Not every story needs its own post. Here is the rest of what reached our newsroom, summed up, with plenty of Steam Next Fest demos.

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance turns one and kicks off Season 4

The anime MMORPG celebrates its first anniversary with Season 4: Lightchase Oath, bringing the Montegnor Valley map with a new story, new dungeons, minigames and the Seabreeze Festival event. A collaboration with the anime That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was also announced, with details still to come. The game is free to play.

Source: A Plus Japan · Steam

Tower Tactics II enters Early Access

The sequel once again blends a deckbuilding roguelike with tower defense: build your deck with new cards, unlock trinkets and deploy upgraded towers against waves of enemies. It’s now in Early Access on Steam.

Source: Assemble Entertainment · Steam

Lazare’s Sacrifice pits you against the guillotine in a deckbuilder

From Dream Reality Interactive, this narrative deckbuilder is set in Revolution-era Paris: imprisoned and condemned, you play cards against legends of the period and solve prison puzzles to learn why you were locked up. Health, cards and sanity are all things you can sacrifice. It’s coming to PC in 2027.

Source: Curve Games · Steam

R.O.G.U.E. Waves, a surfing deckbuilder from Uruguay, has a demo

The debut game from Montevideo-based Pomelo Games swaps monsters for waves: instead of dealing damage, you play trick cards to outscore rival surfers in tournaments on the fictional beaches of Porto Calambre. The demo is part of Steam Next Fest.

Source: Pomelo Games · Steam

Terrible Lizards: horror parkour in a dinosaur park

Set in an old Route 66 roadside attraction, the game has you running, climbing and escaping something sinister lurking beneath the Dalton’s Dinos park. It has a Next Fest demo and launches October 29 on PC, with PS5 and Xbox Series versions planned.

Source: Digital Pajamas · Steam

Knuckle Paradise teams a retired boxer with a warrior chicken

Combo-heavy pixel-art action: Jane, a retired boxer, and her sidekick Cocotte, a chicken that levels up too, fight everyone in their way to find their kidnappers, learning moves from a pirate seagull along the way. There’s a demo during Next Fest.

Source: ARTE France / Flying Oak Games · Steam

Hellmate takes chess to the seven floors of Hell

A roguelike deckbuilder on a chessboard: each floor belongs to a deadly sin and has its own king. Summon pieces, cast spells and brand your army with sigils to bring the king’s HP to zero before your turns run out. It has a demo and launches on PC on January 19, 2027.

Source: Overbaked Studio · Steam

Love: Fall in Death is an FMV romantic comedy

A live-action interactive game where your choices and timing shape the night: trying to impress Ayşil at the bar can end in romance or total chaos. It has a demo and launches October 29 on PC, with PS5 and Xbox Series versions planned.

Source: SNR Interactive · Steam

Slots & Skulls turns a slot machine into a weapon

A turn-based roguelite where you build the symbol pool of a slot machine (blades, spells, poisons, thorns, gold) and stop each reel at the right moment to attack. You can also challenge a friend. It has a demo and launches on PC on November 4.

Source: Trina Interactive · Steam

Medium Rare: eat people to save your wife

Pitch-black humor in a turn-based survival dungeon crawler: you hike up a mountain, saving ammo and eating your enemies, toward a human meat factory where your kidnapped wife is about to be processed. The demo is out on Steam, and the game launches in 2027.

Source: ExeCo · Steam

Elsewhere is a sandbox inspired by Minecraft modpacks

A crafting and building adventure with quests, magic, automation and exploration: gather resources, build your base and unlock new technologies in a world full of secrets, in the spirit of classic Minecraft modpacks. It’s available now on Steam.

Source: Four White Cats · Steam

Matelotes: hapless sailors chase a royal hen

The Royal Hen has disappeared, and an enthusiastic but unqualified crew sets out to find her. This narrative adventure with RPG and strategy elements takes you across islands, through political conflicts and boat upgrades. It has a Next Fest demo and launches in 2027.

Source: ARTE France · Steam

Football Academy Simulator puts you in charge of a football academy

Set up personalized training, improve your players, rent out equipment, keep the facilities clean and run the sports shop, then build a squad from your best trainees to compete in the Fantasy League. It has a demo and launches on PC on November 6.

Source: Kiki Games · Steam