Steam Next Fest may be over, but that does not mean our coverage has. Here are five gems to keep an eye out for.
Even the most diligent gamer is bound to miss some absolute rippers each Steam Next Fest. But don’t worry! I’ve spent the last week toiling away in the demo mines to unearth a few specimens you won’t want to overlook. Give this list a look get your wishlist ready so that when the release schedule on the back half of 2026 starts hitting heavy, you’re ready.
Sovereign Tower
Kingdom management sims are among my favorite micro-genres, especially when they’re built on that rock solid loop of holding court, making promises, and then deciding which ones you’re going to keep. Sovereign Tower seems to be built on that exact framework, augmenting it with some truly gorgeous stonewashed illustrations and a nice spin on Arthurian mysticism. Even the demo makes the scale of Sovereign Tower’s ambitions clear: there are gestures toward diplomacy between nations, recruitment of a wacky cast of knights to your round table, and a magical tower whose capacities grow with each new room you unlock.
The writing hits somewhere between Boyfriend Dungeon and Yes, Your Grace, balancing jokes and snark with some decent dramatic chops, all of it feeling like prime fodder for some good fanfic. I left this one very much wanting more. If you’re a fan of this genre at all, or if you’re just in the mood for a lighter weight narrative adventure that consistently offers crunchy decisions and characterful egos to manage, keep this one on your radar.
Desktop Explorer
Desktop Explorer is a great example of another of my favorite micro-genres: the repackaged nostalgia OS. Something about leveraging the long-dormant memories of old start menus and hidden files to build out a game truly does it for me. As far as examples of that particular micro-genre go, I think Desktop Explorer is looking pretty special. In Desktop Explorer, you play as a beloved grandchild who, having inherited the old computer of your ailing grandfather, must puzzle your way through its file systems, programs, and menus to unravel the family trauma that still haunts the computer’s circuits. And I do mean haunts.
Desktop Explorer has its heart in some creepypasta-style storytelling and by the end of the demo it had begun to show its cards more than a little. The real attraction here isn’t the storytelling or the scares, though. It’s the puzzles. Lateral thinking is the name of the game here, as Desktop Explorer consistently asks you to think creatively about the way you interact with its interfaces – renaming files, stacking images, and rethinking frames. If developer Recurring Dream can keep up the steady pace of escalation in those puzzles as well as stick the landing on its haunted family trauma narrative, they might just have a real winner on their hands.
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian is, in some ways, another kingdom simulator to make the list. Unlike Sovereign Tower, though, the decision-making is all about what it feels like to wear the crown rather than the tactics of leading well. The demo for Prince Jerian unfolds like a storybook, telling the strange childhood of a boy destined for the crown of an empire in transition. Playing the game simply means making key choices at pivotal moments — choosing to hold back during a play swordfight with one of your peers, deciding whether to stand up to a cruel noble intimidating a commoner, or choosing what sort of relationship you’ll have with the gods.
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian rides or dies on the strength of these choices, and at least for the demo, they’re all bangers. Each moment communicates something crucial about the main character or the world he lives in, and the writing framing these choices is evocative enough to keep you connected. Though there are light RPG elements here — stats, numbers, attributes, resources — they take a backseat to Prince Jerian’s narrative project, and at least here in the early stages, that seems like the right place for the spotlight to shine.
Ambroise Niflette & The Gleaned Bell
I was a big fan of the first Duck Detective game. It was a lighthearted comedy noir that proved a short, silly mystery is just as fun to solve as darker affairs. Ambroise Niflette & The Gleaned Bell is cut from a similar cloth, but where the Duck Detectives of the world get their lightness from parodic goofs, Ambroise Niflette is merely pure sunshine. This is a game that wears its primary strength on its adorable wooden sleeve. Adapting the look of a French stop-motion children’s program, the visual quality of Ambroise Niflette is simply off-the-charts charming.
It took me some time to pay attention to the mystery because I couldn’t stop staring at the warm, tactile materials every beautifully designed character was made of. Once I did get around to the investigation, what I found was a sweet, gossipy case set in a closed-off island village, a perfect premise, in other words, for some quick, clockwork gumshoeing. Ambroise himself waddles around with a little wind-up key in his back — it seems like his game is about to run just as smoothly and with just as much handcrafted panache.
over the hill
Funselektor is a personal favorite of mine. For more than a decade, this Vancouver-based developer has been crafting nostalgic, affectionate driving experiences for lovers of cars, motorsport, and the flow state. Having taken a break with Golden Lap from the physics-based games they built their reputation on, they’re returning to what they do best: delivering in a stripped-down way on the pure sensation of driving. With over the hill you’re given an off-road vehicle, complex terrain to navigate, and a beautiful natural world to gawk at, and all Funselektor wants you to do is vibe for a while.
It’s not that there aren’t challenges to chase down in over the hill. The game briefly introduces you to a rope and winch system, for instance, to help pull you out of sticky situations where you might have lost your way picking through the muck, sand, and stone. But those challenges are a pure result of your choices. Are you in a tough spot? It’s because you chose to be there, and that being the case, there’s probably nowhere else you’d rather be. over the hill looks to be a game about picking your path, dealing with the consequences, and breathing the fresh clean air that is with you whether things have gone well or not.
And there you have it. If any of these catches your attention, remember to wishlist it on Steam to show your support. The links to their pages are on the titles. Thanks for reading.
