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In the shadow of superhero blockbusters and AAA shooters, a garden of indie flowers still blooms. Steam Next Fest has played host to some of the best and brightest in the indie scene over the years. 2025’s showcase looks no different. Whether you’ve been searching Steam for your next RTS obsession or a twisted fantasy to match American McGhee’s Alice, we’ve got a game for you. I dove into the demos for three of the most interesting games hitting Steam Next Fest this year. We’ve got cozy adventures, tactical warfare, and even a fairytale monster or two.
The Knightling
Playing The Knightling feels like stepping into Kakariko Village for the first time all over again. It’s a colorful, open-world action-adventure game, but the comparisons run deeper than that. The Knightling is cozier and more forgiving than many action games, with a charming narrative, vibrant world, and colorful combat. If you’ve ever lost hours wandering the wind-blown fields of Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, you’ll feel at home here right away. The knightling only carries a shield, but that doesn’t mean you’re defenseless.
You’ll throw your shield with the accuracy and ferocity of Captain America, making combat easy but enjoyable. The search for your missing mentor, Sir Lionstone, will require plenty of platforming, exploration, and some simple puzzle-solving as well. Clesseia and its adventures are perfect if you’re looking for storybook heroism without too many demands. Dipping its world in tidy pastels, The Knightling looks as sweet as it feels to play. With dense environments and a fun shield-sliding ability, exploring remains a good time throughout as well.
Twisted Tower
If Twisted Tower is a fable, it’s one the Brothers Grimm might’ve written. In it, you explore an abandoned theme park populated by fairytale mascots, fiendish traps, and lethal puzzles. The resort feels like BioShock with a dose of American McGee’s Alice. Although it wears its inspirations like a grease paint mask, it feels like its own kind of nightmarish funhouse. If the phrases “clown casino” and “carnival forest” make you want to pick up a dart-throwing Tommy Gun and start blasting, look no further.
Though it’s more linear in both gameplay and level design than BioShock, Twisted Tower feels almost as immersive. The Whack-a-Mole Mallet and other gruesomely giggly weapons all have a satisfying heft. Enemies die in hilariously over-the-top ways. Branching paths and weapon upgrades offer some variety across repeated playthroughs, but the ambience is the biggest prize. Between the unsettling dialogue and pitch-perfect environmental design, Twisted Tower offers better scares than some full horror games. Survive the clowns. Race to the top of the tower. Maybe throw a pie or two. This playground isn’t for kids.
Tempest Rising
While some innovative games make it hard to go back to the classics, others tempt you to return. Tempest Rising did the latter, but not because it made me yearn for something better. Rather, it reminded me of what I first loved about RTS games like StarCraft and the old Command & Conquer. Tempest Rising offers a familiar cycle of resource gathering, production, and RTS warfare. It’s engrossing at a strategic level, with factions that offer satisfying differences, although there’s no division as sharp as Terran / Protoss / Zerg. With a clean UI and flexible build map, it’s even friendly to genre newcomers.
Glitz and glam aren’t that important to your average RTS, but Tempest Rising is a shining exception. The battle map remains clear and useful at all magnifications, but you’ll want to zoom in. Close up, you discover something special. Tempest Rising is as lovingly detailed as a Renaissance portrait. Unit idle animations? Flamethrower SFX? The way shrubs flex beneath the wind? It all speaks to a level of care and polish that few RTS can match. If you want a no-nonsense, high-quality RTS with a world worth staring at until 3AM, consider Tempest Rising at the Steam Next Fest.
