Scout · issue № 12 · Thursday, 18 June 2026

Ascend From Nine Mountains leads.

the field that morning — 26 demos · hover or tap a dot for the game

Just dropped

26 demos dropped yesterday, with 88% self-published and strategy the dominant genre, claiming 9 of the 26 slots. Two already carry player reviews. The fresh arrivals here stood out on craft or distinctiveness; the single early mover is already drawing a crowd worth watching.

HERO PICK

Ascend From Nine Mountains

by LyeeedarSelf-published

Xianxia · Crafting · Auto Battler · Wuxia · Turn-Based Combat · Tactical RPG

Why it leads: the most unusual genre mix of the 26 demos that dropped yesterday, on one of the day's most serious store pages.

A cultivation RPG built around deep crafting, tactical auto-battler combat, and relationship mechanics that shape your path from mortal to legend, all within a Xianxia framework that almost nobody else on Steam is working in.

One of just 6 Steam games combining Xianxia + Auto Battler

Play the demo ›Store page ↗

Also worth a look

Defense Of Legends

by TEYGAMESSelf-published

Strategy · Grand Strategy · Tower Defense · Real Time Tactics · 2.5D · 3D

Tower defense with per-character upgrades and itemisation, sitting at an unusual intersection of grand strategy and supernatural theming that very few Steam titles have staked out. **One of just 15 Steam games combining Grand Strategy + Supernatural** · 1 early demo review(s)

Play the demo ›Store page ↗

Redemption: The Sin Eternal

by Split Screen Wizard GamesSelf-published

Early Access · Horror · Psychological Horror · Survival Horror · Split Screen · Local Co-Op

A priest enters a haunted orphanage to face demonic forces and uncover what happened to the children: supernatural horror action-adventure with split-screen co-op and a choice of first- or third-person play.

Play the demo ›Store page ↗

Driftscape: Void

by Three Brothers GamesSelf-published

Exploration · Action · Bullet Hell · Shooter · Arcade · 2D

Momentum-driven space shooter through seed-generated dead star systems, with 10-plus bosses across four sectors and a free level editor for building and sharing your own layouts.

Play the demo ›Store page ↗

SHALTER-03

by LumenariaStudiosSelf-published

Early Access · Casual · Strategy · Match 3 · Real Time Tactics · Puzzle

A co-op first-person puzzle-adventure where sight, hearing, and speech are all disabled, forcing players to work around their own senses while balancing buffs and debuffs under a time limit.

Play the demo ›Store page ↗

Catching on

Demos that launched in the last day or two and are already getting noticed. From the moment a demo goes live we watch two things - the reviews players leave on the demo itself, and how many people are playing it right now. These are the ones where early players clearly like what they tried.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

by Cygames, Inc.Self-published

Anime · JRPG · Action RPG · Online Co-Op · Action · Multiplayer

Cygames' action RPG with 4-player co-op has a demo live and players are already warm on it, with concurrent demo traffic climbing at time of scouting.

628 people playing the demo at once; and climbing

Play the demo ›Store page ↗

How our picks are doing

How earlier flags are doing - the demo reviews accrued since we picked them, wins and misses alike.

Lawn Mowing Simulator 2 - flagged Jun 13 with 3 demo reviews; now 32, Positive.

Tomorrow’s issue finds the next one.