Featured Image Credit: Steam
Topics: Steam, Indie Games
Steam remains the dominant platform on PC because it does provide players with a genuinely consumer friendly service (for the most part).
A big part of that, with the help of the developers, is the significant array of free demos that they host for people to try before a game's release, or before they commit to a full purchase.
With plenty of new options added to the service every day, it can be difficult to pick out the real highlights, so we've done our best to do that for you.
For the horror aficionados amongst you, there are two games that may be of interest. Escape or Die is made in Unreal Engine 5 and puts players in the first-person shoes of a journalist searching for his two missing friends. With psychological horror elements throughout and even a killer clown, it's a scarefest from start to finish.
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Sticking with horror for a minute, The House Remembers is another psychological horror experience that follows the player as they return to the grandfather's house after his death. It looks exceptionally weird and original enough to try the demo at the very least.
Managate is a base defense game with automation elements that leans heavily into fantasy and magic. The demo allows you to play the first five in-game days, so that should be more than enough to decide whether you like it.
If you're looking for something more story focused, Antidote City Hall is a noir pixel art adventure where your choices and skill checks shape how the story plays out.
Strategy and simulator fans can turn to The Succession of Changing Kings where you need to lead your kingdom to prosperity or ruin.
Racing fans best pick is undoubtedly Dirtzone, an offroad racer with some nice features under the hood, including vehicle upgrades, mud physics and dynamic weather.
Other fun choices from across the genre smorgasbord include Chess Empire, looter shooter Gravebound, Tactical RPG Wisps of the Elements, farming sim Can't Stop Rory, auto battler Escape the Cradle, and deck-building roguelite SummonArk.