The Forever Winter just got a fancy Steam demo

The Forever Winter was released via Steam Early Access late in September, dominating the co-op extraction shooter niche thanks to its hardcore gameplay and a ridiculously grimdark take on future warfare. Now, the developer Fun Dog is pushing out a new Steam demo to help undecided players check it out.

Notably, while there’s plenty of merit in The Forever Winter‘s gameplay, lore, and aesthetic, some of the game’s more hardcore elements haven’t panned out with its fledgling community. The Forever Winter is a single-player and co-op horror shooter that attempts to de-emphasize combat in lieu of scavenging, and water is a key resource in particular. The bit that players haven’t liked from day one onwards is the fact that, once your water meter fully runs out, your progress and inventory get wiped out as well. The kicker? Water is spent on a real-world timer that keeps ticking even when you’re not playing.

Download The Forever Winter demo on Steam to give this horror extraction shooter a fair shake

For all intents and purposes, The Forever Winter‘s water mechanic is a far more punishing variant of Escape From Tarkov‘s hideout fuel. As to why it’s so punishing, no one’s quite sure just yet. I’m not big on FOMO myself, so I held out from giving Forever Winter a fair shake… until now, with the demo out and about.

Those of us who just wish to see how The Forever Winter plays without splurging almost 30 euros on a (very) Early Access prospect can now download the demo and see what’s up. By default, there’s just no way most players will have that much fun in an extraction shooter this hardcore. Add the usual suite of Early Access problems into the mix, such as poor performance and a general lack of polish, and it’s not hard to see why people might shy away from the game.

A proper demo should then help Fun Dog establish The Forever Winter as the premiere extraction shooter, whether it is early access or not. Demo players have limited access to Forever Winter‘s character roster and won’t be able to scavenge across all of the game’s maps. Further, they only appear to be getting matchmade with other demo players, which is pretty fair.

All in all, then, if you too have been on the fence about The Forever Winter like I have, I suggest giving the demo a whirl and seeing where that takes you. In somewhat related news, I recently learned that The Forever Winter almost ended up being an NFT game back in 2022, which sits in stark contrast to the developer’s more recent messaging. A potential red flag? Decide for yourself.