Scorched Sun is a top down survival horror game built around turn based combat. You play as a new initiate of the Scorched Sun order, sent to investigate why contact has been lost with a monastery set in a small village. Upon arrival the situation proves less straightforward than expected.
Exploration operates on a strict line of sight system where you only see what your character can see. The village serves as the first obstacle, a space to search through before finding a way into the monastery itself. Resources scattered across environments keep your investigation moving forward, but something may be lurking while you are not watching.
Combat shifts the game into turn based encounters where your equipped weapon determines your offensive options. You can target specific parts of an enemy's body, and when a limb takes critical damage it is severed entirely. This is not always an advantage. Some enemies change their behaviour when they lose certain limbs, becoming more dangerous rather than less. Every strike carries a calculation about whether crippling a creature will weaken it or provoke something worse.
The demo contains the opening minutes of the full game, confined to the village and the path toward the monastery beyond it.