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Editorial NextFest

Rounding up some of Steam Next Fest's most intriguing horror demos

Some our favorite Next Fest demos for spooky season

Cass Marshall

• 5 min read
A steer from Pathologic 3, a masked nun with a warhammer from Tormented Souls 2, and the anguished low poly face of a bearded man from Father, in a piece together for the Steam Next Fest.
Image: Ice Pick Lodge, Dual Effect, wetboxteam via Rogue

The Steam Next Fest is packed full of a feast of demos – in fact, too many demos for any one person to reasonably navigate. Our cup runneth over, especially when it comes to the horror genre. These demos are playable through Monday, Oct. 20, and offer an assortment of spooky experiences: from undersea science facilities to the inner hellscape of a tormented mind.

No Vacation for an Executioner

Developer: JayO
Release Date: March 2026

An image from No Vacation for an Executioner, showing two enemies wearing hideous masks and holding crude weapons.
Image: JayO

A heavily stylized retro PS2-style game set in the late 17th century, inspired by The Hangman of Paris by Claude Cueni and the art of Zdzisław Beksiński. Looks like a Soulslike, plays like a classic survival horror.

Lurks Within Walls

Developer: Here Be Monsters
Release Date: Unknown

An RPG encounter set in a dark room against a "Wandering Patient", who is backlit by an eerie red light, in the game Lurks Within Walls.
Image: Here Be Monsters/2 Wedges

Explore a mysterious building that has fallen to an unknown contagion. It’s a survival horror game with creatures designed by the artist Trevor Henderson (the Siren Head guy) and turn-based combat. 

The Séance of Blake Manor

Developer: Spooky Doorway
Release Date: April 30, 2025

A screenshot from the Seance of Blake Manor showing the observations the protagonist has collected on their subject, a dour looking gentleman in circular glasses and a suit.
Image: Spooky Doorway/Raw Fury

A group of mystics gather on Halloween, 1897, to commune with the dead. As they prepare their grim ceremony, a woman goes missing and a detective is assigned to investigate her case. The demo offers the first two hours of this mystery narrative game.

Ground Zero

Developer: Malformation Games
Release Date: Unknown

The protagonist of GroundZero jogs down a wooden hallway in Busan that has a fleshy organic growth in the center of the floor.
Image: Malformation Games/Kwalee

Old school survival horror set in Busan, South Korea. Play as a soldier exploring Busan after a meteor fell and caused strange growths, new life, and dinosaurs. Inspired by Resident Evil, and comes complete with optional tank controls.