10 picks from Next Fest October 2026

This Next Fest includes new and updated demos for many games I've featured in the newsletter before like Curse of Resthaven, Inkblood, and MR. RECORDS, so I've left them off this list.

Let's jump into it. Here are my 10 best demos of Next Fest.

Dungeon Automata

If you loved programming gambits in Final Fantasy XII like I did, then this is the game for you. Dungeon Automata (aka Algolemeth in Japan) is a dungeon crawling auto battler, where you program behavior using visual programming before setting your party loose in a dungeon. The tutorialization is elegant and swift, and in no time at all I was plugging together IF and TARGET and ACTION nodes like it was a second language. At some points your golems will come up against something you haven't programmed for, and there's an immense head scratching joy in going back to blueprints and messing around with your logic. The 8-bit art is to die for, and the excellent music is done by the iconic Japanese composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage).

Cleaner Company

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of a clean 'em up, and I had to drag myself away from this tongue-in-cheek spacefaring one. Cleaner Company is billed as a co-op experience but I played happily by myself and had a great time, although I can absolutely see how it would be hilarious in co-op: when aliens show up things get out of hand very quickly, and you can also make your own mess, which could make for some light griefing among pals. It expands on the gameplay of genre juggernaut PowerWash Simulator by adding the occasional alien life form you need to fight against, and restrictions like needing to top up the water in your mop or sprayer, which were welcome additions to stop things feeling stale. It also features an x-ray function that helps you find that last bit of garbage or spray of blood, and overall was compelling enough to make me want to 100% the entire area (which was huge!). Fair warning, it's a little gory, but it's goofy in equal measure.

My Arms Are Longer Now

I've had my eye on this one since playing it at Day of the Devs last year, and I'm thrilled that the demo is now public. You play as a long gross arm who pulls off a series of heists. It's a bonkers premise, but it really works. The levels are peppered with visual gags and bizarre side characters voiced by a number of top Australian comedians, and that's before you even get to the wriggly long arm winding its way through it all. My Arms Are Longer Now is definitely one for fans of games like Thank Goodness You're Here! and Untitled Goose Game.

Remote Control

I really dug the demo for REMOTE CONTROL, a horror game where you control a human proxy through various missions by typing instructions. Have them rifle through lockers, swipe keycards, and avoid the horrors as you dole out instructions from the safety of your office. I quickly became accustomed to the typing commands and started using shortcuts, which really came in useful as environmental hazards and monsters started becoming more frequent. Between this and Burn-9, I'm really digging the stressful 'man in the chair' way to control characters. I find myself oscillating between one step removed smugness and stressful claustrophobia, it's great. Back at the office, there's a distinct lack of care for the lives of the proxies, and an unnerving Severance vibe to the place. I didn't expect it to be as funny as it was: the proxies have internal thoughts and often have little jokes slipped into their backstories. Great demo, had my heart pounding a bit.

The Last Hour of an Epic TO THE MOON RPG

It's the end (and also the beginning) of the To the Moon series, dropping you in at hour 999 of a thousand-hour RPG. I've not played a To The Moon game before (I know, I know), but the demo for The Last Hour of an Epic TO THE MOON RPG is so charming and sharply written that I bought them all immediately. Despite the demo being a scant twenty minutes long, the character writing and jokes absolutely got me hooked (even pressing "New Game" is a great gag), and the over the top visual flair mixed with a little spookiness feels like the perfect combo for me. If this is a taste of what the series can offer, I'm all in.

Satelital

Satelital is an exceedingly elegant puzzle game made over seven years by a solo indie developer, and the demo is right up my street. You're presented with grids and symbols, and it's up to you to figure out what the symbols do, how they interact with each other, and where they go on the grid. It's a very peaceful puzzler in the same vein as The Witness, with beautiful sound work that provides a comforting, if alien, aura. An easy rec for my fellow puzzle fans.

False Echo

False Echo is certainly in the same vein as previous LFG pick Contact Protocol, only this time, you're underwater aboard a submarine instead of being in space. The demo starts with you being almost killed, and upon returning to work as the sub's security officer, your stressful day job of decoding messages is made trickier by the heightened paranoia of your fellow officers. I love the tactile and diegetic nature of the gameplay, and it scratches the same itch as Papers, Please. I'm intrigued to see just how the tension increases to build.

I SHALL NAME THE DEAD

I SHALL NAME THE DEAD is utterly stunning to look at: its orange and blue hues absolutely pop off the screen, and as cliché as it is to say it, every frame is a painting. It's not all just style though, the substance is there too. As Imaculada, you speak with the uninterred, the dead who haven't been buried, and explore a cemetery to deduce their names to let them rest. All the while The Worm follows, a quiet dread that haunts your every step. The vibes of the demo are off the charts, and I'm always in the mood for a mournful adventure game.

Tearoom of Terror

I played Tearoom of Terror back at PAX West and had a great time with it. You inherit a tearoom from your estranged aunt, and are tasked with solving her murder. On top of that, you have to quickly get the tearoom back up and running: take orders, bake, and brew, while chatting to the patrons to figure out who knows what about your aunt's death. Lace your cupcakes, poison your teas, or just... serve a normal cuppa in your quest to get to the truth. There's a macabre tongue-in-cheek nature to the narrative that I really enjoyed, it's a little Addams Family, a little Nightmare Before Christmas, and despite its macabre nature, it's a cozy adventure.

Hillthorn

I finally dug into the Hillthorn demo, a really interesting take on a card game: solve the disappearance of a young girl by combining clue cards. Putting the right clues together gives you extra ones, like new people to speak with and new places to explore. It's such an interesting way of conducting an investigation, and gives you ample space to use your imagination and logic to fill in the gaps. It felt like playing a solo board game. Super interesting premise and an intriguing case to solve!

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That's it for my Next Fest picks. There are plenty of honorable mentions, but I might save those for another time. Thanks for reading! I'll be back tomorrow with my pick of the week, catch you then. If you're a Supporter, don't forget to enter the Nomori giveaway in the Discord. You have until Sunday, good luck!