This week features the Steam Next Fest, showcasing numerous game demos and playtests. Notable new game releases include:
- Stellaris: Nomads: Introduces migrant civilizations with planet-scale spaceships in a 4X strategy game.
- Day Trade Coach: A stock market trading simulator with a live news feed and professional trading terminal interface.
- Mole: Players pilot a drill guided by whispers from the deceased in a whimsical setting.
- Alaric: A "boomer shooter" with metroidvania design elements.
- Copa City: A football management game set in 2026, focusing on the chaos of fan influx.
- GoblinAmerica: An early access FPS where players embody US presidents to restore order and rewrite history.
- The Last Salvage Squad: Features anime robots battling UFOs.
- A four-dimensional chess game concept.
Additional noteworthy titles include:
- R-Type Tactics I • II Cosmos: A remastered collection of turn-based PSP R-Type games.
- The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales: An action-RPG with "2D-HD" graphics by veterans of Octopath Traveller.
- Mech Spa: A nurturing game focused on mechs.
- Mythic Love: Iberian Legends: An otome visual novel exploring Iberian folklore.
- The Quiet Things: An autobiographical narrative addressing childhood trauma.
- Moon River: A short RPG where players navigate a river revealed by moonlight, marking its full release.
The Treehouse team is engaged in various activities, including urban adventures, exploring fungal brains, and artistic projects.
The text discusses the appreciation for mech games that allow players to exit their mechs and explore the world on foot, highlighting the complexity this feature adds to game development. It mentions two titles that incorporate this concept: Psycho Patrol R and Brigador Killers, the latter of which has been in development for a decade. The lead designer, Hugh Monahan, noted that the decision to allow players to get out of the mech added five years to development time. The game features pre-rendered environments and an isometric perspective, but with increased complexity compared to its predecessor. The addition of on-foot gameplay enhances player immersion and clarifies the player's role, while also necessitating new mechanics for interactions, such as picking up weapons and engaging with the environment. Brigador Killers recently received an update with new story content and quality-of-life improvements.