With Steam Next Fest upon us once again, it’s time to trawl through the thousands of demos to find what is worth keeping an eye on and what might need a little time to cook. First up, The Haunting of Joni Evers.

Now, I initially grabbed this demo during one of the other Next Fests, but it was featured in this one as well which I’m glad of because I didn’t get a chance to play it last time. I’m glad I didn’t miss out again because it was good.
You know when you get to the end of the demo, and you’re upset because the experience has ended? That’s how I felt about the Haunting of Joni Evers. The game ended abruptly just as things were getting really interesting and I had been completely sucked into the narrative. It was the best place to end the demo, and they did the right thing, but I was still upset I couldn’t go further.

So, what is the Haunting of Joni Evers?

The Haunting of Joni Evers is a first-person adventure game. I say it’s more of an adventure or mystery game than horror, but the supernatural elements still make it sit firmly within that category. Joni comes home from a long day at work as a mechanic, leaving a voicemail for her friend explaining that she needs a true friend, not this weird pseudo-science counselling. And that the friend left her crockpot behind. This tells players that Joni is a very grounded person that believes in what she can see and hear and touch.
Players start by helping Joni settle into the house afterwork. This includes simple routine things such as placing her bag on her desk and changing her clothes before entering the house. Through the exploration of the premises, players learn that Joni has a massive chip on her shoulder about something. She’s also a fan of horror movies with her favourite being Aliens Attack II. She’s a person who seems quite tidy, but by the same token there are books just lying on the floor. I kept trying to clean these up, but there was no prompt for that.
Chapter one is all about how relatively normal Joni’s life is. That is until the end, when Joni attempts to watch her favourite movie only to see her basement instead. It’s enough to freak her out and send her to bed.
It’s here where the game becomes interesting. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll keep it general. Imagine if you had a ghostly therapist that helped you work through the most traumatic moments of your life against your will? That’s the kind of thing poor Joni Evers is going through as she tries to figure out what the hell is wrong with her house.
If you enjoy narrative experiences with supernatural elements, you can do much worse than the Haunting of Joni Evers and I look forward to the full release.