SlashZero Demo Guide

The SlashZero demo is a time-limited, data-wipe test, not a slice you can keep forever. Streetlamp Studio and Skystone Games opened it on Steam and PlayStation 5 so Timehackers can run 10-plus hours of loops, unlock Hamlet, and hunt secret bosses before the full game’s Spring 2027 launch. This page is the schedule, the wipe, the platform split, and the content list. For the first-hour camp loop, use Getting Started. For launch timing of the complete game, use the release date page.

Do not describe the full game as out. Steam still lists Q1 2027; State of Play announced Spring 2027. The demo window is the only playable public build this September.

Dates, times, and the wipe

• Start: 3 September 2026, 15:15 UTC
• End: 23 September 2026, 15:00 UTC
• Format: time-limited data-wipe test
• After the window: all save data is deleted

Plan around UTC, not your storefront’s local clock. If you start a loop at 14:50 UTC on the 23rd, assume the servers or client may kick you before you bank a story flag. Streetlamp’s FAQ is also summarised on the demo launch update. Treat the last calendar day as a highlight-reel day, not a Hamlet-and-HIEROS double session.

The wipe is the point. Authority Codes, Chip embeds, Hamlet, and secret-boss flags exist so the team can watch how players spend a finite window. They do not migrate into 1.0. Screenshot loadouts you like. Write down Blessing names. Do not emotionally invest in a perfect Code grid.

SlashZero playtest gameplay walkthrough

What 10-plus hours actually contains

Streetlamp’s demo FAQ says the build offers over 10 hours of gameplay. That is not a single campaign chapter. It is repeated loops through shattered timelines, camp upgrades, character unlocks, and optional bosses. You should expect:

• Two default Timehackers, Nyx and Fina, from minute one.
• Hamlet as a progress unlock, not a third portrait on the first select screen. Follow how to unlock Hamlet.
• Secret bosses Erik and Ye, plus a HIEROS-I encounter for players who finish the challenge chain. Details live on secret bosses and HIEROS-I.
• A new Authority in this build, Infinity of Space, on top of Flame, Water, Fate, Life, Wind, and Thunder.
• Expanded Chip upgrades, Authority Codes, Dual Blessings, extra rerolls, and Chip embedding for preset slots.
• Multi-layered maps, shops, chambers of respite, and the Fortune Chip hub with the street lamp as your timeline door.

If you bounce after one death, you will not see Hamlet, Dual Blessings, or HIEROS-I. The 10-hour claim assumes you loop.

Steam versus PlayStation 5

Both storefronts get the same time-limited window. Differences that matter:

• PC demo: Windows only. No macOS or Linux build for this test.
• Input: keyboard and mouse plus controllers on PC; DualSense on PS5. A controller is recommended on both.
• Epic Games Store is a launch platform for the full game, not a demo storefront for this window.
• Cloud saves and cross-progression between Steam and PS5 are not something to count on. Play where you will actually finish loops.

Family Sharing is listed on Steam for the product page, but treat the demo as a personal test install. The wipe does not care who clicked Download.

System requirements

The demo FAQ and Steam page agree on these numbers. Full context is on system requirements.

Minimum: Windows 10 64-bit, Intel Core i5-7300U at 2.6 GHz or AMD Ryzen 3 3300U at 2.1 GHz, 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or AMD Radeon RX 560, DirectX 12.

Recommended: Windows 10 64-bit, Intel Core i7-8700 at 3.2 GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X at 3.6 GHz, 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, DirectX 12.

If you are on the minimum GPU, drop effects before you blame Fina’s muzzle flash. Aerial juggles on trains are the hitch test, not the camp.

What persists during the window versus after it

During the window, out-of-run progress is real. Authority Codes, Chip unlocks, Timehacker Training, Hamlet, and story flags for Ye or Erik stay on that install until 23 September. In-run Blessings, Temporal Fragments, silver from a shop, and your current HP do not survive a death or a finished loop the way Codes do.

After the window, Streetlamp deletes all save data. Nothing you earned is a launch head start. The useful leftovers are muscle memory, a Blessing synergy you want to retry in 2027, and notes on which timeline flagged Hamlet. Wishlist the full game on Steam, Epic, or PlayStation if you want the Spring 2027 build — that is a storefront reminder, not a carry-over save.

How to spend the twenty days

Day 1: Getting Started — one complete loop as Nyx or Fina. Day 2–3: combat and a themed Blessing build. Mid-window: Hamlet, then Erik’s rematch. Late window: Ye’s story flags and the HIEROS-I challenge if you still have evenings. Leave the last 48 hours for fights you already understand. New unlock chains on closing weekend is how people eat the wipe mid-cutscene.

The demo is a lab. Streetlamp is watching whether you embed Chips, take Dual Blessings, or ignore Rui. Play the systems they asked you to play, then walk away on the 23rd knowing the Spring 2027 game will ask you to do it again from a cold save.