DERELIKT Demo vs Full Game: What Changed
What the DERELIKT demo includes, what the full release adds, and whether your demo save or demo codes carry over.
DERELIKT's demo was the game's main marketing beat. It arrived in October 2026, three chapters presented out of order, and it convinced a lot of people that the game was a PS1-styled horror shooter with a working inventory and a real boss fight. The full release is that, plus seven more levels and a considerably longer walk.
This page covers what the demo actually contains, what the retail build adds, and the two questions every demo player asks: does my save carry over, and do the demo codes still work?
The demo stops before the station properly opens up, and the beginner guide→ covers what changes in the full release.
What the demo includes
The demo covers three sections, played out of order:
- Von Neuman Outpost, the station hub, with the crew conversations and the lower-maintenance route.
- Anomaly Surface, the excavation site and the first Empty Proxy chase.
- A combat slice built around the shotgun and the inventory, which is not a level from the retail campaign in the same form.
The demo's structure is why so many players remember the order wrong. It opens with the surface, then jumps back to the station, then forward to a fight. The retail game is linear.
The demo also includes:
- A working inventory and medkit merging.
- The glyph bench in a reduced form.
- One boss encounter.
- A safe with a code that does not exist in the retail build.
What the full game adds
| Feature | Demo | Retail |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | 3 sections | 12 levels |
| Weapons | Pistol, shotgun, crowbar | Nine, including rifle and grenade launcher |
| Glyph system | Bench preview | Full fragment, translation and slot loop |
| Endings | One | Two, including the secret ending |
| Achievements | None | 27 |
| Save transfer | — | No |
| Price | Free | $17.99 (10% off $19.99) |
The retail build's biggest addition is the middle of the campaign: Central Security, Living Quarters and the coolant reservoir. The demo's three sections are roughly the first quarter of the retail game, expanded.
Do demo saves carry over?
No. The demo uses a separate app (Steam app 5242870) and a separate save directory. There is no import option in the retail build.
That is not a disaster: the retail Level 1 is longer than the demo's station section, and the demo's codes were changed in several places. Starting fresh is the intended path.
Do demo codes still work?
Two do:
- 1478, the Exo Labs server towers.
- 8465, the sample-tube door.
One does not:
- The Level 1 safe code from the demo. The retail safe uses a different lock and no code.
The general rule is that hardware-derived codes survived and note-based codes were changed. If a video shows a code being typed into a safe, check whether the video is from the demo.
The Squidbull encounter from the demo is the same fight in the retail build, with the arena unchanged. Matador is earned there.
How the demo performed
The demo's Steam page accumulated just over two hundred user reviews in its first month, with a 94% positive rating. That number is worth reading carefully: demo reviews are written by people who chose to download a free slice, so they skew positive. The retail game's mixed critical reception (8/10 from Noisy Pixel, 6.5/10 from GameScout) is the better predictor of whether the full campaign holds up.
The demo's most common complaint was the same one the retail game gets: the inventory grid is tight and the game does not explain stacking. Its most common praise was the PS1 presentation, which the full game keeps.
Is the demo still worth playing?
For most people, no. The retail build includes everything the demo had, plus the context that makes the first hour make sense. The demo is useful for one thing: checking whether the PS1 aesthetic and the inventory grid are tolerable before spending $17.99.
If you bounce off the demo's texture warping and the grid, the retail build will not change your mind. If you like them, the retail game is the demo with a campaign attached.
Performance and platform notes
The demo ran on Windows only, like the retail build. There is no demo for consoles, and the console versions launched alongside the PC release in November 2026.
The demo's performance profile is close to the retail build's first three levels. If the demo ran at a stable frame rate on your machine, the full game will too, with the coolant section's water effects being the heaviest scene.
FAQ
Does the demo unlock anything in the full game? No.
Is the demo's story canon? Yes, but the retail version expands it and changes the order.
Can I still download the demo? It remains listed as a separate Steam app, but the store page may hide it after launch. Check the demo app page directly.
Is the full game worth it if I played the demo? Yes, if you want the campaign. The demo covers about a quarter of it.
Steam's news hub is where the demo's launch and the retail release were announced, and it is the only official record of what the demo contained.
Sources and further reading
The pages below are the sources this guide checks against. The store page and the developer's post are primary; the reviews are secondary and are used for enemy names, weapon names and the state of the game at launch.
- DERELIKT on Steam ↗ — the store page, system requirements and the 27-achievement list.
- Visuwyg's announcement post ↗ — the developer's own description of the outpost and the PS1 rendering work.
- DERELIKT news hub on Steam ↗ — patch notes and launch-week announcements.
Official source: Visuwyg — DERELIKT announcement post ↗, 8 September 2025.
"grafted onto an anomalous derelict asteroid in orbit around Saturn" — Visuwyg, DERELIKT announcement post, 2025