were afraid that this is going to be some dreary and messy simulation about taking care of a messy little human, put those fears aside. Nothing of the sort! Sure, we still go through the, let's say, usual activities - cleaning up messes, changing diapers, putting toys away, feeding the lil fella... But they are all presented in the form of rapid minigames; None of these are tough, but that is the charm of the formula - the difficulty doesn't stem from the challenge complexity, but rather, the rapid shifts of demands. The minigames come one after another, and last maybe up to 10 seconds, at maximum, and as you shift between them they'll make your hand jump from mouse, keys, and arrows, all over the place to keep up. And if you won't, each mistake spikes your stress level - which you need to manage, or else, you'll snap. You wouldn't like that. It might get ugly! So yeah! BUNDLE OF JOY is a fun game, focused on delivering those rapid snaps of enjoyment, mixing in some solid teachings and lessons on how to deal with being a parent - a pretty solid, aha, bundle.

ISOPOD: A WEBBED SPIN-OFF

Never have I thought I'd see the day when this precious thing will become a game! I mean, I was always hopeful, because I was following the dev for this game since time immemorial, always delighted to see new posts on social media displaying new advances in the isopod movement. And that's it! For a while, I had no clue what kind of game it would be, but of course, all signs in the wind and the sky pointed that it would have to be a platformer. Why? Because the movement is absolute fire. Your little multi-legged hero, Winston, the ritual isopod, is a bouncy, rolly, twisty little fella. Can turn in place, in mid-air, do a Crash Bandicoot-inspired spin attack with his armored body, slam the ground at high velocity, and roll off with impunity! It is a delight to play with, so floaty, yet with proper weight and gravitas, with excellent sound design behind those little stompers hitting the ground.

Gameplay wise? BANJO-KAZOOIE winks at us from the screen! We have a pretty open level, lists of tasks to tackle at our leisure, and a keen sense of freedom to explore, with secrets here and there to reward those, who want to scour the map clean. It's a tested and tried formula, which only has a chance to shine, if the tools to play around are great, and guess what? They are. On top of the aforementioned mobility, our handsome lad has a lil magnet on his back, allowing him to swing from nuts and bots of various industrial machinery. As well as interacts with lots of little bits and bobs to turn levers, activate gizmos, and propel himself at Mach Four from metal ramps. It's great fun!

And why do we do it? Because evil capitalism is bad, that's why! Winston is a part of the Worker's Union, and he - with the help of some friendly, hard-working bugs - must thwart the polluting and wanton industrialization of the rich insectile barons! How topical. And also, very engaging - the few characters we meet have a strong agenda, and there's some nuance here, too. Not all ants serving the capitalist drive of the mega-rich are bad by nature, they are also, it seems, trapped by the obligation of their colonies... Perhaps we can help them too, let them see the light of being unionized in the name of Labour Rights! In sum, I loved the demo and my hype level for the full release is through the roof right now.