Steam Next Fest is about to unleash another enormous collection of demos, and while plenty of developers are preparing to show off their latest dungeon crawlers, deckbuilders, and monster-slaying adventures, others have been cooking up ideas that are a little harder to explain.
We’re talking about a real-life Maltipoo battling enemies with Balkan food, a frog capable of wielding three tongues at once, and a shotgun that needs feeding before it gets grumpy. There’s even a game where Albert Einstein can recruit historical figures to fight alongside him.
One of the best things about rogue games is how far developers can stretch the genre. Give someone procedural generation, unpredictable upgrades, and a few unusual mechanics, and there’s really no telling what they’ll come up with. Sometimes the results are clever, sometimes they’re completely bonkers, and occasionally they’re both.
We’ve rounded up 11 of the strangest rogue games worth watching during October’s Steam Next Fest. Prepare for some very unusual adventures.
1. Mr Magpie’s Harmless Card Game
Welcome to your new job! The office is clean, the company seems respectable, and your cheerful host, Mr Magpie, has arranged a little card game to help you settle in. There are opportunities to earn money, climb the corporate ladder, and demonstrate your value as an employee. The only minor concern is that losing could get you killed, certain cards are actively trying to murder you, and your employer seems far more interested in profits than workplace safety. Still, at least the onboarding process is memorable.
Developed by Giant Light Studios, Mr Magpie’s Harmless Card Game is a surreal corporate horror roguelike deckbuilder where players gamble their lives for cash while navigating an increasingly nightmarish office environment. Building card combinations and exploiting powerful synergies are essential to progressing through the company’s twisted challenges, while dangerous JERRY cards threaten to bring your career to a rather abrupt end.
Its combination of workplace satire, unsettling visuals, and deadly card-based decisions makes this one of the stranger deckbuilders on the horizon. We’d strongly recommend reading the employee handbook before signing anything.
2. Cookiesaner
The streets of the Balkans are about to experience a very unusual invasion. Somewhere between the autumn leaves of Ljubljana’s Tivoli Park and the bustling streets of Sarajevo, a small apricot Maltipoo named Cookie is on a mission to eat absolutely everything in sight. Unfortunately for the local population, her appetite is enormous, her arsenal consists entirely of traditional Balkan food, and every snack she devours makes her bigger. Before long, this adorable little dog could be rolling through the streets like an unstoppable furry wrecking ball.
Created by solo developer Endorfin, Cookiesaner is a bullet heaven roguelite starring a real-life Maltipoo whose love of food has been turned into an increasingly destructive superpower. Cookie automatically attacks enemies with grilled ćevapi, boomeranging bread, orbiting cabbage rolls, and other culinary weapons while collecting food to fill her stomach. As she eats, she progresses through five belly stages, growing stronger but slower until reaching a temporary God Mode that lets her flatten entire hordes.
Different build cards, starting bonuses, and boss encounters add variety to each run, while a Balkan folk-inspired soundtrack accompanies the chaos. There’s also a dog-catcher, an angry head waiter, and a rival street dog standing between Cookie and her missing brother. All this trouble over a hungry Maltipoo.
3. Gear Up Einstein!
History’s greatest minds and warriors have been summoned from across the centuries, and somebody has decided the best use of their talents is throwing them into chaotic tactical battles. Armed with a time machine and access to some of humanity’s most recognizable historical figures, you’re assembling quite an unconventional fighting force. There’s no telling who might end up standing beside whom, but watching legendary figures from completely different eras work together to defeat an enemy army sounds like a pretty entertaining way to rewrite history.
Developed by No Deadlines, Gear Up Einstein! is a strategic roguelite auto-battler where players travel through time, recruit historical characters, and equip them with powerful gear. Each recruit brings unique abilities to the battlefield, with combinations of equipment and character perks creating opportunities for increasingly elaborate strategies. Positioning your squad, managing resources, and visiting shops for upgrades are essential to surviving tougher missions, while combat unfolds automatically once your preparations are complete.
You can tackle the adventure alone or team up with two friends, trading equipment and experimenting with cooperative builds. It’s the sort of historical crossover that would make a school textbook considerably more entertaining.
