Technologies

The 10 Best Steam Next Fest Games You Need to Wishlist

Steam Next Fest lets you get a hands-on first peek at the best upcoming new games. Here are the best demos from this Next Fest.

It’s nearly time for the Steam summer sale, which is one of the biggest retail events for patient PC gamers.

It’s also the perfect time to find new and innovative indie games to add to your wishlist: Before each big Steam sale, Valve runs a Next Fest event to let developers show off their projects, get feedback and build hype before their big release.

Summer 2025’s Next Fest has been chock full of Hades-likes, co-op hack-and-slash adventures and other reliably entertaining games but some of the best stuff in this event is what the algorithm doesn’t show you.

I’ve played dozens of demos, ranging from games that are featured on the front page of the store to hidden gems that take some digging to find. Here are the best PC games from this Next Fest showcase that you absolutely need to have wishlisted.

Dead as Disco

A groovy beat ’em up to the beat

Brain Jar Games’ Dead as Disco combines Hi-Fi Rush’s rhythmic combat with Sifu’s brutal beatdowns. It’s up to you to pilot Charlie Disco as he braves neon-soaked city streets to take out his ex-bandmates in an ’80s-themed revenge quest.

As you punch, kick, parry and dodge through throngs of thugs, fights transform into carefully choreographed dances, with every blow landing to the beat of the music. Did I mention that the demo’s featured song is a cover of Michael Sembello’s Maniac? Dead as Disco embraces the cheesiness of the movies it’s obviously inspired by but the game is built on the solid foundations of a kinetic and satisfying combat system.

Dead as Disco doesn’t have a release date yet but this is one Next Fest demo that has converted me into a day-one customer.

Platforms: PC

Voidbreaker

A breakneck FPS with a focus on environmental destruction

I’m a sucker for first-person shooters and developer Stubby Games’ Voidbreaker (styled as Void/Breaker) is scratching my itch for a fast-paced, destruction-heavy shooter romp. You’re trapped in a combat simulation to fulfill the every whim of a rogue AI, as it tests and perfects killer robots using your training data. But a mysterious voice in the system tells you there’s a chance to escape — if you play your cards right.

Voidbreaker is a project created by the same solo dev behind The Entropy Centre, and the once-sterile-now-dilapidated sci-fi visuals make a comeback here. Instead of navigating this urban decay, you’ll turn it against your foes. In addition to classic movement shooter gameplay, players will force grip and toss environmental objects and blow building supports to smithereens with well-placed grenades. Fully simulated physics objects rain down on enemies, allowing you to weaponize the world around you.

Players can upgrade their grip, grenade or gun with mods found around the map, granting them better odds of successfully completing a run and getting one step closer to escaping the simulation. My favorite find was a legendary mod that turned my pistol rounds into a short-range field of electric sparks but there are dozens of loadout-altering abilities to play around with.

You’ll get your shot at breaking out of the simulation soon. Voidbreaker will be released on Aug. 20.

Platforms: PC

Morsels

The Binding of Isaac featuring grungy little Pokemon

When you see Annapurna’s publisher seal in a game trailer, odds are good that the demo won’t disappoint. And if you enjoy twin-stick shooter roguelikes akin to Binding of Isaac, you certainly can’t go wrong with developer Furcula’s Morsels.

This game takes place in a world where magical cards fell from space, allowing certain creatures to take on powerful monster forms (it’s like a grotesque twist on magical girls). Unfortunately, a gang of hardened criminals rules the world with their superior cards, leaving weaklings — that’s you — to scurry away from danger and try to scrape by in the muck.

When you discover your own card powers, you realize it’s time to take the fight to the baddies. A competent twin-stick shooter in its own right, Morsels’ big twist is the ability to find additional monster cards that let you diversify your abilities. Certain Morsels fire streams of low damage bullets, others fire shotgun blasts and rarer Morsels have special abilities that can create powerful damage-dealing synergies as a team.

If you’re looking for a dash of on-the-fly strategizing in your action roguelikes, Morsels is right up your alley. The game’s cute-but-grungy aesthetic and retro graininess are a neat artistic bonus. Morsels will be released in 2025.

Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch

Dragon March

A sixth generation console’s arcade adventure

GameCube aesthetics are so back. Developer Ambystoman’s Dragon March is what you’d get if the classic arcade game Snake was built for sixth-generation consoles. Players guide Cereal the mecha-dragon through twisting and turning levels to find and reboot his friends, with a retro vibe reminiscent of Dreamcast’s ChuChu Rocket.

Unfortunately, the cyberspace world is dangerous and there are enemies who’d want to see the adorable polygonal metal lizards shut back down. You’ll be able to speed up or slow down the cadence of Cereal’s march to avoid slithering centipedes, fireball projectiles and more. Just be careful not to loop around into one of the friendly dragons following your lead. Just like in the original iteration of Snake, it’s a surefire way to get a game over.

