GamingOnLinux curates 15 playable demos from Steam Next Fest October 2026

GamingOnLinux editor Liam Squires-Hand has compiled a second round of recommended demos from Steam Next Fest October 2026, following earlier lists of native Linux picks and general selections. The 15 titles span multiple genres including online co-op horror, real-time strategy, deck-building auto battlers, point-and-click adventures, and a remastered Godzilla arena brawler. The article notes the event is crowded with low-effort games, which the author suggests are increasingly identifiable through AI warning browser plugins and repetitive Steam store imagery.

Selected demo highlights

• HELL-A: Online co-op horror action with physics-based combat through Seven Deadly Sins-themed trials
• Palisade: RTS with direct territory command, no squad micromanagement, up to 8-player online multiplayer, built-in map editor
• Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered: Arena brawler remaster with local co-op and new online multiplayer
• Portentum: Deck-building auto battler featuring cryptids as cards
• The House Before: Narrative body horror where the player character is a sentient house with pipe-bones and cave-organs
• Red Echoes: Berlin: Historical strategy set in 1918 revolutionary Berlin with socialist revolutionary faction

Why it matters

The curation addresses a growing discoverability problem on Steam as AI-generated low-effort games proliferate, with the author noting browser plugins now help users filter such content. Several commenters confirmed the value of these round-ups for finding quality Linux-compatible titles.