What the demo actually contains

The demo drops you on a wreck shore with a rusted sword and no explanation, then spends the next while teaching you two things: that a swing costs your whole bar, and that the island is built out of doors you cannot open yet. It is not a shortened version of the full game. It is the first chamber of it, with the exit welded shut on purpose.

What you can reach

Three melee weapons turn up in the slice: the rusted sword you start with, a spear, and a club. They map onto the three damage types, which is not a coincidence. A dagger belt washes ashore early, giving you throwing weapons that are not consumed when used. One save point at minimum is reachable, and resting at it respawns the area while saving alone does not.

What you cannot

The mausoleum your father entered stays barred. You will find a key. It will not open that door. It opens the Endu shrine gate instead, which is the demo’s way of telling you the map is bigger than the leash. The upgraded flight distances the full game advertises are not handed out here either, so the demo shows you the traversal verb without letting you break the level design with it.

How to read the demo fairly

Judge the loop, not the content volume. The question worth asking is whether you want to walk into a dark corridor with one swing of stamina and work out what is in there, repeatedly, for dozens of hours. Everything the demo is tight about is tight in service of that question.