Steam Next Fest June 2025 – The Demos I Loved That You Should Spend The Weekend Playing

Steam Next Fest is back, and that means thousands of demos are available on Steam for players to download and potentially find their next favorite game before it's officially out.

I love Steam Next Fest, if for nothing else than the fact that I get to try a bunch of new games for free, and in quick succession, because plenty of these demos don't take any longer than 20 minutes.

I played several demos over the course of this week, and these are the ones that I absolutely loved, that you should spend your weekend diving into.

Mina the Hollower - Developed by Yacht Club Games - Release Date: October 31, 2025 - PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

This one is an easy recommendation for me, because I knew I would like it going in. I love platformers, and ever since I played through Shovel Knight, I've paid attention to everything Yacht Club Games has done. When I first heard about Mina the Hollower, I'll admit I was a tad disappointed to not see Yacht Club going back to the drawing board for a new 2D platformer, but my belief in the studio and the first clips of gameplay I saw from Mina convinced me I had nothing to be sad about. This would be a great game that I'd love.

Playing this demo is the first chance I've had to try Mina the Hollower, and now that we have a definitive release date for it, I can easily say this is my most anticipated game of the year. The burrowing is satisfying to execute, the layout of something more akin to old Zelda games is something I can easily get behind, and I love the pixel art on display here.

Baby Steps - Developed By Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy - Release Date: September 8, 2025 - PC, PS5

What do you get when you pair the developers behind QWOP, Getting Over It, and Ape Out together? A game about a 35-year old man living in his parents' basement who learned to walk by playing QWOP, pretty much.

But what really intrigues me about Baby Steps more than just its wonky and purposely-frustrating walking mechanics is that there's much more to it than just the challenge of taking the next step. It's incredibly funny from the jump, and while the demo doesn't last long enough to necessarily confirm this, it's clear to me that there's a deeper layer of storytelling waiting in the full game. Or, at the very least, there's more humor to come from our protagonist really needing to use the bathroom but being unable to find one. Either way, I'm in.

Bloodthief - Developed by Blargis - Release Date: TBA - PC

I loved the first Ghostrunner game when it came out, but since then, I've yet to find a game that scratched the same itch the first one did. Even the sequel, I thought, didn't do the trick. Which is why I'm thankful for having played Bloodthief, if for no other reason than the game achieving that blend of fast-paced, 3D-platforming and parkouring action and scratching that itch once again.

Bloodthief is a classic, simple-looking, 2-feet-wide, 10-feet-deep kind of game. If you want to dig into the parkour mechanics and push them to their limits, what I've played of its levels so far shows that there's plenty for you to dig into. Even in the opening levels, I was finding alternate paths through the parkouring by simply thinking 'I can make that jump,' and figuring out that I could, if I was nimble enough. It's not the same one-hit-kill style combat as Ghostrunner, but it still plays within the same realm of you can only take so many hits before you have to go back to the checkpoint. I also appreciate the shift from a high-gloss, neon-light-filled cyberpunk world to a muted, medieval setting. It makes the dark red blood really stand out, and it's just more fun to watch armored knights flailing their swords and running at you at full sprint.

Henry Halfhead - Developed by Lululu Entertainment - Release Date: TBA - PC and Consoles

I love a good, odd, puzzle game that encourages you to find your own solution to a problem. Henry Halfhead is exactly that, and it has a fun and intriguing core mechanic to boot. Being able to jump into pretty much any object is a fun loop, and I'm hopeful that the full game will feature deeper layers of puzzles.

The ones in the demo aren't bad, they're just introductory, so they're not going to be the most complicated. Still, I left the demo feeling like this could be one of the better puzzle games of the year, depending on how it evolves. As a Steam Next Fest demo though, playing Henry Halfhead is a great way to spend some time, even if you just sit around and listen to a song that starts playing part of the way through, as I did.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound - Developed by The Game Kitchen - Release Date: July 31, 2025 - PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Announced at last year's Game Awards, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, to me, is similar to IO Interactive developing a James Bond game. What else could you expect from the developers behind Blasphemous, besides something amazing, when you ask them to make a 2D action-platforming Ninja Gaiden game?

Spending some time with this demo pretty much just confirmed for me what I was already expecting, that The Game Kitchen was the perfect choice to bring the series that began in 2D back to its original format, while kicking it up to the levels that developers today have been achieving with 2D action games. I can't wait for the full release, which is coming in a little more than a month at the time of this writing.

Yasuke: A Lost Descendant - Developed by Dallience Studios - Release Date: TBA - PC

This recommendation is the only one that comes with a major technical caveat, which is the fact that it didn't exactly run as smooth as I would have hoped. That said, the high-octane action and extremely flashy combat and parkour on display in Yasuke: A Lost Descendant shined through its performance issues.

If you're one of the 10 million who bought Devil May Cry 5 and are looking for something new to fill that stylish action-sized hole, and don't mind adding a touch of 3D platforming into the mix, then Yasuke: A Lost Descendant should definitely be on your radar. Sure, the performance issues might get in the way of your enjoyment, but it's the game's alpha build, and this is Steam Next Fest. The understanding is the games we're playing are not the final, full-polished version. The gameplay and combat mechanics that are at the heart of Yasuke: A Lost Descendant are clearly very solid, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the full release can offer when it eventually does release.

Metal Eden - Developed by Reikon Games - Release Date: Q3 2025 - PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

We've been following Metal Eden here at Wccftech since it was first revealed earlier this year, and at the time, we thought it would already be out by now, with a May 6, 2025 release date set. It's since been delayed, with no new release date to look forward to, but after playing the demo I'm happy to let developer Reikon Games take as long as they need. Whenever it's ready, I'll be there.

Metal Eden's fast-paced, stylish shooting and fluid movements all feel amazing, and while the game's story could turn out to be a dud in the full release, at least with what I've seen so far in the demo, I'm very intrigued to find out more. It scratches a similar itch to the one Bloodthief and Ghostrunner scratched. I'm clearly a mark for a first-person action game that lets you wall run like its nobody's business.

Morsels - Developed by Furcula - Release Date: 2025 - PC, Xbox Series X/S

While I truly did love all the demos listed here in this latest edition of Steam Next Fest, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a favorite among the new games I played. Morsels is that favorite, as it immediately hit me with a 1-2 punch of an art style that looked like it was out of a fever dream, and a soundtrack that I want to have in my music library yesterday.

If you don't play any other demos from Steam Next Fest in its closing weekend and only play Morsels, it will have been a Next Fest well spent. This creature-collecting rougelite is weird in all the best ways, with gameplay that feels fun to execute and a roguelite system that I can't wait to dive deeper into. I'm hopeful that this game does make its 2025 release window, only because I absolutely cannot wait to play the full game.

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Those are my Steam Next Fest recommendations for June 2025. What have you been playing this Next Fest? Let us know in the comments which upcoming games you have your eyes on.

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