I love Next Fest, it’s a great time to find out what interesting new games are on the horizon. Next Fest is also an interesting one to cover as it occurs three times a year.
Disclaimer: As far as I am able to tell these demo’s don’t use AI. However, the full release may, please stay vigilant and check before purchasing (assuming you care about AI being in your games).
Cozy Game Restoration
Developer: Parasol Corp
Publisher: Parasol Corp
Release When?: 26th September 2026
This is absolutely what I would call a dad game. It’s a simple concept, you buy old video game cartridges and CD’s and restore them as best you can. This means removing stickers and the residue they leave behind, clean all the dirt and marks off as well as repairing any scratches.
After all of that the game you bought should be worth more than what you purchased it at. From there you can decide whether you want to keep it in your collection or sell it on.
This is a very chilled game, while I was playing the demo I just had a podcast on. I’m not sure if this is one I’d bother actually reviewing but I probably will get it for when I want to zone out.
Cold Case: The Red Dress Murder
Developer: Nessie Games
Publisher: Nessie Games
Release When?: Coming Soon
Did covering all those FakeOS games make me more aware of the genre or is it that there are more of them being developed. Either way, this game is pretty damned good. Essentially you go through evidence to find keywords that allow you to complete a madlibs, except this madlibs requires a very specific set of words to be in the right place. As you play through a plot is revealed, the cases link and certain facts become apparent based on what you’ve experienced from the previous cases you solved.
This game is really interesting and sometimes required a bit more lateral thinking than I was used to. I may not buy this on day one but it’s absolutely going on my wishlist (which means I’ll get it… eventually).
Object Impermanence
Developer: Slugware
Publisher: Slugware
Release When?: Q4 2026
There are a lot of first person puzzle games around, many simply attempt to copy what Portal did. To stand out from the pack you have to do something different, such as how Superliminal forced you to rethink perspective. This game plays with the idea of object permanence (clues in the name afterall). In this demo objects either stop existing or cease to move (depending on the colour which determines its properties) when you stop looking at them.
I’m absolutely getting this game! I love a game that makes me think especially if it’s got a unique mechanic to play with.
Silver Pines
Developer: Wych Elm
Publisher: Team17
Release When?: 8th October 2026
Silver Pines is a game that feels like someone decided to combine Alan Wake, Silent Hill and Twin Peaks and then threw in a little Resident Evil for good measure. It’s a horror themed 2D metroidvania with an art style I find quite striking.
The premise of this game is that you are a Private Detective tasked with finding someone who has fled to the sleepy town of Silver Pines.
This game has its hooks on me the instant I jumped into the game proper. I’m really interested to see where the mystery of this game goes.
RetroSpace
Developer: The Wild Gentlemen
Publisher: Kwalee
Release When?: TBA
I would be very surprised if the developers of this game weren’t heavily inspired by the work of Looking Glass Studios (known for the Thief and System Shock series). They really honed in on what makes a good immersive sim especially one from the late 90’s/early 2000’s, such as having an inventory system that you have to manage and clever ways to distract your enemies.
It’s listed as a roguelite but those elements are very light, in fact from what I can tell the roguelite element is only related to the mutations you get when you die and are respawned. This is another that’s getting added to the wishlist and then bumped up high.
