Time for a bunch of random demos (and one free game) because I needed a break after replaying XCDE. I think after this I've cleared out just about all the random demos I've accumulated on Steam/Switch (aside from Miitopia, which has been sitting there for like a year), but there are a couple left on the 3DS I haven't touched yet.
Doraemon Story of Seasons seems fun enough. It's basically every farming sim, from Harvest Moon to Stardew Valley, except Doraemon-themed. That also means I'd probably lose interest in it pretty quickly playing the full game like I always do, but I still like the idea. Also it's very pretty because it's made by the same people who did Egglia, and the painted backgrounds look great.
Harvestella is definitely weaker in the farming aspects, but the rest of it was enough more interesting that I could see myself playing this one if it goes on sale at some point. Less farming and more RPG than your typical farming sim is definitely more my style, and the story is already absolute nonsense in the usual Squenix/Final Fantasy way (affectionate) within the first hour (not to be confused with absolute nonsense in the usual Squenix/Final Fantasy way (derogatory), which has been my more common reaction to their games recently).
Nekomancy is an excellent idea (crafting your own spells by combining different components that radically change how they work) that's borderline unplayable in practice. It's also the one free game on this list.
Words Can Kill is a Scrabble-like roguelike deckbuilder-like...I guess? I had enough fun with a single failed run through the demo to want to try the full game at some point, and when am I ever going to run into that particular wacky genre combination again?
Pulling No Punches is a game about beating the shit out of covid deniers, and it's quite possibly the best game on this list, at least based on the demo. The art and music are great, the premise is great, and it was actually genuinely fun to play despite being a genre that I was considering giving up on after I really didn't get along with the Scott Pilgrim game or River City Girls at all.
