5 gems to watch for during Steam Next Fest 2024

There are SO MANY games...

Hello Scientist Gamers!

A new year, and a whole new round of Steam Next Fests are on the way, with the first one happening right now, until February 12. There are SO MANY games to check out; if you’re like me, you’ve been paralyzed by the amount of choice since last week.

There are always those games that EVERYONE talks about but I want to showcase some games that may not yet be on your radar. It took me quite a bit of searching to find these, only because I didn’t want to include games that are tried-and-tested copies of other games.

And because there are literally thousands of games on display, I didn’t want to make you wade through a long scroll of games either (besides, I already did that at the beginning of the year). So I present to you just 5 games that you can check out that I think will be worth your time.

Breachway

Release date: March 22, 2024 (early access); demo available
Developer: Edgeflow Studio
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Available on: Steam (PC)

What can I say, there’s something about spaceships that just calls to me. Especially when they are beautifully modelled and meticulously textured as they are in Breachway, a rogue-like deck-building game published by none other than Hooded Horse.

The premise is simple: get spaceship, blast enemies, acquire upgrades, and survive. Along the way, you’ll encounter all manners of characters and events, which you’ll have to navigate in order to reach your destination.

There are a couple of standout features about this game. The first is the huge variation of deck-building options tied to the equipment that you equip for your ship. If you swap out missile launchers with something else, your deck will change accordingly. The second is the resource management aspect of the game and the fact that you can change it on the fly. You don’t have to wait for the resource cards to show up—you can change it up mid-battle if you need to. Last but not least is the ship models: there are several already included in the game and I can see this being an endless source of content either for developers or modders. Someone make me a Millennium Falcon because I want to fly that hunk of junk in Breachway!

Although you might want to pass this off as just another deck-builder, I implore you to reconsider as I think it is one of the best implementations of the mechanic!

Arco

Release date: sometime in 2024; demo available
Developer: Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, Fayer
Publisher: Panic
Available on: Steam (PC)

I’m always on the hunt for fun implementations of the turn-based formula. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the good ol’ XCOM experience, moving on hexes and tiles and stressing over missing 96% chances to hit. But once in a while, it is nice to see games try other ways to shake up that formula.

Arco does just that. Your turn-based decisions play out simultaneously for you and your enemies on the map. So if you’re tossing a grenade or firing a long range weapon, you’ll need to account for enemy movement (something I found out on stream, to my unfortunate demise).

Thankfully, you can preview enemy movement so you’ll know how to react accordingly. But there’s a bit of a twist. At the beginning, you’ll be able to make your decisions stress-free, taking all the time you need to evaluate and analyze the situation. As the game progresses and you make more and more questionable decisions outside of the battlemap, ghosts and spirits will start to haunt you during your battles. These ghosts can’t be killed and will inflict damage if they come into contact with you; what’s more, they continue to move during your decision-making time, adding some self-inflicted fire under your butt to make quick decisions.

This kind of mechanic helps Arco feel more tactical and less puzzle-like, something I’ve not enjoyed about other games that have implemented this mechanic. The demo does a good job of explaining the mechanics and giving you a taste of what’s to come—I’m looking forward to the rest of this game!

Silence of the Siren

Release date: not announced; demo available
Developer: Oxymoron Games
Publisher: Oxymoron Games
Available on: Steam (PC)

I spent countless hours in the first game from this developer/publisher—Project Hospital—a hospital management game with a more serious tone than Two Point Hospital that released at about the same time. When I heard that Oxymoron Games was working on a second title, I couldn’t wait to see what they had in store.

I never imagined that their second title would be this—Silence of the Siren, a turn-based tactics game similar to the Heroes of Might and Magic games of the past. But a much more modern, vibrant, and animated take on this traditional formula.

It’s set in a sci-fi world where rodents, bugs, machines, and humans are all battling for resources on the map. Like Heroes of Might and Magic, you’ll take control of several heroes leading their armies to explore, expand, and exterminate the opposition.

I had a blast in the demo, collecting resources, recruiting armies, gathering artifacts, and establishing bases to spread my influence and drive other commanders away from my corner of the world. If old-school strategy is more your thing, you won’t want to miss this game.

Clonizer

Release date: Q2 2024; demo available
Developer: Juicy Plume
Publisher: Juicy Plume
Available on: Steam (PC)

This game is described as a deck-builder but it is so much more than just deck-building. Clonizer will have you collecting cards, upgrading them, and moving your Clonees (the wide-eyed, sometimes expendable minion) around on a hex-based map.

You’ll collect resources, build defence towers and power generators, all while dealing with baddies that will come after your spaceship. In between the tactical missions, you’ll choose your journey through a branching map, visiting shops and preparing yourself for the upcoming encounter.

On each battle map, you’ll have an objective to complete, whether it is collecting stars or activating shield generators. Terrain will impact your tactics: hills will allow you better vision and range for your units, while clouds will protect your units from long range attacks.

All of this is packaged with adorable graphics making it that much more fun to play. I’d also argue that you could safely introduce this game to kids: one, because of the relatively simple game play and two, because there aren’t any disturbing images to worry about. It’s a great introduction to the genre with deceptively deep mechanics, which in my opinion, makes it a great game for anyone to enjoy.

The Darkest Star

Release date: not announced; demo available
Developer: Stephen Moorhouse
Publisher: Stellar Kinetics
Available on: Steam (PC)

We’ll end the post the same way we started: in space. But unlike the first entry, The Darkest Star is a tactical game set in space. No deck-building here, but the game play is just as compelling.

You have complete control over where your ships move to based on an action point system but how far they can depends on the direction your ship is pointed. If you have to do a complete 180, you won’t be able to move as far.

Aside from that it’s all about tactical positioning. You can hide behind large asteroids or EM clouds and launch a surprise attack from behind if the enemies haven’t detected you. Your energy weapons have firing arcs and optimal ranges so you’ll want your turrets to be facing the enemy for maximum effect. Missiles can be countered and take time to reach their target.

It was fun to trying to outmaneuver enemy ships and failing miserably when I ran one of my destroyers through an asteroid field. It’s rewarding when those tactics do work out and you can pat yourself on the back for a plan well executed. I’ve yet to get there but I’m excited to see more of this game!

I hope that at least one of these less-traveled selections pique your interest from among the thousands of games being showcased this week. If there are others in the turn-based genre (or otherwise) that you’re looking forward to, let me know in the comments below!

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