Another Steam Fest—one of three this year, I think—which means it’s time to wade through approximately 22,903,429,892,893 so-called SURVIVAL games, TOTALLY SURVIVAL games, and ICANTBELIEVETHISISSURVIVAL games. (Some of these might not be real Steam tags, but they sure feel like it.)
Enough foreplay, let’s dive in:
Survival
Arctis
Ohh, I love the dynamic map and the art style. Also, the hunting gives me big Oregon Trail vibes. Really looking forward to checking out this demo during Next Fest.
Demo
Away from Life
I know this looks right up our alley (as basically the 100th incarnation of Stranded Deep), but I won’t install this right now. This developer has been fading in and out about this game since mid-2022, going completely silent and resurfacing to say development isn’t dead. Examining the screenshots and trailer, I don’t see anything unique or interesting enough to bother with it. If the developer can maintain both development and communication—basically to where I feel like it’s not going to be a pump and dump—I’ll revisit this.
Demo
Road to Vostok
I’ve been following this game for a couple of years now, and I’m genuinely thrilled that the developer finally launched a Discord server. For a while, he was all-in on Twitter—which still seems to be his main focus—which made keeping up with progress a pain. As a result, I mostly stopped following along, aside from the occasional website or Steam post check-in. (I have half a year of updates to catch up on, but that’s a me problem.)
Touted as an ambitious Stalker-inspired survival title—which I’ll have to take at face value since I’ve never played any Stalker game—the one thing I can say about this developer is that he has a clear vision and is actively working towards it. That’s refreshing in an era where Reddit is flooded with “I WANT MAKE SURV GAME WHAT U WANT?!” posts every week.
Demo
Night is Coming
Woof, I have been waiting on a demo for this Slavic-mythology-inspired society survival game forever. I really hope it does better than Gord, that OTHER mythology/dark setting (I think?) colony sim that ended up being less than well received.
Demo
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days
Poking around the store page—pictures and trailer—I’m getting a kind of blend of This War of Mine and State of Decay. Which isn’t a bad thing! Interesting: balancing survivors’ physical and mental needs. Less interesting: the developer’s focus on a ‘heart-pounding survival horror experience.’ LEAVE MY HAIR-TRIGGER JUMP-SCARE TERROR ALONE.
Demo
Undefined Survivors
It comes across as Sunkenland blended with Subsistence. On the plus side, there’s a Twitter, Discord, and YouTube account for the game, showing that development has been ongoing since at least the middle of last year. Community-wise, though, very sparse—with empty Steam forums and a largely empty Discord server. I’m going to give the demo a pass at this point, but I will keep an eye on the game.
Demo
Not So Survival
The Northern Path
This looks adorable—and frankly just like Dredge on ice. Or Dredge mixed with The Red Lantern, if you want to be super stuffy and specific. I genuinely hope the game not only does well but eventually makes it to Nintendo Switch—I bet it would be fantastic for that platform.
Demo
Harbor
Assuming they can adequately balance PvP in this game—which is tricky, especially in a “free for all, anything goes” environment—this could be interesting for the pew-pew and strife crowd. I already envision Last Oasis-style issues with groups hoarding resources and locking down map sections. But we’ll see.
Demo
Surviving Ceres
Parsing through the store page, this strikes me as less survival and more of a crafting and building simulation title. I see fewer meaningful choices and more of a mechanical balance between building, buying, selling, and killing things. Maybe it’s good for folks who enjoyed Satisfactory and Planet Crafter—but with a heavier combat focus?
Demo
Dune: Awakening
Less Next Fest relevant than adjacent.
No, I haven’t forgotten about Dune: Awakening; I just don’t care. Funcom stuck to what they knew and slapped on a pre-built fandom and world—honestly, not much different from how they built Conan Exiles, reliant on the lore and appeal of Conan. If you didn’t like Conan—wide as an ocean, shallow as a puddle—then you may not like this title unless the Dune universe holds more weight for you.
Do I think it’s a survival MMO? No. It wants to play in that ocean—similar to Conan—but I don’t believe either brings enough mechanical depth to the table: just some typical video game fluff. Should folks give it 3-6 months before picking it up? Sure, but to be fair, I say that about all overly hyped games. In the end, I think it will be beloved, similar to Conan, by modders and builders—especially on private servers. (I have no idea if they will even have modding or private servers eventually. I haven’t followed it for fuck.)
No Demo- but Character Creation and Benchmark Mode
Rapid Fire Name Drop
Dark Moon– This title was released to Early Access in January but offers a demo as part of Next Fest? Interesting. It’s a top-down survival strategy title that visually reminds me of Pioneers: Surviving Desolation.
Arctic Awakening– a narrative adventure/walking simulator. I’m only listing it here because it says your only companion is your court-mandated therapy bot, and if that’s not a preview of 2025, I don’t know what it is.
RoadCraft – This just seems like a fun time for anyone that likes big trucks and building shit.
Rise of Shrooms– A turn-based strategy game where you command an army of mushrooms called shroomies. Need I say more?
Solasta II – I think most of my friends will like this because it’s a… *checks notes*– “Turn-Based Tactical RPG based on the SRD 5e ruleset.”
Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone– I heard great things about the first game and am excited to check out the second game without coughing up any cash!
Drop a comment below with your thoughts and any demos you think I should check out!
