The best demos from the Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition
The best of the fest.
Look, we thought there were only going to be a few dozen demos in the Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition, and then they only did about a thousand of them. This seems unfair. No one can play all of those in a weekend! So we've taken the divide and conquer approach at RPS.
In order to bring you, our valued readers, the best possible bang for your buck (but like, the eye bucks of spending time reading) we each bravely traversed the wilds of the Steam Game Fest to bring you our favourite demos broken down by genre.
Alice Bee obviously baggsied doing RPGs, and has curated a list of varied options, from your standard Tolkein-esque fantasy RPG to a life-sim about making beer, from a witch who lives in the woods to a time-travelling orphan. There are some with tough turn-based tactics and some with no combat at all, so there's something for everyone.
The best free RPG demos from the Steam Game Festival.
Sin took a stab (a pun) at action games, and came back with a detailed and discerning selection, including a violent 90s-style shooter where you are healed by getting demon blood on you, a card-based fighty boy who will be compared to John Wick, and a couple who spend their time swooping across the grasslands of an alien world.
The best free action game demos from the Steam Game Festival.
Matt volunteered for strategy, and then took a very broad interpretation of the term so he could write about Genesis Noir. But there's also a digital board game about building a bird sanctuary, some surreal turn-based tactics, and (somewhat predictably) some cowboys!
The best free strategy game demos from the Steam Game Festival.
Nate, in classic Nate style, has gone for RTS and city builders. There is a hefty dose of dwarf content, plus a couple of games about Ancient Egypt for good measure, but as he says, if you enjoy games where you're plopping down buildings for one reason or another, this list is for you.
The best free RTS and city builder game demos from the Steam Game Festival.
Because he is an overachiever, Nate did a second list of management games. Here you'll find a very chill selection, including managing a vineyard, managing an eldritch zoo, managing a pirate ship, and managing an eco system of freshwater fish.
The best free management game demos from the Steam Game Festival.
Whatever you call it, hit our E3 2020 tag for more from this summer's blast of gaming announcements, trailers, and miscellaneous marketing. Check out the PC games at the PlayStation 5 show, everything at the PC Gaming Show, and all the trailers from the Xbox showcase, for starters.