So, Nextfest has again come and gone. I went a LITTLE crazy (as usual) and played as many games as I possibly could. To add to that, I even took notes and wrote tiny reviews on each game. The numbers in front of the game is in what order I played them in, and I left them there in case you were curious. My scoring system was 1-5 stars with the possibility of both getting a bonus star, getting no star at all.. or not even being rated for whatever reason. However, not being rated doesn't necessarily make it a bad game, so don't just stop reading when you get past the three star games. In fact, one of the Non-Rated games is one I most definitely plan to buy - and is where I got the screenshot for this post's featured image. Also, I managed to power through over 100 games in the space of 7 days... so there were quite clearly some games I just didn't have time to get to. I listed those at the bottom of the page.
10 - Shapez 2 - 6 stars
OMG. I own the first one of these, but I have never had time to play it, so I was hesitant to try the second. BUT WOW. I am hooked. I can't wait until this comes out. It's logic puzzles, making shapes out of base shapes, cutting them, stacking them, turning them, tossing them.. so much fun. I could play this for hours.
19 - Geneforge 2 - 6 stars
This is a game from a franchise I've been watching for QUITE a while. Years, even. I played the original Geneforges way back in the day, and am looking forward to a new one. Ran well, and the mechanics are just what I remember. a game to watch, for sure.
22 - Yet Another Fantasy Title - 6 stars
This one was SO fun, hard to figure out controls at the start, but .. definitely one I want to play again. Felt a little bit like medieval Grand Theft Horse.. but super fun.
23 - Crown Wars: The Black Prince - 6 stars
Top notch game, really. soundtrack, mechanics, ingenuity, it's got everything. Will be watching this one. If you like medieval-ish strategy games, this one is definitely worth watching.
29 - Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown - 6 stars
City-building doesn't get better. Didn't play it for too long, and wasn't good at it, but I know I want it. I need to get better at it. Practice, you know. <3
32 - Pathless Woods - 6 stars
Nuff said. I couldn't stop playing it. Ooops. Wasted way too much time on it when I should have been doing other demos. I need this game. Survival in a cute package. Chinese "history" and spirit in a really cute game. Recommended.
36 - An English Haunting - 6 stars
Very intriguing. The storyline pulls you in immediately, and the pixel art is impeccable. A mystery you'll want to solve as much as I do!
72 - Soulmask - 6 stars
I quite literally got stuck in this survival game. The building, collecting, and crafting mechanics are awesome…. and the research menu is SICK. There is so much content here. I need this game. STAT. (Add to it that you get to run a whole tribe?? I'm in.. although I did not get that far.)
80 - Pacific Drive - 6 stars
If I allowed more stars, this game would get it. Seriously, I'm not into this kind of game and it grabbed me so hard…. yeah, I'll be getting this one eventually. I NEED TO KNOW MORE!!(Side note: this is the only game we playtested during this fest that we have already bought. So that should tell you something!)
2 - The Cable Guy - 5 stars
Okay, so this is a game where you're connecting servers with network users. Simplistic.. but each user and network server has a different color. and It quickly becomes a minefield. Difficult, but fun puzzley-ness. I will definitely keep an eye on this if it's not too expensive at launch.
6 - Millenia - 5 stars
Would have played more if I had more time. Civ-like game, but with some fun mechanics that make the game better. Excited to see where development takes it. Will be keeping an eye on it.
12 - Botany Manor - 5 stars
Another puzzle game, this time focused on learning how to magically instantly grow plants. You search & find clues, then use the clues to simulate the exact right growing conditions needed for each plant. Soundtrack is excellent, and I had a good time figuring out the puzzles in the limited amount of game the demo gave me. Will check back on this one.
16 - Tinytown - 5 stars
Simple game, but super fun. Basically, you get dealt a tile and your job is to find a place to put it. You have a tiny (obviously) plot of land, and a limited amount of space. Graphics are pixel-like, and fit the game. Ultimate goal is to get the highest score town by the time you run out of space. Cool concept, would play again.
