Ready for Nextfest 2026!

With Steam Nextfest starting tomorrow many developers will be bustling away to show their games in their best light, and Valerie is no different! A brand new demo is now available to play.

The new version has had all its levels redesigned, a new script, a boss, a modified ending, and more. My hope is that it better reflects what I'm aiming for with the full game.

One of the old demo's main issues was its linearity, which is something that can be done well, but for this game it didn't feel like the right way to play. Because it should be just that - playing! Letting the player explore areas in whichever direction their whim takes them is something I find quite fun with Valerie's abilities.

Another issue was its story being crammed in the opening and ending, with none in the middle. This time I added shorter cutscenes throughout, which should hopefully help break up the pacing a little bit.

You may also notice that it's had a small visual upgrade. I should thank Leonardo for this, since he's helped so much with various tooling and optimisations (and the fancy grass). I do love those bezier curves.

It's been quite an intense few months trying to figure this all out and get it done, but I hope that it's been worth it. I don't often point out my socials, but if you're interested in this game consider follow me on Twitter (@Jole_says_hi) or Bluesky (@Jole-says-hi), since I post semi-regularly there.

Thank you for your support!

Jole