PC gamers everywhere rejoiced for Steam's annual Autumn Games Festival. With this celebration came hundreds of trailers and demos showcasing the games indie developers are working on. Players with a Steam account were able to download free demos of any upcoming games that peaked their interest.
While it can be hard to pick and choose the crème de la crème of this long list, here’s a handful of titles showcased at the Steam Autumn Games Festival that look especially promising.
Ghostrunner
Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the only cyberpunk themed game coming out this year. Developed by One More Level and co-published by All In! Games and 505 Games, Ghostrunner is a first-person action platformer. Armed with only a katana, the hero must traverse the levels while fighting enemies. The game was created through the Unreal Engine 4 and can support Nvidia’s RTX technology.
Ghostrunner is set in a dystopian future where Dharma Tower is the last bastion of humanity remaining after an unspecified cataclysm. Players will have to fight and parkour their way up the tower to eventually confront the Keymaster and save humanity. One of the main mechanics of this game is that while enemies can be killed with just one attack, so can the hero. The game is set for release on Oct. 27 for $39.99.
Party Animals
A new party based multiplayer game, Party Animals has already received a lot of attention for its fun and addictive gameplay from early demos. At first glance, this game looks and feels very similar to Gang Beasts, an indie party game that came out back in 2017.
However, this game plays like a much more refined version, with a number of mechanics and game modes that makes things interesting. Also included are weapons such as shovels, sticks and even crossbows that can give players an edge in the fight. The game is being developed by Recreate Games and published by Source Technology. Party Animals is slated for release later this year.
Per Aspera
There are already many city building management games out there, but not that many planet building games. In Per Aspera you take the role of an Artificial Consciousness tasked with terraforming Mars for human colonization. Much of the gameplay revolves around strategy and resource management, as well as dealing with the planet’s inhospitable terrain and environment. This involves theories proposed by real world engineers and scientists, along with an accurate mapping of the whole planet based on geographical data from NASA.
Depending on how you go about making the red planet your new home, an advanced and sinister presence already on the planet may try to sabotage your efforts. Part of a Latin phrase which means “through hardships, to the stars,” Per Aspera looks like a game that will bring true challenge.
Subliminal
There have been many hit puzzle-based games that have players utilize mechanics involving physics, gravity and more in order to solve problems, but this is the first to utilize perception. Developed and published by Pillow Castle, Subliminal has you play as someone who is undergoing an experimental dream therapy program called Somnasculpt.
Many of these puzzles can be truly mind-bending, tricking the player with optical illusions and forcing them to be creative. To better visualize what this game is like (no pun intended), players can click and grab various objects that are normal sized, such as a dollhouse, but when lifting it and letting go, the dollhouse grows to the size of an actual house. Subliminal is slated for release Nov. 5.
The Falconeer
An aerial combat focused game, Falconeer lets players take control of a giant Warbird and engage in battles against steampunk airships, fortresses and monsters. Though published by Wired Productions, the entire game was made by Tomas Sala, an independent game artist and designer most well-known for creating the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mod, Moonpath to Elsweyr.
Set in an area known as The Great Ursee, most of the lands have been flooded by a constantly rising ocean, with civilizations retreating to the tallest mountains and towers to survive. The game features an open-world full of exploration, side quests and more than one campaign to choose from. Players will also be able to upgrade their mounts by finding new weapons, armor, mutagens and cosmetics. The Falconeer is set to launch Nov. 10.
Partisans 1941
This real-time strategy game lets gamers take the role of a squad of Red Army resistance fighters, as they wage a guerilla campaign against German invaders on the Eastern Front of World War II. Players will have to use the environment to their advantage, sneaking around enemies and staging ambushes, along with careful management of resources and weapons.
The game also includes base building mechanics where you must build up your resistance HQ, recruit new members and rescue civilians. Developed by Alter Games and published by Daedalic Entertainment, Partisans is available now on Steam.
FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch
An impressive looking game from the graphics and art style alone, FIST is a Metroidvania side-scroller focusing on combat and arcade challenges. The game is set in Torch City, a place inhabited by sentient animals that is currently under occupation by a robot army known as the Machine Legion.
Players take the roll of Rayton, a humanoid rabbit resistance fighter that utilizes a third mechanical arm exosuit. This suit can transform into three weapon types known as the fist, whip and drill. Each can be used for different tactics and combos when fighting the Legion, as well as helping with traversal of different areas of the city. Developed by TIGames, FIST was created in the Unreal Engine 4 with 3D visuals of the environment. The game is set to be released in April 2021.
Webbed
Spiders have always had a reputation of being nothing but creepy crawlies, but this game seeks to redefine the webslingers. Developed and published by SBug Games, Webbed is a 2D puzzle platformer with mechanics centered around solving puzzles and traversing by spinning spider webs that can interconnect to nearly any surface and object. Such a unique mechanic will no doubt lead to some impressive speed-run videos.
Players will take control of a cute little spider on a mission to save her boyfriend from a giant bird. Along the way the spider will explore the tiny yet fascinating world of insects, helping them, making friends and dancing with them in some eight-legged fun. The game is expected to release some time in 2021.