Play these 17 upcoming Xbox games now on PC with Steam Next Fest demos

By Luke Albigés,

Steam Next Fest has rolled around once again, meaning that folks who play on PC can check out a selection of exciting upcoming Xbox releases this week. Here are some of the demos you won't want to miss...

With hundreds of PC demos available, Steam Next Fest is always a great chance to try a bunch of games ahead of launch, including some that will be coming to console and even some games coming to Game Pass, such as The Last Case of Benedict Fox and Planet of Lana. While we couldn't cross-reference absolutely everything featured to catch every last game that is also coming to Xbox (there are a lot of demos!), we think we've at least managed to find most of the big ones. Let us know down in the comments if you spot anything else in the Next Fest demo library that's also coming to Xbox, but here are the main ones you'll want to check out before the event ends on February 13th.

Afterimage

A beautiful hand-drawn Metroidvania-style action-RPG, Afterimage is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One on April 25th, and there already feels like there's quite a buzz around the game. "Engardin is alive with unknown secrets," we're told. "Venture forth and feel free to explore wherever you like as a brave adventurer. Find out the stories that link each area, discover a concealed history and the truth of the world."
Steam demoOfficial site

ArcRunner

ArcRunner is a third-person shooter with a vibrant neon future cyberpunk vibe, and it sounds like it'll have some roguelite elements going on in terms of progression, with procedurally generated areas, permanent upgrades to unlock for each character over the course of multiple runs, and more. "A meta-virus has infected KORE, the AI of the titan class space station, The Arc, causing the ArcRunner protocol to be initialised," explains the Steam page. "You have been brought back to traverse the station, defeat its zone guardians, locate KORE, and reset it. The catch? Every robotic entity on The Arc is against you and hunting you to stop you from fulfilling your mission."
Steam demoOfficial site

Capes

Superhero strategy game Capes was only confirmed for Xbox earlier this week, but you can already try it out thanks to its inclusion in the Steam Next Fest demo collection. Spitfire's new game might have its work cut out for it after a big Marvel game failed to make a splash in the same scene late last year with the disappointing commercial performance of the really-rather-good Midnight Suns, but perhaps a more reasonable price point and the freedom and flexibility afforded by using original characters could work well in its favour. Capes will be coming to Xbox and PC some time this year.
Steam demoOfficial site

Darkest Dungeon II

Currently in early access on the Epic Games Store, Darkest Dungeon II is another beautifully bleak slice of roguelite RPG action due to hit full release on PC in May, with console releases to follow. Like the excellent Hades before it, this long early access period has helped the team build on and improve the game on a regular basis, so we should hopefully see it in its best possible state when this fascinating sequel eventually makes its way onto Xbox.
Steam demoOfficial site

Deceive Inc.

Another title that was only recently announced but is already playable is Deceive Inc., Tripwire's new espionage and subterfuge multiplayer game where players must use their chosen spy's abilities to trick and fool (or just straight-up murder) their opponents and extract with the objective. It reminds us of the Assassin's Creed multiplayer modes that let you blend in with crowds and get the jump on enemies via disguises, so if you enjoyed those modes, this will definitely be worth checking out.
Steam demoOfficial site

Fall of Porcupine

Unlike the other demos featured here, the prologue to narrative-driven adventure game Fall of Porcupine is something that console players can check out as well — the same demo is also on the Xbox store. It's kinda like Night in the Woods meets Scrubs, with a fantastic cast of characters and the small town of Porcupine perhaps not being the quaint and idyllic place it initially appears... we played this one last year and really enjoyed it, so it's good to see it brought back for some more time in the spotlight ahead of the game's launch later this year.
Steam demoOfficial site

Flame Keeper

Flame Keeper's setup is pretty neat. "As a special little piece of burning coal named Ignis, you need to restore the fire to the Eternal Flame. But in doing so, you drain your own life. Find the perfect balance between progress and staying alive as you battle through a world of darkness and monsters." It's a colourful action roguelite where your health is also your primary currency — do you risk spending it all and having to survive a stage without getting hit, or play safer but earn fewer rewards for doing so? Flame Keeper is due this year.
Steam demoOfficial site

God of Rock

Game Pass sensation Hi-Fi Rush has opened players' eyes to the potential of action games where you battle to the beat, so this musical fighting game couldn't have picked a better time to take to the stage. God of Rock was originally down for a winter release, but a slight delay has pushed it back to a new launch date of April 18th on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Steam demoOfficial site

Meet Your Maker

Dead By Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive is back with another interesting twist on multiplayer — an asynchronous competitive action game where you build your own labyrinthine Outpost to thwart invading players, or raid ones others have created. You'll be rewarded for everyone that falls foul of your custom Outpost's traps and hazards, but not punished if someone does manage to beat it. Instead, you'll be able to see how they overcame your defences and improve your creation to make it one step closer to being almost completely impenetrable. It's a really cool concept, and the full game is just around the corner, launching on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One on April 4th.
Steam demoOfficial site

