Xbox gamers sat on 247 free games you can download and check out now with no subscription

In this day and age, the concept of try before you buy is more important than ever.

The cost of major new releases only keeps rising with the launch of each subsequent console generation.

Add in the price of consoles themselves, gaming accessories, and subscription service fees, and it soon becomes abundantly clear that gaming is an expensive hobby.

You can see why so many studios are hesitant to launch new IPs these days.

Far fewer of us are willing to take expensive risks on games we’re perhaps not as sure about.

There is a way around this conundrum though. Providing a free demo is a great way of winning skeptics over, and we’re seeing far more released in recent years.

In fact, on the Xbox Store, there are currently 247 demos available for you to sample.

You can find the perfect next-play for you without having to immediately spend a penny - and I’m here to highlight just a few examples of what titles are on offer to try for free.

Let’s kick off with Paper Trail, a delightful indie origami paper puzzler.

In our review, I awarded the game a score of nine, writing, “It’s a simple story told via, what appears on the surface to be, a rather simple gameplay mechanic and yet Paper Trail is anything but simple. From relief to joy, this is a game that elicits so many complex human emotions all via the simple art of virtual origami.”

Take a look at Paper Trail in action below.

If you zombie-centric games are more your thing, Welcome to ParadiZe may be more your cup of tea.

Developed by Nacon, this game sees you acquire a zombie as a kind of protective companion.

“In the beautiful country of ParadiZe, ingenious survivors are testing a technology that can be used to control the zombies that have overrun the world. Once hacked, they become invaluable allies, even though they are not that smart and sometimes rather unstable. It's not all rosy in ParadiZe, but if you're reasonably clever and handy, maybe you'll manage to survive,” the synopsis reads.

You may have heard us raving about Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown already this year - another game you can now try for free.

Developed by Ubisoft, this one’s an action-adventure platformer.

In our review, we said Ubisoft has “managed to create something that honours the past while feeling entirely fresh. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is, by turns, thrilling, bombastic, and extravagant.”

There’s also the BAFTA nominated Chants of Sennaar, a puzzler by Focus Entertainment.

In this game, you’ll find yourself occupying the role of a traveller who must decipher the language of the so-called Peoples of the Tower.

“Travel the endless steps of a prodigious labyrinth, uncover an ominous truth and unveil the mysteries of this fascinating universe where ancient languages are both the lock and the key,” the synopsis teases.

Those are just a few examples but there really are hundreds of options so do give the Xbox Store’s demo section a browse. You’ll find something that’s to your liking.