This past week has brought a ton of new announcements and releases in the gaming industry, with Summer Games Fest, IGN Live, and several other showcases presenting what’s next in the world of gaming. At last weekend’s IGN Live and Guerrilla Collective showcases, I was able to get hands-on previews on several games that have since released demos available to the public. Here’s a look at the games I played, and where you can find free demos for each of them:
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- While Waiting is a simple but hilarious game about the art of waiting, taking nods from indie hits like Untitled Goose Game. Out of all the games I played at Guerrilla Collective, none of them made me genuinely laugh out loud as much as Still Waiting, and the game’s humble and minimalist playstyle left me charmed and excited for more. The demo is available on Steam here:
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- Wild Bastards is the follow-up to the 2019 sci-fi shooter Void Bastards, this time adding a wild-west spin to the original game’s roguelike comic-inspired formula. In the preview I played, high-octane shootouts paired with strategic squad-building and inventory management were executed perfectly, making sure that this successor to Void Bastards is a worthy one. You can check out the demo for Wild Bastards here:
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- Pinball Spire is an upcoming pinball metroidvania title where you play as a pinball named Pip, exploring a strange Spire that appeared in his town overnight. Gameplay evolves from simple 2D pinball levels to full-on implementing RPG and platforming elements, while embracing a sleek and stylish pixel-art design style. Check out the self-proclaimed “pinballvania” demo here:
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- Dark Sky is a card-battling squad RPG with a vibrant sci-fi world to explore and battle in. The combination of squad-based play, placement-based combat, and the game’s card upgrade system made it a stand-out at Guerrilla Collective, and as a fan of card battlers and turn-based RPGS, this was a no-brainer to wishlist on Steam. The demo for the hand-drawn title from Ganymede Games can be played here:
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- Immortal Hunters is a brutal beat ’em up RPG in which you take on hordes of monsters as one of four class-based hunters. The deep and dense narrative exploration and co-op play are sure to make this a standout for fans of dark indie RPGs, and my while my time with the game was a bit too short to fully grasp the more complex systems and mechanics at play, it was still a blast slaying demons and slashing through enemies. The demo is available on Steam:
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- Skopje ’83 is an apocalyptic FPS roguelite announced during the PM Studios Showcase at IGN Live. While the demo at IGN Live was quite short, with only the tutorial and a couple of stages available to experience, I could see that the potential for this game is massive. Everybody should be keeping an eye out for more news on a release date, especially if you’re a fan of survival or roguelike games. The game has a demo up on Steam right now:
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- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a Gameboy-inspired top-down platformer boasting cute retro graphics and an addictive yo-yo-based combat system. The game is a blast and is a beautiful homage to the glory days of handheld gaming, and I loved seeing all the new tricks and gear I could equip to bring my yo-yo-slinging skills to the next level. You can check out Pipistrello’s demo on the game’s Steam page:
And of course, a massive wave of other demos have hit digital marketplaces after this year’s Summer Game Fest. The biggest collection of new demos was presented by Steam Next Fest, debuting hundreds of previews for upcoming PC titles. You can see the 50 most-played demos of the festival, including Metal Slug Tactics, Wizard of Legend II, and The Alters, here.