Curious to get the community's thoughts on the demos they loved in the latest Next Fest!
To start things off, here's a few that I absolutely loved and played through as much as I could (or stopped myself if I knew I'd like it).
Viewfinder - A first person puzzle game a la Portal, The Witness, Antichamber, Entropy Center, etc...I played enough to see the hook of using images to solve puzzles and backed away quickly. This was a game I didn't want to spoil too much for myself when I saw how cool it was.
Beyond Sunset - This was a "boomer shooter" recommendation I saw on Lemmy and checked it out because it seemed neat. I got really into the storyline and art style of the game and saw it through to the end of the demo. I almost gave up on the final boss but when I said no and wanted to push through, I knew I was hooked!
Galacticare - In the last few years, "simulation games" seem to have become my preferred genre and managing an outer space hospital was really engaging. I enjoyed designing each room and trying to optimize the flow of patients. The style and humor of the game worked well since sometimes the humor can feel a little "try hard" but it came together nicely. I don't purchase a lot of games Day One any more but this might be one of them.
One Lonely Outpost - I've had this on my wishlist since it was announced during a stretch of time I was playing Stardew Valley, but this was the first time it's been playable. I enjoyed the interactions with the world but I'm not sure what exactly it would build to (since the planet you land on is desolate). It may be about creating the town/outpost yourself. The demo seemed to overstay its welcome a bit BUT Stardew Valley-likes are super slow in the beginning, so I'm in a "wait and see" mode since I did enjoy parts of it and the unique setting.
Anything that ended up on your radar after this Next Fest?
Mob Factory -- Fun demo, tower defense crafting game. Zones don't get progressively harder, so once you have something successful you can just let it run for resources from the mobs and move onto a new area or add more mob spawners to increase loot
Viewfinder -- Short demo, great concept, can't wait to see more
Station to Station -- Cute puzzle game. Not a sim/transit game, trains are just the theme for the puzzle. Very pretty looking though
Laysara: Summit Kingdom -- City builder on a mountain, with different elevations and castes of workers (including yaks). Didn't get a great grasp on how much space management and avalanche control would affect the game.
Gord -- Grimdark survival city builder. Seems fun, has a story and will reset your town but keep the people as you move through the dark forest.
Thronefall -- More tower defense. Run around and shoot/kite as the king to keep enemy mobs busy. Balance more towers/soldiers vs economy. Extra modifiers for more challenge. Fun time killer, not sure how much I'd actually play it personally. Can only build in predefined spots, can't choose what goes where.
Wizard with a Gun -- Survival Crafting Roguelite with ~~guns~~ ~~spells~~ spellguns. Scanning enemies with the book while they're running around is annoying, but otherwise this was pretty fun. Supposed to have coop multiplayer, so I'd play it with friends once it's out