We've released a new demo!
But wait…WHY a new demo when the game's been out for FIVE (!) months?
We removed the old demo before Christmas. It was very outdated; developed for Steam's Next Fest in June 2024, it included none of the important and game-changing updates and upgrades from the past seven (!!) months.
The old demo also didn't, uh, demonstrate what Dustborn is all about. It was too disjointed and fragmented, which made it hard to understand the story and characters. It dropped you into combat without a proper tutorial, and you didn't get enough time to hang with the crew — a big part of the Dustborn experience. This is, after all, a game about people and relationships…and only occasionally and tangentially about fighting zombie robots. (There's some of that, sure. But there's a lot more branching dialogue and emotional choices.)
The new demo is very much THE GAME. If you enjoy this, you'll probably enjoy the rest of it.
(Conversely, and importantly, if you DON'T like the demo…well, Dustborn isn't for you. You don't have to buy it and return it and we can all go our separate ways, no hard feelings. It's one of them win-win scenarios!)
So what does this new demo do differently?
It contains the FULL first two chapters (we call them "issues", like in comic-books) and your progress carries over to the purchased game. Depending on your pace and patience, that's potentially two hours of FREE playtime — more than enough to decide if you vibe with it (or not).
One caveat: we update the game on a regular basis, and the demo will most likely not get those updates, so over time the two will diverge — but that shouldn't affect the experience TOO much. Most of the patches and content updates focus on later chapters (sorry, issues) and gameplay features like the combat system.
On that note: we do have some cool updates in store for this year, so keep an eye out for that, if you're interested!
If you haven't played Dustborn yet, here's your chance to do so for REAL, no strings attached! (It certainly beats watching those carefully edited YouTube videos.) If you played the old demo and didn't like it, maybe give this one a shot to see if you feel differently?
And if you already own the game… THANK YOU! There's nothing here for you. Nothing. Sorry.