Ys Net is giving players who helped kickstart Shenmue III the chance to play a trial version of the game in the latter half of September. Unfortunately, the demo will be limited to those who are opting for the PC version of Shenmue III on the Epic Games Store. However, if you are getting the game on PS4 and happened to back Shenmue III at the $100 tier you can still try out the demo if you have the PC hardware to support it.
The trial version will act as a one-hour introduction to the world of Shenmue III. Players will be able to clear objectives and continue exploring afterward until their playtime expires. Once players do finish the demo’s main objective Ys Net says that there will still be “lots of activities” to uncover. The demo will be set in Bailu Village, which acts as the introductory setting to Shenmue III. Any progress made in the demo won’t be carried over into the full game when it launches later this year on November 19.
Those who kickstarted Shenmue III were told that a trial version would be coming sooner but, like the game’s release date, it was pushed back multiple times. This will be the first opportunity that backers get to go hands-on with the game. YS Net has faced multiple issues with their backers after it was revealed that those who kickstarted the game won’t get access to the pre-order bonuses available to day-one adopters at launch. Additionally, the game’s PC platform was changed to the Epic Games Store just months away from release. Epic has since stepped in to offer refunds to any backers who felt negatively towards the change.
Shenmue III was revealed back in 2015 during Sony’s E3 press conference. As a Kickstarter title, the game has faced a rather rocky development cycle but the release date is finally in sight. The Shenmue series got its start on the Dreamcast back in 1999. Systems used in-game made the world feel more alive than any game before it at the time. NPCs worked on time-sensitive schedules and each game had fully explorable semi-open locations which weren’t popular features yet in game development.
Since the time it released the series has garnered a cult following of sorts. Fans have been left in the dark for all these years in regard to the final part of the trilogy. Those who need a refresher after nearly 20 years can pick up the Shenmue I & II HD bundle on PS4 right now.
Shenmue III releases on November 19th, 2019.
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