Dragon March doesn’t have a release date yet but it’s coming along brilliantly with cutscenes and graphics that remind me of classic Digimon.

Platforms: PC

House of Necrosis

Classic survival horror with a turn-based twist

I didn’t realize that I needed a Frankensteined combination of classic Resident Evil and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in my life and I’m sure you didn’t realize you needed this either. But developer Warkus is an absolute visionary so the turn-based RPG House of Necrosis is shambling into our lives nonetheless.

In House of Necrosis, you’re stepping into the role of a legally distinct female special agent investigating zombies in a legally distinct ever-shifting mansion but instead of fumbling with tank controls, the entire game takes place on a grid.

You’ll have to carefully plan every step to descend deeper into the mansion while staying healthy, conserving bullets and still earning enough experience to level up and get stronger. Each run is a brutal test of your wits and it’s easy to get cornered by shamblers, zombified dogs and other nasty monsters. If you’re truly unlucky, you might find yourself stalked by a giant zombie with a blade arm — his presence inspires fear not unlike Nemesis from Resident Evil 3.

House of Necrosis doesn’t have a release date yet but the demo is a very polished look at what’s to come.

Platforms: PC, Linux

DuneCrawl

Desert freedom fighting in four player co-op

Developer Alientrap’s DuneCrawl is a great hack-and-slash adventure that supports up to four-player co-op — I played solo but this game is definitely built to be enjoyed with your friends. In DuneCrawl, terracotta warriors attack your peaceful village with the eponymous Dune Crawler (a massive crustacean converted into a weapons platform).

It’s up to you and your friends to defeat the invaders, take back the sentient ship and pilot it around a massive map to wipe out any other ne’er-do-wells that roam the sandy seas. DuneCrawl’s gameplay is split between on-foot combat where players can use swords, bows, bombs and primitive guns to get the upper hand and Dune Crawler spelunking, where your team will explore the world and use cannons to fight massive opponents.

This game has an incredible capacity for co-op chaos but a team of people who often play together will surely move like a well-oiled machine. DuneCrawl will be released in 2025.

Platforms: PC

Hell Clock

Diablo-esque dark fantasy ARPG rooted in real Brazilian history

Developer Rogue Snail’s Hell Clock is a dark fantasy reimagining of Brazil’s War of Canudos — introducing many gamers (myself included) to a bloody historical period.

Pajeu is battling the Republic’s military forces when the dead rise once again. Now he’s forced to fight a war on two fronts to save his friends and comrades from mortal peril and change the course of history.

Hell Clock is an extremely competent Diablo-like action RPG — it’s also a speedrunning game in its own right, because you have a timer ticking down to beat the levels in your run. New buffs automatically apply to your build, keeping you in the action. Once you fail a run, you get sent back to the hub area, where you can unlock new permanent gear and other meta-progression buffs from a massive skill tree.

There’s a lot to see and do in Hell Clock and your power will cascade as you unlock more powerful abilities and augments. Even casual action RPG fans will find a game they can spend a lot of time with here. Hell Clock will be released on July 22.

Platforms: PC

1000 Deaths

Psychedelic 3D spelunking through headspace

Developer Pariah Interactive’s 1000 Deaths is a surrealist platformer (think Psychonauts on even more psychedelic substances) focused on the big «what if» moments everyone experiences throughout life.

As you get dragged into the headspaces of four separate characters, you’ll alter their life’s history by completing puzzling platforming challenges. Players will have to fiddle with gravity as they walk around curved levels, with gameplay reminiscent of some of Super Mario Galaxy’s best moments.

The decisions you make will alter the narrative and the platforming mechanics of future levels: I sent the rat-like creature, Vayu, to Hollywood with their friend rather than having them stay in their hometown, which opened a diverging branch of levels to explore. I think 1000 Deaths will have a lot of replay value, as most gamers will want to find hidden secrets and explore every branching path.

1000 Deaths will be released on Aug. 7.

Platforms: PC

Passant: A Chess Roguelike

What if Balatro was chess?

Developer Marc Makes Games’ Passant is to chess what Balatro is to poker and that’s no exaggeration. The big difference is that Passant requires you to put in a bit of work — you need to have a solid understanding of the tabletop game before you start fiddling with all the bells and whistles this game adds.

As you defeat enemy setups in Passant, you gain cash that you can spend on new pieces, temporary power-ups and badges that fundamentally change the rules of the game. The benefits you gain from a badge can be as simple as adding more turn undos for each game you play or as wacky as letting you promote units like bishops and rooks if you can successfully move them to the other side of the board.

