Eight Fest in a row, you guys know how this goes by now. Previous Next Fest reviews:

• February 26
• October 25 | June 25 | March 25
• October 24 | June 24 | February 24

And of course the usual disclaimers - NOT a definitive ranking of demos, my PERSONAL experience only, YMMV, blah blah blah...

Let's get on with the good stuff!

VERY POSITIVE

• Well Dweller
  • Honestly, if you're already familiar with Kyle Thompson's previous work, you already know what to expect from this one.
  • A little bit darker theme this time around but it still has that feel-good atmosphere that you associate with Kyle's games.
  • Control is great, graphics are awesome and music is fitting.
  • Map with custom map pins available from the start!
    • (Not sure why this was one of only a few games this Fest that had custom map pins, I felt like they were starting to become the standard for the genre.)
  • Really cool first ability - allows you to stick your fire match (your main weapon) into a wall and use it as a slingshot to propel yourself up.
  • A charm system in place.
  • A flask healing system this time around which is new for Kyle's games.
    • Flasks replenish when resting at a save point.
  • Fought one boss, explored a little bit, found some secrets, did a short escape sequence.
  • This has already been sitting at #2 on my wishlist for a while now so I'm not that surprised that the demo didn't disappoint one bit.
    • As I said - if you're familiar with the dev's previous games, you already knew this one is going to be a banger too.
• Zozo and the Lost Dreams
  • Very charming and cute game.
    • And even a bit childish tbh - it even has a theme song LOL!
  • Graphics and animations are amazing and voice acting is great too.
    • There was no audio when I started the game - had to minimize it and open it again in order to start the volume. (And yes, I checked the audio settings in the menu.)
  • Control is great.
    • Found a small bug where you can't remap the controls to use LT or RT (the triggers) as pressing them keeps switching the submenus around.
    • (Which is mildly annoying since the default dash button is B and I wanted to remap it to RT.)
  • Camera panning (holding up/down to look around) would be a great addition.
  • Map was present from the start but no custom map pins.
  • Lots and lots of hidden secrets in the walls!
  • Fought two bosses and explored one "dream", i.e. a separate island as the game relies on traveling to different dreams, kinda like Shantae and the PC and other MVs.
  • Overall I really, really liked this game.
    • I honestly thought it would be a bit too childish for my liking but it was very fun to play and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
• Dumbriel: Magnificent Adventure in Hell
  • I've played the first demo a while ago and I'm happy to say that the game has progressed splendidly in that time!
  • Amazing graphics and animations, audio is top notch too.
  • Corpse run mechanics where you drop all your gold and have to retrieve it.
    • You're also limited to collecting only 100 coins until you retrieved your lost gold which is a bit harsh IMO.
  • The bag has a limited number of coins and materials that it can carry but you can upgrade it with cash.
  • There are some brewing elixirs and crafting mechanics.
  • Fought the first boss that was basically an endurance gauntlet but it was WAY too hard for something that you fight literally ONE minute into the demo, especially since it doesn't even heal you up after defeating it.
  • You find some bones for a melee weapon but they break after a while so you have to find new ones from these bone piles that are almost everywhere.
    • You do have an unlimited weaker ranged attack with your halo too.
  • Map available after finding all map segments for the region. It's very detailed but:
    • A) it also reveals a lot of content that you haven't explored yet and
    • B) there are no custom map pins (at least in the demo).
  • Travel points need to be constructed by finding all the teleporter parts first.
  • A lot of fetch quests that unlock certain NPCs like shop keepers.
  • Found a second boss (a double demon team) but they were absolutely BRUTAL and I couldn't last more than ~20 seconds since dashing has no i-frames and there's one attack that's literally undodgeable without an elixir or some upgraded skill (which I didn't have).
    • Which is a problem since the aforementioned corpse run mechanic locks ALL my gold inside the boss room...
    • May I suggest spawning your lost gold BEFORE the boss room? So that you can actually retrieve it and then go somewhere else to explore instead of being forced to fight a boss that is way above your current level?
    • (Anyway, I managed to trick the game into doing exactly that by dying right at the entrance and then going back and very carefully collecting my money without triggering the boss fight.)
  • Found a slight UI bug where after Alt+Tab-ing in and out of the game, it started showing me the Keyboard bindings on the UI, even though I was playing with a controller the whole time.
  • Overall, fantastic game and I absolutely loved it but I would personally tone down some of the soulslike mechanics - the corpse runs, the brutally difficult bosses, etc.
    • The difficulty right now is a bit too much IMO.
  • Also reminder that the game's Kickstarter is currently ongoing and is ~40% complete.
• Evolvania
  • Really cool game with disturbing atmosphere.
  • Graphics and audio are very good, control is solid.
  • Map available shortly after starting.
    • Found two custom map pins (yay!), hoping there are more types further into the game.
  • Main gimmick is that you can find weapons - either lying on the ground, from destroyed objects or killed enemies - and then you can even combine them to make more powerful weapons. (Like adding three spikes in order to make a more powerful triple-spike version.)
    • One thing I'd like to see is the damage numbers on the different weapons - I can tell that something with a long reach doesn't hit as hard as something with a shorter one but I'd like to know the exact numbers so I can make informed decisions while playing.
  • There are a lot of lenses (charms) that you can buy to upgrade your character.
  • Lots of secrets hidden in the walls!
  • All in all, quite an intriguing demo, I enjoyed my time with it.
• Magical Blush
  • Top down Metroidvania.
  • Really good pixel graphics and soundtrack.
  • Very well detailed map available from the start but with no custom map pins.
  • You can equip different spells to attack with and they auto-target the enemies.
    • Some stronger spells require mana to cast which is replenished by using weaker spells.
    • The spells are used as ability gates throughout the game.
  • You can also find and equip talismans for custom buffs.
  • There are some very interesting upgrade rooms where you play a mini Breakout-like game and destroy blocks, then you get to pick an HP or a stamina upgrade.
  • The map consists of areas that you travel to via a map (think 'islands' instead of one giant interconnected map).
  • Overall, pretty addicting game, I enjoyed it.
• Torii: Beyond The Gates
  • Nine Sols 2: Electric Boogaloo!
    • No but seriously, this is way less parry-intensive.
    • While parrying is required to optimally beat certain enemies/bosses, it's not too precise or absolutely mandatory. (And I should know - I really HATE parrying!)
  • Graphics are fantastic and animations are good.
  • Control is good, I unlocked double jump very quickly.
    • Sometimes it felt like the game had trouble with the input if I pressed both jumps too quickly. Kinda hard to explain but control was mostly pretty fluid with some rare exceptions.
  • Map available shortly after the start, couldn't find custom map pin. (Yes, this is now becoming a theme...)
  • Ingame economy, swords/companions/spells that you can equip.
  • Simple EXP system that allows you to unlock buffs via an upgrade tree.
  • Quests and side-quests.
  • Very interesting project based on Asian culture, I think the full game will do really well.

