Which of the 70+ ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo titles should you be trying?

The ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event is up, live and showcasing more than 70 great games on Xbox One. Some of these will be released in the coming days, more still a few weeks down the line, whilst others are still in the early stages of development and won’t be released as a fully fledged title until 2021 at the earliest. What they all have in common though is that they’ll all eventually be playable on Xbox One as a full release, and all should be something slightly different to the gaming table. 

But with more than 70 games included in the ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event, it could well be tricky to decide where you need to place your time and efforts. That is where we come in, focusing on 8 of the most interesting titles currently available. If you don’t have time to check out all 70+ of these demos (and let’s be honest, who has?), make sure you at least spend time with the following…

Knight Squad 2

We have to start with Knight Squad 2, basically because after the first game, there is huge hype rolling around for this one. 

As our preview piece of the Knight Squad 2 demo shows, this looks set to provide even more arcade multiplayer madness when it launches in Q4 2020 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC. 

Playable for up to 8 like-minded gamers, Knight Squad 2 is all about a fight to the death as you compete in multiple game modes like Battle Royale, Capture the Flag or Payload, brandishing awesome weaponry and proving your Knighting worth as you go. 

With Chainsawesome Games behind the sequel, and the first game having garnered a huge amount of interest, hopes are extremely high for the sequel. Chances are it’ll provide the goods – and then some. 

Curved Space

Curved Space from the husband and wife team at Only By Midnight is a title that has been utterly inspired by the classic twin-stick shooters – think Geometry Wars or even the new #Funtime and you’ll be close – and promises to provide a dizzying experience like no other as you work your way through and across the warped surfaces of space stations and asteroid mining facilities. 

The demo you’ll discover as part of the Summer Game Fest allows access to the first act of the Story Mode, giving you the chance to play around with a multitude of high-powered weapons, special abilities and more. With the full game promising huge replayability, an endless Survival Mode thrown in for good measure and the chance to go leaderboard chasing, all the staples of a great twin-stick shooter seem to be here. 

Curved Space will release on Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch and PS4 this fall – we’ll be sure to bring you more about it as and when we can. 

Klang 2

Combining rhythm action gameplay with the porting might of Ratalaika Games and Klang 2 is already onto a bit of a winner. 

Created by those at Tinimations, Klang 2 delivers gamers a smattering of hypnotic beats and high speed combat situations as you utilise the rhythm to slash your way through various foes and levels. Klang 2 has been created with procedurally generated elements at the fore, and glorious handcrafted stages helping push everything along – mix that up with the the opportunity to take on some stupidly powerful enemies, and the chance to learn how new mechanics work, and you’ve got a game that should well tick many boxes. 

Oh, and the fact that it will eventually be launching under the Ratalaika Games arm means that it is odds on to be cheap to purchase and full of easy-to-handle achievements. 

Make sure you give this one a little try at the very least. 

Darkestville Castle

This could be the shortest sell needed for all of the games included in the ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event, but here goes anyways…

Darkestville Castle is a point-and-click graphic adventure heavily inspired by The Secret Of Monkey Island.

Downloaded it yet?

Seriously though, if there is ever a game to get the juices flowing, it is that of Monkey Island and so any title that rocks up on Xbox One and states that it has been inspired by those classics, gets an immediate pass in our eyes. And it just so happens to help that Darkestville Castle has also been available on Steam for a few years already, picking up some seriously positive vibes in the process. 

Darkestville Castle will see you falling into the world of a demon, Cid, as he goes around attempting to perform various dastardly deeds to the people of Darkestville. The thing is, an old foe of his soon rocks up – and that changes his life forever. 

Billed by those who have played the Steam edition as a game that ‘will surely not disappoint’ and one that ‘never hides the source of its inspiration’, we can’t wait to be able to get hands on with Darkestville Castle when it comes to Xbox One soon. In the meantime, this demo will give a good indication of why you should be so excited for it too. 

Raji: An Ancient Epic

Raji: An Ancient Epic is something that is rather unique, allowing us to join a young chosen girl – Raji – as she attempts to fend off an incoming demonic invasion, and rescue her brother in the process.

Now that may not seem unique in itself, but Raji: An Ancient Epic is an action adventure that is set in Ancient India, and that is pretty much where it comes into its own. Promising a journey of self-discovery, what Nodding Head Games and Super.com have created here looks wonderful – and the demo should really be tried out immediately; if only to give you some kind of insight into why this game has already managed to pick up multiple awards.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as to how things play out for Raji: An Ancient Epic on Xbox One – chances are it’ll be coming along to console later this year. 

Nine Witches: Family Disruption

A comedic alternate history occult adventure, Nine Witches: Family Disruption will be launching on Xbox One in full (alongside PC and other consoles) at some point in Q3 2020, but it is the demo we are interested in here, and once again this is one you should certainly be pointing your finger at. 

Nine Witches will see you travelling to Sundäe, a sleepy little Scandinavian hamlet that plays host to a weird otherworldly secret. From there the full game will let you investigate the Nazi’s sorcerous Okkulte-55 Division and commune with spirits to help turn the tide of World War 2, all by harnessing the eerie powers of Professor Alexei Krakovitz. You see, when you do so you will get the chance to traverse the astral plane and speak to the dead, before getting ready for action as Akiro Kagasawa when things get physical. 