18 - Little Known Galaxy - 5 stars
Stardew in space.. and even cuter. I could get into this. Plus, the characters are ADORABLE! Definitely on my watchlist.
21 - Diceomancer - 5 stars
This one was FUN. I did not expect to like it, but I did. So many mechanics to learn, and lots of tactics used to win the fights. I wasn't great at it, but I certainly enjoyed it.
24 - Train Valley World - 5 stars
An upgraded version of the Earlier Train Valley games, which are addicting transport puzzles. Looks good to me!
28 - Death of the Reprobate - 5 stars
Will definitely explore this series. Funny as hell. Not appropriate for youngsters, though. 😉
31 - Godsworn - 5 stars
Felt very much like a classic Warcraft game. Only better. Can't wait to see a campaign on this!
37 - Cursed Crew - 5 stars
Cute little pirate game. A good bit more complicated than it looked, would take practice to get good at it, but I'll definitely be willing to do it!
38 - Solar Expanse - 5 stars
Well-crafted space exploration game. Complex, but that's space for you. Very niche game, but it's one I would like to explore more.
40 - Homeworld 3 - 5 stars
Very pretty, very detailed space combat game. Not my kinda thing, but it sure is pretty. Not too hard to learn, either.
43 - Noble's Life - Kingdom Reborn - 5 stars
It's rough, but it's compelling. It's a really fun take on the medieval management genre, and I am definitely keeping an eye on it. It pulled me in and kept me entertained literally until the very cliff-hanger-end of the demo.. and I played FAR longer than I should have. The roughness of the game is the only reason it didn't get 6 stars.
47 - Spirit City: Lofi Sessions - 5 stars
Habit tracking and productivity are awesome things. This is a cute way to do it. Definitely high on my list of things to get. Used this "game" (read: tool) for most of the day's sessions.. and it honestly helped. It kept me on task. Mostly. (But the "mostly"… was entirely my fault. LOL
49 - Vertical Kingdom - 5 stars
I'll be honest, I did not expect to like this one. I'm not even sure why it was on my list other than it was a building game, so I decided to include it. I'm definitely not sorry I did. It puts forth some very interesting mechanics and puzzles, and just gets more complicated as it goes. One I would surely pick up on a sale.
54 - News Tower - 5 stars
Okay, I found a new management obsession. Gonna need to get this game at some point. You are trying to rebuild a newspaper empire, and it's actually good fun. The graphics and sound are absolutely perfect to set the vibe, too.
58 - Arco - 5 stars
Strangely enough… I really dug this game. It's a pixel graphics exploring/fighting game, and the fights are actually super challenging. I wasn't GOOD at the game, by any means, but I was definitely into it. And as a bonus, the Soundtrack.. was very vibey and really set the right tone.
79 - Reus 2 - 5 stars
Been a while since I have seen a truly unique concept on a god game. This has it. Very fun, I will VERY much be keeping an eye on this one!!
83 - Artificer's Tower - 5 stars
Fun little game. Definitely want to play it more. You are running a spellcaster's tower and protecting your little casters. So much to do, so little time!
84 - Orc Warchief - 5 stars
Pretty nice chity-builder. I especially like the morality system. I did not, however, try the battle system, so I cannot say anything on that. But building and tribe management was very nice.
89 - Minesweeper Collection 2 - 5 stars
This is going to sound silly, but I love Minesweeper.. it's a nostalgic thing, I'm sure. It's the one game I was able to beat my Dad at as a kid… and pretty much the ONLY one…. so it's got a spot in my heart. This game is a totally new take on it, with story and other modes.. and it's actually a good time.
99 - Dark Lord - 5 stars
This one seems like a good time. You get to play an evil dark lord rebuilding their empire after a spell gone wrong. There is a tenuous balance of areas that have to be kept in order, and there is always a choice to answer. Good fun, and one I'll be keeping an eye on.
