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It appears to be like like Steam has quietly added a brand new characteristic: timed free recreation trials. Whereas as soon as upon a time (like per week in the past), getting a ‘free trial’ of a recreation typically meant shopping for it, attempting it out, and returning it earlier than Steam’s 2-hour refund window closed, it seems that publishers will now be capable of provide time-limited demos in a extra structured, formal manner.
The primary recreation to utilize the characteristic is that this yr’s Lifeless House remake (opens in new tab), which you’ll be able to play for an hour and a half, however I think about extra will observe. It is all slightly easy: You simply pop over to the sport’s retailer web page and hit Play Now, which is able to kick off the obtain in your Steam shopper and allow you to get pleasure from 1.5 hours of a really sad house station.
The speedrun report for 2023’s Lifeless House, by the best way, is 1 hour 44 minutes (opens in new tab). Maybe you possibly can absorb all the recreation and set a brand new report within the course of for those who actually blitz it. That seems like an satisfying approach to play.
There is no phrase on if or when the free trial characteristic will probably be prolonged to different video games, however I might be baffled if it did not crop up elsewhere down the road. The demo is a little bit of a misplaced artwork in these digital-first days, however I believe there’s nonetheless a starvation on the a part of many to strive earlier than they purchase. With a bit of luck, a Steam-supported free trial system may see demo variations change into commonplace observe once more, or not less than extra frequent than they’re now.
That Lifeless House remake is price attempting out, by the best way. In his Lifeless House evaluate (opens in new tab) for PCG, our personal Sean Martin scored the sport 84% and praised it as an incredible instance of “what Lifeless House has at all times been: an intense, momentum-driven expertise”. Now you possibly can simply expertise that momentum for your self, albeit for one and a half hours.
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