News: Jester: A Foolish Ritual - Demo Out for Steam Next Fest
Fire Foot Studios, a Belgian indie team, released a demo for Jester: A Foolish Ritual on September 22, 2025, ahead of Steam Next Fest, running October 13–20, 2025. This co-op survival horror game casts players as one of four resurrected knights in a cursed medieval castle, tasked with collecting runes and completing a ritual to banish a menacing Jester. The demo, available on Steam, offers a single playable area with up to four-player online co-op, showcasing core gameplay, atmosphere, and terror, with a full release planned for Q4 2025.
The demo features proximity voice chat, where careless chatter risks alerting the Jester, whose basic AI hunts players as they gather runes and prepare the ritual. A selection of items and mechanics introduces the survival horror loop, though advanced AI behaviors, full castle maps, multiple difficulties, and varied hazards are reserved for the final game. Randomized layouts and traps, like the Jester’s jack-in-the-boxes, ensure dynamic runs, with the demo serving as a tense preview of the full title’s evolving threats and immersive audio, including heartbeat-pounding chase sequences.
Developed by three young graduates who founded Fire Foot Studios in November 2023, Jester follows their debut, Kick’n Hell. The studio aims for impactful, genre-diverse passion projects, with community feedback via Discord shaping the game’s development. The demo, a work in progress, invites players to test cooperative survival and stealth mechanics while avoiding the Jester’s pursuit. Wishlist Jester: A Foolish Ritual on Steam to join the creepy adventure and help refine this chilling indie horror experience.