Wild West Pioneers Guide
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GuideYour first two hoursThe shovel and the buried treasureQuest order and achievementsThe main story after the debtMoonshine Scandal and the jailSide quests: where you get stuckJourney points and ideasResidents' needs and whimsFood chainsFarms and ranchesGetting more settlersIron, stone and wooden partsMoving, demolishing and roadsTrading and caravansGold and the debtSand Storm, the second settlementTown Hall officialsScouts and expeditionsWhat you actually doCheats, trainers and savesCrashes, bugs and saves
PlatformsPS5 and PS4XboxNintendo SwitchMacAndroid and iOSMultiplayer and co-op
Getting itRelease timePrice and editionsEarly Access and roadmapSteam, GOG or EpicDemo and playtestsSystem requirementsLanguages
ReceptionReviews so farThe AI art questionGames like itReddit, Discord and videos
Update log
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About

Is there a Wild West Pioneers demo?

Not any more. The demo ran during Steam Next Fest, came down after the team reworked the game, and shortly before launch Toplitz said there was none planned at the moment. Two playtests followed it, and both have ended. The official play-through shows what the demo looked like.

Wild West Pioneers | Demo Let's PlayToplitz Productions · 43:23The official play-through of the Next Fest demo, which has since been taken down.

How did the demo go down with players?

Mixed. The demo collected 101 Steam reviews, 64 positive and 37 negative. Among the 37 negative reviews, the most common complaints were the AI-generated art, music and voices (16 of them) and a sense that it felt like a mobile game or too close to other city builders (also 16), followed by bugs such as a disappearing cursor (12). The art and voice question has its own page at the AI art question, and the wider reception is on reviews so far.

The demo also had limits by design. It had no autosave; Toplitz said that “Autosave will be part of the Early Access version, that’s for sure”. And it stopped at a set point: once you formed a settler group and sent it to the gold site, a short cutscene played and a message told you the demo content was over.

Why was the demo taken down?

Because the game had moved on. When the team announced its new direction, it explained:

“We'll be taking it down from Steam soon, because it simply doesn't represent the game anymore. We'd rather new players meet Wild West Pioneers as it is today, not as it was months ago.”

The demo has since been taken down, and its old store page now sends you to the Steam front page.

What changed between the demo and Early Access?

  • Progression. Chris from EmpireCraft Studios summed it up: “We changed the progression system to be less linear and be more open-ended with journey system and idea tree.” The new system is explained on journey points and ideas.
  • Voices and art. “We have also removed the AI voiceover from the game.” Real voice actors replaced it, and the character art was redrawn by hand; the details are on the AI page.
  • Tutorial. The demo’s tutorial was replaced by an optional assistant you can switch on or off at any time.
  • Early pacing. After the open playtest, every building available in your first two hours got cheaper for the Early Access release. The first two hours guide covers the opening.

How did the playtests work?

There were two. The first was a closed playtest: you joined the publisher’s Discord and applied to be a playtester. The second was open to anyone who pressed “Request Access” on the Steam page, but getting in was luck: “Steam picks who gets in at random from everyone who opted in.” Access went out in waves. Play time was capped as well: “With playtime limited at two hours”, as the publisher put it. Both playtests are over, so neither is a way in now.

Will there be a new demo?

Nothing announced. Shortly before launch a player asked, and Toplitz replied:

“No, not at the moment. The team is focusing on the Early Access release at the moment.”

The reason given was the Early Access release itself, which is out, so a later post could change the answer; the update log has the latest news. If you want to try before you pay, the practical options are the official videos and the store’s own refund policy. The price, and how far the launch discount takes it down, is on the price page.

Related: release time, Steam, GOG or Epic and what Early Access includes.