Square Enix has announced that the Balan Wonderworld demo will launch next week on 28 January 2021. It will offer roughly two hours worth of gameplay, featuring Acts 1 and 2 of Chapter 1, Act 1 of Chapter 4, and Act 1 of Chapter 6, as well as access to the Isle of Tims, the hub area where players can also raise mysterious creatures called Tims.

In addition, the Balan Wonderworld demo also supports local co-op; where two players can explore the game as the stars of the show Leo and Emma. Together, they can combine abilities from different costumes to access new paths that are unavailable in solo play.

Using a range of costume abilities, players will be able to collect Balan Statues in each stage as well as access the hidden Balan’s Bout mini-games. The demo will feature three of Balan Wonderworld‘s twelve magical worlds, including the following:

World 1 – The Man Who Rages Against the Storm

• Playable Areas: Act 1, Act 2, Boss Battle

World One is set in a beautiful farm, made up of rolling hills and giant crops. This mysterious world is woven from the memories inside Jose Gallard’s heart, a farmer whose beautiful cornfield is struck by a storm. The boss lurking in the depths of Jose’s world is Barktholomew, the embodiment of Jose’s despair after seeing his cornfield being destroyed.

Make use of a range of costumes to successfully complete this level, including the Jumping Jack costume that allows players to jump to places they just can’t quite reach and the Dainty Dragon costume that uses its fiery breath to clear obstacles in its path!

World 4 – The Boy Who Would be One with the Wind

• Playable Areas: Act 1

World Four takes place in a fantastical setting born from the heart of Chang Haoyu and his love of the open sky, where bicycle parts and floating islands of all sizes are scattered through the sky.

Costumes in this world that could come in handy include the Soaring Sheep costume that can float away by puffing up its fluffy fleece, and the Aero Acrobat costume that can soar through the sky and aim kicks at balloons and enemies!

World 6 – The Girl and the Kitten

• Playable Areas: Act 1

World Six follows the story of Cass Milligan, depicting the town where she meets a cute kitten. In this magical world built from Cass Milligan’s fond memories, candy pieces and books float in the air and there are mysterious buildings full of moving gears.

Costumes that will help players solve mysteries and perform powerful attacks include the Gear Prince costume that can spin switches with the gear on its stomach to operate machinery, and the Pumpkin Puncher costume that can shoot a rocket punch!

Isle of Tims

Players will also be granted access to the Isle of Tims—a base area and gateway to the three mysterious worlds. Here, players will meet the magical creatures called Tims; whose powerful abilities can help Leo and Emma as they explore each world and battle Negati! On the Isle of Tims, players can also harvest magical droplets from the colourful flower patches found around the island. These droplets can be fed to Tims in order to evolve their abilities.

Balan Wonderworld is an all-new 3D action platformer created by the legendary creators Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, under Square Enix’s new Balan Company. It is slated to release for the PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on 26 March 2021.