POSITIVE

• Sweet Dreams Dahlia
  • Great graphics and good control.
  • You start with only 3 HP which is way too low - I kept dying over and over again...
    • You have the ability to heal tho.
  • There are corpse runs when you die.
  • Spider enemies shoot you way too quickly after you enter the room, there is no time to react.
  • Bought a map from some NPC but I felt like it was a bit too late and it was difficult and disorientating at first.
    • Also no custom map pins.
  • You have a companion that can fly around and you control it in order to solve some puzzles.
  • Got double jump and fought one boss at the end which rewarded me with an extra HP bar.
  • Overall, quite decent game but the difficulty is a bit too much - 3 starting HP is just not enough and combined with the corpse run mechanic... I fear this is gonna cause a lot of rage quits early on.
• Sojourn Past
  • It's a nice top-down MV similar to Crypt Custodian.
  • Map is available shortly after starting although I couldn't find any custom map pins.
  • Save points act as teleports.
  • Control is good and exploration is rewarding.
  • For me personally, the biggest issue with the game was that it insists on not using ANY words or sentences.
    • You'll get a quick 2-3 seconds video preview when you find something new and you just need to figure it out by yourself.
  • There is some charm system but I couldn't really understand how it works (because the game doesn't actually provide you with anything to read...)
  • Found one boss, it was very bullet hell-y and I didn't have the patience to grind for it.
  • All in all, competent game, a few more written explanations would do it a world of good tho...
    • We're not cavemen, we have the ability to read something more than random symbols.
• Crimson Wanderer
  • It's weird to say this but it feels like a Sonic game even without being based on speed and going super fast all the time.
    • It's got this arcade feel to it.
  • Graphics are solid, soundtrack is upbeat.
  • Map available from the start but:
    • No custom map pins.
    • It displays all rooms even without me visiting them one by one.
    • The rooms themselves are quite big in area and the map UI displays them as simple boxes which isn't extremely helpful IMHO.
  • Level design is good, shooting and killing mobs feels satisfying.
  • Fought one very cool boss right before the end of the demo.
    • It was a flying chopper and I was riding some aqua jet ski - very nice fight!
  • Interesting game, especially if you're into arcade style games from the SEGA era.
• Set In Stone
  • Cute graphics, good soundtrack.
  • Control is decent, you feel a bit heavy but you are playing as a literal stone so.. it makes sense.
  • You start off with wall climb.
  • Enemies don't get pushed back much when you attack them.
  • You have a pogo attack and you can pogo off spikes.
    • Pogo-ing doesn't restore your jump tho.
  • Breaking horizontal doors from below is a bit tricky - I think their hitboxes aren't perfectly aligned so I had to jump and mash the upwards attack until they finally crack.
  • For some reason when you kill an enemy, it pushes you down and you fall from the platform you're standing on.
  • You have a flask healing system.
    • Three flasks, replenished at save points.
    • When you trigger healing, it takes effect over a period of time and it gets cancelled if you take a hit.
  • Found a hat (for custom buffs), some other weapons, a roll ability.
  • Couldn't find a map but there's a dedicated place for it in the menu.
  • Fought a pretty nicely designed boss at the end and finished the demo in ~30 mins with 6/11 secrets found.
  • Overall, quite a charming game, it has that old school Flash games feel to it but in a good way.
• Super Beefit
  • You play as a cow trying to save its cow spouse. Amazing.
  • Graphics are cute and map is very detailed and useful.
  • No custom map pins tho.
  • There is no attacking and you have no HP bar so you die in one hit.
    • Which is something that I absolutely despise, not to mention that some of the spikes blend in with the environment at first so you can die very easily.
    • Thankfully, save points are very common which helps a lot.
  • Control is very fluid and responsive.
  • I gained a dash, found two different keys and 28/30 collectables before finishing the demo by getting the "demo ticket".
  • Quite a decent and fun game, although dying in one hit can be very frustrating at times.

