Whenever Steam Next Fest comes around, I always take a quick journey over to the platforming section on a quest for tasty new demos. It doesn’t matter whether it’s more puzzle focused, 2D or 3D, I’m happy to try out anything the genre has to offer because I just bloody love platformers.
I’ve discovered some wonderful platforming demos over the years in the Steam Next Fest, that have gone on to be some of my all time favourites in the genre. Even earlier this year there were demos for Ruffy and the Riverside, and The Knightling here for Steam Next Fest, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be some of this year’s best platformers. It can be hard to sort through all the demos on display though, especially if you have limited time. Here, though, we have you covered, with five great platforming demo options you can download now.
Yooka Replaylee
As a backer of the original release of Yooka Laylee, I had a fun time collecting shiny shit in a nostalgic 3D platformer. It was far from a perfect game though (especially at launch) and I love that it’s getting a second chance at success now with Yooka Replaylee. The demo allows you to make your way to the first world of the game, but there’s a whole lot different about this remake.
The first of these you’ll notice is in the intro, which features some fixed camera sections that are a lot of fun. After that you’ll get to do some classic hub world exploration, and use a selection of moves that the dynamic duo will use throughout the game. Gaining the ability to breathe fire, turn invisible and roll into a ball all happens within the first twenty minutes of the game, ensuring maximum fun from the offset. Finally you’re also shown a level from a newly added arcade game, which doesn’t involve any jumping (boo) but is a lot of fun and delightfully retro (yay). Yooka Replaylee is going to be a landmark platformer in 2025, and I’ll be jumping in on day one.
Eldritch Climb: A Cursed Ascent
So few platformers follow in the footsteps (or I suppose climbing grips) of DK King of Swing, so it’s nice to see a different take on swinging around. The spooky vibes are wonderful here, but not quite as wonderful as using your arms to scale mountains with the shoulder buttons. By using the corresponding button for each arm you’ll be able to zig zag up rockfaces, and you can even charge your grip to smash into otherworldly enemies blocking your way.
Whereas Donkey Kong’s version of this unique platforming experience is about navigating tricky obstacles, Eldritch Climb features more open levels full of secrets to find. It’s a refreshing change of pace, and ultimately leads to a really fun demo that has me excited for a release date.
Death of a Dungslinger
Bug lovers everywhere have something to celebrate this year, because they’ll get to play as a dung beetle in Death of a Dungslinger. The difference between this and other 3D platformers though is that other 3D platformers don’t feature balls of poo, so that’s an immediate tick for our Dungslinger here.
This demo is the shortest I’ve played this Next Fest, but shows off how the game will play when it releases. The hook here is that you’ll be rolling up balls of various muck, which you can also ride on and throw at enemies or targets. After a brief bit of playing around with this you’ll be sent into boss fight against an army of worms, which I won with perfectly aimed faecal-spheres. I’m well up for playing more of Death of a Dungslinger, and hopefully when it releases later this year it’ll roll my way.
A Bottled Up Island
I almost skipped this unassuming lo-fi platformer demo entirely when scouting for demos, and I’m so glad I didn’t. A Bottled Up Island is a relatively simple platformer, but it’s one that controls perfectly and is an absolute blast to play. And I promise I’m not just praising it because its protagonist looks like a long lost relative of Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
The concept of A Bottled Up Island is simple, you must progress through a stage that at the start of the game doesn’t exist, but by smashing bottles you’ll release more of the environment to jump around on. With a move-set of a jump, a spin and a dive, you’ll be able to cross all sorts of gaps and navigate a variety of obstacles, and will likely have a great time doing so. It’s hard to get across quite how wonderful A Bottled Up Island is in words, but thanks to Next Fest you can try the free demo and see for yourself how great it feels.
1000 Deaths
Out of all the games I tried out in this particular Steam Next Fest, 1000 Deaths was by far the weirdest (in the best way possible). You play as a TV inside someone’s mind, and have to help them make life choices which change both the story and the levels of the game you’ll play. With psychedelic visuals and surreal characters it’s a hell of a trip, and that’s before you actually get into playing the game.
The actual stages of 1000 Deaths are gravity bending puzzles, where you’ll need to walk the Telly protagonist up and around different surfaces to ensure you’re oriented the right way to walk through the exit door. There’s some tricky platforming to manage too, but with an air dash you’ll be able to navigate around any obstacles with relative ease. I am so intrigued to check out all the twists and turns of this bizarre narrative platformer when it releases this August, and you should be too if you’re a freak like me.
