Demi and the Fractured Dream preview - A promising Zelda-inspired retro-throwback

Demi and the Fractured Dream is a brand-new action-adventure game from Yarn Owl Studios, and it pays homage to one of the most influential genre franchises ever made: Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda. It was one of the three indies showcased at Tokyo Game Show 2025 by Annapurna Interactive, and like those other titles, it also had a demo for us to check out.

Here's why fans of the genre should keep an eye out for this promising retro throwback set to launch next year. Read on for our full hands-on demo impressions of Demi and the Fractured Dream.

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Explore a world of hope and danger in Demi and the Fractured Dream

Explore mysterious dungeons and conquer the dangers within using wit and strength (Image via Annapurna Interactive)

The story revolves around the titular Demi, a creature that can use the powers of the void, also known as a Voidsent. Guided by a mysterious voice, Demi must traverse the world, explore dungeons, and defeat dangerous bosses to seek out the truth.

The demo seemingly takes place in-between a portion of the story as Demi has travelled to a desert region. Here, players are familiarized with the controls, from the iconic lock-on system pioneered by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998, as well as a dodge in addition to the melee sword attacks, like a four-strike combo, midair strike, and dash strike.

Dodging at the last moment of an enemy's attack and then countering unleashes a powerful Empowering Move. Many of these moves, as well as basic attacks, can be upgraded using shards dropped by foes or obtained from chests. The dungeon path was linear, where the handful of combat encounters were interjected by puzzle solving moments.

Simple environmental puzzles impede progress in Demi and the Fractured Dream (Image via Annapurna Interactive)

From finding a key to unlock a chained door to using the Feather key item to steer around a floating platform, nothing here will surprise Zelda fans - even the puff of smoke that defeated foes leave behind is straight out of Wind Waker. And yet, all of it is well executed and well paced. Interacting with Obelisks in specific rooms allows recovering health and all resources, though Demi can do that mid-combat by spending a meter.

The final boss fight was the highlight of the demo, requiring players to time their strikes and dodge shockwaves. I will say that movement during lock-on feels quite sluggish, but the game does not launch until 2026, so there's a lot of time for the team to polish these aspects.

Demi and the Fractured Dream was unfortunately the shortest of the three indie demos provided to us by Annapurna Interactive, clocking in at just 15 minutes. But what I played was thoroughly enjoyable, and I eagerly look forward to the full game from Yarn Owl Studios when Demi and the Fractured Dream launches on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.

Check out more articles:

• D-topia PC preview
• People of Note PC preview