Demos are no longer a matter of course these days, which makes it all the better that the focus at Steam Next Fest on the free trials. But what are you supposed to play?
Hundreds of demos are currently still available until February 13th ready to download. Time is therefore limited, but there are still enough hours left to take a look or two. We therefore recommend you at this point seven demoswhich you should definitely try out.
Dark and Darker
Whom the gameplay of Escape from Tarkov likes it, but would rather swing a sword or throw a fireball than guns, should Dark and Darker to give a chance. Alone or with up to two friends, you descend into a dungeon here and look for valuable loot. The problem? On the one hand countless NPC enemies who hit hard, and on the other hand hostile players. And then there is also the zone, which increasingly delimits the game world.
Dark and Darker is by no means an adventure for players with low frustration tolerance, because at the beginning you will probably die very often. Nevertheless, the mix of role-playing game and extraction game can inspire an unusually large number of players in the demo. You can read more regarding this in our separate demo preview for Dark and Darker.
System Shock
Nightdive Studios has been working on a remake of the 1994 classic for several years: we’re talking regarding, of course System Shock. Now the release is coming soon, because in March you should finally mess with the antagonistic AI Shodan on the Citadel station.
Ahead of the release, there’s a new System Shock demo to celebrate Steam Next Fest, which now even includes an intro video and the updated art style. This gives you a good insight into the new edition of a game that already knew how to use “environmental storytelling” many years ago.
Grim Guardians: Demon Purge
From the makers of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon there will be a game in a few days that will once more fill the gap of Castlevania should close. For while on the Konami series only A matching Dead Cells DLC will be released soonorients himself Grim Guardians: Demon Purge strong on the Metroidvania representative.
In Grim Gurdians, the Kamizono sisters advance together into a demon castle and want to save their school from there. The siblings each have their own skills and weapons: Shinobu is particularly suitable for long-distance combat, while Maya specializes in melee weapons. Luckily you don’t have to choose just one, you take control of both sisters and can switch between them at any time.
In purely playful terms, Grim Guardians does not reinvent the genre. The 2D Metroidvania lets you explore the castle, kill opponents, collect new loot and provides you with sometimes more and sometimes less brilliant bosses. You can get a first and pretty good impression of it in the demo, although the localization isn’t quite final yet.
Shadows of Doubt
Anyone who likes to play detective and is excellent at connecting clues and clues must definitely do it Shadows of Doubt look at. The indie game by ColePowered Games puts you in the shoes of a private detective in a 1980s cyberpunk scenario. Your job is to solve different cases and how you do it is entirely up to you.
In the procedurally generated city, you have an incredible number of opportunities to collect relevant clues, interview citizens, scan fingerprints, hack into computers and much more. You can use a case board to make notes at any time, combine clues and try to track down the suspects one by one.
The special feature of Shadows of Doubt lies not only in its playful freedom, but also in the simulation. Every citizen lives their own life, has their own fingerprint and leaves their mark – which you can find. Of course, the system still has its quirks: Sometimes the AI doesn’t find its way or it doesn’t notice that we’re breaking down their apartment door, even though they’re standing directly behind us.
Nevertheless, Shadows of Doubt already leaves an exciting impression in the demo. If the developers reduce these problems to a minimum by the release, which is expected to take place in 2023, then the detective simulation should be one of the most exciting games of the year.
Bleak Sword DX
At Bleak Sword DX is a former mobile game that is now making the leap to PC and Nintendo Switch. You can tell that from the look and the gameplay at first glance: the reduced pixel graphics provide a rather unusual atmosphere and you only fight with your little knight on diorama battlefields.
But don’t be fooled by the look, because Bleak Sword DX can definitely have a pull effect. The bosses, some of which are tough and difficult, are no small matter, because you have to dodge well and hit the right ones. This brings back memories of many a From Software game, albeit on a much smaller scale, of course. A look at the demo is definitely worthwhile for fans of entertaining and difficult action games.
Shady Knight
Wer 2006 Dark Messiah of Might & Magic from Arkane Studios because of the combat where you might always use the environment to your advantage, he should Shady Knight to give a chance. The aim of this action game is to climb a tower on a flying island. However, you face not only huge chasms, but also numerous opponents in the way.
Luckily you are armed in Shady Knight and have trained your legs very often. With well-aimed kicks you can trap enemy knights, spiders and other opponents or send them straight over the plank. You can then pick up dropped weapons, but be careful: your enemies can also knock weapons out of your hand, which makes some fights very intense.
Nocturnal
Our final recommendation goes to Nocturnal from developer Sunnyside Games. This reminds a bit of the original Prince of Persia, albeit with a stronger focus on combat. As a player, you control Ardeshir, a soldier of the Eternal Flame who returns to his home island of Nahran. Once there, he is faced with a mysterious fog.
The special feature of Nocturnal lies in its fire mechanics: You can only fight the fog with flames. The developers also take advantage of this and create some exciting puzzles in which you have to handle light and fire skillfully. There are also demanding boss fights where just hitting them isn’t necessarily the solution.
Incidentally, Nocturnal isn’t a Metroidvania, but a fairly classic, linear 2D action title that already looks very finished in its demo. Nevertheless, the full version should not be released until the second quarter of 2023.