4 - CatBox - 4 Stars
Again, simple. But lord this is cute. Made me want to keep playing it. Soothing colors, cozy music, and if you like cats and puzzles, very much a good game for you. Basically, you're fitting different sized and shaped cats into boxes, with difficulty increasing as you go.
7 - Synergy - 4 stars
I need more of this game, too. Graphics are a little glitchy, but I think they'll be fixed. I like the concept, and the mechanics are very nice. Will watch this.
17 - Stellar Settlers - 4 stars
Would play more, It's a cute little base building game. The connections are an interesting idea, and you could definitely really have some fun maximizing a base with this. Will keep an eye on it.
30 - Nature - 4 stars.
Fun game! A strategy card game that really gets you thinking. Will be watching to see the price on this one when it goes on sale.
33 - Abiotic Factor - 4 stars
Kinda clunky interface at times, but a compelling narrative none-the-less. I played this for way longer than I should have, because I got invested in the story and the crafting. Definitely bears watching.
42 - Viking Frontiers - 4 stars
Good survival building game. Very pretty, not so easy to follow, kinda clunky ui and crafting system.. and I never could get hot key-ing tools to work.. but it was still fun. One to keep an eye on.
48 - Vendir: Plague of Lies - 4 stars
Not terrible, not great, either. Interesting little rpg with clunky controls, but I got interested in the story… well what of it I could understand, at least. Might keep an eye on it.
51 - Monument Village - 4 stars
Okay, this one was fun. Simple, deceptively so… but fun. Was not on my radar before playing it, but it is now. Combines puzzle game with city-building, with some interesting mechanics. Graphics are overly simple, but that is possibly my only complaint. Keeping an eye on it.
63 - Drug Dealer Simulator 2 - 4 stars
Strangely enough, for such a crappy premise to a game, I actually enjoyed the demo. Some controls were hard to figure out for me.. but running around parkour'ing and delivering stuff was sorta fun. And the music was a whole vibe.
64 - Serum - 4 stars
Intriguing, if slightly confusing survival/horror? game. I'd certainly be interested in exploring it further. Wish I'd had time to figure out how to craft things. 🙂
71 - Retro Drive - 4 stars
Banger of a soundtrack. Driving system easy to understand, and it plays like a retro arcade game like it states it should. Recommended. Would play again.
73 - Dissent on Mars - 4 stars
Would have been more stars, but the demo seems to be rather short. Has potential, though. If you're into Rimworld or games like it, this might be a good one for you.
74 - Wanderer's Sigil - 4 stars
Has potential. Hard to figure out at first. … and it turns out, I'm not very good at it. 🙂 But it was fun!
75 - TerraTech Worlds - 4 stars
I like it. Sorta. Has potential, at least. Would like to spend more time to figure it out, because the combat was sorta hard to aim on… so I almost died. But the crafting and building is fun…
78 - Please Touch the Artwork 2 - 4 stars
Fun puzzle game, I particularly like the fixing the painting puzzles and finding objects. I'm sure there's more mechanics I didn't get to, but … time … is not unlimited.
86 - Oppidium - 4 stars
Yeah. this ones nice. But so much is blocked off by "demo" signs, that it's really hard for me to fully judge. I had fun.. but I couldn't progress enough to get any new recipes or anything. Plus, it really seems geared to a group of players. So.. good.. with caveats.
90 - Under the Yoke - 4 stars
Very interesting Medieval sim game. Plays a bit like a board game, but harder. Will take some practice to be good at… I managed to completely starve my poor character first go-round… lol
92 - Astronomics - 4 stars
An interesting take on the resource gathering space title. Tutorial may be slightly over-simplified, but it worked. Will keep an eye on this one.
94 - Azoove - 4 stars
Interesting, and complex adventure card game. Would need quite a bit more time to spend on it to really figure it out, but the graphics are lovely, the soundscape is nice.. and the story is intriguing. All of which means I'll keep an eye on this.
