retropolis

Valve is back at it with Steam Next Fest, the indie showcase that features free demos for upcoming PC games. We picked out some of the most promising demos among the two dozen VR games showcased this week.

Steam has made it marginally less simple to find VR titles this year. In years prior, VR games had their own tab, however you’ll need to apply a ‘VR’ filter to the search box this time around.

Steam Next Fest is already live, taking place June 19th – 26th. Check out our top five favorite games in no particular order below to see what you might want to try first. In any case, you can find all of the participating games with free demos on the Steam Next Fest page.

Hellsweeper VR

Mixed Realms, the studio behind Sairento VR, has cooked up a seriously slick first-person action-combat game called Hellsweeper VR. It’s coming to all major headsets in late September, so this might be your first chance to wield the game’s weapons and elemental magic (or die trying). The roguelike action feels a lot like Light Brigade and DOOM had a melee and magic-wielding hellspawn. Download it here.

DAVIGO

This David vs. Goliath-inspired combat game promises some asymmetrical battle of VR vs. PC gameplay. Created by Davigo Studio, the demo offers up a limited version of the game’s latest alpha build, including two maps and the classic ‘Brawl’ game mode. As a VR player, you can smash. As a PC player, run and gun. It’s fun. ‘Nuff said. Download it here.

STACK

From the makers of STRIDE and AGAINST, Joy Way is set to release another high-flying, single-worded game written in all caps: STACK. The multiplayer VR demo includes both Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes for up to 5v5 players. Control discs in mid-flight, bounce them off corners for creative kills, and bust around the arena at high speeds. Download it here.

Retropolis 2: Never Say Goodbye

Retropolis is back, bringing another shot of neo-robo-noir narrative to VR, replete with extendo-arms and intrigue a plenty. If you haven’t played the original Retropolis, no fret. While number two leaves off where the first left off, the brief demo won’t spoil anything. The game is now in Early Access on Quest and Rift, which includes the first episode, Steam users can now jump into a short demo. Download it here.

Tea For God

Full disclosure: the Tea for God demo isn’t new, or running just during Steam Next Fest either, but it’s still too cool to pass up. This VR adventure uses impossible spaces with procedural generation to allow players infinite room-scale movement. It’s a lot more than that though; its entity-filled dreamlike environment also has arcade shooter and roguelite shooter-explorer elements too. Download it here.

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You can check out all of the demos over at the Steam Next Fest VR page. There you’ll find Q&A sessions with devs and all of the demos on offer. Next Fest runs until June 26th, so make sure to stop on by to play all of the demos above.