The Star Ocean series began back in 1996 with the original Star Ocean, and in the years since, it has grown in stature and developed an impressive fan base. That loyal fan base should be excited about this news, because a demo for the latest offering in the series Star Ocean: The Divine Force has been announced for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

The announcement was revealed during today’s (September 15) Tokyo Game Show, and Square Enix – the publisher and joint developer of the game – has confirmed that this demo will feature two hours of playable content and will be available for consoles on September 20. The game itself isn’t scheduled for release until October 27 though, so the news that a demo will be with us so soon means you will have plenty of time to settle in and get comfortable with this upcoming game.

Unfortunately, for all you PC users out there, Square Enix has also confirmed that the demo will not be available on that platform, with the reasons being yet unknown. It is also unclear if players will be able to transfer any progression they’ve made on the demo version and carry it over to the full game when it’s released. Some good news though is that a brand-new trailer has been released in conjunction with this news, and it features the character Hyde too. You can watch the new trailer below.

The Star Ocean series is developed in collaboration with Tri-Ace and Square Enix, and this release comes six years after the previous game, Star Ocean: Anamnesis. This latest installment was first announced last year, so it’s taken quite some time for this famed RPG game to finally become a reality, and the excitement cannot be contained.

Understandably, there will be some people out there that don’t know what the game or series is about – this is where we come in. Star Ocean: The Divine Force lets characters move freely in 360 degrees and roam the starry ocean skies (see what I did there?) to their heart’s content. Players will be able to move and explore three separate dimensions–everything you can see in front of you can be explored, which equates to a hell of a lot of time scouring this gorgeous universe.

Whether you are flying around exploring rockfaces, or it might be that the roofs of buildings that litter these cities are more to your liking, or what about leaping off cliffs as a stylish method for entering chaotic battles? This game is all about freedom in terms of adventuring and battling, so make sure you set enough time aside to experience both.

Player characters will also be able to tackle a worryingly large number of enemies with super high-speed movement attacks and use several special abilities to get the beating of your foes. This game is set to be a thrilling challenge, and possibly the best game in this 25-year-old series, so make sure you check out the demo before the full release of the game.

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