10 cosy demos to try in this week's Steam Next Fest

Steam Next Fest is back, and dozens of developers and publishers have released demos for their upcoming games. I’ve rounded up 10 of the best cosy game demos to check out in this week’s Steam Next Fest, between February 24th and March 3rd.

1. Cattle Country

Nothing is more cosy than a farm sim, but what if that farm sim is set in the unruly Wild West? Cattle Country is exactly that – you play as a customisable character who heads West to start a new life. While there, you expand, customise, and run your ranch, tending to and cultivating crops, befriending the townsfolk, plunging deep into 2D mines, fishing, and fending off bandits. Did I forget to mention the demo opens with a voiceover by none other than Arthur Morgan of Red Dead Redemption 2 fame?

2. Ruffy and the Riverside

Although it was released just before Steam Next Fest, Ruffy and the Riverside is an exciting and colourful puzzle platformer inspired by classic N64 titles. As Ruffy, a bear, explore the world of Riverside and collect Adventure Stars by completing quests, exploring, and solving puzzles using the game’s groundbreaking SWAP mechanic to copy-paste textures from one thing to another. It’s fun and a joy to play, as I highlighted in my preview here.

3. Small Spaces

Those of you who enjoy building and decorating need to give Small Spaces a try. The upcoming game tasks you with transforming small apartments into gorgeous dioramas, with the only limitation being the space itself. Offering you a wide selection of realistic furniture and materials, each level comes with unique challenges and opportunities, and the demo features three small flats for you to decorate and make your own.

4. Seeds of Calamity

Set in a quaint village healing from Calamity, Seeds of Calamity is a JRPG farming sim where you’re tasked with growing crops, raising animals, and adventuring into dungeons and fighting the monsters within alongside your fluffy Spellbook Companion.

5. GameStonk Simulator

If you’ve ever dreamed of running your own video game store, this is the demo for you. GameStonk Simulator tasks you with running your store by stocking it with new releases, selling copies to customers, defending your shop from troublemakers, organising and customising your store, and expanding it to beat out your rivals.

6. Hotel Architect

Pathos Entertainment’s Hotel Architect is an upcoming management sim where you build and manage a hotel by either constructing one from scratch or transforming a dilapidated plot into something special. You’ll need to manage staff and different types of hotel guests, decorate and expand your hotel, and try to impress clients and guests as best you can.

7. Tales of Seikyu

The demo for fantasy life sim Tales of Seikyu allows you to experience the first three in-game days with the opportunity to meet the villagers of Seikyu, fish, farm, craft, decorate, explore the game’s island, complete its opening quests, and uncover your transforming powers of Yokai.

8. Monster Mop Up

Creature collector lovers need to try Monster Mop Up, an upcoming co-op game where you, as the new Custodian of the Ministry of Monster Concealment, are tasked with maintaining the secret existence of monster companions. You’ll need to clean the mess the creature left behind and hunt and remove any evidence of their existence while adopting them into your customisable home and filling your Monsteropedia.

9. Solarpunk

Solarpunk is an upcoming survival game that you can play solo or with friends. Based in a world comprised of floating islands, you construct buildings, grow food, craft gadgets, and explore said islands with your airship while utilising sunlight, water, and wind to create energy systems. A demo will be available during Steam Next Fest, so why not check it out?

10. Doloc Town

My final suggestion is Panthea’s Doloc Town, an upcoming life sim that’s been described as a combination of Stardew Valley, Fallout, and Terraria. The pixelated game combines the traditional mechanics of a farming sim with side-scrolling gameplay, and the two-hour demo offers a glimpse into the game’s features, including fishing, farming in a post-apocalyptic environment, and its mysterious semi-open world.