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The 5 Best Demos We Played During the Games From Ireland Steam Sale
- Taylor Rioux
- Mar 22
- 4 min read
I take a lot of pride in being an Irish citizen. It’s the birthplace of my father, and it carries a lot of historical weight that deeply resonates with me. That’s why I took time to play as many of the demos as I could during the Games from Ireland Steam sale — it gives me a way to connect with my heritage through the artform that I love most. Thankfully, the Games from Ireland Steam sale can still be accessed, where you can find many of these titles at discounted prices, or you can even try the demos out for yourself!
If you would rather just hear it from us at JetsonPlaysGames, I’ve got you covered. Here are the five best demos I played through the event, and two additional honorable mentions.
Tax-Force
Tax-Force is a 2D platforming, roguelite, beat-em-up where you hunt down tax-evading billionaires and rebuild society. It has an exceptionally well-done, hand-drawn style that is reminiscent of comic books from the 90s, which pairs well with the stylish action of the close-range combat.
The story of the game seems to revolve around repaying the planet’s Solar Shield debt, preventing planetwide destruction. To do this, you go through a level to bring a tax evader to justice, and then negotiate repayments that balance societal benefit with debt repayment. The goal is to ensure that the debt is fully paid off by the 7th cycle — how much you care about the people of the city seems to be left up to the player.
There are some characters to interact with that each has their own story to tell and things they need, which all works into what seems to be a scathing critique of capitalism and greed. I'm extremely interested in seeing the full game, and can't wait to try it in earnest.
An Aisling
An Aisling is an adventure game with a more personal narrative. Kids are dissappearing on the island of Rashinmore, and you are working to find out why it is happening. An Aisling has this interesting, painterly, shifting sort of art style that gives it some charm.
What intrigued me most is actually the variety of little games you can play within An Aisling. You can brush your teeth, play fetch with a dog, clean up debris, and much much more, all through these bespoke little mini-games with unique perspectives and mechanics. In that sense, it reminds us a bit of and Roger and Consume Me — two of the best games I played last year.
An Aisling is out on Steam as of November 11, 2024.
PizzaBoy
PizzaBoy has a silly premise — you’re a pizza delivery boy who must safely deliver pizzas to various monsters. To do this, you’ll navigate dangerous levels full of monsters, pitfalls, and secrets — all while trying to protect that pizza from harm. The platforming is smooth and snappy, and the level design is wonderfully done (at least from what I can see in the demo). I really get the sense that PizzaBoy is going to be one of the standout platformers for the year once it releases.
Trading Card Inspector
This one is a sort of job simulator game where you work at a card shop and evaluate the value of cards, trying to pick out the fakes so they don’t tank your profitability. If Papers, Please!-like were a true genre, this would fall squarely within it. The demo doesn't show much in terms of story, but I found the card evaluation aspect both engaging and satisfying to do, so I’m hopeful that it will deliver on some of the narrative designs it is aiming for.
You can find the store page here.
Spill the Beans
Spill the Beans is a whodunnit visual novel where you are the perpetrator of a crime and are looking to pin the blame on someone else. You’ll manage relationships, interrogate potential victims, and cast blame — all so that you can escape with the coffee recipe. I adore the art style, and the characters are an eclectic mix of supernatural entities that make each conversation a joy to navigate.
There are 15 different endings, all dictated by your actions and the relationships between the characters in the story, lending the game to repeated playthroughs. The demo had us hooked right from the start, and I'm a bit saddened that it ends so early, but that just means I’ll have to play the full game on release.
Games from Ireland Honorable Mentions
Really Fast Rat
You play as a rat. They’re really fast. Think Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog, but as a little rat guy.
[ECHOSTASIS]
[ECHOSTASIS] has already been out for a while, but I hadn’t seen much about it until the Steam event. The visuals are amazing, and the ways in which you interact with the game to move the story along are so inventive. Just a great concept.
While these were my favorites, many other demos from the event showed a lot of promise. It's worth keeping your eye out for the games showcased during the event!
What was your favorite demo from the event?
Tax-Force
An Aisling
Spill the Beans
Other (comment below)
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