Moonstone island is great. Stardew valley, but the combat is a catch-em-all+deck builder.

Wizard with a gun is sadly, just not good? It plays more like don’t starve.

Laika: Aged Through Blood is really cool but the controls are weird and it’s hard. Haven’t tried it on controller yet. Sudescroller shooter but also motorcycle game. Idk it’s weird.

Everyone should try the SteamWorld Build demo, it's super fun. It's a pretty relaxed settlement builder / city management game set in the same universe as the SteamWorld Dig games, with a focus on synergising and exploration rather than on spinning plates to balance resources like you see in more hardcore city management games.

Though the game just released, the demo for Trepang2 was a ton of fun.

I want to try Shogun Showdown but didn't yet.

The Bookwalker, a narrative game that mixes isometric point and click maps with first person sections, focusing on puzzles and deduction.

So far I'm loving the story and the writing seems solid. Full game comes out tomorrow.

I'm very much looking forward to trying The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

Mind over magic, Gord, Wizard with a Gun, maybe the lies of p

I'm trying out Homeseek which is like desert Frostpunk, and Gord.

Here's what I've tried so far:

Botany Manor – low poly indie game where the puzzles are figuring out how to grow plants. the low poly is done well and feels very painterly and cozy! the puzzles feel very short and easy to solve, and I suspect that won't really change in the full game. I'm hoping it'll be a $10 to $15 dollar game that I can pick up and complete in a weekend.

Jusant – a slightly janky but enjoyable rock climbing game. I'd be very curious to know if actual rock climbers feel it was represented well here? I think rock climbing in general isn't usually the focus of an entire game so it's neat to see it become the main game mechanic here. the physics can be a bit janky if you do things that you're probably not supposed to do (eg. I almost got stuck with the rope under a metal support beam once) but as long as you don't try to break it, things go well. If this releases around the $20 to $30 price point it'll be a definite buy from me.

Sticky Business – create your own stickers and sell them! the final game needs a much broader range of options for your sticker creation, and needs a better UI view of all your stickers once you start packing them for orders. the writing feels a little clunky and generic, but it helps provide a little motivation for why you're selling the stickers. also has a slider for music in the options but was dead silent in the demo?? honestly got my fill of it during the demo so I can't see myself picking up the full release.

Haven't played it yet, but I'm looking forward to trying the demo of Stray Gods – it's got the Greek Gods vibe of Hades, and I'm a Dragon Age fan so have to give it a shot for David Gaider's writing.

Oh and I also have to plug the demo for Horticular! It's a relaxing, gorgeous, and satisfying garden design sim. I'm super excited for the full release of the game whenever it comes out; I played ~10 hours straight last year when the demo first launched, and it looks like it's been well polished for this year's Next Fest.

I tried Pizza Possum which is a super cute co-op “survival” game

Hammerwatch 2 with a friend. Its Fun and i 100% play it on release.

Primitive Society Simulator... It has Graphic Bugs for me and is sadly unplayble because of it.

Paleo Pines, also a little buggy but cute. Verry relaxing Game. The biggest Problem for me is the short view distance and that the Characters look a little stale.

just played Beyond Sunset yesterday. a fun and dynamic arena FPS that takes some elements from Doom Eternal. it's made on GZDoom.

So far I tried Gord, Sea of Stars, Fortune's Run and Cyber Knight Flashpoint.

My favourite of those 4 was definitely Sea of Stars.

tea for gods looks really good, non-euclidian spaces in vr are mind bending

Norland was fun! I'm looking forward to the full version.

Back to the Dawn. Pretty cool prison escape game. Reminds me of the gameplay of Kindergarten with it being more of a serious story and world (with a little bit of sillyness). Seems like the full game will be pretty fun!

Not sure if it's on Steam NextFest, but recently played the demo for Jumplight Odyssey, and had a lot of fun with it. Art style is great, and I enjoyed what I was able to play of the main gameplay loop. I loved FTL when it came out but always wanted a little more RPG type elements and it looks like Jumplight might scratch that itch really well. The base-building/Xcom feel is also a big plus.

Little Kitty, Big City - Surprisingly fun demo. Feels a lot like Stray in good ways. Very much looking forward to the full release.

so far i've tried:

• wizard with a gun: didn't love it, felt a little too slow and repetitive for me. gonna have to wait and see what the full game looks like.
• fortune's run: this game goes so hard, can't wait for it to release. if you like imm sims check this out. this is one of those games that isn't lying about the difficulty - even medium is pretty challenging. also the music is good enough to make me wish they released soundtracks for demos

excited to try valley peaks, viewfinder, and hammerwatch 2 whenever i get a chance