7 years after the release of the original game released, there is finally more Burden of Proof content for everyone to play... and it's completely FREE! In this special preview demo, you'll be able to try out the first chapter of the sequel game Burden of Truth ahead of release later this year in the Steam Next Fest 2025! So feel free to head directly to the Steam page to try out the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2923050/Burden_of_Truth/
It's been a long time in the making and this project has taken thousands of hours of work to put together, so I hope you'll all enjoy the love and care I've put into this new adventure! The demo should be rewarding for longtime BOP fans but is also completely accessible to newcomers, which means you don't have to have played the original story to enjoy it! If you'd like to hear more about how I got here and what you can expect from the demo in video form, feel free to check out this brand new devlog-style explanation that I uploaded on my YouTube channel: [previewyoutube=o51Qu1VwQ1w;full][/previewyoutube] During the demo, you'll get to play the first chapter of the game, which 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.
If you have any questions about the demo, please refer to this Q&A: 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 the quality of the puzzles, graphics, and music should demonstrate all of the improvements that have been made for this sequel and should clearly show what you can expect in the full game! Q: Should I skip the demo and just wait to play the full game? A: I'm not quite sure how I'll be handling demo saves for the full release, so you may need to replay the first sections of the game when the complete story is released. This is partially intentional because I want players to have the first chapter fresh in their minds (it will be relevant for the rest of the game), but I also don't want to waste anyone's time. So if this sounds tedious, feel free to just wait until the full game drops! That said, there will be surely improvements made over the coming months that might make the experience a bit more fresh when played a second time.
I'll leave the rest up to you to figure out for yourself when you try out the demo! There's a ton of easter eggs, references, and content to chew into in this first chapter, so I'm excited to seeing everyone's reaction and theories! That's all for now, so if you'd like to hear about news as soon as it happens, be sure to follow me on Bluesky, Twitter, or join the Discord server! It's been an extremely challenging year developing this game and it would mean a lot if you could support the project by wishlisting, sharing it with your friends, or playing the demo yourself and letting me know what you thought of it! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2923050/Burden_of_Truth/
Huge thank you to everyone that made this vertical slice possible, including my friends, voice actors (shoutouts to the incredibly talented Skip G!), and fans of BOP who expressed their desire for a sequel! I'm very excited to see what you all think of it! That's it for now, so please enjoy the Next Fest, play a lot of demos from indie game developers, and as always... thanks for playing! -Matt