Book of Demons

TL:DR - 7/10 - Chill Diablo clone that is very respectful of your time and doesn't take itself too seriously. Recommended if you're looking for a light, single player Diablo experience as a time sink or to fiddle with casually. And now the longer review... CHILL DIABLO The best way to describe this game is "Chill Diablo." What do I mean by that? Well, this game is essentially Diablo if it didn't take itself seriously at all. It's very respectful of your time, even going so far as to let you select the length of time you'll spend in a dungeon, and including a clock in game so you don't completely lose track of time. Both of these additions make it perfect for casual play, or for killing 10, 20, 30 minutes if you have nothing better to do. HUMOR The humor is very memey with lots of pop culture references. It's very much hit or miss. It's not the wittiest thing I ever played, but it's also not beating you over the head with terrible jokes. Nothing in this had me rolling on the floor laughing or marveling at how well written it was, but it also didn't make me angry. At most I got a chuckle out of some things, and some mild cringe out of others. The lighthearted atmosphere, as hokey as it is sometimes, has a bit of endearing charm that makes it comfortable to play around with. DIABLO CLONE This game is an unapologetic Diablo clone, right down to a character who both looks and sounds very similar to Deckard Cain. There's a gypsy lady who is very reminiscent of Myriam Jahzia and functions in much the same manner, adding enchantments to things and improving your cards. There's an obligatory town healer, and there's the barmaid/innkeeper archetype who's not-so-secretly in love with the protagonist. The card system is very similar to the skills in Diablo, with some using mana, some passive effects, and some consumable items like potions and bombs. On mouse and keyboard, it plays very similar to Diablo as well. It's essentially a lighthearted tribute, and people who have played Diablo, even casually, may get some amusement out of the references and similarities. That said, hardcore Diablo players will likely be disappointed by the lack of difficulty and the casual atmosphere/gameplay. GAMEPLAY The gameplay itself is... eh. At times it feels very dull, like there's no challenge to it at all, and at other times it's a constant swarm of enemies surrounding you. Most of the time, if you're equipping cards properly and paying attention, you'll turn out alright. Most of my deaths were due to my own carelessness because I wasn't taking the game seriously at all. Your character movement is a joke both literally and figuratively. Literally in that it's just a paper cutout of a hero stiffly moving along preset paths in a dungeon. Figuratively in that your character only ever moves along set, single-lane paths in a straight line, which makes attempting to dodge or avoid attacks an absolute joke. You will not be able to dodge anything in this game. If one enemy gets behind you on the single-lane path and you don't have a shockwave card to push it out of the way, you are going to get hit by everything. If you are traveling in a straight line, and the enemies are firing dead center of the path, you are going to get hit by everything. If you are ever surrounded, which happens frequently, you are going to get hit by everything. Occasionally the path will branch into a dead end or a square, but the same problem with movement remains. The cards system is intriguing, but I really feel no urge to go in and collect all the things to see what they do. The abilities aren't anything groundbreaking that you haven't seen before. There is some strategy to it, but at no time did I really feel challenged intellectually to create the best possible loadout or maximize the effectiveness of skills against specific monsters. I mean... you can do that... but I just didn't feel the need to. It's just... eh. The gameplay is eh. It's serviceable. It does its job. It's... light Diablo. It didn't make me mad, but it didn't really challenge me. Granted, I haven't done much in the way of endgame content, so it's possible it will become more engaging now that the base game is out of the way, but just based on what I've played so far... it's serviceable. ACHIEVEMENTS There are a seriously unholy number of achievements in this game, and I can't decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's good, I guess, if you want to feel like you accomplished something, even though this game is an unapologetic time sink. On the other hand, a lot of the achievements are things you will get just by playing the game. Every time you dungeon dive, you'll get anywhere from 2-6 achievements on average. Now you can look back at those achievements and say you accomplished something, but... nothing you really did was all that special. There are, of course, endgame achievements that you can farm which are likely more difficult to obtain, but overall... the sheer number of achievements and the fact that you get them even if you're not doing anything particularly special feels kind of hollow. Eh. OVERALL Book of Demons is a chill, single player Diablo clone. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and is very respectful of your time, making it a perfect casual time sink. I can't recommend it for groundbreaking gameplay, or a gripping story, or a beautiful art style, or witty humor, but I can recommend it as an alright way to kill some time. 7/10.