8monkey Labs' Darkest of Days, the time-traveling FPS that brings players through the past to save the future, is getting a demo for the PC tomorrow. The download will allow players to experience the game's introduction with Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Big Horn, and the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest battle in America's history. This represents nearly an hour of gameplay, and should give players a good feel as to what to expect from the title.

I've been playing a near-final build of Darkest of Days since last week, fighting my way through the demo area and some World War II combat. So far it's something different, which is all that can really be hoped for nowadays. 8monkey Labs is trying to allow gamers to experience low points in human history, and seeing a battlefield hit with Mustard Gas in first-person is a good way to evoke some emotion.

Check back later this week for a full hands-on of the first few levels of the game. The press release is below.

DARKEST OF DAYS DEMO CONFIRMED FOR PC

Quit talking about the game and go play it – Yes, futuristic BFG’s are now available to test-drive against Civil War soldiers

Cedar Falls, Iowa – August 10, 2009 – Phantom EFX, a leading developer and publisher of entertainment software, with independent game development studio 8monkey Labs confirmed today the PC demo of Darkest of Days, a free-to-play version of the highly anticipated historically-based first person shooter, will be available on August 11, 2009.

“Custer's infamous last stand at the Battle of Little Big Horn, and the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history… these are just a few of humanity’s darkest days, and you can dive into both of these in the Darkest of Days demo,” said Aaron Schurman, Chief Executive Officer at Phantom EFX. “This hour-long demo lets players experience unrivaled carnage and to experience what it’s like to use futuristic weapons in period settings and see what happens when you alter history while fighting against hundreds of enemies during some of man's greatest struggles in History!”

The demo features some serious action, throwing players into the middle of raging battles, while also giving players great hands-on time with a variety of weapons. To get a more in-depth look at the rich weapons loadout, check out the weapons training video at Gametrailers.com.

Key features of Darkest of Days include:

Brand New Engine: The dedicated team at 8monkey Labs has created an all-new, groundbreaking game engine known as Marmoset. The Marmoset engine not only breaks from the all-too present Unreal engine FPS clones flooding the market, but also allows for some amazing graphical capabilities. You’ll fight through epic battles filled with literally hundreds of NPCs on the screen at the same time, all with an advanced AI without a hint of graphical slowdown and all set against wide-open environments that are lushly detailed and dynamically lighted.

Compelling Storyline: Darkest of Days is a compelling, action-packed first-person shooter to be sure, but it’s not just mindless run-and-gun, blow ‘em up gameplay. You’ll not only have to think about how to approach certain key battles and situations, but you’ll also have to take care when fighting – certain key people that were never meant to die will be marked with a special blue aura. If you kill them, you’ll face dire consequences…

Wreak Havoc with Future Weapons in Antiquity: Something nearly every gamer that’s ever played a shooter based in the past has always wanted is the ability to bring a futuristic weapon back through history and kick some major butt. How differently would Custer’s last stand have turned out if the General was equipped with an M-16 assault rifle? You’ll be able to answer questions like this and more in Darkest of Days. While not every battle and situation will allow you to wield weapons from the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to unleash futuristic fury on your unsuspecting foes.

PC powered by PhysX: Only available for the PC on NVIDIA® GeForce® GPUs, NVIDIA® PhysX® technology delivers real-time and hyper-realistic physical gaming effects in Darkest of Days. “Canned” reactions are a thing of the past with PhysX, which brings Darkest of Days to concussive life with blazing explosions and weapons impact effects, reactive debris, realistic water and fog, and lifelike environmental effects including smoke, dirt, dust, and wind.

To download the free-to-play version of Darkest of Days, please visit www.darkestofdays.com to view a list of sites that will host the official demo.

To pre-order Darkest of Days, please visit store.phantomefx.com. For more information about Darkest of Days, please visit www.darkestofdays.com. For more information about Phantom EFX, please visit www.phantomefx.com. For more information about 8monkey Labs, please visit www.8monkeylabs.com.