A new demo for Luto is out there in the world and those looking to explore what Luto has on the PlayStation need to get ready
Indie horror has another title to test out there, again, with the release of a new demo for Luto. Not a new demo on the PC, which Broken Bird Games gave us not so long ago, but a new demo just for those looking to see what the game is all about on the PS5. All of which to get us ready for the full release of Luto on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2024. When in 2024? That is still up to some form of debate. Nonetheless, a new demo is out there for the game and we had a chance to check it all out along with a fun new trailer to make sure the PlayStation crowd knows to go look for it.
If you missed out on the original announcement for Luto a while back, this is a new psychological horror title that has us all walking around a house and solving some kind of puzzles in the mix. Take note that walking around the house was mentioned, as it looks as if this is a full walking simulation with the horror elements mixed right in again. Only with Luto, it does look as if the team is trying to amp things up with some new cloth physics and tell a story that most English-speaking gamers are not used to getting out there. Have a look at the demo trailer and get teased a bit for what is on the way.
Luto — PS5 Demo Launch
Luto is a first-person psychological-horror narrative experience where you will embody a person unable to leave their own house. Finding the way out will lead you through a series of experiences that will challenge your perception of reality. Explore the pain caused by the loss of a loved one, the horror of the insecurity to the deepest darkness hidden behind anxiety and depression… Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2024!
The demo is now available on the PS5 for those who want to experience it all live.
Now that you have been properly teased, we had a chance to play the new Luto demo on the PS5 to see how it all holds up. We also had a chance, in the past, to play the demo on the PC so we will note that it is about the same between the two. The only real difference is that it has the controller scheme set up natively on the PS5. Now that we have that all mentioned, we can jump into how Luto plays and some of our thoughts on the experience. You can see our gameplay of the demo just below and then get a feel for what it was like to wander through this haunted house with a bit of story mixed in.
Luto — Hades Plays The Demo [PS5 Gameplay]
So, as you can see above, Luto will have us walking and checking out things to try to puzzle together what is going on in the house. All with some fun atmospheric scares in the mix. Some of them are a bit jumpy and others are a bit more on the creepy side. When the cloth physics are mixed in, as you hopefully saw, this does give a great feel to the entities that we are facing in Luto. They fit the traditional ghost look and feel with the sheets and will make you question every hanging sheet in the mix. All that and never to a point where it becomes overly predictable and sometimes a little shocking when you miss it. I would say there were a few mixed in that were a bit of a shock for me.
When it comes to the actual gameplay and locomotion in Luto, the character moves about VERY slow. Slow to the point of frustration. Even while holding down the “sprint” button, we only moved about fast enough to maybe catch a slowly crawling baby. Even when being chased down by one of the ghosts in the demo. I am curious if this is to better sell the environment and make sure the entities, that were unavoidable, feel like a threat. If that was the case, it worked but also made the time with Luto just feel like it was dragging. I could have had the same jumps and scares while actually being able to move like a real person in the game. Since it never felt like I was in danger from anything, it just would have been nice to be able to explore more and not be penalized for it.
I mention all of this, as I had no clue what was going on with the story of Luto in this little demo. Nor did I understand why I had to make any of the choices I did. This is a demo, so I am sure that the main story is going to be saved for the full release, but there was no urgency in any of this. Even the “choice” we have to make in this demo does not reveal anything further. The only difference is the set of stairs you go up to end things in Luto. Maybe it will have an impact in the full game, but for a demo, it was hard to get hyped based only on this. The trailer shows that there is more to come and experience, so do take note of that, as the demo really only gives a very small taste of what the core gameplay loop will be. That being walk from one spot to another, find a key/item, get spooked, open a door, and then repeat.
Have you had a chance to experience Luto in this demo form or did you need it to hit the PS5 to get into that? Do you think we will have better options to move about in the final game or will it be the same slow walkabout to force us to hit all of the correct timing in the game? Were you able to figure out what was going on in the story and does the weird observation room actually make sense in this little slice of the game? Take to the comments to let us all know and discuss. This was just a small demo for Luto, so we know that there is more to come. It was only meant to show off the basics and not give us a full narrative. When the full game launches, we will take another look at it all to see if there was more to all of this or just a way to show off the amazing cloth physics instead.