Steam Next Fest has the perfect game demo for Disco Elysium fans, but it's not ZA/UM's successor

There are two periods of my gaming life: before I played Disco Elysium, and after I played Disco Elysium. The former was filled with increasingly more average Bethesda RPGs and live-service shooters that tickle those 'numbies go up' bits of my brain, while the latter has been a constant search for anything that scratches a similar itch to ZA/UM's independent epic.

The closest I've come to date is Citizen Sleeper. While a very different game to Disco Elysium, the writing and characters came alive in much the same way, lighting up the same neural pathways to delight my reading-pilled brain. I'm intrigued by the works of Disco Elysium's scattered creators, especially Red Rooster from writers Argo Tuulik and Dora Klindžić, but none are available yet.

However, the February 2026 Steam Next Fest celebration promises not one, but two Disco-likes for players in a similar situation to myself. The first is ZA/UM's successor, Zero Parades. While the original creators of Disco Elysium may have been ousted from the studio, I'm intrigued to see what it cooks up. There are a lot of developers still working there who may not have created Revachol, but had a hand in shaping it at the very least. And, let's face it, if ZA/UM can produce a game that's half as good as Disco Elysium, it'll still be better than most other games I play this year.

Zero Parades promises a tale of espionage and intrigue. It's been a while since I played a good spy game, so if ZA/UM manages to build an interesting world and let us free within it, this demo could tide me over until 007 First Light (although I imagine that will be a very different experience).

However, I'm even more excited for the new demo of Esoteric Ebb. This may not look like a Disco Elysium successor from first glance - it's more Dungeons and Dragons than alcoholic detective. However, its first demo nailed the Disco vibe by combining it with the iconic tabletop game.

Replace the Thought Cabinet with the classic D&D attributes: 2d6 become a d20. The translation of Disco-like mechanics to a fantasy game feels completely natural, and the strong writing backs it all up. I loved the first Esoteric Ebb demo, and Steam Next Fest promises another slice of this cleric pie.

So if you're a Disco Elysium fan looking for your next fix, Steam Next Fest is the place to be. Whether you're going into Zero Parades hopeful or spiteful, it's worth checking out just to see what ZA/UM can conjure up without the core creatives of Disco. And Esoteric Ebb might be the best Disco-like I've played to date. Of course, there's always the chance that another, unknown, Disco Elysium-style CRPG is lurking in the depths of Valve's festival, too. Keep your eyes peeled and put those points into Shivers, because you might just find your next favorite game.