I really suck at chess but I was able to roll through a couple games on the normal difficulty once I put a good setup into play. I’m fond of the dragon bishops, a special unit that can take enemies diagonally or in any adjacent square. Every third round you play, you’ll go up against a boss board with buffing badges of their own. I’ve been able to conquer the first boss a handful of times but that second boss has proven to be a bit of a doozy.

Elon Musk infamously said he doesn’t like chess because it doesn’t have tech trees. That’s pretty on-brand for the Tesla CEO, but at least Passant exists so he can take another crack at one of the most pedigreed board games in history. Passant: A Chess Roguelike will be released on Aug. 11.

Platforms: PC

Under The Island

One teenager’s tropical island-spanning Zelda adventure

Developer Slime King Games’ Under The Island combines 2D RPG hack-and-slash action with a heaping helping of teen angst, daring to ask: What if a moody teenager was thrust into Link’s Awakening?

Nia’s parents are moving to Seashell Island to research the local ruins, which means she’ll be sequestered on an island with no friends and nothing to do for a whole year. That might seem like a crummy deal, except for the fact that she immediately falls into an undiscovered cave and meets an ancient bird person while her family is unpacking the car. Nia discovers Seashell Island is on the verge of sinking beneath the waves so she has to go on a classical ’90s-themed quest for the MacGuffins.

Players will need to brave the deceptively gorgeous pixel art island and its nasty critters, find upgrades and solve puzzles to unearth the mysteries of Nia’s new home. This game is classic Zelda through-and-through, and anyone who enjoys Link’s original adventures will appreciate this contemporary take on the genre.

Under The Island’s release date has yet to be revealed — but just like with the other entries on this list, the best way to stay updated on a cool-looking game is to add it to your Steam wishlist.

Platforms: PC

Technologies

Homebuyers Are Scoring 5% Mortgage Rates With These Simple Strategies

You don’t have to settle for high rates in 2025. Here’s how to cut your mortgage rate by 1% or more.

If you’re looking to buy a home, you probably know that housing affordability is in the dumps. Record-high prices and high mortgage rates are serving a double whammy to prospective buyers everywhere.

But mortgage rates aren’t set in stone. Although current rates are hovering near 7%, more borrowers are finding creative ways to snag rates below what lenders advertise. Last year, nearly half of buyers purchased a home at a rate below 5%, according to Zillow.

«With borrowing costs elevated, buyers can take steps to reduce their housing expenses by securing a lower mortgage rate,» said Hannah Jones, senior research analyst at Realtor.com.

The market forces that influence mortgage rates are out of your control. However, if you’re financially prepared and shop around, you can save up to 1.5% on your personalized rate. Optimizing your credit score, making a larger down payment and negotiating with multiple lenders could also help you unlock homeownership in 2025.

Even a 1% difference in your rate can translate to about 10% savings on your monthly mortgage payment and tens of thousands of dollars in savings over the course of your loan.

Here are several ways to reduce your mortgage rate.

1. Improve your credit score

If your credit needs work, consider taking steps to raise your credit score before applying for a mortgage.

Lenders look at your credit score to decide whether you qualify for a home loan and what interest rate you receive. FICO credit scores range from 300 to 850, with 850 being the best score possible. Higher credit scores show you’ve managed debt responsibly in the past so it lowers your risk to a lender. This can help you secure a lower interest rate and save big.

«The best mortgage rates and products are typically reserved for those with a credit score of 740 or better,» said Sarah DeFlorio, vice president of mortgage banking at William Raveis Mortgage.

According to a 2024 Lending Tree study, when borrowers moved from the «fair» credit score range (580 to 669) to the «very good» range (740 to 799), they shaved 0.22% percentage points off their interest rate. That rate difference helped borrowers save $16,677 over the lifetime of a home loan.

2. Increase your down payment

Your down payment is the amount of money you contribute to your home purchase upfront. Each type of home loan comes with a minimum down payment, usually ranging from zero to 5%, but a higher down payment means a cheaper interest rate. That’s because the lender takes on less risk when you contribute more toward the loan.

Because a down payment lowers your mortgage rate and builds your home equity, home loan experts often recommend making a large down payment of at least 20%.

3. Take out an adjustable-rate mortgage

An adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, is a home loan with a fixed rate for a set introductory period, such as five years. Once that period ends, the interest rate can go up or down in regular intervals for the remaining term.

The big appeal of ARMs is that the introductory interest rate is often lower than the rate on traditional mortgages. In general, the average 5/1 ARM rate is about 0.5% lower for the first several years than the average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.

4. Negotiate your mortgage rate

When you’re applying for mortgage loans, you don’t have to go with the company that did your preapproval. In fact, research shows that getting rate quotes from multiple lenders and comparing offers can result in significant savings.

If you want to use this strategy, start by submitting a mortgage application with lenders that fit your criteria. Once you have a few loan estimates in hand, use the best one to negotiate with the lender you want to work with.

