I miss demos. I remember, back before the internet was as fast and reliable as it is now, that we had to get drivers, demos of games and videos of cats doing silly things off of the CD’s sticky-taped to the front of two magazines that no longer grace shelves in supermarkets across the country. And I kinda miss that. Of course, I miss those magazines too – but mostly, I miss being able to try out small snippets of games.
Yes, demos. I miss the hell out of them, and I think it’s time to bring them back. Sure, we get free weekends and the like on Steam and Origin, which are functionally akin to demos, but I miss those days where a demo of a game you’d not heard of before would be enough to convince you to go out and buy them. Well, one major game that’s been out for a while now has just released a demo.
You can play one of my favourite games of this year, Techland’s Dying Light on Steam, PSN and Xbox Live, right now – in a limited demo that gives you a handful of missions, challenges and side activities to do in the zombie-infested city of Harran.
Crucially, it appears to even let you play those in co-op, which is where much of Dying Light’s fun is to be found. Techland says it’ll give players” three hours of unique content” and is worth a go if you’re even remotely interested in the game and sitting on the fence.
On that note, ARK: Survival Evolved is free to play this weekend, giving you a taste of the world-building survival game that lets you ride atop dinosaurs…if people aren’t being dicks and breaking all your stuff.
Last Updated: August 28, 2015
Pieter Kruger
August 28, 2015 at 15:04
Demos are back…..Forza 6!????????????
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
August 28, 2015 at 15:11
Blizzard Games all have Demos! (Not sure about Diablo3 actually.)
On that note. Please come join us on Red Faction ZA if you are testing Ark this weekend!
Seeker
August 28, 2015 at 20:16
I also miss game demos. If they were still around in the capacity they used to be in the past then people won’t be afraid of taking risks on games they haven’t tried before. Especially considering the questionable quality and asking price of most modern games.
I was never a Forza fan but after playing the demo for Forza Horizon 2 last year, I just went out and bought the full version. That’s why I believe that all games should at least have demos.
Steve Bakewell
March 17, 2016 at 22:39
Aren’t the “Episodic” games technically just demos?
Seeker
March 17, 2016 at 22:50
Episodic games are different from demos. All they just do is lower the cost of your initial investment. F2P games are the new kind of demos. You get a free sample of the product without losing any money and if you like it then you can invest more than just your time in it.
We still need demos for all the other games that don’t fit in the F2P model.
Steve Bakewell
March 18, 2016 at 16:54
So, Episodes games are Paid demos.