DERELIKT demo guide: survive the opening shift

Availability and access

The demo is a separate Steam app. You install it like any other Steam demo: open the listing, select the demo, install and launch. It is not a browser build and not part of the PlayStation 5 listing. The full game releases on 13 November 2026.

What is in the demo

The official demo announcement says the slice lets you explore the opening section of Von Neumann Outpost, search for supplies, uncover its mysteries and face the horrors that have made the station their home. That covers exploration, combat, resource searching and the first taste of the station’s puzzle-led structure.

The full game is described as 12 levels with subtle Metroidvania-style progression. The demo does not represent the full route, all twelve levels or the final balance.Do not treat a demo route as a full walkthrough.

A spoiler-light approach

This is not a step-by-step route with invented room names. It is a way to read the systems the demo actually exposes:

1. Read the environment before the map. The outpost is dark and systems are failing; signage, terminals and room layouts carry information.
2. Treat ammo as a budget. The official pitch says every shot has a cost. Avoid emptying a magazine into a problem you can walk around.
3. Keep a fallback weapon. Preview reports describe finishing fights with a crowbar after ammunition runs out.
4. Use the map to recover, not to rush. The demo includes a map, and the full game’s structure expects backtracking.
5. Talk to survivors. Their accounts conflict by design. A conversation is part of the information economy, not a side dish.
6. Do not hoard everything. Inventory space is limited; decide what earns a slot before the next corridor.

Inventory and weapons

The official feature list promises traditional firearms, outlandish prototypes and alien weapons. The demo is the first place to feel how those categories compete for space. The inventory screenshot shows weapons, ammunition boxes, consumables and a limited grid; it is a useful visual guide to the kind of pressure the game wants.

• Carry a reliable conventional weapon and at least one alternative.
• Do not assume every pickup is worth its slot; supplies compete with tools.
• Check a weapon’s feel before judging a fight you lost. The demo is a systems sample, not a finished balance pass.
• If you run dry, a melee tool may be the difference between a reset and a recovery.

Glyph upgrades: power at a price

GOG’s official feature list calls the glyph system a unique upgrade system. The glyph interface shows three paths: DMG (damage), VIT(vitality) and DEX (dexterity). A Noisy Pixel preview reports that examining a glyph fragment costs a small amount of health and opens an upgrade slot. Pick a trade-off that supports the weapon you actually use.

The full weapons and glyph guide tracks the confirmed parts of this system and refuses to invent percentages.

Talk to people before you trust them

The demo is the first chance to meet the kind of people who populate the outpost. Official screenshots already show Dr. Vloonikov, Louis Hartman, Peter Conrad and Julie Collier. The full game promises over a dozen NPCs, branching dialogue and conflicting versions of events. The demo will not answer every question, and that is the point.

Read the confirmed character files for their names and first lines without spoiler speculation.

What the demo does not answer

• How long the full game takes
• Every weapon, enemy or NPC in the final build
• Final balance, difficulty options or accessibility settings
• The ending, story resolution or post-launch plans
• Whether a PS5 demo will be released
• Exact PC system requirements beyond the store data

For the released game’s verified date and platforms, see therelease watch. For the full public roadmap, seeupdates.