Curious to get the community's thoughts on the demos they loved in the latest Next Fest!
To start things off, here's a few that I absolutely loved and played through as much as I could (or stopped myself if I knew I'd like it).
Viewfinder - A first person puzzle game a la Portal, The Witness, Antichamber, Entropy Center, etc...I played enough to see the hook of using images to solve puzzles and backed away quickly. This was a game I didn't want to spoil too much for myself when I saw how cool it was.
Beyond Sunset - This was a "boomer shooter" recommendation I saw on Lemmy and checked it out because it seemed neat. I got really into the storyline and art style of the game and saw it through to the end of the demo. I almost gave up on the final boss but when I said no and wanted to push through, I knew I was hooked!
Galacticare - In the last few years, "simulation games" seem to have become my preferred genre and managing an outer space hospital was really engaging. I enjoyed designing each room and trying to optimize the flow of patients. The style and humor of the game worked well since sometimes the humor can feel a little "try hard" but it came together nicely. I don't purchase a lot of games Day One any more but this might be one of them.
One Lonely Outpost - I've had this on my wishlist since it was announced during a stretch of time I was playing Stardew Valley, but this was the first time it's been playable. I enjoyed the interactions with the world but I'm not sure what exactly it would build to (since the planet you land on is desolate). It may be about creating the town/outpost yourself. The demo seemed to overstay its welcome a bit BUT Stardew Valley-likes are super slow in the beginning, so I'm in a "wait and see" mode since I did enjoy parts of it and the unique setting.
Anything that ended up on your radar after this Next Fest?
Loddlenaut - A cute little trash collecting game. It seems pretty chill and fun. I didn't get to the point of meeting the titular Loddles because I want to save that for release, but the satisfaction of cleaning up the environment and picking up pieces of trash is already a solid loop even without adding additional mechanics. Potato computer friendly.
One Lonely Outpost - It's a bad sign when you get frustrated by repetitive, uninteresting tasks in the first 30 minutes of the game. From a design perspective, it needs to answer "Why?" a lot better. Why are we gathering archeology fragments? Why are we doing these irritating and honestly unfun tasks? And not in a "Well we're making the world habitable", the answer needs to be more direct: "We're looking for soil analyzer blueprints to be able to tell where to plant our crops". It might have some magic fun hidden later in the game, but I was thoroughly unimpressed with the demo.
Wizard with a Gun - Neat concept and fairly fun to play. I find isometric non-tile-based games clunky, and this game doesn't change that feeling. I might pick it up if my friends show interest in playing co-op.
Grand Emprise: Time Travel Survival - Interesting concept, but extremely jank. Poor UI, mechanics aren't that tight or interesting, animations are extremely clunky and 'combat' is laughable. It almost feels like an asset flip.
Paleo Pines - Cute, but something feels off. I'm not sure if it's the animations, the shaders, or something else, but something gives the game a visually half-finished feel. I'm interested to see where this one goes and what further polish it receives.
Mr. Run and Jump - The transition between the first level and the second was really neat. The gameplay is fairly fun.