With past Blowfish Games history proving that they know a thing or two about games, Nine Witches: Family Disruption is one to check out. 

Helheim Hassle

We’ve been following Helheim Hassle for a good old while, but just weeks away from full launch of the game on Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch, the team at Perfectly Paranormal are giving gamers the chance to check out a small portion of the madness via the ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event. 

A limb-defiling, body desecrating, puzzle platformer that is due to hit full launch on August 18th 2020, Helheim Hassle will follow on from Perfectly Paranomal’s brilliant Manual Samuel to provide an equally chaotic experience. 

Our exclusive interview with the project lead and writer behind the game should well be taken in for a full insight into how this mad mission came about, but the demo available right now will provide perfect accompaniment. In it you’ll begin to understand the mood of the game, get to meet some of the main characters, and even be given the chance to involve yourself with some of the weird puzzles.

If you like crazy games, Helheim Hassle is going to be the one for you. 

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

It’s billed as one of the most unique action adventure titles you will ever play, and that in itself makes Falling Squirrel‘s The Vale: Shadow of the Crown something of high intrigue. 

Promising to deliver an emotional story and developed in close consultation with the Canadian Institute for the Blind, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown will see you following the hero of the tale – a hero who is second in line to the throne, blind from birth and has been exiled to the edges of the kingdom on orders of their elder brother. 

It will be by utilising sound and harnessing the power of the ears of the hero where you’ll find yourself traversing through a treacherous journey, exploring the world around, fighting off enemies and acquiring gear. Chances are you’ll be utterly immersed in the rich narrative that has been provided, and found wowed by the utilisation of the latest in assistive technologies, including binaural audio and haptic controller feedback.

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown should be launching on Xbox and PC later this year. For now, hit up the demo and be prepared for something special. 

So those are our picks from the ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event. The full list of demos available from now until July 27th 2020 is as follows. Let us know in the comments which you try, which you like, which you hate and which you’ll be looking forward to full release of further down the line. The comments section is below. 

• 9 Monkeys of Shaolin (Sobaka Studio)
• A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher (Ask An Enemy Studios)
• Alchemist Adventure (Bad Minions)
• Aniquilation (R-Next)
• Antipole DX (Saturnine Games)
• Armed and Gelatinous (Three Flip Studios)
• Ars Fabulae (Punk Notion)
• Back to Belt (Mauricio Felippe)
• Bite the Bullet (Mega Cat Studios)
• Book of Adventum (Dark Amber Softworks)
• Cake Bash (High Tea Frog)
• Chickens Madness (Vikong)
• Clea (InvertMouse)
• Cris Tales (Dreams Uncorporated, SYCK)
• Curved Space (Only By Midnight Ltd.)
• Dandy Ace (Mad Mimic)
• Darkestville Castle (Epic Llama)
• Deleveled (ToasterFuel)
• Destroy All Humans! (Black Forest Games)
• Doodle God: Crime City Demo (JoyBits, Inc)
• Dungeon and Gravestone (Wonderland Kazakiri inc.)
• Dungeon Scavenger Inferno (Vidama Software)
• Ephemeral Tale (Dawdling Dog, ltd.)
• Flowing Lights (gFaUmNe)
• Fractal Space (Haze Games)
• Freshly Frosted (The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
• Galacide (Puny Human)
• Gauntlet Force: Rise of the Machines Demo (Forge Studios)
• Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)
• Haven (The Game Bakers)
• Helheim Hassle (Perfectly Paranormal)
• Hellpoint (Cradle Games)
• In the Valley of Death (stdio.gypsy)
• Kaze and the Wild Masks (PixelHive)
• Klang 2 (Tinimations)
• Knight Squad 2 (Chainsawesome Games)
• Kova: AlphaLink (Black Hive Media)
• KungFu Kickball (WhaleFood Games)
• Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale (GrimTalin)
• Lost Wing (BoxFrog Games)
• Mars Power Industries Deluxe (7A Games)
• Mayhem Brawler (Hero Concept)
• Momentus (Swerve Studios)
• Nine Witches: Family Disruption (Indiesruption)
• OkunoKA Madness (Caracal Games)
• PHOGS! (Bit Loom)
• Pixel Skater (Chickopie Games)
• Ponpu (Purple Tree Studio)
• Projection: First Light (Shadowplay Studios)
• Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games)
• Re:Turn – One Way Trip (Red Ego Games)
• Road to Guangdong (Just Add Oil)
• Rover Wars: Battle for mars Demo (Sakari Games)
• Sail Forth (David Evans Games)
• ScourgeBringer (Flying Oak Games)
• Seasons of the Samurai (TopView Studio)
• SkateBIRD (Glass Bottom Games)
• Skycadia (Studio Nisse LLC)
• Solaroids: Prologue (DynF/X Digital)
• Space Otter Charlie (Wayward Distractions)
• Swim Out (Lozange Lab)
• Swimsanity! (Decoy Games, LLC)
• Tesla Force (10tons Ltd.)
• The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines (tinyDino)
• The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav (Daedalic Entertainment)
• The Dark Eye: Memoria (Daedalic Entertainment)
• The Last Cube (Improx Games)
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel Inc.)
• Tribble Troubles Demo (Scary Robot)
• Unspottable (GrosChevaux Ltd)
• WarriOrb (Not Yet)
• Welcome to Elk (Triple Topping)
• YesterMorrow (BitMap Galaxy)