Dragon's Dogma isn't due until May, but next week Capcom is giving warriors a trial run with a playable demo of the fantasy action role-player on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.

Due April 24 (April 25 in the UK), the demo will consist of two quests; one pitting Fighters against a Chimera in an underground location, and the other challenging Striders to make quick work of a Griffin in the fields of Gransys. The test run will also give players an opportunity to play with Dragon's Dogma's character customization system and craft a hero which they can later import into the full game.

Dragon's Dogma seeks to blend RPG, action, and survival-horror elements in an open-world fantasy setting. It is due for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 22 in North America, and May 25 in the UK. See more from Capcom's action-RPG-survival-sandbox project in our 20-minute hands-on look, Dragon's Dogma video preview – creating a stubby elf-dwarf.