4. Heroll: IF
The world has fallen apart, your hometown lies in ruins, and the hero tasked with putting everything back together might be a little unhinged. With danger waiting around every corner and an entire fantasy world in desperate need of saving, you’d probably appreciate a reliable plan. Instead, you’ve been handed two dice and a board filled with unpredictable encounters. Your next great adventure could bring valuable treasure, a powerful enemy, or something completely unexpected, depending on how the dice decide to behave.
Created by OFFMOON Inc., Heroll: IF is a roguelite board-game RPG where every roll sends your hero around an ever-changing board packed with battles, rewards, and unusual events. Players collect equipment, acquire blessings, and recruit adorable pets while gradually becoming strong enough to overcome increasingly difficult encounters. The looping board structure means your adventure develops through repeated journeys, with new opportunities and challenges appearing as you progress.
Different decisions and dice rolls influence how each attempt unfolds, making careful preparation important even when luck seems determined to interfere. Saving the world is already a demanding occupation without having to rely on two tiny cubes to decide what happens next.
5. Submundus
You awaken in a prison cell buried somewhere beneath the world, with no memory of who you are or how you ended up there. Beyond the bars lies a sprawling underground realm of forgotten ruins, dangerous creatures, and civilizations hidden far from the sunlight. Escaping means fighting your way upward through this hostile environment, but hunger, exhaustion, and injuries are already taking their toll. Every wound becomes another burden to carry, and even the simple act of going without food could make your next encounter harder to survive.
Developed by Tabula Forge, Submundus is a dark fantasy survival roguelike deckbuilder with an unusual approach to character management. Your deck represents your body, inventory, and the passage of time. Taking damage, missing meals, or pushing yourself without rest introduces harmful cards that interfere with your ability to survive. Players can begin as one of four characters, including a Brute, Contrabandist, Elven Apprentice, or Dwarf Acolyte, before developing their abilities through different paths. Combat, exploration, and survival decisions all influence the cards available to you, turning even basic needs into strategic problems. It’s a grim little adventure where neglecting your health could quite literally leave you holding a terrible hand.
6. Brofish
A peaceful fishing village is facing a rather unpleasant invasion, with waves of undead creatures advancing under the command of the Sea King. The villagers desperately need someone capable of defending their homes, and your solution is to grab a fishing rod, head to the water, and start recruiting an army of fish. Not ordinary fish, either. These peculiar aquatic warriors can poison enemies, set them on fire, summon allies, and generally cause far more trouble than anything you’d expect to find at the end of a fishing line.
Created by melatoninx, Brofish is a colorful roguelite auto-battler combining fishing, creature collecting, and tower defense. Players catch bizarre fish, decide which ones deserve a place on their team, and upgrade their aquatic army to withstand increasingly dangerous waves of undead enemies. Feeding fish makes them stronger, while combining three matching creatures evolves them into more powerful versions. Different abilities allow players to experiment with combinations of poison, fire, healing, and support effects, while unwanted catches can be sold to fund another fishing trip.
Between the adorable hand-drawn creatures and the rather serious business of defending a village from the undead, Brofish gives the humble fishing rod a much more heroic purpose.
7. Quantum Covenant
Across the galaxy, enormous battle arenas have become hunting grounds for heavily armed enemies and towering mechanical bosses. Fortunately, you’ve got an advanced antigravity hovercraft capable of tearing across the landscape at ridiculous speeds, armed with enough futuristic weaponry to turn the surrounding area into a spectacular light show. The only problem is that slowing down for even a moment could leave you surrounded, making survival a frantic race between keeping your vehicle moving and destroying everything trying to shoot you out of the sky.
Developed by Martyr Games Inc., Quantum Covenant is a high-speed sci-fi action roguelike built around physics-based hovercraft combat. Players choose from different antigravity ships, each offering unique abilities, before battling through waves of enemies using lasers, rockets, artillery, and other powerful weapons. Upgrades and special Protocols allow you to develop increasingly destructive builds, while movement abilities help you glide across varied terrain and avoid incoming attacks.
The game also supports cooperative play with up to three friends, allowing players to combine ship abilities and experiment with powerful team strategies. Its custom-built engine emphasizes speed, gravity, and unusual movement physics, making this an interesting choice for anyone who prefers their roguelikes with engines, explosions, and very little time to stand still.
