12 Games We Loved from Steam Next Fest

[@EmissaryOfSmeagol]

*GAMES FEATURED* 0:29 Harold Halibu 1:52 Tales of Kenzera: Zau 3:02 Crypt Custodian 3:58 Perennial Order 5:30 Children of the Sun 6:55 Southfield 8:04 Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip 9:02 Flock 10:19 Chicken Police: Into the Hive 11:39 Beyond Hanwell 12:49 Emberward 13:46 Ultros

[@jellezw]

Thnx man!

[@EmissaryOfSmeagol]

@@mechanicalmonk2020 well, they did pin me. Personally I wanted the time codes for repeat viewings.

[@SecondWindGroup]

They beat us to it, so we pinned them!@@mechanicalmonk2020

[@UZPvNUCaaQdF]

please keep the game's title on the screen or index the timeline@@SecondWindGroup. I also think it's a nice gesture to always say the name of the game at the beginning and the end of the segment

[@EmissaryOfSmeagol]

@@SecondWindGroup keep up the good work, team

[@geminiarch3972]

I watched Escapist for Yahtzee. I watch everything Second Wind puts out.

[@swedneck]

what a difference it makes when the deciding factor for what content is featured isn't what some executive thinks will make money

[@DirransRL]

I found Escapist through Cold Takes, but man have the Second Wind Cold Takes been excellent.

[@silasrogan241]

Seriously. This might be the first channel I become a member for. And I have a lot of channels I have loved for years.

[@GardenfiendGames]

Thank you so much for playing Perennial Order and including it in this video! We sincerely appreciate the support!

[@PrettyGrimGames]

You're welcome! I'm excited to play the game.

[@ArtofVincentVanHoof]

@@PrettyGrimGames Thank you so much!

[@PrettyGrimGames]

@@ArtofVincentVanHoof 🖤

[@lemonlordminecraft]

Ohhhhhh when they said it I thought it was “Garden-THEMED Games” which also makes sense as a name

[@bell2023]

Thank YOU, GarfieldGames, for your awesome-looking demo!

[@musicenjoyer4203]

This is EXACTLY the kind of content I want. Individual recommendations based on a variety of tastes, voices, and opinions. Far too much content like this acts as little more than a depersonalized summary. Awesome job Second Wind.

[@EvieAndHerEV]

What a glorious video, kudos to the diversity of game selections, as well as the inspired choice to bring in multiple staff members to give their takes rather than relying on the "face" presenters like more standardized media outfits would do. There's so much heart and sincerity in Second Wind's stuff

[@Gordond2009]

I have to agree whole heartedly. I was watching, nah, nah, nah.....but started to realize the complete shotgun of quality experiences for different tastes. Even the ones I had no interest in, looked like solid titles in their space.

[@twgdevstudio]

Thanks for including Chicken Police: Into the HIVE! 😄

[@MoskalMedia]

I had never heard of Chicken Police before and I was already sold, then I saw "What the cluck..." as a dialogue option. Brilliant.

[@radioaftermaththeband]

Harold Halibut's art direction looks amazing

[@MariaVosa]

I was utterly smitten!

[@mutantfreak48]

i believe the person behind ultros' art design is el huervo, one of the musicians who contributed music to the series. he's also a painter and has drawn both games' original box art covers (he's contributed so much to the series that a major character in it is based on him). he's a pretty great artist, id recommend checking out his paintings on his social media platforms and his various album covers of his and other people's music

[@phexitol]

Interesting. I wanted to give a note to the person who highlighted this game/demo: the artwork is more reminiscent of Moebius (Jean Giraud). And also the obligatory correction that HR Giger's last name is pronounced 'geeger'. Final addendum: to second what was said above regarding the content here vs Escapist: I watch all of Second Wind, whereas I learned to avoid anything on Escapist that wasn't Yahtzee.

[@Topcatyo.]

I really appreciate the variety of games and art styles showcased in this video. Really showcases how much the indie gamedev scene is truly thriving. It's really cool that Second Wind is using their channel to shine a light on these projects

[@Dogsineed]

Loved the presentation. I'm going to grab half the demos shown. Children of the sun keeps showing up everywhere I look.

[@Th3BadThing]

Crypt Custodian is probably my pick from the list, also for a demo its playable area is very large. Such a cutesy art style, fluid combat and movement, and the music is fantastic (big fan of some of the somber undertones and melodies). First NextFest ive actively explored demos in and damn I love it, so many things to say about so many games.