96 - Kamaeru - 4 stars
I'll admit, this one is cute. Silly, but cute. You run a frog rescue and wetlands revitalization program, and eventually tame and breed frogs to help try to save endangered frogs. Music is chill, and the graphics are stinking adorable.
97 - Once a Tale - 4 stars
I wish this game hadn't said to get a controller, because it ended up working just fine without one. I almost missed this charming amalgamation of fairytales. I'm interested to see where it goes, and will keep an eye to see when it goes on sale. Wasn't the best game I've ever played, but the graphics were interesting, and the whole fairy-tale thing made me wonder where the story was going next the whole time.
5 - Orrstead - 3 stars
Solid concept, minimalistic city builder. I enjoyed it, but again, it did nothing to stand out from other games of a similar "bent".
8 - Sanatorium: a Mental Asylum Simulator - 3 stars
The game is a card game/detective style game with a mystery attached to it. The graphics and visuals.. so good. Very vibey and I really liked the concept.. but I had to stop because I couldn't figure out how to progress the game at one point. There was nothing I could click on…? Anyway, I will be watching this game. I would like to try it again.
11 - Pico Topia - 3 stars
Simple tile building game where you are trying to balance tile resources needed versus given. Nothing special, but a good solid game. If it's not expensive, it's something I could very easily just zen out to for a while. Cute graphics.
14 - Terror of the Seven Seas - 3 stars
Interesting pirate game. Graphics are so-so, controls are a little hard to learn, and sailing is a pain.. but sinking ships is way too much fun to not give this at least a little love.
25 - Renaissance Kingdom Wars - 3 stars
Not bad for a solo developer. Interesting mechanics and division of world map stuff and in-city stuff. Didn't try the battles, but I'm notoriously bad at battles.
27 - Indika - 3 stars
I am definitely intrigued. However.. I got stuck and couldn't figure out how to progress. Perhaps another time when I have more time.
55 - Internet Cafe Evolution - 3 stars
Nothing.. exactly.. wrong with it. It just didn't grab me like some of the other games. The story wasn't compelling, the gameplay wasn't interesting, … well, okay.. so the music was nice. I wanted to like it more than I DID like it. Win some, lose some. This was a loss.
68 - Alchemy Deck - 3 stars
I wishlisted it, even if I was really really bad at the game. The tutorial wasn't all that helpful, so I was muddling around on my own. Lost the game, but it was definitely an interesting idea. Would try again.
70 - Star Trucker - 3 stars
I definitely want to check this out more, but I will say it's really hard to figure out and control. (Which accounts for the low score) .. Graphics are A+, music is a vibe, and the premise is very cool and the fact that the driving uses "actual" physics is awesome. Worth keeping an eye on.
76 - Settlements Rising - 3 stars
Nice, animated medieval city-builder. I've played better, but I have also definitely played worse. Didn't see anything innovative or novel about it, but you know what, that's sometimes exactly what you need - a place to relax and vibe. This could definitely be that.
77 - Ouros - 3 stars
Nice relaxing puzzle game. Nothing groundbreaking, but it will make you think outside the box.
82 - Minami Lane - 3 stars
Cute game, but not a lot to it. Hard to figure out the recipes for the stalls. If you want a place to just chill with cute visuals, though, this would be good.
85 - Planetary Life - 3 stars
Has potential. Not sure how much of an actual game is there right now, because I hit the point in the demo where it kept telling me that was not available yet. The graphics are a little rough, but… still fun. Will be watching it.
87 - Kingdom of Fallen - 3 stars
Not a terrible game, pretty easy to figure it out.. but if you die, you lose EVERYTHING…. and there doesn't appear to be any map or anything to tell you where to go to get your stuff back!
93 - Adaptory - 3 stars
Seems like a cute game, however, I wasn't able to figure out anything about researching new techs, if indeed it's possible. I was struggling just to get enough oxygen for my people… and who knows what they were eating….? Very confusing. But cute. Maybe it gets better tutorials in release version?
98 - Make Room - 3 stars
Cute, would play more, demo seemed pretty limited, but I liked the House-Flipper style challenges.
