Free Demos That You Should Take A Look At

I love demos. They are quick, free ways to experience a glimpse of a full game. It’s like the ice cream shop that lets you try every flavor before making a decision. Except there’s no one standing there to judge you if you just walk away! Not all games have demos, but I think it is a sign of confidence that they believe this small portion of their game will be convincing enough to get people to buy the whole game.

Crypt Custodian by Kyle Thompson

In Stars and Time by insertdisc5

Here’s a quick rundown of some of my favorite demos I’ve tried out recently on Steam. Some of these games are already out, while some don’t even have a release date yet. If any of these games look interesting, the best way to show your support, get notified of a sale, or get an alert when the developers announce a release date, is to add it to your Wishlist. I’ll leave a link to each game’s Steam page in each section.

Crypt Custodian

Crypt Custodian from developer Kyle Thompson is an isometric metroidvania where you play as Pluto, an unlucky cat banished to sweep up the afterlife for all eternity. Travel around an expansive map of the afterlife fighting monsters, solving puzzles, collecting valuable items, and of course, cleaning up messes.

There’s a lot to love about Crypt Custodian from the atmospheric vibes to the goofy but adorable protagonist, but what sold me on this demo was the dialogue. Pluto’s interactions with the characters they meet during the adventure are extremely memorable and often hilarious, often playing on classic tropes and player expectations.

Like any good metroidvania, Pluto can unlock various abilities including the classic mid-air dash and combat tactics like the spin move found in the demo. But the most reliable will always be the dodge roll to avoid incoming attacks and projectiles.

Crypt Custodian does not have a release date yet unfortunately, but I am hopeful it won’t be long. Thankfully the demo gives you plenty of time and areas to explore, so it won’t leave you wanting more too quickly.

Cataclismo

From Digital Sun, the makers of 2018’s action RPG Moonlighter, comes a combination of real-time strategy and tower defense in Cataclismo. Hidden under an apocalyptic dark fantasy setting, the Lego inspiration shines through in the building process. The demo takes you through the first hour of the campaign, which is full of excellent voice acting and captivating artwork.

A low-hanging mist leaves only the highest points in the region safe from its mutating effects as humanity bunkers down in their final fortresses. Expeditions occasionally venture out into the lowlands, though they must always wear a mask and be prepared to fight stray groups of mutants.

The campaign mode centers around Iris, a mysterious scholar who was born with unique magical powers. As the final bastions of the world grow more desperate, she begins an expedition into the mists to find a powerful artifact that could save humanity.

While real-time strategy was never my strong suit, I always enjoy playing them, and this dark fantasy setting only draws me in more. While Cataclismo only has a demo out now, the full game is scheduled to launch on July 18th.

Dicefolk

The amount of words I feel compelled to describe Leap Game Studios and Tiny Ghoul’s recent game, Dicefolk, is overwhelming. The Steam page describes it as a tactical roguelike adventure, but Dicefolk also has you collecting a team of chimeras, rolling dice, equipping items, and taking on a gauntlet of turn-based rotational battles.

Each chimera has a unique ability that can be combined strategically with the various dice actions and the abilities of other chimeras. The basic actions in combat are rotate, attack, and guard, but since each action is tied to a roll of the dice, there’s no telling exactly what you’ll be able to do each turn. Plus, you also roll dice for the enemy team’s actions. A turn can only end when each of these enemy dice is used, so it’s a huge part of the strategy to use enemy actions at the right times.

The demo only lets you go so far, but I still put nearly two hours into it before the game launched in February. Which reminds me, this is one of the games on this list that is already available. If this sounds like something that interests you, I couldn’t recommend it any more highly, but you don’t have to take my word for it since the demo is still available.

Also, I am very excited to say that Dicefolk will be coming to the Nintendo Switch on June 20th. While I have enjoyed the game on Steam, I can only imagine how great it will be to be able to take this game on the go.

In Stars and Time

In Stars and Time from developer insertdisc5 is a highly praised RPG from 2023, with 97% positive reviews on Steam out of over two thousand. Playing the demo showed me why. At first glance, this is a monochromatic story-rich RPG, but what made it shine for me was the characters.

The party is made up of five friends. Siffrin, who has a wizard hat and an eye patch, takes the lead when exploring outside of battle and in a way seems to be the primary character. The other four characters, Isabeau, Odile, Mirabelle, and Bonnie complete the ensemble. This group aligns with (but is not defined by) the traditional RPG party roles like healer, fighter, wizard, and rogue. Between fights and exploration, they exchange clever dialogue that showed me even during the demo that these characters have been long-time friends.

I am a huge fan of how In Stars and Time decided to dive head first into the damage effectiveness tropes by assigning characters, enemies, and attacks either rock, paper, or scissors. In some ways, this simplifies what can often become over-complicated, but sometimes the only way to find out an enemy's weakness is to take a swing.

I still need to play more of the demo, but one thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the overarching story. Siffrin has realized that they are stuck in a time loop, and while that can have its advantages, it can’t last forever. If this sounds at all interesting, I highly recommend trying out the demo, and the good news is if you enjoy that, there’s no waiting for a release date for this one, since In Stars and Time is available now on Steam, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

Flock

From the makers of the narrative puzzle game I Am Dead, Hollow Ponds and Richard Hogg, comes Flock, a game about finding rare and unique creatures. Rather than collecting these creatures, Flock is about observing and identifying them, from the sausage-shaped Bewls to the crescent-like Cosmets. Creatures can be convinced to join your flock, meaning they will follow you around as you soar through the world on your giant bird. The aesthetics are amazing.

Flock promises a relaxing, casual experience. There are no enemies to battle or time pressure to fight against. Players are encouraged instead to simply explore the landscape and discover what odd creatures are waiting to be discovered. While the demo only has about an hour of gameplay to complete, you could spend a lot more time floating around at your leisure.

While scheduled to release sometime this year, Flock does not have a release date yet. The demo does not allow for it, but the game is planned to be a multiplayer experience. So be ready to soar through the clouds with a friend or two, and brag about what rare and colorful creature you were able to add to your flock.

Children of the Sun

Children of the Sun, from solo developer René Rother, burst onto the indie scene during this past February’s Steam Next Fest with a fun and original concept. This game is described as a tactical puzzle shooter because the player must eliminate entire outposts of cultists with a single bullet. Thankfully, you also have telekinetic powers.

The protagonist of Children of the Sun is out for revenge against a cult, and they won’t rest without total annihilation. They use their telekinetic powers to change the direction of the bullet after each successful kill, sending the bullet on a zig-zag across each level until all of the cultists are dead. Hit anything but the targets or stray too far from the map, and it’s game over.

Children of the Sun is brutally dark and violent and centered around one of the most well-executed mechanic ideas in a long time. The demo eventually introduces further mechanics such as redirecting the bullet in mid-air, but there are surely a lot more ideas to explore in the full game. The full game launched on April 9th. So if the demo catches your interest, there is a lot more to experience.

Thank you for reading! I enjoy writing articles like this because I feel like these demos are much more accessible than a full game. First of all, they are free to check out, but they are also rarely longer than an hour to complete, so it doesn’t require a ton of time commitment. I’ve got some other demos I want to make videos about, but I’m always open to more. If you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment! I think this could easily become a long-running series.