Steam’s New Military Sim Has You Spend 30 Minutes Loading A Big Cannon

June’s Steam Next Fest left the writer disappointed overall, but one demo stood out: Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator. The demo has been trending on Steam and sits at a 99 percent Overwhelming Positive score. It was developed by a two‑person team, Nick Nieuwoudt and Dominik Latos, and the devs even sent the writer several amusing emails about the project.

In Iron Nest you play an unnamed Operator working for a faceless group called High Command. Orders arrive on an automatic typewriter while a second typewriter relays more expressive messages from troops on the front lines, sometimes contradicting High Command. The setting leans into a dieselpunk aesthetic and the game does not pretend you are the good side: following early orders leads to heavy collateral damage, including the destruction of an allied hospital near the target.

The core loop is less about pulling a trigger and more about meticulous preparation.

steam, iron nest, heavy turret, next fest, demo, overwhelming positive, nick nieuwoudt, dominik latos, dieselpunk, collateral damage