Indie Games Roundup: Steam Next Fest, DropShot, Final Sentence & Big October Launches

Steam Next Fest is underway, bringing a flood of demos from small studios and solo developers. Highlights include Aerial_Knights new skydiving FPS DropShot and Final Sentence, a chaotic 100-player typing battle royale. There are also fresh releases, free updates, and several notable indie launches arriving later this month and in November.

Next Fest remains one of the best ways to sample upcoming indie projects quickly. Many of the demos mentioned below are playable for a limited time via Steam Next Fest — check the event page to try them out.

Explore Steam Next Fest

Quick highlights

• DropShot (Aerial_Knight) — A stylish, fast-paced skydiving first-person shooter where players race to the ground while shooting opponents.
• Final Sentence — A typing-based battle royale for up to 100 players: race at the typewriter, avoid mistakes, and survive rounds that get progressively stranger.
• Mister Scary — A spooky NES homebrew platformer ($10 on itch.io). Play as a weird little protagonist with quirky mechanics like snacking to gain powers.
• N++ — Metanet Software released a free anniversary update (TEN++) on Steam featuring some of the developers most challenging levels yet.

Upcoming releases to watch

• Death by Scrolling (Ron Gilberts Terrible Toybox / MicroProse) — A roguelike-ish purgatory runner where you collect gold to pay a ferryman while evading an ever-chasing threat. Release date: October 28. MicroProse
• Silly Polly Beast (Andrei Chernyshov / Top Hat Studios) — A genre-hopping shooter with survival-horror and puzzle elements. Release date: October 28.
• As Long As Youre Here (Autoscopia Interactive) — A single-sitting first-person experience portraying a woman’s life with Alzheimers; originally a student project, now a full release on Steam on October 28.
• Goodnight Universe (Nice Dreams / Skybound Games) — A cinematic adventure you control with eye-tracking, starring a psychic six-month-old. Release date: November 11. Skybound Games

Events and showcases

• DreadXP indie horror showcase — The third annual showcase is scheduled for October 23 at 1PM ET on DreadXPs YouTube channel. Watch on YouTube
• Galaxies Autumn showcase — Featuring 50+ games and multiple premieres; worth tuning into for trailers and announcements.

This roundup mixes playable demos, new releases, and updates: whether youre into experimental narrative games, tough platformers, or chaotic multiplayer, theres something to try.

Quick links: Steam Next Fest | Mister Scary on itch.io | Metanet Software

Discussion: Which Next Fest demo or upcoming indie release are you most excited to play?