Steam now has a free demo for the definitive edition of a “classic castle sim” six months ahead of launch
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Firefly Studios recently unveiled their upcoming entry in the franchise, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, a remaster of the 2002 classic Stronghold Crusader, which itself was the sequel to 2001's Stronghold. Described as a classic ‘castle sim’, the game is set to launch on July 15, 2025, but players can test out the new gameplay in the official demo, which is currently live on Steam – half a year before the official launch.
The demo is available for both PC gamers and Steam Deck users. However, there's no official confirmation on how well the demo runs on Steam Deck, as the game's Steam listing notes its Steam Deck compatibility status as “Unknown.” Since there hasn't been a wave of users reporting major issues when playing the demo on Steam Deck, it is safe to say that it runs fairly well. That said, being a demo, it's reasonable to expect a few areas needing some polishing.
What’s new in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition
In the real-time strategy genre, the Stronghold series has made a name for itself as one of the pioneering franchises. The latest from Firefly Studios was Stronghold: Definitive Edition, released back in 2023. It boasts a “Very Positive” review rating, with players praising it as a fantastic remaster. Now, with the upcoming Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, the developers are taking things up a notch, introducing new gameplay content and upgraded visuals. Key additions include eight new playable units, four new AI lords, several additional campaigns, newly added co-op gameplay, larger map sizes, and enhanced customization options.
However, the developers haven't announced the pricing for the game yet, leaving fans to speculate based on previous releases. The original Stronghold Crusader costs $9.99, while Stronghold: Definitive Edition retails for $14.99. With all that in mind, it's likely the new game will be priced similarly when it launches this summer.
Could a Steam Deck Verified badge be on the way?
Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition can also be downloaded on Steam Deck. As mentioned earlier, there's no official information about how well it performs on the device. While this might disappoint some users, it's possible the developers are waiting to reveal a Steam Deck Verified badge closer to launch, similar to what we saw with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. On the other hand, classic RTS doesn’t tend to be very controller-friendly (luckily you can always opt for a mouse and keyboard if you have the space).
For now, we can only cross our fingers and hope for good news. Fortunately, there haven't been widespread reports of errors when playing the demo on Steam Deck apart from one Reddit user mentioning a crashing issue. However, they later claimed they found a fix by running the game on an older version of Proton. Happy days.
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