On February 17th, 2025, you'll get to play the first chapter of Burden of Truth for FREE on Steam! This is the first time that I've worked on an early preview for one of my games, so it's definitely been a challenge to create this vertical slice, but I'm glad that you'll all get to play something tangible while the rest of the game is built! The Prologue Demo will introduce the story, gameplay mechanics, and characters as just a taste of the full game, so if that sounds interesting, please wishlist the game here to be notified on release: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2923050/Burden_of_Truth/
This first case challenges you to solve the mystery of a seemingly impossible murder in a robotics lab. As prosecutor Conrad Cross, your goal is to find the defendant guilty using evidence and logic. You'll be tasked with presenting your case to the court, objecting to false statements, and finding contradictions within witness testimony. Your opponent, Kate Flocking, will do anything to get an acquittal, so it's up to you to cut through the lies and find the truth.
Watch this brand new trailer to see the prologue chapter in action: [previewyoutube=U7fSqx7npJk;full][/previewyoutube] I don't want to say too much about the story itself so that you aren't spoiled, but I do want to answer some potential questions about the demo! Q: Will I need to play Burden of Proof before playing this new chapter? A: Nope! This demo works perfectly fine as an introduction to the world and characters. In fact, you can complete the Prologue Demo first and then go back to play Burden of Proof without worry. The only thing this demo gives away is some events from Burden of Proof Chapter 1, which is the very start of the game. Q: Wait, is Conrad a prosecutor again? I thought he became a defense attorney! A: As mentioned in the original announcement, Burden of Truth covers the missing Chapter 3 that was left out of the original game. This Prologue Chapter takes place before the true Chapter 3 begins, at which point Conrad becomes a defense attorney to help his friend Sarah. Q: Okay, now I'm confused. Where does this fit chronologically? A: First we have BOP Chapter 1, then the Prologue Chapter a year later followed by the full Chapter 3 where Cross becomes a defense attorney, then a year after that we have chapters 2, 4, and 5 from BOP. Confusing? A little. How did we get here? The order was decided in BOP to lay out information as it became relevant and explain changes in characters, but when Chapter 3 became part of its own experience, it only made sense to expand it further and build up to it. Actually, you will be able to find a big reference to the Prologue Chapter if you play the original "abridged" Chapter 3 in BOP :) Q: How long is the demo? What's included in the demo? A: Roughly speaking, you should get 3-4 hours worth of play out of it depending on how fast you solve puzzles, which is more than I expected to include for this! This chapter throws you straight into a trial to explain the fundamentals, so there's no investigation sequence and only a little bit of free roam exploration. But I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much more advanced/thought out the puzzles and flow of the trial are compared to the first game, and there will be plenty of references to the original Chapter 1 in true "it's like poetry, it rhymes" fashion!
I'll be posting more details about the demo over the next month, so keep an eye out on my Twitter, Bluesky, and Discord server to learn more! I highly encourage you to check out the Steam page as it really helps a ton: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2923050/Burden_of_Truth/ The last thing I want to mention is that the game will be participating in the Steam Next Fest on February 24th, which will be a huge day for promoting the project! If you know anyone looking to play demos during the fest, please recommend Burden of Truth as I could use every little bit of exposure I can manage :'D Thank you so much for all the support and well wishes, and thanks for playing! -Matt