Mika and the Witch's Mountain

Inspired by Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Mika and the Witch's Mountain is absolutely adorable. You play a little witch helping out a local delivery service — a fine opportunity to get to know the locals and upgrade your broom with your rewards, allowing to freely explore even further up and around the titular mountain. A Kickstarter project for the game launched just days ago to secure funding to get the game over the line and bring it to Xbox later this year, and it's already smashed its target six times over and met all of its current stretch goals. Hit the link below if you'd like to be one of the thousands of backers to help bring this colourful adventure to life!
Steam demoKickstarter

Planet of Lana

This visually striking puzzle-platformer adventure follows a young girl and her cute cat-like companion Mui as they journey through lush landscapes overrun by hostile robotic invaders in search of Lana's missing sister. Planet of Lana has been on our collective radar for a while now, evoking classics like Flashback and Prince of Persia with its fluid animation and with The Last Guardian composer Takeshi Furukawa penning the stunning score to ensure the game is no slouch in the audio department either. Better yet, Planet of Lana will be another day-one Game Pass special when it launches for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One this spring, and we can't wait.
Steam demoOfficial site

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened sees the great detective challenged with investigating a cult looking to summon an eldritch entity — while attempting to cling to his own sanity — in a ground-up remake of the 2006 PC adventure game. Developer Frogwares being based in Ukraine has led to significant challenges in the last year as explained in the heart-wrenching latter portion of the above trailer, and the fact that it is even managing to put out games at all is pretty incredible, so we doff our deerstalkers to the brave and passionate team for their dogged determination. The Awakened looks great and is pencilled in for launch on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One either this month or next... we'll update you once we have a proper launch date.
Steam demoOfficial site

Sons of Valhalla

Described as "a side-scrolling base building strategy game that catapults you into the age of the Vikings," Sons of Valhalla's wonderfully detailed pixel art is quite something. The game enjoyed a successful Kickstarter run in early 2022 and is due out on PC later this year, with the team hoping to bring it to Xbox shortly after.
Steam demoOfficial site

System Shock

System Shock is a full remake of the classic 1994 first-person sci-fi RPG of the same name, and the gaming necromancers at Nightdive have apparently put together quite the crew to pull this off. "We’ve gathered a team of industry veterans from games like Fallout: New Vegas, Mass Effect, and BioShock to create a faithful reboot of the classic game we all know and love," we're told, and we're looking forward to seeing how this landmark game holds up today, especially given that it seems to be in such safe hands.
Steam demoOfficial site

Teslagrad 2

The original Teslagrad was a wonderful puzzle-platformer with mechanics and skills based on magnetism, and Teslagrad 2 looks to build on that with even more electrical abilities which will in turn lead to even more elaborate obstacles to overcome with them. Presentation is once again superb and the original had some truly ingenious (not to mention satisfying) applications of its mechanics, so we're looking forward to some proper head-scratching moments and tests of skill when the sequel arrives on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One this spring.
Steam demoOfficial site

The Last Case of Benedict Fox

We championed The Last Case of Benedict Fox as one of 2023's most exciting Xbox games recently, and finding out that it would be launching into Game Pass on April 27th has us even more pumped. This dark Lovecraftian Metroidvania-style adventure looks fantastic, and we got to see even more of the game than has been publically shown off at a recent preview event... we absolutely can't wait for this one, and if you play on PC, you don't have to — get the demo downloaded on Steam and give it a go today!
Steam demoOfficial site

VoidTrain

VoidTrain feels like a game that has been down as 'coming soon' forever, although like Darkest Dungeon II, it has actually been in early access on PC for a good while now, albeit again exclusively on the Epic Games Store. It's a Steampunk survival game where you get to build and customise your own flying train, soaring around gathering resources to make even more improvements while fending off the many hazards of the Void. We still don't seem to be much closer to getting a proper release date, mind — all we know is that full release is expected to pull into the station some time this year.
Steam demoOfficial Twitter

Bonus: Inkbound

Okay, so this honourable mention isn't targeting Xbox yet, but as the new game from the team behind card-based roguelite gem and Game Pass favourite Monster Train, Inkbound will naturally be worth having on your radar all the same. The team is once again looking to shake up the usual roguelite formula with its new take on it, a turn-based RPG where you create the hero of your story every run, as well as picking a villain to face from one of the countless tales in the Atheneum, a boundless library containing every story ever written. It looks great and hopefully, like Monster Train, it'll make its way onto Xbox one day (and perhaps even Game Pass if we're lucky), so we'll certainly be keeping an eye on it, just in case.
Steam demoOfficial site
Will you be giving any of these a go? Any other demos from the event catch your eye? Let us know!
Luke Albigés
Written by Luke Albigés
Luke runs the TA news team, contributing where he can primarily with reviews and other long-form features — crafts he has honed across two decades of print and online gaming media experience, having worked with the likes of gamesTM, Eurogamer, Play, Retro Gamer, Edge, and many more. He loves all things Monster Hunter, enjoys a good D&D session, and has played way too much Destiny.
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