MIXED

• Fantasy Network
  • Graphics are great, animations are fluid.
  • Game uses an ingame smartphone to add basic functionalities like maps and others (similar to Dave the Diver).
  • Instead of going up and down the platforms you MOSTLY move into the background and into the foreground using streets and pathways.
    • (It's a bit confusing at first but thankfully there's a minimap available.)
  • Game needs button remapping option ASAP.
    • (Who jumps with circle (B) and attacks with X (A) - it goes against all my gamer instincts!?)
  • Jump feels a bit too weak, you barely get off the ground.
  • You visit a lot of new towns and they each have a ton of NPCs, shops, mini games and quests.
    • (Some NPCs are a bit hard to talk to since they keep moving all the time.)
  • Game feels extremely open - you can immediately go to so many places.
  • Couldn't find a button to exit the game from the main menu, had to Alt+F4.
  • Overall looks like a pretty big game and if it clicks with you, you're gonna have a ton of content to play through.
    • It does, however, feel a tiny bit overwhelming at first - there's no "small area to explore, gain ability, enter new area via said ability, etc." flow, it's more like "here's a giant map with dozens and dozens of stuff to do, go wild". Kinda like an RPG mostly.
    • (Which - again - is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a bit different than how most MVs function.)
• Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster
  • Graphics are quite nice, intro animations are fantastic, ingame animations are just fine.
  • Going left at the start has a secret room with lots of good stuff - great way to start the game!
  • Map available from start, couldn't find custom map pins.
  • You can't attack downwards, you attack in a semi-circle around you with short reach.
  • Different rings that you can equip to unlock various buffs.
    • Same with other items and stuff that you collect.
  • Got a pogo as a first ability but it uses... LT?!
    • Why not just use the attack button plus down arrow while in the air like literally any other game with this mechanic?
  • Some breakable walls with nice rewards in them.
  • Save points act as teleports but are way, WAY too far apart.
    • I got from the first area into the white citadel but I died a few times there without finding a second save point.
    • This is actually a problem since healing requires potions that you need to buy, they don't automatically refill when resting at a save point.
  • All in all, not a bad game but I feel like with all enemies taking so many hits and you not being able to heal for free, the save points need to be more common and close to one another.
• Demon Still Alive
  • Really good pixel art and great voice acting.
  • Map available from start but no custom map pins.
  • Three flasks for healing, all of them restore upon resting at a save point.
  • Combat has some attacking combos but I can almost never hit those so I just end up using my potions by mistake...
  • Some nice finishing moves available.
  • Light corpse run mechanics where a part of your energy and one healing flask are initially lost until recovered.
  • Resting at a save point doesn't restore your mana for some reason.
  • Lots of arena rooms.
  • One incredibly annoying platforming section with disappearing platforms which almost made me drop the demo.
  • There are some altars that let you upgrade your damage with coins.
    • Not really sure why I have to go to the altar instead of it being part of the main menu directly - it's not like I don't have to pay for the upgrades.
  • There was one instance where an enemy just camps right on the edge of the platform and I couldn't even jump on it without taking damage.
  • Some long runbacks to the boss.
  • Insta kill pits - huge turn off for me.
  • Couldn't figure out where to go after defeating the boss, acquiring a ranged attack and upgrading it - the only possible path requires you to shoot at a distant lever and get up a ladder before your projectile hits it... and it's just impossible.
  • Exit game button in the main menu doesn't work, had to Alt+F4 to exit.
  • To sum it up all, it's got potential but I wasn't really feeling it and there are some really strange design choices that I personally didn't enjoy.

