Darkstone Restoration is the no-fuss action RPG demo worth trying right now

Darkstone Restoration — a remaster of the 1999 hack-and-slash Darkstone — is in early access on Steam, and it comes with a generous demo that lets you dig into the game before spending a penny. The demo covers three randomly selected quests per run, lets you create characters from all eight available classes, and drops you into the early-game dungeons with no strings attached.

The remaster brings updated UI and controls, including WASD movement and full controller support, plus improved graphics — though some players may want to dial back volumetric fog and procedural grass if framerates start to suffer. The current early access build includes couch co-op, and a permadeath mode is in development. Online multiplayer is the one notable absence right now, but the developers have it on the roadmap.

Darkstone originally launched in 1999 as a straightforward Diablo-style hack-and-slash, distinguished by a companion system that let you switch between two characters mid-session, with the CPU handling whichever one you weren't controlling. It never tried to be more than it was — and that simplicity is exactly what makes the Restoration remaster feel refreshing in 2025, when most action RPGs come loaded with seasonal ladders, sprawling skill trees, and DLC treadmills that demand homework before you even start playing.

If you've been craving an action RPG you can just pick up and play without a build guide open in another tab, the Darkstone Restoration demo on Steam is worth an hour of your time. It's a low-commitment way to find out whether old-school dungeon crawling still hits the way it used to.