Try These Steam Game Demos Before They Disappear Saturday

The Game Awards were last night. And while we do love a pretty trophy (and are sad The Outer Worlds didn’t take top honours), there’s more to the event than pixel pageantry. Coinciding with the big day, there’s also a PC “Game Festival” going on—all on Steam—that features some great time-locked demos you can play right now.

You’ll have until Saturday at 1 p.m. or so (ET) to try out the demos, and I recommend you clear your schedule this evening. After all, this is the first chance you’ll get to try out the revamped version of the classic System Shock, which absolutely deserves some of your time. I also recommend checking out Carrion, which looks creepy (and fun) AF.

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Here’s the full list of demos you can try out:

Eastward (Windows, macOS)

“In a beautifully-detailed and charming post-apocalyptic world, a miner discovers a mysterious little girl named Sam deep underground in a secret facility… Journey through decaying cities, encountering strange creatures and even stranger people along the way!”

CARRION (Windows, macOS, SteamOS+Linux)

“CARRION is a reverse horror game in which you assume the role of an amorphous creature of unknown origins, stalking and consuming those that imprisoned you.”

Chicory: A Colourful Tale (Windows, macOS)

“You’re a dog wielding a magic brush! Use painting powers to explore, solve puzzles and make friends in this top-town adventure game. From creators on Wandersong + Celeste.”

Moving Out (Windows)

“Moving Out is a ridiculous physics-based moving simulator that brings new meaning to ‘couch co-op’! Are you ready for an exciting career in furniture? As a newly certified Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician, you’ll take on moving jobs all across the busy town of Packmore.”

Heavenly Bodies (Windows, macOS)

“Wrangle the hands and arms of a 1970s space cosmonaut and push, pull and twist your way through an increasingly precarious range of physically-simulated stellar scenarios, where without gravity, nothing is still, nothing is secure, and nothing is simple.”

Spiritfarer (Windows, macOS, SteamOS+Linux)

“Spiritfarer is a cosy management game about dying. As ferrymaster to the deceased, build a boat to explore the world, care for your spirit friends, and guide them across mystical seas to finally release them into the afterlife. What will you leave behind?”

Roki (Windows)

“Röki is an adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore; a dark contemporary fairy tale underpinned by a touching narrative, alluring art style, ancient puzzles and atmospheric exploration.”

Tactical Galactical (Windows)

“Are you looking for a unique, cerebral, hex-based RTS developed specifically to be played with a controller, with a special single player mode, cross-platform multiplayer, and a wacky Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic? …No? Um…well if you were, this would be the perfect game for you!”

SkateBIRD (Windows, macOS, SteamOS+Linux)

“Grind on bendy straws, kick-flip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks. Above all else, skate birds try their best!”

The Drifter (Windows, macOS, SteamOS+Linux)

“A Pulp Adventure Thriller – A drifter, murdered, finds himself alive again seconds before his death. Struggling to maintain his sanity, can he unravel the conspiracy surrounding his condition and those hunting him?”

System Shock (Windows, SteamOS+Linux)

“After two decades, Nightdive Studios is rebooting and re-imagining the original System Shock. We will keep the new game true to the classic experience, keeping all the things you loved while giving today’s gamers the modern look and feel expected from a great game.”

Wooden Nickel (Windows, macOS)

“Step inside the curiosities of an Old West newspaper to explore a frontier town. Meet the locals, wander the desert, make choices that shape each morning’s paper in a growing spread of possibilities.”

Acid Knife (Windows)

“Battle Death Centipedes in the melting psychedelic void. Slower, more intentional side-scrolling combat, with an emphasis on positioning and improvisation.”

Haven (Windows)

“They escaped to a lost planet to be together. A RPG adventure about love and freedom. To play solo or co-op with a special someone.”