Playable Demos of upcoming games are amazing. Not only do they let players experience various game worlds early, but they also give developers the chance to show off their hard work. They allow fans to see if a game is something they will enjoy before purchasing.

Playable Demos to Try in September 2022

In recent years substantial playable demos have somewhat fallen in popularity. This is possibly due to the overwhelming amount of gameplay online, from Twitch Streams to YouTube coverage. But it’s nothing like experiencing a vertical slice of gameplay from the devs firsthand.

Today, we’ll be taking a quick look at some of the notable playable demos that have surfaced in the past few months.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Playable Demo

One of the nicest surprises coming out of Tokyo Game Show 2022 was the announcement of a playable demo for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. If you haven’t heard, Wo Long is an upcoming action RPG from Team Ninja, the creators of Nioh and Nioh 2. This time around, however, it will be taking place in Ancient China instead of Ancient Japan.

The title will still retain its excellent combat systems, though modified a tad bit to shake things up. For example, players can finally jump! Praise the sun! This seemingly small change will actually affect so much more than just merely being able to avoid knee-high obstacles. It should open up a ton of verticality in the environments and add the much-needed jump attacks.

Wo Long’s playable demo will let players experience a large area of the game. Combat will now focus less on samurai and ronin-styled combat, and will lean heavily into Chinese Martial arts. Players will also quickly notice that there will no longer be a stamina bar in combat, which will be replaced by something else entirely. The game’s playable demo will also show that there won’t be an overabundance of loot in Wo Long when compared to their previous games.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s playable demo is out now until the 25th of September. Players who own a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X can download the game. No demo for PC players at the moment, unfortunately. At the end of the demo, players will be requested to fill out a short survey on their experience with the playable demo.

Harvestella Playable Demo

Harvestella is another game that recently got a Playable Demo. While not directly from the TGS, Harvestella’s demo was announced during the Nintendo Direct which was around the same time. This time, only Nintendo Switch players will have access to the demo. Sad tidings for those on PC.

The announcement of the playable demo came along with a new trailer that described the “Quietus” event. This catastrophic and dangerous weather phenomenon disrupts the natural changes of the seasons. Instead of gently transitioning from Spring to Summer to Fall and finally to Winter, Quietus rears its ugly head in between.

Players will be able to experience the game’s beginning and first few days in the world of Harvestella. This should give people a good experience of the overall gameplay loop. Players will have access to basic farming, exploration, combat, and relationship systems. And of course, there will be yummy cooking.

This playable demo doesn’t have an expiry date, like Wo Long. Instead, it looks like it will be available forever as players’ progress will carry over to the main game if they so choose to purchase it. The full game will be available starting November 4th.

Valkyrie Elysium Playable Demo

Circling back to a more adrenaline-filled and action-packed game comes Valkyrie Elysium. This game got a playable demo announcement during the TGS as well. Valkyrie Elysium is a follow-up to the Valkyrie Profile series that was started way back in 1999. It will follow a Valkyrie through her quest given to her Odin, the all-father, to prevent the coming of Ragnarok.

The playable demo will contain a single chapter that was specifically taken out of the main game. After a short tutorial on navigation and usage of the Soul Chain (think grappling hook), Valkyrie Elysium will dump you right into the action.

Multiple combat scenarios will be available for the player to try and get a feel of the gameplay loop. They will also get access to the game’s Einherjar system. This specifically allows the Valkyrie to call on the souls of fallen heroes and beckon them to fight for her temporarily. These spirits can also be used to solve environmental puzzles, such as having some hack up a gigantic boulder with their greatsword. Very practical use of an ancient and legendary spirit.

Valkyrie Elysium’s playable demo should last about 2 hours, give or take. It is currently only exclusive to consoles, specifically the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Unlike Harvestella, you cannot transfer save files to the full release. Players will also be unable to transfer demo saves from the PS4 to the PS5 and vice versa.

Other Notable Playable Demos

Some other notable Playable Demos to watch out for are The DioField Chronicle (check out our demo impressions here!), and Cult of the Lamb (which Yuria and Cas have enjoyed on Twitch). The recently released Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes also got a demo in which progress carries over. That title lets players experience a full 4 chapters of the game, which is quite generous. Lastly, Star Ocean: The Divine Force will also get a playable demo on September 20th.

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For more news, check out Top RPG News Of The Week: September 18th (Assassin’s Creed, Rise of the Ronin, Star Ocean The Divine Force and More!), and Palworld is an Upcoming Open-World Pokemon-style Multiplayer Game With Tons of Absurdities.