Steam Next Fest (June 2025) — Day 7

The last full day of Next Fest! I'll have to leave some of my original list off because I can't get to it all.

The Lonesome Guild

Story-heavy action RPG

Cute, optimistic tone
A "power of friendship" story, with ability upgrades unlocked by friendship level
Semi autobattler, entire party fights in real-time combat, but you only control one character at a time while the rest act automatically
Combat is very forgiving, with enemies using slow, obviously telegraphed attacks (at least not surprising for a demo of the early game)
Interestingly, you don't get a map item or minimap to take with you. Instead, you can look at maps lying around the area but can't take them.
Distinct combat and puzzle/exploration modes, which feels like an import of an annoying aspect of games with turn-based combat
I'm finding the pacing slow. Maybe I was hoping for more action
Dang, lots of lore
Kinda "solo co-op". Single-player game but you have to juggle multiple characters to solve some puzzles

Pass. I feel I lack the patience to properly enjoy this game, which is otherwise looking really promising.

Puzzle platformer — record your movements

Simple but interesting mechanic, explained very quickly
I can see potential for a good variety of puzzles involving this mechanic
Pleasant, strictly monochrome pixel art with dithering
I put this demo on my queue just because of the mechanic. Not much else to say. It looked interesting on the store page and it indeed was interesting when I played the demo.

Wishlisted

Top-down adventure with Game Boy Color looks

Top-notch retro-style presentation that feels authentic even if it's not strictly so, as expected from Yacht Club
Why does this have Dark Souls combat?
So how am I supposed to defend myself? I can't tell how I'm supposed to avoid certain attacks if I can't dodge underneath them
No tutorials but there is an 18-page manual you can read in-game. Am I supposed to read this to play a 30-minute demo?
Despite the excellent pixel art, visibility was a struggle. Is that a wall or an object? Can you jump over it? Is it a ledge you can drop down from? Is there a slight gap in the wall to burrow under? Is that enemy in front of me or on the catwalks above me?

Pass. I did not have enough fun.

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