NOT GREAT

• Utopia: Haven
  • Very retro inspired game.
  • Control only with D-pad, analog stick doesn't work at all.
    • Control is VERY slippery - which I guess was common for old school games but it makes platforming incredibly frustrating.
  • You travel to different planets using your spaceship and during the travel you have to play some horizontal scrolling levels.
  • You can only check the map while in your spaceship, not while exploring which completely defeats its purpose.
    • You also have to find a map station in order to unlock a portion of the map and you can view the map at said stations too... but not while exploring.
  • If you're into retro games, then you'll probably like this but the slippery control and the inability to use the map while exploring kinda turned me off.
• Echo Weaver
  • It's a knowledge-based Metroidbrainia.
  • Graphics are great and control is fluid.
  • Map with great custom map pins available from the start (YEAH!)
  • Some time rewinding mechanics.
  • I don't really have anything bad to say about this one - I'm just not a fan of this type of games.
    • But if you're into Metroidbrainias, then most definitely check it out.
• The Rusted
  • Nice graphics and animations, good control.
  • Interacting with objects (pushing/pulling crates or climbing) is too slow.
  • You have the ability to heal.
  • Some light puzzle elements, one escape sequence, one boss.
  • Played the demo for 30 mins until I reached some abandoned building with a sign "The Grand Stage" but I couldn't enter it.
    • Your character hits an invisible wall right at the door and there was no interact button to enter so I couldn't progress any further. (Probably a screen resolution issue? Can't say for certain.)
  • Demo was perfectly linear, I couldn't find a map or any sign that this is actually a MV instead of a regular action platformer.
    • There were no places that you needed to backtrack to, no abilities gained that let you do something more.
    • The Steam page also doesn't really give me any MV vibes - at one point it even mentions that "Every stage features its own design, new dangers, and distinct atmospheres waiting to be discovered" which leads me to believe this is indeed a regular platformer.
  • Overall, competent game but this is a demo list for MVs and this is clearly not one.
• KAON : Fragmented Core
  • Decent graphics but control is a bit floaty and slow when walking.
    • You do have a dash available from the start tho.
  • Save points act as teleports.
  • Map available from start, no custom map pins.
  • Interacting with NPCs don't stop enemies from attacking you.
  • In one room there were 3 levers that you had to activate in a specific order of 4.
    • Which sounds easy... except there were obstacles that constantly attack you while you're trying to do it.
    • And sometimes the obstacles take up the whole screen - there is no way to dodge them!
  • One specific door required two switches to activate and no matter what I did, I cannot go into the room that has the switch to the right gate. (Left switch was in the room with the memory sequence.)
    • I got into the room and... I immediately got thrown out of it.
    • Initially thought I needed some upgrade and I'm not really supposed to be there yet... but there is nowhere else to go to.
    • So I backtracked and finally figured it out - there were projectiles coming from the bottom of the screen in the room... and one of these hits you the second you enter the room around 90% of the time... and you get thrown out of the room.......
  • Anyway, I played for a bit more but it didn't really hit the sweet spot for me.
  • I don't really wanna harp on the game too much because it looks like somebody's first passion project and it is playable... but at the same time it feels kinda janky and stiff.

BAD

• None!! For the first time since I started doing these, I actually don't think any demo really qualified as "bad".

So this has been my experience this Next Fest - overall a very positive one. Not a single truly bad demo was a pleasant surprise too!

Personal "medals":

• Standout performer: Zozo and the Lost Dreams was WAY better than I ever anticipated.
• Unsurprisingly good sequel: Well Dweller, completely expected as always.
• Best hidden gem: Magical Blush - where did that game even come from??

And this is it from me! Any demos that you tried and you feel like sharing your experience?