The biggest positive I got from playing the Edens Zero demo is that my Manga collection is growing larger. I love Fairy Tail, and the existence of a sci-fi-infused Manga from its creator had somehow slipped past my radar until I saw a press release for the video game a while back. I want more of this, and the availability of the anime’s first season appears limited here, so I ordered the first few volumes of the Manga instead.
And that’s primarily because it is from Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima, and that’s very obvious. There’s a familiar tone, suspiciously familiar character designs, there are Guilds, and there’s a cheery optimism about the whole thing. but a spacefaring adventure instead of classic fantasy? Sign me up!
The demo itself wasn’t exactly inspiring, even if there’s an understandable reason behind it.
A spacefaring manga feels like a great backdrop for an RPG, and while there’s the promise of something more expansive in the final game from Konami, the demo is understandably hesitant to give us too much of it. It doesn’t make the introduction to it any less jarring, though.
Instead, we get a demo designed to lay out the basics, without being a glorified tutorial. It contains the first two chapters of the game and gives you a chance to play as series protagonists Shiki and Rebecca. It begins with a heavily truncated story summary and plops us in the boots of Shiki for a typical tutorial bit aboard a ship covered in meaty matter. Out of context, it’s a strange and curious thing, especially as immediately after that, the demo takes us back to a previously abridged part of the story where Shiki and Rebecca first meet. It’s a pretty sparse section of the game, and again, it feels like a carved-up version of what to expect in the whole game, but it gets the point across, ends in a boss battle, and is set on a weirdo Disneyland-style planet, so small wins, eh?
Combat is simple enough as you brawl/slice/shoot your way through swathes of goons, and build up a gauge to unleash a stylish special. Obviously, it’s just the bare-bones starter experience, as there is a skills upgrade system to play with, so I can forgive it for feeling a touch flat, even if it does dazzle with the occasional visual flourish.
Edens Zero Demo: Empty Space
It’s a messy introduction to the game and the world of Edens Zero (though that’s likely less of an issue for long-term fans who’d be the target audience), and it’s clear the point is not to give too much away, and persevering beyond this drab, incoherent opening, the Edens Zero does offer up more in the second chapter and especially beyond, where there’s a look at the open world areas of the game with an explorable planet of Blue Garden.
It’s not a feature-rich area to explore in this form, but it’s an encouraging sign that it won’t all be restricted routes and arenas. With different forms of navigation on offer (including flight) and the demo featuring story beats not featured in the manga or series, it ends with so much more promise than its muddled start would have you believe.
The structure of Edens Zero’s demo is a common gripe I have with many modern demos. Outside of the context of the whole game, they can be uncomfortable to navigate, leaving you searching for the missing links to determine if it’s even worth checking out the whole game. The Edens Zero is guilty of this to a point, and the first chapter is a horrible advertisement for enduring the entire thing, but at least it’s not a total failure.
And hey, I got some reading out of it.
Edens Zero is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on July 15, 2025.
