Published on

This single-player MMO with fake players is one of the weirdest games I've seen in Steam Next Fest, and its demo is over 12 hours long

Erenshor, a unique 'offline MMO' on Steam Next Fest, offers a traditional MMORPG experience without the need for multiplayer, featuring simulated players who level up, interact, and even remember you, providing a solo adventure with a sense of community.

Cover

Steam Next Fest isn't lacking in the 'weird' department, and I mean that as a compliment. The digital event bringing thousands of early demos is full of games that mix genres in delightfully odd ways or even parody those memeified PS1 Harry Potters. But the demo for 'MMO' Erenshor might be the weirdest yet (and I also mean that as a massive compliment.)

Despite its old-school RuneScape-ish style and the crowds of 'players' running about, Erenshore isn't actually a massively multiplayer online game because all those people questing with usernames above their heads are, in fact, NPCs who are simply very good at acting like dumb real people. It's an MMO where the 'O' stands for offline.

Why have all the MMORPG-style quests and combat without multiplayer, though? Erenshor's Steam page explains that it's a game which emulates "the joys of open-world MMORPG gameplay," but this time "without the time commitments" and, I'm guessing, pressure from other people. And in case things do get a little lonely or you want someone to share the grind with, then you can just "partner up with our signature 'Simulated Players.'"

Those SimPlayers aren't simply set dressing, however. "These players will level up alongside you (whether you're online or not), they'll find new items on their own and they'll find them with your help," the storefront blurb explains. "They'll ask for loot drops, they'll buy and sell loot, join and leave guilds, and even invite you to raids as they get to know you. They'll remember you and how you treat them."

Erenshor already had a demo up before this latest Steam Next Fest event, but it's now gotten its Shivering Steps update that adds 12 more hours of content that's made up of new quests, six new bosses, new 'SimPlayers,' and general gameplay tweaks to things like mining.

*For now, check out some of the other *ten best Steam Next Fest demos that you should try before the event's over