1 - Folklands - 2 stars
Not really bad, not really great, either. Graphics were cutesy, which wasn't really bad, and the interface was okay. Tutorial was easy to follow. Just a typical city-builder, didn't see anything special to really recommend it.
9 - Fishlets - 2 stars
Cute, and I love fish. But you're just sitting there feeding the fish and taking care of them. Not much to the game.
20 - Summa Expeditionis - 2 stars
Nice concept, very hard to play, controls are not adequately explained, and I had a hard time figuring out how to build. I will keep an eye on it, though.
26 - Dough - try another time
No review currently - there seemed to be an audio bug that made it impossible to play on stream. - See below
(Dough replay) - 2 stars
It has potential, but at this time, it seems pretty buggy. Sound bugs had it so I couldn't stream it or even have the audio on, and then a tooltip got stuck on screen, which made it super annoying.
39 - Small Kingdoms - 2 stars
Graphics aren't bad, controls aren't hard to pick up, but very simplistic. Maybe it's because I put it on easy? but still. Not for me.
41 - Furnish Master - 2 stars
Had some graphical issues. Couldn't even get to options once I started the tutorial, so the flashing was actually pretty bad. Too bad, it had potential.
44 - Alchemy Origin - 2 stars
Typical "alchemy" type game (like Doodle God) .. but not as fun.
56 - Inn Tycoon - 2 stars at best
I couldn't help but compare this one to Tavern Master… similar games.. only Tavern master is actually fun. This game just didn't have that "fun" factor to me when I was constantly wishing I was playing Tavern Master instead. Ooops.
65 - Wyrmbound - 2 stars
Interesting, although VERY short demo. I loved the dragons, but the controls are .. weird at best. Hard to figure out, and the tutorial doesn't always tell you everything you need to know. However.. riding flying dragons is probably the coolest thing you could put in a game.
81 - Diner at the end of the galaxy - 2 stars
Okay, it wasn't terrible. But if you want to run a diner, there are better games to do it. It could be because it's so early access, but the building system doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me. I do like the dish creation tool, though.. and the music is.. tolerable.
91 - Monomyth - 2 stars… at best
Super frustrating, couldn't figure out what to do or where to go, everything was locked.. mouse was overly sentitive even turned way down. Not vibing with this one.
101 - 14 Minesweeper Variants - 2 stars
Interesting take on Minesweeper, but not nearly as fun as the other Minesweeper title I tried this NextFest. It was hard not to compare the colorful other one to the mostly black and white of this one.
3 - Hidden Cats in Street Market - 1 star
Simple, cat-hunting game on a black and white drawn image. No mechanics for hints or anything, just find the cats.
15 - The Constructors - 1 stars
Good lord, the controls were impossible to figure out, and the building process/graphics - were laughable. I've got better building games, thanks. The music was okay, though….
45 - Caribbean Legend - 1 star
Wow, I heard this one was bad, but I had to see for myself. Controls are not great, Graphics aren't anything to write home about, and - far as I saw.. this is not a game on my radar. At all.
46 - Plebs and Pillagers - 1 stars
Controls are simplified to the point of almost being unusable. And the "dialogue" is all done in pixel speech bubbles, making it very hard to understand. Not a game I'm interested in pursuing.
53 - Pet Shop Simulator - 1 stars
Gosh, I wanted to like this. But I apparently got stuck in a menu.. and couldn't close it .. I finished the tutorial, and while stocking a shelf.. I couldn't figure out how to close the menu. Super annoying, had to control alt delete the game.
61 - Rich Everyone - 1 star
At least the music was nice? It's only barely in english, and the tutorial immediately got stuck so it had to be control alt deleted. sad face
62 - Supermarket Simulator - 1 star
Don't bother. It seemed okay for all of about 3 minutes, then I was literally counting out change individually to customers by coin and bill denominations…. sigh. I could get a job if I wanted to do that..
