Steam Next Fest 2023: best strategy games shown during the event

Here are the games strategy fans should wishlist

Author:
Marco Wutz
Publish date:
Oct 16, 2023 8:42 AM EDT

The Steam Next Fest 2023 is almost in the history books and showcased hundreds of demo versions for upcoming games to fans worldwide. Many indie developers used this opportunity to show off their work to potential players, so this has been a feast for indie connoisseurs in particular. The strategy and tactics categories were filled with promising titles once again and I’ve made my way through the catalog, looking for the rough gems that will become brilliant diamonds once they’re feature-complete.

I didn’t get through every demo offered during the event, of course, so this is not a complete list by any means, but a personal collection of highlights that stood out.

Tempest Rising screenshot showing a battle. — Steam Next Fest 2023 had tons of great strategy games to offer. Here are the highlights.
3D Realms

Here are Steam Next Fest 2023’s best strategy games that you should keep an eye out for in the future.

Songs of Silence

You can read a more detailed look on this game in our dedicated Songs of Silence preview, but this beautiful title essentially mixes vibes from The Banner Saga with gameplay from the likes of Heroes of Might and Magic and Hero’s Hour. A story-driven campaign with turn-based strategy mechanics is combined with real-time auto-battles you can influence through the use of cards that contain active abilities, giving the game some light deck-building elements as well. It’s quite a unique mixture paired with extraordinarily pretty art.

Pioneers of Pagonia

The long-awaited gameplay debut of this relaxed city-builder did not disappoint. This spiritual successor to The Settlers, made by the series’ original creator, creates the same laid back atmosphere and focuses on the growth of the settlement and its economy. Speaking of which, every resource and ware in the game is created under the player’s eyes from start to finish, allowing you to immerse yourself in your little pioneers’ work. While the demo only contained parts of the city-building aspects, this was a great appetizer ahead of the Early Access release later this year.

Mars Tactics

Being published by Hooded Horse is basically a stamp of approval in the strategy and tactics genres at this point and it looks like Mars Tactics is no exception from this rule: Combining the intense turn-based combat of XCOM with a more strategic element, this title offers a lot of freedom to players. Environmental destruction means that you can shape the battlefield as you need it to be and the versatile character trait system that awards fighters with special attributes depending on their deeds on the field is both a cool gameplay element and fantastic for telling a story.

Dungeons 4

Need I say more than “this is basically Dungeon Keeper” to make you excited? Well, it’s basically Dungeon Keeper, so fans of that tried and true classic can look forward to a similar experience. While the Dungeons series was received negatively at the beginning of its life, Realmforge has fine-tuned the formula over the years and seems to have hit a sweet spot for it now. Not everyone will like the humor, which admittedly is very German.

Cobalt Core

Slay the Spire… but in space! Seriously, that’s basically what Cobalt Core is. It’s quite a fun take on the formula with a very simple pixel art style and instead of a hero character you’re in control of a spaceship, enacting evasive maneuvers and such by playing cards. It’s kind of like one of the old-timey bullet hell space games you’d find at your local arcade, but as a roguelite tactical card game.

Last Train Home

Coming later this year, Last Train Home is a mix of Company of Heroes and Mount & Blade. You need to get a group of Czechoslovakian soldiers out of a post-WW1 Russia that consumed itself in a bloody civil war – and you do that by boarding an armored train to travel through the country. On the strategic layer, you upgrade the train and collect resources along the way, which requires you to go to real-time missions with RTS combat. A fun mix of gameplay elements with a real historical background that’s basically been unused so far.

Witchhand

This one has simple visuals, but is quite intriguing already. It’s a card game allowing you to build up your own witch empire by founding villages that produce materials you require for your spells. You conjure familiars to fight monsters that show up and complete quests the council of witches gives you for extra rewards. It’s all in card form, has a charming art style to it, and can get very intense once you have a solid amount of production going – a fun one that’ll steal your time.

Tempest Rising

If ever there was a love letter to Command & Conquer, this is it. This RTS game is spreading the C&C vibes from the first minute with its gameplay and art style. Three asymmetrical factions are available in this classic base-building RTS that offers two single-player campaigns alongside AI skirmishes and multiplayer.

Strong demos from Next Fest 2023 I already played at gamescom 2023 or otherwise:

Outside of the strategy and tactics department, Enshrouded caught my attention as something that fans of Valheim might enjoy. It’s got more detailed visuals and nicer construction than the viking survival hit, but satisfies the same lust for free exploration and building.