[@djpyroteknikz135]

I'd also recommend "Rotwood", a game from the same dev studio that brought us "Don't Starve". =)

[@blue.lagoon00]

I know this video is a bit outside what you usually put out, but I genuinely appreciated and enjoyed it.

[@dubinn]

create a second wind steam curator page 🤠

[@JULR0W]

I suggested Marty as he is often finding small titles that absolutely slap

[@GayBearDaddy2]

I second this, for the Discord.

[@SecondWindGroup]

We don't have a curator page, but I do keep our big Wishlist relatively updated which has tons of games in there. store.steampowered.com/wishlist/id/secondwindgroup

[@quinncamargo]

That would be great. Then feature them atleast once a month in a video.

[@GeoToni13]

I only discovered chicken police yesterday and thought it look interesting. Nice to hear it's got a sequel coming so might give the first one a go.

[@SandraNLN]

It reminds me of what Backbone wanted to be (i think they renamed it Tails Noir). I'm totally interested now.

[@axelprino]

I haven't had the time to even look at this Steam Next so I really appreciate this. Ultros already was on my radar because I saw it being promoted somewhere else but the rest are completely new to me. Harold Halibu and Children of the Sun look particularly interesting, I think those two are getting added to my wishlist.

[@RobertMcGovernTarasis]

Nice to hear other voices give their opinions. Def intrigued by some of those games

[@memebender5626]

Looking forward to checking these games out. I'd love to see a series that curates and review Sale Event on Steam. Even when a game is outside of my comfort zone, if it's on sale, I'd be willing to give it a try.

[@mezarisage6055]

Children of the sun looks pretty neat, I also recommend Pacific Drive, Underspace and Breachway.

[@RyanBeardy]

Childen of the Sun looks like such a cool concept for a game! Truly never seen something else like it! Also love the atmosphere of Beyond Handwell!

[@elijahaaronaquarius2762]

Pacific Drive is also worth your attention! That demo is incredible.

[@zUJ7EjVD]

I found Pacific Drive gave me an existential crisis with how "robotic" it felt to play.

[@The1Overmind]

This was such a good video! Thank you all for your tireless efforts to show off so many amazing titles! ❤❤❤

[@SpikeRosered]

Actually the very first one Harold Halibu caught my interest the most. Its so unique looking!

[@gablanwheel3895]

Love the format of switching narration between several members of the team!

[@classycasual3910]

Hooray for new games! So glad to hear from everyone!

[@shortyduapp]

I could play just games recommended by Second Wind and never run out of new things to pick up. Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

[@ethansayers3318]

Thanks for a great video! This round-up was quite nice, and I'm not sure I've seen something like it from y'all. I surely would love more, though! I appreciate all of the work from different members!

[@thomashooper2451]

Great list. Ultros, Crypt Custodian, and Children of the Sun are three of my top picks of this Next Fest, too. I also loved Never Grave: The Curse and the Witch, Mendicanium, and Awaken - Astral Blade, just to name a few. We were really spoiled this time around.

[@MoskalMedia]

Just checked out the Never Grave trailer--very cool!!! Added it to my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@Arvensa]

I'd love to see more videos in this format

[@tristanwegner]

Lovely coverage. I also enjoyed Xeno Runners, high speed suit racing through alien mountains! The demo is already surprisingly active, and I have been playing it in short bursts quite often.

[@emilytheimp]

What a crazy world we live in that we can play a game that looks like a Wallace and Gromit movie that was also made like one

[@vonriel1822]

Tales of Kenzera: Zau may have made me add an involuntary dry heave after years of conditioning from Yahtzee, but god damn if it doesn't look gorgeous. Definitely gonna keep an eye out for that one.

[@adiveler]

Quite surprised that Bears in Space didn't make it to this list, since you seem you enjoyed it!

[@pixiecheckers1053]

This video was a really fun watch! Although it would be nice to have links to the steam pages in the description and video segments for each game. Overall I loved the video, Keep up the great work!

[@lenapawlek7295]

Thanks for going through them! Definitely adding some of these to my wishlist!!

[@kes-3d]

Shouting out Diceomancer, brilliant little fantasy deck building game!

[@DirransRL]

I'm most excited for Mullet Madjack. Sad it didn't make the list. However, it sparks much joy that there are much more than 12 promising games with full demos.

