The Best Ways to Try Out Games Before You Buy Them

22.02.2024 - 18:27 / howtogeek.com / Playstation Plus

As video games continue to get bigger and more expensive, buying new ones can feel like a huge commitment. It's more important than ever to be confident that a new game is worth your money. Fortunately, you can try out many games before you buy them (even if you have to be a little creative).

Try Games by Downloading Digital Demos

Probably the most tried and true method for trying out a new game is to download a digital demo. Publishers often release playable sections of upcoming titles to give fans a taste of what is to come in the full release. These are typically free and infinitely replayable, offering a short glimpse of the gameplay so you can tell if spending money on the full release is worth it.

It's also not uncommon to find games released in an episodic fashion with a free "demo" of the first episode or portion of the game. The first episode of the wildly popular franchise Life is Strange, for instance, has been free for years. That's how confident DONTNOD Entertainment is that you'll be sucked into the time-bending interactive story and spend $20 for the rest of the episodes.

Though demos used to be a dime a dozen, they're not quite as common these days and are typically published directly by the developers themselves. The good news is that demos have started to appear more frequently on digital storefronts. To look for yourself, go to your preferred platform's online storefront and look for a "Demos" category or tag and see what kind of games they might have available to try out.

Additionally, some games allow you to transfer save data from a demo version to the full game if you choose to purchase it and carry on playing. Make sure to check the demo's description to see if it is compatible with this feature or not.

Try Games With Game Pass and PlayStation Plus

You can access a library of games for a set price with a Game Pass or PlayStation Plus trials. PlayStation Plus Premium members, in particular, get access to time-limited trials of games that don't restrict the availability of in-game content, but rather limit play time to a specific number of hours.

Game Pass is still a good way to try a game before you want to buy it, assuming the game is in the Game Pass library. Titles are often removed from Game Pass, so if you want to keep playing a game you'll need to buy it outright. Such titles are usually discounted at the end of their Game Pass period so that you can save money on the full price and keep playing.

With such services you could effectively play through the intro sequences of many games to get a feel for them and even keep your progress if you purchase the full game. Other game subscription services like EA Play also offer similar trials.

PlayStation Plus also gives PS4 or