Steam Next Fest Demos, A Virtual Boy-Inspired Shooter And Other New Indie Games Worth Checking Out
The Last Salvage Squad
Developer: Sunfish Kumano
Publisher: Waku Waku Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck verified; demo available), Nintendo Switch, Switch 2
Price: usually $10, with a 10 percent discount on Steam until July 1
It feels right that The Last Salvage Squad is landing on Switch and Switch 2 as well as Steam, since the striking red and black visuals seem very much inspired by the Virtual Boy. This is a 2.5D shooter in which you’ll use an array of firearms and swords to defeat enemies, some of which look like the Martian Tripods from The War of the Worlds.
I’m tempted to check this out, perhaps on Switch 2 since that version supports Joy-Con 2 mouse controls and runs at up to 120fps. I’ve never used a Virtual Boy and this might be about as close as I’ll ever get, largely because I don’t particularly feel like paying $100 for the Switch 2 accessory.
Copa City
Developer and publisher: Triple Espresso S.A.
Platforms: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck), PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Price: usually $40, with 10 percent off on Steam until June 30
Copa City is a soccer game that doesn’t really have much to do with controlling or managing the action on the pitch in the style of EA Sports FC or Football Manager. This is all about the other side of the beautiful game, which is ensuring matches go off without a hitch. You’re in charge of managing the entire matchday experience across a city. Among other things, you’ll recruit volunteers, cater to different groups of supporters by setting up fan zones for both teams and place players in hotels.
I’ve played around an hour of Copa City and haven’t really found it engaging. It’s very rough around the edges and feels like it was rushed out to capitalize on World Cup hype. The interface is clunky, the game doesn’t explain its systems very well and, as others have noted, essential items are sometimes gated behind a nonsensical progression system. Worst of all was something I noticed about 15 minutes into the tutorial: Loren Ipsum placeholder text on a menu screen. Yikes.
To their credit, the developers say they’re listening to players’ concerns and working to fix the issues. I like to give developers the benefit of the doubt as much as possible. We’re all aware of games that have been completely turned around after a poor initial reaction. But with there being far more games to play than I have time for, I can’t see myself returning to Copa City. This one’s going on the transfer list, sadly.
Thank You For Your Application
Developer: IceLemonTea Studio
Publishers: IceLemonTea Studio, No More Robots
Platform: Steam (Windows and Mac; playable on Steam Deck; demo available)
Price: usually $20, with a 15 percent discount until July 3
In Thank You For Your Application, you review candidates for jobs and decide whether to bring them on board depending how well they fit a company’s requirements. You’ll check their resumes and other documents, such as internship reports and even emotional evaluations. In addition, you’ll manage your own life by paying bills and managing your mental health.
This game — which echoes both No More Robots’s own Not Tonight series and Papers, Please — seems like a timely commentary on late-stage capitalism, particularly given how tough many people are finding it to land work right now. It even seems like your character is trapped in a company town, as they can only spend their earnings from the company within Aeropolis.
The Quiet Things
Developer and publisher: Silver Script Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; demo available)
Price: Usually $25, with a 10 percent discount until June 25
The Quiet Things was in the news recently as BAFTA pulled a trailer for the game from its game awards ceremony at the last minute. The organization claimed it was “not in a position to sufficiently warn” attendees about “themes that may be a trigger for some.” BAFTA added in a statement to Kotaku that it fully supports “games that engage with difficult subjects.”
Indeed, the Steam page for The Quiet Things warns that it “contains discussion of self-harm, suicide, sexual assault/non-consensual sex and childhood abuse.” It’s an autobiographical game that’s based on the developer’s own story and explores important issues from the perspective of a survivor. That makes it more than worthy of attention.
