In the demo, saving is in the ESC menu. Create a new save or select an existing one, click Save, and confirm Overwrite if asked. To continue later, select the save and click Load; double-clicking the save doesn't load it.
Where Do You Save in the Demo?
Press ESC and use the save controls there (this is also the answer to "Speichern des Spielstandes"). The demo isn't a one-sitting session: one player saved, quit, came back the next day and loaded fine. Another player had trouble with a greyed-out control and a save that vanished after quitting, so always check you can load before relying on a save.
Should You Create a New Save or Overwrite One?
New save (best for your first try): create a new save file and click Save, then check it appears in the list. Remember something recognisable about your progress so you can tell it loaded correctly.
Overwrite an existing save: select the save you want to replace, click Save, then click Overwrite. If you skip the Overwrite confirmation, the save isn't done.
How Do You Load and Check Your Progress?
Select the save
Click the save entry you want. Selecting it doesn't load it yet.
Click Load
Click Load. The player who resumed successfully used the Load button, not a double-click. Your game should pick up where you saved.
Check again after quitting
Save, quit the game, come back, and load the same way. If the save is still there and restores your progress, it's safe to keep playing on it.
What If Save Looks Greyed Out or the Save Disappears?
Reports are mixed. One player saved and continued the next day without problems. Another found the Save control did nothing until their fifth restart (February 22, 2026), and then found the save gone when they came back hours later.
Run the whole sequence once before a long session: new or selected save, Save, Overwrite if asked, quit, then select the save and Load. A save that loads in the same session hasn't proved it survives quitting.
Once your save loads after quitting, continue with unlock the Scout Hut, upgrade a tent to a Wooden Hut, place wells, or bring scouts back to the settlement.