We Love It’s guide to…
Next Fest is awesome, but HUUUGE and gone too quickly! The Next Festival Explorer is here to do the hard work of finding you the best, possibly hidden, demos to play!
EXPLORE THE DEMOS ↓
A short but packed incremental game where you use a spinning top (spinner) to mine, make money, upgrade, get special powers, and defeat bosses.
Don't worry, this game is made by an experienced developer. It's fun and good quality. Give it a try!That being said: AI was used to facilitate development. For example: it was used to facilitate coding, writing, and making steam assets.
Code, Writing, Marketing Assets
Used for generating images such as character sprites, backgrounds, and logos. Also used for text translation (which might be terrible).
2D Images, Marketing Assets, Localization
Hold the line across a voice-acted 21-mission campaign, or begin a Long Dawn run: a generated board, no gold, and a card draft after every wave. Ten spires, 41 foes, online co-op for up to 9 Keepers, 6v6 Rival Keeps, and a level …
Some of the content in Dawnheart Keepers was created with the help of generative AI tools during development. All of it was made before release: the game does not generate anything with AI while you play, and it never connects to an AI service.What that covers:- Illustrated art - menu and story backgrounds, story scenes, the world map, character and tower portraits, and the upgrade-card plates - was made with image-generation models run locally on the developer's own machine, from prompts the developer wrote.- The English and Hebrew voice-over was generated with ElevenLabs from scripts written by the developer.- Sound effects were generated from written prompts, or synthesised procedurally in code.All of it was reviewed, edited, curated and tested by the developer before it shipped, and the same applies to the trailer and store art.The music is not AI-generated. It is written as code and synthesised by the game itself while you play, the way game soundtracks were built before recorded audio.
2D Images, Voiceover, Sound Effects, Code, Marketing Assets
PawTop Cats is a cozy app with animated cats that live on top of your windows. Choose different skins, interact with your fluffy assistants, and add a little cute chaos to your desktop.
Some cosmetic cat skins and visual assets were created with the assistance of generative AI tools. All final assets are manually reviewed, edited, and integrated by the developer. The game does not generate AI content during gameplay.
2D Images
Eight crooked casino tables, one roguelite spine. Rig the wheel, load the dice, mark the cards — stack charms, omens and gilded editions until the house edge is yours. Eight antes, eight stakes, eighty challenges, Endless beyond.…
Generative AI tools were used during development to assist with portions of the game’s code, including implementation, debugging, refactoring, and testing. The resulting code was reviewed, edited, integrated, and tested before inclusion in the shipped build. The game does not contain a generative AI model, does not connect to a generative AI service, does not accept player prompts, and does not generate code or other AI content while running.
Code, QA/Testing
A story-rich arcade brick-breaker. Break through the Fog to restore a family's century of memories — 132 fully voiced levels, four generations, one old machine that refuses to forget. Play calm. The bricks are somebody's wall.
A small amount of artwork, the soundtrack, and voiceovers were generated with AI.
2D Images, Music, Voiceover
Combo Break fuses the hypnotic pull of a peg-bouncer with roguelite deckbuilding. Load your board with special pegs, chain their effects into screen-filling combos, and watch the payouts explode. One more ball. One bigger combo. …
Helped find minor coding bugs/issues and coding suggestions.
Code
Goblins in goggles, a fake power company, and a whole human street to rob. Sneak through a sleepy edge-of-town neighbourhood at night, unplug fans and heaters under the guards' torches, haul them home to crank into power, and bui…
Pre-generated: The player character's 3D model and skeleton were generated with an AI 3D tool (Meshy). Its animations were made in Blender with the help of an AI assistant. Some early concept art was AI-generated. AI tools were also used to help write code, English UI text and Chinese translation, and all of it was reviewed by the developer. No AI-generated content is created while you play.
3D Models, Animation, 2D Images, Code, UI Elements, Localization
Coilbound is a dark fantasy roguelike where every enemy is a card of hidden traits. Descend a coiling dungeon, read each foe's abilities, and choose your path one card at a time — strike or slip past. But some traits refuse to en…
Some of the visual artwork in Coilbound — including character and card illustrations, environment art, and store assets — was created with the assistance of generative AI image tools during development. All generated content was reviewed, edited, and curated by the developer. Coilbound does not use any AI-generated content in real time during gameplay.
2D Images, Marketing Assets
A horde survivor that plays your music. Thousands of enemies, all moving to the beat, and when the drop hits, so do you. Put on your favourite song and watch the whole screen come apart in time with it.
Some of the visual assets in this game including character key art, promotional images, and certain 3D art were created with the assistance of generative AI tools during development. All AI-generated content was reviewed, edited, and integrated by the developer. No generative AI is used at runtime; nothing is generated live while you play. All gameplay, code, and design are hand-crafted by a developer.
2D Images, 3D Models, Marketing Assets
A first-person chase horror set in endless liminal poolrooms. Scattered memories, multiple endings — and a world that rebuilds itself into a new nightmare every run.
This work incorporates the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the following areas:Parts of the artwork, parts of the sound, and localization.
2D Images, Sound Effects, Localization
Dodgeball Bash is a competitive dodgeball game built around timing, movement, and mind games. Throw, dodge, block, and catch your way through solo challenges and online matches, complete missions, train your skills, and customize…
Generative AI tools were used during development to assist with programming, debugging, and selected visual and marketing assets. All AI-assisted code and content were reviewed, tested, and edited by the developer. No content is generated during gameplay.
Code, 2D Images, Marketing Assets