[@BroadwayBrittany]

SO many great looking games here! If I HAD to pick one, Flock was the game that had my attention the most simply because it seemed like the kind of game I’d 100% vibe with. That said, I know I’m gonna be keeping an eye on a bunch of these, and I have a feeling a few will make their way into my library by the time they come out :D

[@deebzscrub]

Lots of good stuff in there, looking forward to checking some of these out!

[@TheLordDracula]

I love the mashup video with so many of you in one

[@JeezonTorst]

Star Trucker is my game of the Next Fest Demos for sure.

[@Wraithfighter]

Aye, the game needs better guides/tutorials/reference materials to help you deal with your space truck breaking down, but I LOVE the feel of it so much. A very promising game all told.

[@RexiconJesse]

That was on my list of games I wanted to try but didn't have time.

[@_Zeruca]

@@RexiconJessethe dev got a lot of push back on certain mechanics and the fact that certain things like repairing the truck were increased by a lot just for the demo. Overall I think it’ll be around in the next demo pile for you to try.

[@user-ur4nl6dq2x]

Great video! I knew about maybe one of these games, so this is REALLY great content for me. Thanks team

[@redfox796]

#BLUD was the game that'd peaked my interest from Next Fest, but now I've added a bunch of the games from your list to check out too.

[@bigallru]

Thank you very much for this series.

[@Asaski09]

For me, this was also a nice showcase of SW voices I hadn't heard before 😊

[@paladinpaterson5385]

Ah man, was really hoping yall would put Diceomancer on this list! Super fun roguelike card game/dice roller!

[@tarblade1448]

I added at least 1 game to my wishlist because of this video, I call that a win.

[@D_ytAcct]

Adding so many of these to the list thank you

[@KingCronan]

LOVED this video! A regular quarterly roundup or something of cool indie game titles just like this video would be great!

[@nate3285]

I’d recommend Arco to anyone looking for a good mix of story & strategy gameplay; not much of the former is on offer in the demo, but the real-time turn-based combat, of planning your moves and having everything play out simultaneously, is a treat.

[@markusmccloud]

Hiya, comment section! I'd just like to recommend a Steam Next Fest game that I can personally vouch for (and actually helped Kickstart), _Star Racer._ It's a sci-fi racer inspired by the original F-Zero that also features dogfighting flight sections inspired by Star Fox 64! There's a demo on Steam if that sounds interesting!

[@kadnhart6661]

Star Racer sounds right up my alley, thanks!

[@mnemophage]

I was deeply impressed by Cryptmaster (not Crypt Custodian! different game!) this Next Fest. It's retro as heck in all the right, niche ways: A typing teacher/first-person dungeon crawler with 80's choose-your-own-adventure-book art and an immediate narrative scope that feels like it was pulled directly from my teenaged D&D notebooks. As a typing game, the combat is word-based and dependent on you figuring out your typed abilities and bringing them to bear against your opponents' special skills and conditions - but what enchanted me was how the exploration portion of the game was focuses so keenly on expressing curiosity and asking the right questions. Also, it's got a big, giant head with unsettling eyes that follows you around issuing passive threats, like Inscryption did, so it was already an easy sell for me.

[@zUJ7EjVD]

Should mention the file-size and length of the Harold Halibut demo. They are both quite a bit above industry standards.

[@zUJ7EjVD]

Amazing. I didn't think it was possible to get a Next Fest video out before the devs start deleting demos.

[@P51mus]

oh! Tiny Terry is from the people who made Wuppo! I was wondering what they were up to.

[@GhostMcDingus]

What about pepper grinder? It took the ori mechanic of dashing into the ground and made a whole game out of it, the feel of the game is smooth and it's looking to be a competent 2D platformer, my personal "most hyped for"

[@KracklinDark]

There's also #Blud which is a dungeon crawler in the style of a cartoon network hand drawn series. The dev has been working on it for about 4 years.

[@Ronin11111111]

Don't miss out on Islands of Insight, the next best puzzle game to be!

[@majormoron605]

There´s a dedicated button for making little meep sounds. Say no more! XD

[@jonikari100]

Thanks for helping us find more great games~ Though y'all need to buy better mics too XD

[@roundishwhale]

Loving the recommendations! Found a few new things to be excited about, thank you so much! Also some of your crews microphone setups feel way worse sound wise than others, but I'm sure that just growing pains/temporary setup stuff^^

[@AnotherNerdyPerson]

Such a good video!

