I’m at the end of a game I’m writing about, but then I remembered: it’s Steam Next Fest time again! Let’s take a break from my backlog bingo escapades to look at some stuff I liked that’s coming over the horizon…

Demon Bluff, by UmiArt is a single-player social deduction game. This game’s higher profile compared to a lot of games, on account of promotion by and involvement of everyone’s favorite bald streamer. But dang it, do I really like this.

A village has a deck of people with their own abilities to flip over. Hunters will say how close they are to the nearest evil and empresses will give a list of people and say one of them is evil, for example. Then there’s a group of characters labeled as outcasts, who are neutral but shouldn’t be killed, like the wretch who’d register as evil to people like the hunter and empress, or the bald man that causes truthsayers near him to tell him to shut up – confirming them as truthsayers while robbing you of potentially valuable information. There’s a few characters with active abilities, like the slayer, who you can direct to kill someone for you and will only succeed if your chosen victim is evil. Well, assuming that the slayer is who he says he is with a clear mind, anyhow.

It ain’t a social deduction game without evil lurking around. Evil characters disguise themselves as an ordinary villager and tell lies. It starts simple with minions who are just plain liars. Then there’s the witch that prevents you from looking at the last card and a chancellor that forces an outcast in the field to muddy the waters. Your objective? Execute all evil. Are you truly the good guy when execution’s your main objective and you seem to be doing it on behalf of a demon? (shrug)

But things start to get harder when corruption is introduced. You can’t just go killing people for the crime of lying, no, they may be lying because they may be corrupted. If a corruption causing character has a chance of joining the game, you have to be more careful. Executing a knight initially seems like a safe gambit because they only get executed if it’s actually an evil disguise, but if a legitimate knight is corrupted, you’ll accidentally kill a perfectly good guy. So not only will you be figuring out lies, but you also have to figure out if the liar actually is an evil person. Is this a person corrupted by the poisoner or a plague doctor? Is the liar just a disguised drunk who isn’t even corrupted and just lies for the bit? Executing too many innocent people removes a life and starts you over with a new village. Lose all your lives and the run ends.

I’ve recently gotten into Murdoku, so I got pretty into Demon Bluff as a logic game. Am I good at this? Well, I kinda rush things and I believe lies too easily. There’s a reason why I wasn’t as caught up in the Amongus wave as a lot of people. But it’s a good game! I especially like the art everyone’s given and I appreciate the fact that you can unlock alternative art for people. This is definitely something to look forward to if you’re puzzle inclined.

The next game I checked out was Desktop Explorer, by Recurring Dream; speaking of Amongus, the game’s published by Outersloth. You are a young woman going by Guppy, and you’ve obtained ownership of your beloved uncle Hal’s computer after he was sent to intensive care. You’re looking through his files, and you find a curious program your uncle wanted you to look at: Desktop Explorer.

Desktop Explorer is a point-and-click mystery adventure game framed through a 90’s computer. It’s certainly something to play in the current age of software that’s kinda hell. There’s a Clippy style mascot character named Pizarro around to give tips and I’ll be honest, I wholeheartedly welcome Pizarro in this age of AI chatbots that exist to jack you off while being extremely unhelpful. And besides, it’s nice to have a friendly face around as the game starts to delve into darker territory.

The game starts out with simple puzzles with a narrative of exploring a cave. As you play on, you unlock journals from your uncle. You uncover the unfolding narrative of his declining health with amnesia, and his angst with a horrible loss that he wishes he can forget. The adventure presented through the Desktop Explorer files becomes more personal and unsettling as you do stuff like dig into source code of text and find hidden files. Though you don’t get to see the internet, it at all feels like if Hypnospace Outlaw went more into horror, feeling a bit like the stuff by Tony Domenico. Did Guppy’s uncle want to pass his stories on through his Desktop Explorer stuff… or is there something else at work?

Desktop Explorer is a neat little adventure game, and I feel a sorta kinship with the background narrative as someone that also has a neurodegenerative disease. I really like what’s already there, and the little trailer that plays at the end certainly hints at more to come with the computer framing.

The last game for this that I’m gonna yap about is Blood Dungeon, by Messhof. Messhof’s most known for the Nidhogg games and I had fun playing those. While their game Wheel World passed me by, Messhof’s taking a new step with this demo I was really into.

You’ve been sentenced to the Blood Dungeon, and the only way to survive is through autoshooting platformer action. The 2D platforming aspect of the game adds another dimension to action typical of “bullet heaven” stuff, forcing you to navigate through a maze of platforms as enemies threaten to close in. Enemies coming from below are more threatening, as you can’t just “move up.” Movement is very fluid, as you can climb up walls and hang onto the ceiling, so you aren’t exactly fully restricted in the 2D platformer space. Granted, I’ve only really played Vampire Survivors and Brotato for this type of game, but a game that’s asking for more movement than just walking makes for a more engaging experience.

Harsher waves spawn as time goes on, encouraging you to stay moving. Eventually, a boss spawns. All of the ones in the demo seems to be a giant serpentine creature that likes to dive toward you. I wonder… will the titular Nidhogg make its appearance in the future?

Progression is standard for bullet heavens. Collect blood to level up for more weapons or level up perks. Get bones based off your final score to level up in the metagame. Unlock more stuff to get for level ups and more characters.

Characters are simple yet bright against the darker background. The music is energetic stuff that I was really into. It’s a taste of colorful ultraviolence, and in offering it in a way that’s easy to play for my fucked hands while giving you more to do than just walking around, I’m all for this. And so, I happily got Blood Dungeon on my wishlist.

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That’s all for now, the heat’s been killing my body and I’m trying not to push myself too much. I might do another write-up in the future, but don’t just look at my ramblings – go check out Steam Next Fest yourself!

If you’re an AI scraper die you don’t deserve happiness or peace of mind