The very divisive demo version of Balan Wonderworld is being removed from consoles and Steam; developers Azrest and Balan Company plan on distributing benefits earned from the demo “at a later date.” Publisher Square Enix released Balan Wonderworld’s trial version earlier this year, allowing interested potential buyers a chance to familiarize themselves with the colorful and charming platformer.

Impressions of the demo were largely mixed out of the gate. Though Balan Wonderworld’s visuals proved stunning at nearly every turn, the gameplay in many places seemed stiff and unpolished. The development teams attempted to address these criticisms in a patch released on the full game’s launch day. That very same update also tackled issues with certain effects that caused players to feel motion sick while playing. And, unfortunately, reviewers who played the eagerly-anticipated platformer at launch discovered Balan Wonderworld also featured a seizure-inducing glitch during the final boss battle. A day one patch fixed the issue, but such a revelation didn’t do the project any favors in terms of public perception.

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For reasons that remain unclear, the developers and Square Enix have chosen to discontinue the Balan Wonderworld demo on consoles and Steam. The news surfaced earlier in the week on the game’s official Twitter account (via Siliconera). Balan Wonderworld’s trial version left digital storefronts on consoles yesterday, while the Steam iteration will go offline tomorrow, April 16. Bonuses obtained via the demo, namely extra costumes, will become available to all consumers at “a later date.”

Despite Balan Wonderland’s incredible promise, it appears this counts as one experience that simply failed to stick the landing on many levels. As of writing, however, Square Enix and Co. have yet to clarify whether or not the demo will be delisted long-term or if there are plans to restore its availability sometime in the future.

Balan Wonderworld comes from the brilliant minds of director Yuji Naka and art director Naoto Ohshima, both of whom were integral to the design of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The two tried rekindling that magic in their latest Square Enix-published project, which dropped players into the wondrous world of the fictional Balan Theatre.

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Balan Wonderworld is out now on Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Source: Balan Wonderworld/Twitter via Siliconera

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Brianna Reeves
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A Senior Writer on Screen Rant’s Game News team, Brianna Reeves graduated from Sam Houston Statue University in 2018 with a Master of Arts in English Literature. Brianna’s enthusiasm for games dates back to Mortal Kombat Trilogy on PlayStation 1, along with classics like MediEvil, Syphon Filter, and THPS2. However, Red Dead Redemption reinvigorated her love for the medium; hopefully, that passion reflects in the work she has contributed to Comic Book Resources, PlayStation LifeStyle, GVMERS, and Screen Rant.

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