Not sure about the new Famicom Detective Club? Maybe Emio can help put a smile on your face with three upcoming demos

Nintendo's first new Famicom Detective Club in over 30 years is getting three whole demos, and you'll be able to carry over your save data too.

About a third of the way through July, Nintendo started teasing something just a little bit scary. It was out of step with Nintendo's usual family friendly image, but a week on, the developer revealed that it was actually a brand new Famicom Detective Club game, the first new one in more than 30 years, as long as you're not counting the remakes of the original two games. Even better for fans of the cult classic, Yoshio Sakomoto, the designer of the NES games, and director of Super Metroid, has returned for the new instalment. You don't have that long to wait until it's out now, but ahead of the game's full release, Nintendo is releasing a trio of demos to get you on board as quickly as possible.

The first demo is coming tomorrow, August 19, and is the first chapter of the game in its entirety. Thankfully, you don't have to pay a single dime to play it, and what's better is that on August 22 and 27, two more chapters are coming, all of which are again free, essentially letting you play a big chunk of the game's opening section without putting a single penny down. Best of all, your progress will carry over to the full game when it is released on August 29, so don't worry about having to replay a bunch of stuff if you were thinking of picking it up anyway.

"Solve the tragic death of a student, where a creepy clue recalls cold cases from the past and an urban legend about a killer with a disturbing modus operandi," an official description of the game explains. "Does the Smiling Man really exist…or is a new culprit continuing his legacy?"

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is out August 29 on Nintendo Switch.