Sony is now offering free demos in the form of timed game trials for PS5 owners. Currently, the feature seems to be limited to the UK and is only available for Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Death Stranding: Director’s Cut.
The trials will be available until October 28 at 11:59 PM and will be limited to one trial per game per account. The time limit for each trial differs, with Death Stranding: Director’s Cut being available for six hours, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure available for five. It’s a good idea on paper, but there’s a huge catch.
Related: How to transfer your save file to Death Stranding: Director’s Cut from PS4 to PS5
According to Sony, the timer for the trial starts once you click the “Download Trial” via console or “Add to Library” via web. This means that the time it takes to actually download and install the trial itself still counts toward the ever-ticking clock. Depending on your internet speed, this can drastically impact how much time you actually have left to test out these games. It seems like a huge oversight, and unsurprisingly, people are not happy with the decision.
Some have already developed a workaround, however. As explained by Twitter user @PlaystationSize, players just need to create a new account in the same region as their existing one and download the trial while signed into it. After it’s completed, they can log back into their main account and click “Download Trial.” Because the trial is already installed on the system, it doesn’t actually have to download again, and it can be played in full.
Related: The Last Of Us Part 2 meets Sackboy: A Big Adventure with crossover costumes
It’s currently unknown if Sony will bring this feature to other regions or include a new batch of games once these trials expires. Hopefully player feedback can encourage the company to rework the timer countdown and not inadvertently penalize players with slower internet speeds.
