SlashZero made its latest appearance during Sony’s State of Play showcase, where Skystone Games and Streetlamp Studio debuted a new story trailer for the anime-inspired action roguelike. The showcase also brought the launch of a new playable demo for PlayStation 5 and Steam, giving players a substantially larger look at the game ahead of its planned spring 2027 release.
The limited-time demo is available now and will remain playable until September 23 at 3:00 p.m. PDT. It represents the most extensive public version of SlashZero to date, offering up to 10 hours of content while introducing new characters, secret bosses, environments and progression mechanics that weren’t available in earlier tests.
SlashZero combines 3D anime aesthetics with side-scrolling action and roguelike progression, putting players in the role of Timehackers capable of travelling between different timelines. Combat is built around fast movement and flashy attacks, with battles shifting between ground and aerial encounters as players string together combos and experiment with different builds.
Each run gives players opportunities to become stronger and alter their approach to combat, while longer-term progression systems provide additional ways to customize their characters. The latest demo expands on both sides of that formula, making it a much more substantial preview of what Streetlamp Studio has planned for the full game.
One of the biggest additions is Hamlet, a new Timehacker who was previously teased without being fully revealed. Hamlet is a stage robot who awakens under mysterious circumstances before finding himself responsible for saving the world across multiple timelines.
Unlike the game’s other characters, Hamlet heads into battle equipped with both a longsword and shield. He can reconfigure his weapons during combat and is particularly effective against groups of enemies thanks to his powerful sweeping attacks. Players won’t have access to him immediately, however. After completing the first loop as Nyx or Fina, players will need to return to the camp and satisfy certain timeline and mission requirements during subsequent loops to trigger Hamlet’s story and unlock him.
The new demo also gives players the opportunity to settle some unfinished business with two characters who have previously appeared throughout SlashZero’s promotional material.
Erik, one of the first enemies encountered during the tutorial, returns as a secret boss. He previously demonstrated enough power to sever a Timehacker’s connection to Silver before overwhelming the player, but the rematch gives players the chance to return with stronger abilities and upgrades.
Ye, meanwhile, takes on a more mysterious role. Previously encountered as an NPC across several maps, Ye now becomes an opponent that players can challenge. His true motives and connection to the events surrounding the different timelines remain part of the game’s larger mystery.
The latest story trailer also provides the first look at HIEROS-I, Lord of the Void, who appears to be at the centre of SlashZero’s overarching conflict. The character’s true form remains unknown, but HIEROS-I possesses the power of the Imaginary and can seemingly manipulate the laws governing the various timelines.
The ultimate goal of the Timehackers is eventually to confront HIEROS-I after battling through multiple timelines and completing the necessary challenges. The imposing figure teases a much larger mystery surrounding the nature of time itself, suggesting that the events players experience across their different runs may not be quite what they initially appear to be.
Beyond the new characters and bosses, the demo expands SlashZero’s roguelike systems with additional maps, environments and progression options. One of the major additions is the Authority system, including the new Infinity of Space Authority, which introduces additional buffs and opportunities for players to shape their builds.
More Chips can also be upgraded, allowing players to further alter how individual characters function during a run. Additional Authority Codes and out-of-round progression options give players more control over how their characters develop between encounters.
That combination of temporary run-based upgrades and permanent progression is expected to be an important part of SlashZero’s replayability. Rather than simply repeating the same stages with increasingly powerful characters, players can experiment with different combinations of abilities and upgrades to create substantially different builds from one run to another.
The new demo therefore serves as more than a brief introduction to SlashZero. With up to 10 hours of content, multiple playable characters, new bosses and a broader selection of progression mechanics, it provides a much clearer picture of how the game is shaping up before launch.
SlashZero is currently scheduled to launch on PC and PlayStation 5 in spring 2027. The latest demo is available through Steam and the PlayStation Store until September 23, giving players a limited window to see how the timeline-hopping action roguelike is coming together.
The development team will also host developer streams from September 4 through September 7, with producer Jun and other members of the team expected to showcase the new demo, explain the game’s mechanics and answer questions from players.