Steam drops dozens of free downloads you've 24 hours to nab

Quickly, my friends; you have just 24 hours left to enjoy Steam’s adorably cute Creature Collector Fest.

If you’re a regular user of Steam, you’ll know what these types of ‘fests’ are all about.

Essentially, Steam picks a genre and celebrates the games within it, offering great deals while studios get involved by offering out new demos for their titles.

Creature Collector Fest is perfect for those of you who enjoy the Pókemon franchise, for example, as while that series isn’t available on PC, all of these creature collector titles are very much made in the same vein.

You can nab Palword for 25% off, Cult of the Lamb for 50%, Tiny Pasture for 20% off, TemTem for 70% off, Bugsnax for 60% off, or Paleo Pines for 60% off, just to name a few titles.

Today though, it’s the free demos I want to draw your attention to.

You may only have 24 hours left to get involved, but with most of these demos only offering a couple of hours of gameplay at the very most, you’ve still got plenty of time to sample a few titles.

And I can help you along by picking out a few standouts.

Palword has definitely taken off, despite its Pokémon comparisons.

I want to begin with one of my personal favourites: Moonstone Island.

This is the perfect blend of Pokémon and Stardew Valley’s formulas, and I’ve spent a good chunk of time playing this one over on my Nintendo Switch.

Developed by Studio Supersoft, Moonstone Island is “a creature-collecting life-sim set in an open world with 100 islands to explore”.

“Make friends, brew potions, collect Spirits, and test your strength in card-based encounters to complete your Alchemy training,” the description continues.

What that description doesn’t mention is that you’re essentially an alchemist-in-training.

In the free demo, you’ll get to play the first ‘two weeks’ of the game.

GinkgoGames’ Desk Paws is also available to try, and this one’s more of an idle creature collector.

You can basically collect over 100 pets via a gacha system and store them in a little house that sits on your desktop screen.

You can leave them to their own devices, play with them, or send them off on adventures to gain treats.

Whimside, from developer Toadzillart has a similar premise; this one’s an idle creature collector but with more of a classic Pokémon feel.

You’ll collect a ton of rare creatures and decorate your humble abode but, again, in a relaxing and laid back manner as Whimside can simply sit at the bottom of your desktop screen untouched.

There’s just too many adorable games to mention.

Bloomtown: A Different Story is another one for the Stardew Valley fans.

It’s a narrative JRPG that also features turn-based combat, monster taming, and life-sim elements, and is set within a 1960s Americana world.

Honestly, just please watch the trailer for this one and you’ll be convinced to give it a go; it’s stunning.

And I’ll end by shouting out Italic Pig’s Paleo Pines, a creature collector where you’ll collect and tame dinosaurs in a cosy forested world.

There’s a demo for all tastes so do have a browse of the selection.