Steam Next Fest is in full swing and there ’s no shortage of big plot demos you could try out for free . We ’ve been keeping raceway of thebest Steam Next Fest demosand doing deep nose dive into games likeSkin DeepandTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Tactical Takedownthroughout the hebdomad . If you ’ve been espouse along with us so far , you plausibly have a full wishlist by this point .

But withSteam Next Festwinding down in just a few days , this is the part of the event where I ’m go to permit you in on the sicko material . You know what I mean : the kind of preclude goods that are locked away behind the counter . If you want to get really weird before Next Fest ends , permit me introduce you toFear Fa 98 .

I do n’t imagine there ’s ever been a video game gross revenue pitch that ’s as gentle to drop a line and difficult to describe , but here goes : dread Fa 98isSilent HillmeetsFIFA 98 . That ’s the kind of sentence that should make you say “ that makes gumption , ” pause a moment , and then say “ hold back , what ? ” I will say it one more time so you eff you did n’t hallucinate it : dread Fa 98isSilent HillmeetsFIFA 98 .

A passion project from solo developer Jacob Jazz , Fear Fa 98is the fiendish union of the colonnade summercater games of past and PS1 repugnance games . ImagineNFL Blitzwith demon and you ’re mostly there . The demo offers a very early look at the construct and warns players that it ’s just a rough tease , but it ’s just bizarre enough to warrant a attempt before Steam Next Fest ends .

The basics are easy enough to apprehend . It ’s a fast - paced soccer secret plan where I exit the ball between mate , run across the field , and shoot down to mark finish . The only difference is … well , okay , there are a lot of differences . For one , my team is comprised of zombies and supernatural monsters who shamble around a field covered in pentagram and flame . They skin out can one - liners along the blood line of “ You ’re gon na perish ! ” while an original song that belts out the biz ’s title soundtracks the compeer . I can occasionally pick up power - ups around the field that trigger slow - motion time vortexes or give my tool a burst of speed .

Also , sometimes players ’ heads get cut off . That ’s likely significant to mention too .

While the demonstration does indeed palpate very early , I already appreciate whatFear Fa 98is going for . It feel like the kind of forget buy bin biz that a major studio would have release in the former 90s . This would have been the variety of commercial-grade flop that became a cult classic among kids because there one supporter had a copy of it that an out of the loop topology congenator grease one’s palms for them . It ’s like when I playact the crap out ofCriticomon PS1 as a kid because my godmother gifted it to me after buying a game at random . I screw it and wear it was a adult game everyone knew . I only pick up as an adult that it was a critically panned fighting secret plan at the time ( IGN gave it a 3/10 in 1996 ) . It has since been forgotten to time , give it feel like a arcanum that only I know about .

That ’s kind of the vibe I get when tryingFear Fa 98 , and I mean that in a good way . It really captures the tone of game from the industry ’s Wild West epoch , before every cock-a-hoop budget freeing was an enormous undertaking engineer to be a multi - million dollar succeeder . It ’s just a goofy elevator lurch that ’s authentically janky and ultraviolent for no reason . That ’s on the button the kind of game I probably would have owned as a Kyd , and one I still yearn to own now .

Fear Fa 98‘s Steam Next Fest demo is uncommitted now .