Is the Hillthorn Demo free?
The free Hillthorn Demo is available on Steam. The full game is scheduled for November 10, 2026.
Steam Demo and announced release plans · November 2026
Demo & releaseThe unofficial casebook
Hillthorn Wiki
A little help with
the bigger picture.
Read the cards. Follow the clues. Find your next lead with Demo guides, puzzle hints and a clearer view of the investigation.
Where to next?
Pick up a lead
01Investigation hints
Abigail’s office
Use Missing, Olivia and Hiking to progress the earlier Demo office opening, unlock Explore and head to Mount Hillthorn.
02Cards & controlsOrganize cards
Find the Sort Selected Cards control, the R shortcut and the selection-first approach to tidying the tabletop.
03Cards & controlsCard types
Read Hillthorn’s orange clues, purple characters, green locations, gold borders and action icons.
The casebook
Explore the guide
Before your next lead
What do the card colors mean?
Orange cards are clues, purple cards are characters and green cards are locations. The icon in the top-left corner tells you which actions a card supports.
Card system and Demo basics
Card typesDoes the Demo include the full time loop?
In the full game’s announced time loop, the day resets at midnight after you enter Mount Hillthorn. The complete loop was not included in the Demo described in the October update.
Announced full-game mechanic; Demo differs
Time & midnightCan you finish the torn-paper clue in the Demo?
The torn-paper clue points to content that requires the full game. Reaching that clue does not mean there is another confirmed Demo puzzle to solve beyond it.
Steam Demo torn-paper content boundary
Torn paper