66 - Maliguard - 1 star
Um… interesting? demo…? Voice acting was particularly bad, I must say.. controls are difficult at best, and you must be very precise… Dialogue options aren't very helpful, and neither is the tutorial. Not impressed, although the story seemed at least intriguing.
69 - Synthalgia: Retro Arcade Racing - 1 star
Next to impossible to figure out the controls. The music was A++, though, so the very hard to figure out controls, and basically non-existent tutorial were very disappointing. It IS a solo dev, though, so I'll give them some credit.
88 - Flow of Sound - 1 star
I'll be honest, I didn't understand this one. It looked cool, and I could get through the puzzles, but I was never honestly sure what exactly I was doing…. whoops.
35 - Summerhouse - 0 stars
Couldn't get the controls to work, and there seemed to be no way to find out what the controls did.
57 - Fantasy Senate Simulator - 0 stars, couldn't play
Okay, so this one was absolutely broken. May have been because I tried to full-screen the game, but it absolutely broke when I did so, and I couldn't get it back out of full-screen.. So…… oh, well, I guess.
60 - Restaurant Builder - 0 stars
Tutorial started with "Get rid of those big trashes" and deteriorated from there. Yikes.
13 - The Dark Tower - no rating, didn't play
Discovered this is the continuation of a D&D story from a couple existing games, and didn't want to spoil myself. May add the demo for the first one to my play list, if I have time.
34 - Bounties of Babylon - no score, didn't play
Needed controller… too bad, it looked fun.
50 - Netdreams Sudoku - no score
Hm. well it started up in spanish, and I couldn't figure out how to change languages. Too bad, it looked cute.
52 - Dystopika - ??
I honestly don't know how to rate this title… It's less of a game, and more of a cyberpunk city-scape creator. There's no real goals, there's no real GAME… but the music is evocative, and the stuff you can do with screenshots??? This would/will definitely make me some KILLER desktop wallpapers. I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE.
59 - Coffee Caravan - no score, didn't play
Needed Controller.
67 - United Penguin Kingdom - no rating
Um.. yeah, not vibing with this one. May be a legit game, but I immediately got "programmed by a six year old vibes" .. and I bailed.
95 - Albatroz - no score
Gorgeous game. But I couldn't figure out what was going on or what I was supposed to be doing. Then, I got to a dialogue… and had to pause the game.. and when I came back I couldn't seem to unpause or progress the game. Ended up having to control alt delete to get out of the game. Sad. Because the game really was pretty. Perhaps one to try again sometime?
100 - Travelin - no score, couldn't play
At the time I was trying this out, there were no lobbies, and apparently nobody playing. Doesn't seem to be a single player option. Cute-looking card game, though.
102 - Starship Coaster - no stars
Tried this one out, did not understand what the heck I was doing, and it was making me a little nauseous… so guess this game isn't for me.
From Glory to Goo
Trinity Building Editor
Lonely Space
Deathbound
Chasing the Unseen
Echoes of Plum Grove
Tell Me Your Story
Posthumous Investigation
Blacksmith, Song of Two Kings
Balatro
Cozy Room Decorator
Menace From the Deep
Realm of Ink
Oddsparks
Moduwar
Winter Survival
First of all, sorry it took me so long to get this list out to you guys. I've been super busy - and with the surgery - I just haven't had time to sit down and edit the list. After that apology, however, I'll just say that I really had a good time with this NextFest. I streamed some of these games, and there are WAY more games on this list that I want to buy than I will be able to afford. (LOL.. darn budgets) Perhaps I'll put a game wishlist up somewhere of the games I can't afford but would totally play if they were gifted to me - but nobody is under ANY obligation to do so. (And if you do - please, wait 'til said games are on SALE!!) All that being said, I'm glad I went ahead and took the time to take notes on all the games - because with as many as I played, in no way could I remember what each one was like without the notes. And a whole bunch of these were definitely worth remembering!! (Bonus: it gives you guys a chance to see what I thought of some games that might be on your wishlists!)
