There are thousands of games to try until 20 October, and here's what caught our eye so far.
The past quarter has been full of the exciting new releases like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades II, Borderlands 4, Battlefield 6, and more. Now, October’s Steam Next Fest has just kicked off, giving everyone a preview of upcoming games that could be the next sensation.
Running from 13 to 20 October, Steam Next Fest is a week-long event on Steam that features thousands of free playable demos, developer livestreams, and live Q&A sessions. It’s designed for players to explore a wide range of upcoming titles and test out early builds before release.
A trailer for the event was published on YouTube on Monday, 13 October:
PowerWash Simulator 2, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and Reanimal headline October’s Next Fest
Among the thousands of titles with free demos, three may be more well-known to the gamer community.
PowerWash Simulator 2
PowerWash Simulator 2 turns the satisfaction up a notch with sleeker soap systems, scissor lifts, and brand-new locations to blast clean. The sequel adds a fresh campaign, a customisable home base, and expanded co-op play—now with four-player online and two-player split-screen. The game launches in late 2025, with a demo already waiting on Steam.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
Tribute Games Inc. bring pixel-powered chaos to the Marvel universe through Marvel Cosmic Invasion, a side-scrolling, arcade-style beat ’em up. Play as your favourite heroes and take the fight from New York City to the Negative Zone to stop Annihilus’ cosmic invasion. It’s landing later this year, but you can jump into the action early during Steam Next Fest.
Reanimal
From the creators of Little Nightmares I & II, Tarsier Studios are back with Reanimal, a haunting co-op survival horror set on a twisted island. A brother and sister must battle grotesque, mutated beasts, and solve eerie puzzles to uncover the island’s grim secrets, all shaped by their troubled past. Play solo with an AI partner, or team up locally or online when it launches in 2026. The camera’s close, the fear’s tight, and the claustrophobia is real.
Homura Hime, Everwind, Lyara, Goblin Sushi, and more indie gems to look into
Apart from bigger studios and sequels to successful games, many indie developers are showcasing what they have so far to players through October’s Next Fest.
Homura Hime
Homura Hime is an anime-inspired third-person action game where elegant swordplay meets 3D bullet hell chaos. Face archdemons warped by emotion and unravel the heroine’s hidden past. No release date yet, but you can dive into the demo now on Steam.
Lyara
Lyara is a 2D platformer with whimsical, Eastern-inspired artstyle. It features multiple mechanics per world, challenging the player’s agility and precision, along with puzzles to solve. The story follows a girl in an unknown world who seeks answers while navigating her inner feelings, facing numerous challenges, and growing through her journey. Lyara has not announced a release date yet, but the demo is available on Steam.
Everwind
Everwind by Enjoy Studio S.A. is a Kickstarter-funded game described as a novel take on the RPG and sandbox survival genres from a first-person perspective. Think Minecraft meets Skyrim, complete with monster encounters, item crafting, and sky ships to sail between floating islands. No release date yet, but the Steam demo’s ready for takeoff.
Goblin Sushi
Goblin Sushi is a quirky rogue-like restaurant-action-sim where you play as a goblin with the dream of becoming a sushi chef. As a goblin chef with big dreams, you’ll slice, serve, and upgrade your way to becoming the cave’s top culinary legend.
Platform Anomaly
Platform Anomaly is a co-op horror game where players hunt for anomalies, or hide from them and watch the search unfold. Scary and fun at the same time, it draws inspiration from games with observation and stealth mechanics, like Content Warning.
Nebula Cleanup Crew
Blast through a roguelike bullet-hell rescue mission with Nebula Cleanup Crew, where every battle’s a race against the void. Save crew members to add them to your roster, and use wild weapon combos, freeze foes, scorch them, or overheat for devastating ice shrapnel. Each run lasts just a few minutes, but chaos is guaranteed.
There are still thousands more demos waiting to be discovered, and players have until 20 October to try them out and fill their wishlist.
Which games will you be diving into first?
