It’s another Steam Next Fest! In this episode, the gang rummage through the AI slop of October Next Fest 2026 to find some indie gems. Rachel loved surreal fishing sim About Fishing, puzzle roguelite Night Hike, and the strange, ethereal Nonolith. Liam’s picks are the stakes-and-slow-mo action game El Paso Elsewhere 2, winner of the most bland game name Elta: Defy All Gods, and the whimsical Mr. Records. Rebecca’s demo highlights include mischievous bird sim Bad Magpie, pirate yuri visual novel The Sea is Our Stage, goth database detective game Murder Meet Cute, and the wonderfully heartfelt Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart.

For hyperfixations, Rachel shares a baffling arm-wrestling scene from 2007’s trashy show The Tudors, Liam played Portal 2 with friend of the podcast Yolli, and Rebecca has been playing Self Care Vampire, a self-care reminder mobile game where you romance a hot, sexy vampire. We love to see it.

Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts. Don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!