Steam’s October 2026 Next Fest schedules free demos from Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. through Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. Spanish peninsular time, and the event is underway. Steam’s official event page gives the schedule.

Real o Virtual selected ten demos its staff says it tried, with descriptions spanning shooters, rhythm games, horror and more. For broader festival context, NeoTeo also covered the October Steam Next Fest preview roster.

Ten demos, grouped by play style

Real o Virtual’s selection offers a useful starting point if you’re choosing by genre. These are descriptions of the publication’s picks, not a ranking.

Action and co-op

  • Crashlands: A veteran wave-based game brought to PC VR, with improved graphics and hundreds of alien creatures to fight.
  • Drifters: Blackout Crew: A co-op extraction shooter set in a fortified sanctuary of an alien civilization.
  • PAYDAY: Aces High: A multiplayer title associated with Fast Travel Games.
  • RAID VR: A cooperative first-person shooter roguelite set in space.

Story, rhythm and creation

  • Dance of Drauganna: A narrative experience that shifts into a relaxed, Synth Riders-like section.
  • PatchWorld: A music experience that combines a rhythm game with a creation tool.

Horror and escape rooms

  • Dark Trip: A disturbing escape-room experience.
  • Rustmourne: An action-horror game that wears its Dead Space inspiration openly.

Space exploration and movement

  • Sol Protocol: A cooperative roguelike in which players pilot a ship through procedurally generated solar systems.
  • The Rifted Skies: A first-person action and parkour game that Real o Virtual describes as aimed at physically fit players.

Check VR support for the demo itself

A game’s VR support does not by itself tell you whether its demo works in VR. UploadVR’s separate list names 50 titles and flags six flatscreen games with VR support for which it said demo-level VR support was uncertain. The outlet also says its participant list can change and developers may release or withdraw demos at short notice. UploadVR’s roundup reports that demos for Rustmourne, The Rifted Skies, Drifters: Blackout Crew and RAID VR were released before the festival began.

For Drifters: Blackout Crew, the developer said in a Reddit thread that a separate Quest playtester build was available and nearly identical to the Steam demo at the time. The developer’s comment referred to that Quest build.

One player’s Rustmourne session

Reddit user RookiePrime praised Rustmourne’s atmosphere and creature design, and said it performed well on their PC. They also reported trouble finding a weapon after respawning and wanted more polish in the sound design and more story context. That is one player’s account of their session. RookiePrime shared the impressions in a Reddit thread.