Brand-New Indie RPGs You Probably Missed From Steam Next Fest

October's Steam Next Fest is over, but with it came hundreds of amazing demos and games of all shapes and sizes. One of the most stacked genres was RPGs, where many indie developers have made major strides in creating amazing new role-playing experiences, from roguelikes to immersive first-personshooters.

However, with all the new releases, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd, especially with the influx of AI-generated games, which has made discovering the best of the bunch much harder than before. Yet even with all that competition, these new RPGs have managed to pull away from the masses at Steam Next Fest and prove that they deserve to stand among the best in the genre.

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Outcast Tales

The Wildest Of Wastelands

• Free-to-play turn-based roguelike with emergent encounters.
• Character interactions woven into gameplay.

Outcast Tales is a party-based tactical roguelike set in a post-apocalyptic desert, where everything from mutants to robots is out to get you. Characters are integral to the entire game, and each brings their own class and personality, impacting how you fight and how you build relationships over the course of a run.

There is a big emphasis on tactical combinations, and you have a lot of control over the kinds of crewmates you bring into battle, even if you need to dig deep to find their strengths. The most interesting part for me is the interactions outside of battle, where you can form or break bonds with your team. You can even link the game to your Twitch and have your viewers influence your gameplay, adding an extra social layer to an already heavily character-driven RPG.

Queen's Domain

Welcome Back, King's Field

• Inspired by classic first-person RPGs.
• Expansive world full of over 100 enemies.

Queen’s Domain is a retro-fantasy action RPG that brings back that old-school feel with plenty of modern features. Washing up on the shores of the mysterious Isle of Neasied, you set out to find your father, fighting enemies and uncovering secrets hidden within every structure and surface.

The inspirations are clear, even without considering the game's name pun. The stamina-based combat pairs well with the exploration-based progression, letting every minor victory feel like a major triumph. The variety is also absurd, with so many different enemies and weapons to find that, after a couple dozen or so hours, I am still finding more content to enjoy and will no doubt replay it all over again, just to find the countless secrets I missed the first time around.

Divine Frequency

Nightmare Doesn't Begin To Describe It

• A surreal shooter with RPG mechanics.
• Choices dictate encounters and discoveries.

Divine Frequency is a horror-RPG FPS built in a Doom-style engine, with a VHS-warped retro visual style that's equal parts terrifying and exciting. That aesthetic is the real draw, as no matter if you're fighting an enemy or just admiring your surroundings, everything feels like a surreal fever dream from which there is no escape.

Aside from the visuals, there is a deep RPG layer that controls how you interact and engage with the world and the challenges within it. However, as your ammo supplies run dry and enemies become more menacing, you will need to think carefully about where the safest way forward is. One wrong decision could send you spiraling into the depths with no end in sight.

RPG Chess

The Royal Game Just Got Better

• Elemental effects and states decide wins.
• Roguelite campaign and PvP battles.

RPG Chess is exactly what it says on the tin. The game reimagines chess as a turn-based RPG where, instead of simply capturing pieces, every attack triggers an automated one-on-one battle decided by stats, elements, and abilities. This means you need to consider the specific strengths and weaknesses of each piece before deciding where to strike.

Despite the more outlandish rules, the king is still the focus, and you build your team around it by positioning pieces with specific classes and abilities to defend it from every possible angle. There is both a roguelite campaign and a PvP mode, meaning you can learn the basics and conquer AI, then turn to your friend to decide who the master of the board is in some of the most tense 1v1s the chess world has ever seen.

CYBERLIFE

Hacking Is The Only Way

• Terminal gameplay.
• Player-driven economy revolving around factions.

CYBERLIFE is an online hacking RPG played entirely in a terminal shared with many other players at once. Using commands on a fictional network, your task is to infiltrate corporations and extract their data, using both your own methods and by taking control of routes used by others.

The economy runs without developer intervention, with stock markets that rise and fall as players breach companies, so other hackers’ attacks can decide just how much control you have within the world. There are plenty of other terminal games out there, but CYBERLIFE, to me, is one of the most impressive, combining deep RPG mechanics with real player interactions to create a gameplay loop that really makes you feel like a skilled hacker with the power to take down the world.