The Steam Next Fest just came to a close, but its diverse game demos live on in our hearts. Valve sprinkled a little bit of everything into its recent event, from open-world RPGs to fantasy crafting sims. While many of the showcased demos are still available to play now, others are no longer up as developers prepare for their games’ full release. To commemorate the Next Fest and talented devs, Steam just revealed its most-played game demos.
The most-played Steam game this time around was Enshrouded. If you don’t recognize the name, it’s an upcoming PC game that blends fan-favorite elements from all sorts of other games like Elden Ring’s dark fantasy setting and Rust’s crafting. Its developer is Keen Games, the studio behind Portal Knights. If you haven’t yet had the chance to, you can check the survival RPG’s demo out until Sunday, October 22.
Another popular experience topping the Steam Next Fest charts was the Sky Children of the Light Steam demo. This one caught my eye as its developer is Thatgamecompany, the team behind Journey. Sky has been available on mobile for some time now, but the award-winning game is still making its way to Steam. It’s a wholesome MMO experience with a strong focus on exploration. The demo is still available to download.
Deep Rock Galactic fans unite, as the game’s highly anticipated spin-off also made it onto the charts. The Deep Rock Galactic Survivor demo offers a glimpse at its action-packed roguelike gameplay, inspired by other bullet hell games like Vampire Survivors. The demo is still up with no known end in sight as the dev says “we’ll take it down, probably when we feel like it.”
Another game that has fans of the film and newcomers alike excited is RoboCop Rogue City. Following its work on other shooters like Terminator Resistance, Teyon is creating a new FPS based on the original trio of RoboCop films from the 80s. Its demo period is unfortunately over now, but you can check out Valve’s full rundown of the most-played demos at the event directly on Steam.
The platform details the top 50 demos, many of which you can still download and try. If you’re searching for a great full release to play right now without totally breaking the bank, you should browse through some of our favorite free PC games. For a more general look at what this year has had to offer, you can look around our in-depth list of the best PC games around currently.