Steam’s tri-annual Next Fest event is the perfect place to play demos for intriguing upcoming titles on Steam Deck, and February 2025’s showcase was no different. A particular stand-out for cozy game fans is Is This Seat Taken?, which is Steam Deck-playable even in its demo form.
Even with a lot of the best Steam Deck games, it’s hard to know if a game will be playable on the handheld prior to its release, and so few studios mark their demos as Steam Deck-friendly. But Is This Seat Taken?’s two-person developer team at Poti Poti Studios made it clear from the get-go that you can take this demo on the go, which likely helped its monumental success during Next Fest. The game is currently only slated for a Steam release, but it’s perfectly designed for portable platforms, thanks to its casual game loop and simple controls.
Is This Seat Taken? is a stylish and funny cozy game from Wholesome Games’ publishing arm that follows a group of quirky shapes on a journey around the world. The game’s core logic puzzle revolves around meeting each shape’s particular needs in a given scenario, whether that’s on a bus, at a movie theater, or at a wedding. You must find the perfect position for each character to make them happy, all the while picking up nuggets of information about each scene’s recurring characters.
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