6 free indie game demos you should play during the Steam Next Fest

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This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

In the wake of several awesome video game showcases, the latest Steam Next Fest has arrived. Running from June 10 until June 17, this event on PC gaming storefront and launcher Steam gives indie developers and publishers a chance to share limited-time demos of their upcoming games so players can discover all the neat titles on the way in the indie space. It’s a reminder of the creativity of this industry in a year where companies are prioritizing profits over passion.

There are hundreds of demos in this year’s Steam Next Fest, so it can be a bit hard to sift through everything and discover the most entertaining titles. I had the opportunity to try many of them out ahead of Steam Next Fest over the past couple of weeks. From idle sandbox games to pretty Metroidvanias, these are the indie games from June 2024’s Steam Next Fest that stuck out to me the most and are worth trying for free sometime this week.

Claws & Chaos

If you enjoy auto battlers, Claws & Chaos from Splodey’s Mad Mushroom and indie developer Parhelion Studio is a simple one starring cute animals. In it, players are building up a crew of animals fighting for a spot on what’s essentially Noah’s Ark, which is under the control of a ruthless king. Over a series of turns, players can purchase new units and buffs for them and then idly watch as they face off against an opposing team of critters.

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Claws & Chaos’ 2D animation is crisp, and its small scale makes this an approachable auto battler compared to the likes of Teamfight Tactics. The campaign and Arena options available in its Steam Next Fest demo give it a lot of replayability as well, so this is definitely a good option if you’re looking for a time-killer indie to distract yourself with.

Claws & Chaos will