[@maucool999]

More of this!!!

[@DistinctionDave]

I really enjoyed Magical Delicacy, a neat little metroidvania but with a cosy twist. The demo doesn't give too much away, but it's basically about finding ingredients and cooking various recipes. It gives you some recipes to start off with, but you can always try different combinations. There doesn't seem to be any combat, which is fine by me, although the map maybe needs a little work. Still, I'm keeping an eye on it. I don't need every game to be a difficult challenge I slog through.

[@CaptainPRESIDENT]

These all see great. Can't wait.

[@thessie]

Ooo, going to be watching for quite a few of these

[@TelperionMt]

The games selected suggest I’m fundamentally a different kind of gamer than what’s interesting to the channel’s various content creators. Still, nothing wrong with keeping an eye on the channel for the occasional Indie game that’s a little more out there.

[@Riddla26]

No Tribes 3: Rivals is a crime. TRIBES IS GODDAMN BACK, BABY.

[@levelthreeranger5561]

Ive been looking forward to Ultros for a long time, especially since its being made by one of ky favorite bands El Huervo, who did a lot of the music for Hotline Miami.

[@TenorioGustavo]

Can you guys put the steam links on the description? It helps a lot

[@supafred16]

Good recommendations.

[@backgroundtom4589]

Can’t wait for Harold halibut - been waiting for this for sooooo long

[@Shicksalblume]

The Pepper Grinder demo also seemed decent.

[@_Zeruca]

The game that took one mechanic from Ori and made a game out of it? Nah.

[@TheCreepypro]

these are some pretty good games

[@SouthfieldGame]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

[@Nucleosynthese]

Nextfest is so awesome!

[@michaeldeucalion9283]

!2:33 the gunshot lighting up the face of the creature is kinda peak

[@Broelbrak]

This is great, keep up the good work! Shout out to indies!

[@john-wiggains]

So many interesting games!!

[@JandarLefey]

Roguelike Tower Defense? Oh, now you have my curiosity

[@cherylrodgers6331]

I really like this 🙏🏼🖤

[@maxleveladventures]

There's a typo in the description for the timestamp "Ultris." It should be "Ultros."

[@mourning6536]

I don’t want this to come off as rude or mean, but you guys should use some of that war chest money and buy Micheal a new microphone. His audio quality compared to the rest is rough.

[@Deadforge]

Keep it up guys

[@controladortv]

Please don't sleep on StellaGale and Kinniku Neko

[@DMBLaan]

Did Ultros just make a reference to Groth?!

[@Schatten.mensch]

There are once again so many great demos - I wish these next festivals lasted longer so you actually got to discover and play all of them. (And I wish devs would stop removing their demos after the festival...) But I'm going to be boring and name a multiplayer shooter I already knew as my demo of the festival so far - Tribes 3 has a long and stony road ahead of it, but it already feels like Tribes and there is just nothing quite like Tribes out there - it's fast, it's hard but at its best it combines speed and skill with having a role for everyone. And there's just nothing like the feeling of hitting an 200km/h opponent in mid air with a slow projectile weapon. .

[@propmadepostapo]

really good sugestions

[@jamesrule1338]

Tales of Kenzera: Zau looks great and has an amazing demo. Can't wait to play more. I need to check out Children of the Sun. I'd recommend Hollowbody. Interesting looking game, definitely inspired by classic Silent Hill (Warts and all).

[@SocksAndPuppets]

Harold Halibut has my attention

[@pauldaulby260]

wow i thought harold halibut was never going to come out

[@espio87]

So in Children of the Sun you're basically playing as Guido Mista with Sex Pistols. Sounds interesting!

[@lordofgeese6437]

Was that Damian Lee?

[@fishpop]

Flock reminds me of Flower on PS3.

[@wolvebane2]

Shame not to see pacific drive here. It was really neat.

[@SecondWindGroup]

Comes out in a week or so and we'll be covering it for sure.

[@magic3383]

I made it nearly 3 whole minutes!

[@SageofStars]

Anyone else see the blue thing in the corner and think this was an Arlo video at first?

[@mushroomGdog77]

Ultros hype

[@MrBoadini]

Does Frost voice the Duck in Duck Detective!?