5 demos to try during Steam Next Fest February 2025

Steam Next Fest is back once again, running until March 3, 2025. As the event expands year upon year, there are now thousands of demos for you to try out. This, naturally, is quite a lot to sift through, even with the options Steam has.

With that in mind, there are five demos we think you should check out before Steam Next Fest ends.

Labyrinth Of The Demon King

Despite the many, many indie games inspired by the NES-SNES era, it feels like PS1 nostalgia is still rather underserved. Enter Labyrinth Of The Demon King, a mix of Kings Field and Silent Hill wrapped in a standard PS1 visual aesthetic.

You play as a lone soldier, entering the titular world of demons to avenge Lord Takeda Nobumitsu by slaying the demon king that killed him. Combat is slow and methodical, with resource management being key to surviving your trek through each area of the labyrinth.

This isn’t the first time Labyrinth Of The Demon King has had a playable demo, but the current version has been updated to include an improved UI and a number of balance changes. You’ll also be able to play the demo once Steam Next Fest ends, with the developer teasing that news on the game’s launch is coming soon.

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark

Gal Guardians is back, now with a more expansive world and a new set of main characters. Kirika and Masha travel across the Demon Realm to restore Demon Lord Maxim to power. Along the way, they’ll encounter a number of friendly and enemy demons, along with human Demon Hunters.

Unlike the first game, Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark features a much larger world. Instead of just a single castle, the playable world now includes the entire Demon Realm. This allows the sequel to lean more into metroidvania gameplay, over the more linear style of Gal Guardians: Demon Purge.

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark launches March 27, 2025, coming to PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC via Steam. Physical Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 copies are also planned for a later date.

Nitro Express

In the mood for shooting endless waves of robots? Nitro Express sees inspector Asahina blasting her way through Tokyo as autonomous drones wreak havoc across the city. The focus is definitely on getting you into the action as soon as possible — story dialogue is present, but also completely optional.

Asahina has access to a wide arsenal of guns, gadgets and explosives that help to quell the robot uprising. Some allow for run-and-gun tactics, while others require you to take aim for maximum accuracy.

Nitro Express’s full release is set for Spring 2025, with only a PC release announced at this time.

Fubuki ～zero in on Holoearth～ Hololive Alternative

Hololive fangames are still going strong — make sure to check out HoloCure if you haven’t already — with Fubuki ～zero in on Holoearth～ Hololive Alternative bringing what seems to be another solid title to PC.

A lot of fangames take inspiration from existing games, and zero in on Holoearth seems to be aiming for something similar to Megaman Zero. Fubuki has access to a moveset similar to Zero, with lots of saber slashes and fast-paced dashes. And as she helps out other Hololive members that have been corrupted, she’ll gain access to even more powers.

Fubuki ～zero in on Holoearth～ Hololive Alternative currently has a 2025 release window. This one’s only coming to PC for now, and while console versions could happen, most Hololive fangames have ended up being PC-only.

Bustafellows Season 2

Jump back into the fictional city New Sieg as you deal with more crime and romance in Bustafellows Season 2.

Taking place after the true ending of the first game (which also has a demo), Bustafellows Season 2 lets you spend more time with some morally-grey boys as they deal with all of the strange happenings across New Sieg. Each love interest has more events to experience, with plenty of extras to collect — the full game includes some bonus content for those that play using a save file from the previous game.

The Bustafellows Season 2 demo includes a few hours of gameplay, which should hopefully tide you over ahead of the game’s release later in 2025. Alongside PC, it’ll also come physically and digitally to Nintendo Switch.

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And those are some of our choices for games to check out during Steam Next Fest. And if you’re still after more, then there are over 2000 more demos to check out. Note that while some might still be available after Steam Next Fest ends, most will likely be taken down on March 3.

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