This is also another chance to check out Carrion, a horror game where you are a horrible mass of sticky tentacles. This is part of GOG’s summer sale, and there may well be something you want for cheaps. I’m just here to talk about the exciting freebies. The Desperados 3 demo is definitely my highlight. It’s from the same team that made Shadow Tactics, and it’s essentially the same game wearing a cowboy coat. It’s all about manipulating guards into murderable positions, combining each character’s abilities in novel and creative ways. Maybe you’ll whistle at that man so he walks into your bear trap. Maybe you’ll blind his friend by tricking him into opening a booby-trapped bag, then chuck a knife at him. Or maybe you’ll just shoot them both. We’re cowboys now, it’s grand. Forget the maybes: you’ll definitely do all these things. Developers Mimimi say the demo will take between 90-120 minutes, including a section of a more open level where you can freely walk around in unrestricted areas. Here’s vidbud Matthew explaining why both those and the killer chickens are good. I am sad to report that the killer chickens are not in the demo. Moody tactical cowboys aren’t for everyone, but that’s why we have the System Shock remake. Developers Nightdive are going all in, recreating Citadel Station “[not] as it was, but as you remember it”. I played a build last year ago, and I’d hope many of the problems I raised in my preview will be sorted by now - though Nightdive do warn that this is still “a very early demo”. The combat felt limp, but the spaceship was lit. As in, poorly. Atmospherically. It’s a really good spooky spaceship, is what I’m saying. You can also play the first level of The Destroy All Humans remake, a spot of RPG Cris Tales, a smidgen of RPG Vagrus - The Riven Realms, and a sample of Spiritfarer, “a cosy management game about dying”. For dessert, have a slice of Carrion, “a reverse horror game” where you’re the monster. Cris Tales, Spiritfarer, System Shock and Carrion have all had public demos in the past. You should still seize the present and check them out now though.
