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Steam Next Fest is in full swing, and enthusiasts have found numerous engaging indie games. Yet, one is particularly notable for its offbeat concept. Named Unko Technica, this old-school styled side-scrolling game features a character that is truly a piece of poop striving to make its way to a commode. For those curious, "Unko" is Japanese for "poop."

The gameplay is simple: you only need a single jump button. In one hundred fifty challenges, encounter boss fights and unlock a shop to acquire customizations for your poop character.

Time your movements carefully, as a wrong move requires restarting the level. Jump off floating orbs to hurl yourself to new heights, traverse disappearing platforms, and interact with buttons to reveal secret routes. Gather UN-KOINS to purchase tougher levels as gameplay gets crazy.

In terms of design, the experience features neon stages and catchy background music. The retro graphics featuring shifting abstract forms evokes memories of fans of classic titles like Earthbound.

Although tough to think of other games where you play as a dung character, interactive entertainment frequently featured scatological themes. For example, in Death Stranding, players make explosives from protagonist droppings. Games like Palworld and Ark: Survival Evolved employ dung as soil enrichment. Unsurprisingly, fecal references shows up a lot in Obsidian's adventure The Stick of Truth.

Despite its silly idea, Unko Technica has already earned notable awards, such as taking top honors at a major publisher's game competition in 2023. This trial version is available currently on Steam, with the full game set to launch on Steam in the fall.