3 Free PS5 Demos You Can Play Right Now Without PS Plus: From an 1897 Irish Séance Mystery to Playstack's Coin-Pusher Roguelike
Between massive autumn blockbusters demanding dozens of hours and the looming shadow of upcoming open-world giants, carving out time for a new sixty-hour campaign is no small feat. On PlayStation 5, three fresh indie demos quietly arrived on the PlayStation Store between October 27 and October 29, 2026. Each one runs for roughly one to two hours, holds a verified player rating above 4.2 out of 5 stars, and can be downloaded for free without an active PlayStation Plus subscription.
Quick Overview of the 3 Free PS5 Indie Demos
Here is a breakdown of the three playable trials currently live on Sony's digital storefront, complete with verified player scores and direct PlayStation Store download links:
| Game (PS5 Demo) | Developer / Publisher | Genre & Length | PS Store Rating | Direct Store Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltz and Jam Demo | Flyway Games | Action-Platformer (1 to 2 hrs) | 4.32 / 5 | PS Store US Link |
| The Séance of Blake Manor | Spooky Doorway / Raw Fury | Supernatural Mystery (1 to 1.5 hrs) | 4.21 / 5 | PS Store US Link |
| RACCOIN: Chaos Max Edition Demo | Doraccoon / Playstack | Coin-Pusher Roguelike (~1 hr) | 4.23 / 5 | PS Store US Link |
Waltz and Jam: A Storybook Action-Platformer Across the Seven Deadly Sins
Released on October 29, 2026 by developer Flyway Games ahead of its December 3, 2026 full launch on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, the Waltz and Jam demo currently holds a 4.32 out of 5 rating on the PlayStation Store alongside a 94% positive score on Steam. The story follows Waltz, a pure-hearted soul who wakes up in the afterlife, and Jam, a lovable shape-shifting dog helping him earn a completed ticket to Uptown.
Guided by the mysterious Orbo, the pair travel across seven hand-drawn realms modeled after the Seven Deadly Sins, ranging from a chaotic kitchen kingdom to a castle split between light and shadow. Gameplay revolves around combining special toys collected by Waltz with Jam's morphing abilities, such as turning into a splashing water balloon or a springboard trampoline to uncover hidden paths, solve environmental puzzles, and topple realm bosses.
Download the free demo: Waltz and Jam Demo on the PlayStation Store (PS5).
The Séance of Blake Manor: Victorian Sleuthing and a Ticking Clock in 1897 Ireland
For players who loved the architectural deduction of Blue Prince or the unsettling atmosphere of Look Outside following its 2.0 Final Vision launch on PS5, The Séance of Blake Manor is a standout detective thriller. Created by Irish studio Spooky Doorway (the team behind The Darkside Detective) and published by Raw Fury, the full game arrived on PS5 on October 27, 2026 for $19.99 ($17.99 with the PS Plus launch discount) alongside a free standalone trial.
Set on October 28, 1897 on the eve of Samhain, the narrative puts you in the boots of private investigator Declan Ward as he arrives at a remote Irish estate to investigate the disappearance of Evelyn Deane. Inside the hotel, a global gathering of mystics and occultists is preparing for the Grand Séance while the barrier between worlds grows thin. Every room search, puzzle, and suspect interrogation advances the manor's clock, meaning guests move according to their own schedules and secrets can be missed if you are in the wrong wing at the wrong hour. Rated 4.21 out of 5 across 47 verified reviews, the demo covers the first two in-game hours on the manor grounds, taking roughly 60 to 90 minutes to complete.
Download the free demo: The Séance of Blake Manor Demo on the PlayStation Store (PS5).
RACCOIN: Chaos Max Edition: Balatro's Publisher Turns Arcade Coin Pushers Into a Roguelike
After turning poker deckbuilding into a cultural phenomenon with Balatro, publisher Playstack is back with another twist on classic arcade machines in RACCOIN: Chaos Max Edition, developed by Doraccoon. Live as a free PS5 demo since October 28, 2026 ahead of its full release on November 10, 2026, the game transforms seaside arcade coin pushers into a fast-paced roguelike deckbuilder.
You choose from six playable characters, including a coin-obsessed raccoon, each bringing a tailored deck of specialized tokens. Instead of relying purely on ledge physics, you drop seed coins and splash them with water tokens to grow point-generating trees, trigger TNT coins to blast whole rows forward, or chain together more than 150 charms and items for screen-shaking multipliers. Holding a 4.23 out of 5 score from 44 ratings on the PlayStation Store, this hour-long taster is an ideal arcade palate cleanser alongside heavier October updates like The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu's free The Cult of Tsathoggua update on PS5.
Download the free demo: RACCOIN: Chaos Max Edition Demo on the PlayStation Store (PS5).
Sony PlayStation 5 Pro 2TB Console
- Built-in 2TB ultra-high-speed SSD storage
- PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) AI upscaling
- Advanced Ray Tracing and Wi-Fi 7 support
My Perspective
What stands out to me across all three of these demos is how fiercely each studio commits to a distinct visual and tactile identity. While massive AAA productions often converge toward the same photorealistic template, The Séance of Blake Manor leans into sharp gothic comic-book inkwork and a reactive score that shifts with every creaking floorboard as the Samhain clock ticks down. At the same time, Waltz and Jam captures the warm, hand-illustrated charm of classic PlayStation-era platformers across its seven realms, while RACCOIN distills the pure, metallic clatter of an arcade cabinet into a clever synergy puzzle. Having all three playable for free on PS5 with no subscription paywall is a refreshing reminder of how much creativity thrives in compact, one-evening experiences.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