8. Leaping Dungeon
Disaster has struck the frog kingdom. An army of flies has kidnapped the local tadpoles, and somewhere deep inside a dangerous dungeon, the evil Fly Lord is waiting for anyone foolish enough to attempt a rescue. Fortunately, one particularly determined frog has decided to fight back, armed with an impressive collection of weapons, an extraordinary jumping ability, and enough tongues to make any self-respecting amphibian jealous. Those flies are about to discover that stealing baby frogs comes with some fairly serious consequences.
Developed by Tiny Frog Games, Leaping Dungeon is a roguelite dungeon crawler combining bullet heaven combat with an unusual emphasis on jumping. Players can equip up to six weapons and three tongues simultaneously, using them to smack, lick, and generally obliterate the swarms of flies filling each room. Leaping over enemies and obstacles provides an important way to escape dangerous situations, while rescuing tadpoles unlocks upgrades that can change how your abilities function, including explosive landings. Boss encounters stand between you and the deeper levels of the dungeon, eventually leading toward a confrontation with the Fly Lord himself.
With its frantic combat and wonderfully excessive tongue-based weaponry, this could be one of the more entertaining amphibian adventures on Steam.
9. Pigeons Must Die!
The subway has fallen. Thousands of filthy, aggressive pigeons have taken over the underground platforms, turning what was once an ordinary public transport system into a feather-filled nightmare. Some of the birds are enormous, others have developed some deeply questionable habits, and a few have even taken up smoking. With the flock growing larger by the minute and no sign of anyone coming to help, there’s only one sensible response…arm yourself to the teeth and declare war on the pigeons.
Created by Decaf Bagel Games, Pigeons Must Die! is a comedic bullet heaven roguelite where players battle through 20 increasingly chaotic waves of hostile subway birds. Weapons fire automatically, leaving you to concentrate on dodging incoming attacks, rolling away from danger, and collecting Feathers to purchase upgrades. Building a powerful arsenal is essential as the flock grows more dangerous, with boss pigeons providing additional challenges along the way.
Different upgrades allow players to experiment with increasingly destructive combinations, transforming an ordinary subway station into a battlefield covered in feathers. Anyone who’s ever had their lunch stolen by an overly confident city pigeon might find this one rather therapeutic.
10. SuperWEIRD: Automation Roguelite
A once-thriving planet has been shattered into fragments, and a strange substance known as the Goofy Goo is threatening whatever remains. Scattered across the broken landscape, a collection of rusty little robots is waiting for someone to give them a purpose. Some are capable of gathering supplies, others can build useful equipment, and a few are perfectly willing to march into battle against the mysterious goo. Rebuilding an entire world is going to take a lot of work, but at least you’ve got an army of slightly clumsy mechanical helpers to do most of the heavy lifting.
Developed by Luden.io, SuperWEIRD: Automation Roguelite combines automation, base building, and tower defense in a cooperative adventure for up to four players. Rather than controlling every robot directly, you’ll create production networks that allow worker bots to craft and deliver resources while combat bots defend your growing settlement. Paths and task markers help organize their movements, allowing players to develop increasingly elaborate systems for keeping supplies flowing to the front lines. As you progress, you’ll reclaim fragments of the broken planet, expand your infrastructure, and experiment with new strategies across repeated runs.
Keeping your production network functioning while an army of Goofy Goo creatures attacks sounds like the sort of management challenge that could become spectacularly messy in multiplayer.
Normal Was Never an Option for These Developers
There’s nothing quite like the rogue genre where a shotgun that needs feeding, a frog armed with three tongues, and a dog launching traditional Balkan food at enemies can all exist alongside each other. Rogue games have always encouraged experimentation, and judging by this collection, developers are having a great time seeing just how far they can push their ideas.
Of course, strange doesn’t automatically mean good. Some of these unusual concepts might turn out to be brilliant, others may need a little more time in development, and a few could leave us wondering what on earth we’ve just played. That’s part of the fun of Steam Next Fest, though. You get to discover something completely unexpected without spending a dime.
October’s Steam Next Fest begins on tomorrow, giving you the chance to explore upcoming games, try out demos, and add some unusual discoveries to your wishlist.
Which of these strange rogue games has caught your attention? Have you discovered something even weirder heading to Steam Next Fest?