Turning the action RPG genre of decades past into a card based paper themed title Book of Demons explores a fan favourite adventure from an entirely new game angle. With hours of solo fun Book of Demons creates a video game title that is both challenging and comedic as you push deeper and deeper into the dungeon depths.
Set in the world known as the Paperverse players step into the shoes of a typical adventurer that has arrived at a town besieged by darkness from the local cathedral. Within the underground maze that is the cathedral labyrinth an evil force has pushed out many of the local inhabitants and killed many of those that stayed behind. Playing as one of the three available classes and supported by the four key townsfolk that remain you’ll progress down floors of ghosts, demons, skeletons, zombies and other dark forces while building a suitable deck of cards to combat these evil threats.
These 3 character archetypes are as one would expect for a game within the hack and slash RPG genre with a warrior, rouge and mage to select from. Once selected you’ll venture down into the labyrinth underneath the small town which is on the verge of the end. In addition to the visual differences of each class players will have specific cards available to them that ultimately dictate the unique playstyle of each.
The warrior for example is a melee focused class that specialises in hitting single and multiple enemies with mighty blows to stun, knockback and disarm shields of enemies. The rogue on the other hand equips a bow and rapidly fires arrows at enemies that are imbued with elements from a long distance. Lastly is the mage class who fires homing magical missiles and pairs it with a range of utility mechanics like ice walls, golems and teleport alongside high damaging elemental spells. Regardless of your class choice each offers a similar progression cycle with players adventuring down into the dungeon to acquire artifact, item and spell cards and upgrading them to create your intended playstyle. With artifact cards providing powerful passive bonuses at the cost of locking up a portion of your mana pool, items that provide key utility like healing and important spells to counter monster mechanics each card choice feels impactful to your hero of choice.
As such most of your time in Book of Demons is spent underground hacking and slashing your way through the randomised level layouts that hide treasure, shrines, mini bosses and basic enemies. To help ensure you explore every inch of the dungeon Book of Demons provides railed branching paths that you follow with your character with clear indications when there is nothing left on the current floor. While guiding your hero along said paths players will find their character automatically engages enemies in their field of view (and attack range) with players boosting this damage by targeting specific enemies or using card abilities. Not only does this design provide a good blend of passive and active gameplay it’s central to the strategic mechanics employed by Book of Demons with players having to consider their focus carefully when you factor in enemies that summon others, explode on death or have high shield values to overcome.
With the experience and gold earned from these activities you’ll grow your hero power, health and mana to progress deeper into the cathedral. Supporting this power growth is the town where you’ll meet the typical RPG characters including the wise sage who can turn the unidentified into potentially your next upgrade, the fortune teller who upgrades cards, the barmaid that can feed the player with dungeon ingredients and the healer to restore your health before the next adventure. While on the surface these characters are nothing unique the paper art style, conversations and touch of parody make them interesting to engage with throughout your Book of Demons adventure.
Summary:
- Relive the hack and slash RPG experience of old in paper art style.
- Build your own deck of cards from artifacts, items and spells to define the playstyle of your warrior, mage and rouge.
- Gossip with townsfolk, identify cards and upgrade them to improve your chances of survival.
- Dive into the labyrinths under the town cathedral to face various bosses, enemies and uncover treasure.
- Procedurally generated levels with a flexiscope system that gives you control over the size of each for short and long playthroughs.
Links:
- Buy Book of Demons (Humble Store)
- Buy Book of Demons (Microsoft Store)
- Buy Book of Demons (iOS)
- Buy Book of Demons (PlayStation Store)
- Buy Book of Demons (Nintendo Store)
Videos:
Review Platform: PC