The loan officer may lower your rate, help you save on closing costs or offer other incentives to get you onboard. In a 2023 LendingTree survey, 39% of homebuyers negotiated the interest rate on their most recent home purchase. Out of that pool of buyers, 80% were able to get a better deal.

5. Choose a shorter home loan term

Nearly 90% of homebuyers choose a 30-year fixed mortgage term because it offers the most flexibility and monthly payment affordability. Payments are lower because they’re stretched over a longer timeline, but you can always put more toward the principal here and there.

But when you take out a longer-term home loan, «you’re holding up the lender’s money, and there’s an opportunity cost for the funds to be invested elsewhere,» said Nicole Rueth, SVP of the Rueth Team Powered by Movement Mortgage.

Shorter loan terms, such as 10-year and 15-year mortgages and ARMs, have lower interest rates, so you can reduce your rate now.

Choosing a shorter repayment term could help you save money because you’ll be paying less in interest over the long term. But don’t make the homebuying mistake of choosing a shorter loan term just for the lower rate. Shorter loan terms mean you’ll have less time to repay the money you borrow, resulting in higher monthly payments, so it’s important to ensure they fit within your budget.

6. Buy mortgage points

A mortgage point, also known as a mortgage discount point, is an upfront fee you can pay the lender in exchange for a lower interest rate on your home loan.

Each point costs 1% of the purchase price of a home and usually knocks the rate down by 0.25%. On a $400,000 home, you’d pay $4,000 for one discount point. The lender may even allow you to buy four mortgage points to lower the rate from 7% to 6%, although you’d have to shell out $16,000 to get there.

To check whether this strategy is worthwhile, take the total cost of the points and compare it to the overall monthly savings. In this case, when you pay $16,000 to buy four points and save $210 per month, it would take you more than six years to reach your break-even point.

Some experts encourage putting any extra money you have toward a down payment instead of buying points. That’s because if you sell the home or refinance before reaching your break-even point, you lose money. But the amount you spent on your down payment becomes part of your equity.

7. Get a temporary mortgage rate buydown

A temporary mortgage rate buydown involves paying a fee at closing to lower your interest rate for the first few years of your loan term. Because of the considerable upfront cost, this strategy only makes financial sense when someone else pays that fee. Home builders, sellers and even some lenders may offer to cover this type of buydown to boost sales, especially when market rates are elevated.

For example, a lender may offer a «3-2-1» buydown, where the interest rate is slashed by 3 percentage points in the first year, 2 percentage points in the second year and 1 percentage point in the third. Starting in the fourth year, you pay the full rate for the rest of the loan term.

Buyers often choose a temporary buydown and plan to refinance later on. Your buydown funds are refundable and you can use them toward closing costs when you refinance (if rates do drop).

What is a ‘good’ mortgage rate?

The majority of US adults would consider purchasing a home if rates were to drop to 4% or below. Yet most mortgage forecasts don’t project average rates dipping below 6.5% this year.

In a historical sense, a good mortgage rate is generally at or below the national average. Since 1971, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has averaged 7.72%, according to Freddie Mac. In the last year, average mortgage rates have mostly fluctuated between 6% and 7%.

Affordability is relative to your overall financial situation. And because mortgage rates can change daily and even hourly, the definition of a «good» rate can change quickly.

«What matters is the rate you can get today,» said Colin Robertson, founder of The Truth About Mortgage. According to Robertson, the only way to know if you’re getting a good deal is to speak with a few different lenders and brokers and then compare their quotes against the daily or weekly averages.

Buying a home is a personal decision so it should feel right for your situation and budget. As you shop for a home, consider multiple strategies to lower your rate. A mortgage calculator can help you estimate what you’d pay each month.

Read more: Still Chasing 2% Mortgage Rates? Here’s Why It’s Time to Let Them Go

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, June 15

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 15.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Long, drawn-out story
Answer: SAGA

5A clue: With 6-Down, become hopelessly infatuated
Answer: CRUSH

7A clue: Unsettled feeling
Answer: AGITA

8A clue: Back tooth
Answer: MOLAR

9A clue: Passionate student, perhaps
Answer: NERD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: A text saying «Congratulations! You’ve won a $1,000 gift card,» usually
Answer: SCAM

2D clue: Element between chlorine and potassium on the periodic table
Answer: ARGON

3D clue: Craftiness
Answer: GUILE

4D clue: «___ Is Born» (film)
Answer: ASTAR

6D clue: See 5-Across
Answer: HARD

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 15, #469

Here are hints and answers for NYT Strands puzzle No. 469 for June 15.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle celebrates Father’s Day, but in kind of an oddball way. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Here’s to him.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Dad food.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DRAW, WARD, PAIR, SPARE, PORE, PADS, CLAY, PLUS, FORE, SCORE, CORE, CRAW, CORN, PATH

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: