I was massively disappointed when I found there was no playable demo of Dishonored. A video demo shows how the game will look, but not what it feels like to play. Even reviews don't really help - reviewers can be very adept at first-person games and their experience might not be my experience. As a result, I really like to try before I buy.

Not finding a demo at Bethesda, I Googled it. Not only were there a lot of other people asking for a playable demo, some were being given help on alternative, non-legal ways of 'trying it out'. This seems an utter travesty to Arkane, especially given that the game is being sold at a very reasonable price and is a fantastic single-player campaign that deserves the support of those of us who miss good single-player titles. In trying to find a demo, players are instead taken to links that likely won't result in a sale.

Then there are those who won't risk buying something they cannot first try. I'm one of them, and I didn't buy Dishonored because there was no demo. The review I read in my fave magazine was written in a story-style write-up along the lines of: "so I 'blinked across to a balcony, then performed a lethal drop-down before taking possession of the adjacent guard...". Given that I'm not great with a myriad controls, it sounded complex and as my funds are limited, I walked away despite the many glowing magazine reviews.

It was only my total obsession with Thief 3 that finally convinced me take the risk last week. As I near the end of my first play of Dishonored, I am so thankful that I did, and horrified at how I nearly didn't! If there had been a playable demo available (maybe the first two missions - just enough to show off the graphics, the easy controls and an intro to the blink feature), I would have bought it instantly - without a doubt, and I imagine many others would too.

So a plea to Bethesda/Arkane - please consider making a playable demo. A title such as this deserves a massive audience!

I hope they spend their time creating more content for the game rather than making a demo for it.

True

I was hoping it would be a simple matter of grabbing the code for missions 1 and 2, and then SNIP! Demo made!

I think a demo would certainly boost sales when hesitant players see how simple it is to play (ie from a controls point of view). And the more sales it gets, the bigger hit it becomes. The bigger hit it becomes, the more funding is thrown at expansions and sequels - which means even MORE for us - sort of like Hitman and how that grew from a single game as it caught on.

There's a nice video from http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/demo-daze on the topic, explaining why making demos isn't really that useful for developers in most conditions.

What? The interactive you tube video wasn't enough for you? Joking btw.

I want a demo of the upcoming DLCs.... joking again.