Demonheart: The Cursed Trial

[h3] Okay, you know what? I like it. [/h3] This is a [b]MIXED[/b] review, because there are things to criticise. But was I entertained? Hell yes, I was. [h3] So, the good: [/h3] 1) This is Demonheart. It's very in the spirit of the first game & the signature writing style is still there, doesn't waste your time, and makes for an engaging read. 2) I'd say I love the way Rolling Crown writes romances, which makes them fun regardless of how compelling the LIs are. More on that below, 3) THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR HUGE. BIG. JUICY UI & FONT SIZE BY DEFAULT. Signed, Blind. [h3] The ehhhhh: [/h3] This is Demonheart. No like literally: - It's a super linear VN with a mystery, 2 male LIs and a token female maaaaaybe LI if you wanna pretend you like them. - Your choices do not influence anything in the story apart from reactions to your lines & alignment. - There is NO branching, it is ONE LINEAR STORY, the mystery does NOT change with each subsequent playthrough, therefore the only things providing replay value are alignment, romances, and the endings. [h3] The bad: [/h3] 1) This game doesn't know what it wants to be: - If it wanted to be a mystery first, it fails, because the player has no agency in solving the mystery, and neither do the player's actions influence the story. Quite often, you're stuck doing an action, because your character states that they will do this action, and there's nothing you can do about it. As for the endings, I only did 3 of them so far, and as far as I understand, the main choices that determine the ending come in the last chapter only. - If it wanted to be a romance first, it fails, because the LIs are just not that compelling. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely see them as characters, HOWEVER, they were given certain traits that make them unattractive (really? the tongue thing? ugh). One review calling them "Manbaby" & "Peak Incel" comes to mind, and hell - I struggle to argue with these definitions. Circling back to the first Demonheart - both of the LIs were shining examples of ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up bad boys, but there was something to like about them and it was easier to find redeemable qualities. It is no wonder there's a fan base around Raze & Brash - but Ran & Kaisar are a kind of a weird parody of them and I don't even know what to think about that. 2) The alignment system is WEAKER than in the previous installments. What I mean by that: - Fewer dialogue options as a whole & not much alignment-related changes in the text that you [i]don't[/i] choose, making it harder to feel like Aeryn has a consistent character; - Fewer opportunities to do actual good deeds or really ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up bad deeds - unless I missed something, you don't even get to murder anyone (aside from that one premature dead end & some ending choices). - Sidenote: I bashed the demo & chapter one for questionable writing & story choices, however it does get better later on. I'm kind of glad because the demo made me feel like it was written by a different person, but no - it's just the chapter one that's kind of off. Sorry? [h3] Verdict: [/h3] This is a very good quality VN that is good in some areas and questionable in others. Personally, I'd recommend it if you want that Demonheart fix, however in my opinion the full price for it is quite high. If it were priced at around 15-20 euros it would probably be more fair for the amount of content it provides. Best to buy on sale.

The Demonheart series is one of my favorites! I wasn't a big fan of Ice Demon though and I'm happy that the Cursed Trial feels a lot more like the first part of the series again. I'm honestly not that enthusiastic about the Love Interests - Ran is okay, that's the route I chose for my first playthrough (haven't started the 2nd yet), I'm not very optimistic about Kaisar - BUT this time the love stories are not that important anyway as the murder mystery is very suspenseful and well written. It's quite grim but I still loved every part of it. It won't be as fascinating the second time around (and several other times... as I plan to see every possible outcome and try every alignment) but I'm still very curious about the different paths. In the Demonheart series your choices always change the way things unfold, so there is a lot to discover and I'm excited for it! The best part for me were the well-known characters (like Raze), their memories and the additional lore here and there. And that throughout the series we have the same (very good) voice actors - very important in my opinion!

So I can not fully recommend this game in the series of demonheart. The plot had too many things that were predictable and that was even before it was fully finished. The only two characters your mc can have interest in are lacking. Ran was the better choice out of the two but he did not feel like he fit into the world and situation well. The other character was just awful all around in my opinion. I thought there was going to be a third character as a sly romanceable character but that ended up not happening. The art is amazing and even the vibe of the story was really doing well.. but it just didn't seem like it was as immersive as other tales. The mc does not seem to be very aware or capable of surviving on their own considering they are apart of the city guard? I felt as if the mc was bumbling around and failing to even use their own survival instincts. So in conclusion; good art, disappointing plot

Demonheart: The Cursed Trial – Frustrating, Funny, and Somehow Still Addicting Let me just say this upfront: I have a love-hate relationship with Demonheart: The Cursed Trial, and if you’ve played any other Demonheart games, you probably know exactly what I mean. It's beautifully chaotic—edgy in all senses—and while it definitely left me yelling at my screen, I also can’t stop thinking about it. The Good Character Chemistry & Intrigue: The game continues the Demonheart tradition of complex, morally gray relationships. There's a weirdly compelling emotional whiplash that keeps you invested, even when you're mad at the direction things are going. (Why a muzzle? He could have used a tongue piercing instead...) Replay Value: Despite some major gripes, I still want to replay this game. There’s enough variation and romance tension to tempt you into multiple routes—even the ones that don’t always feel satisfying. Voice Acting (Eventually): Once the voice lines were added (mid-playthrough for us), it was like a whole new Ran came alive. Woof. Too bad we already made our choices by then! We would’ve picked differently had we heard that voice earlier. The "This Needs Work" No Voice Acting Early On: For hours, we were wondering if this was a design choice... until we found out the voices hadn’t been added yet. By the time they were uploaded, the delivery and the text often didn’t match, which made things feel even more disjointed. Story & Choice Inconsistencies: The writing often contradicts itself. One moment we’re volunteering for the first time, then Ran says we always volunteer. Some dialogue choices literally don’t match what your character says next (e.g., choosing to support someone leads to unsupportive dialogue). The whole "Where’s Janiya?" option immediately after spending time with her was a bit of a head-scratcher. And don’t get me started on the ending—it felt like the show got canceled mid-season and they had to tie up 12 plot lines in 20 minutes. Sound Design: The audio cues were weirdly recycled. Crypt doors and sliding panels sounding the same? Loud knocks that felt like "FBI OPEN UP" memes? Definitely not immersive. Images vs. Descriptions: The images often don’t match the scenes or text descriptions. It can pull you out of the story when you’re imagining one thing and seeing something completely different. The Romance Frustration Is Real You will absolutely feel like you're being edged the whole time—especially if you don’t pick the author’s favorite. Characters you clearly flirt with are treated like creeps in the writing. Some romantic tension is fun… but this? This is personal. (Seriously, give that man a tongue piercing. He earned it.) Also, some choices genuinely felt like they didn’t matter. Others should have mattered more. There are inconsistencies in how the story reacts to your decisions, and that makes it hard to feel like you’re truly shaping your own path. Final Thoughts Despite all that... I still want more. I hate how much I love this game. It’s flawed. It’s frustrating. But it’s also fun, hot, ridiculous, and somehow endearing. It’s the type of game that makes you say, “Never again”… right before loading it up one more time. Now, if only we could get some real merch to go with our emotional damage. Until then, I guess I’ll just commission fan art to hang on my wall while I pretend not to be replaying it again.

唉好喜欢Vita，要是能攻略就好了。[spoiler] 虽然大概是剧情需要但还是好想和Vita在一起，谢谢你end4... [/spoiler] 比起Ran，Vita更像小狗吧hhh 完全的信任Aeryn，好可爱好喜欢。挑衅Ran和Kaisar的时候也很好笑啊啊，，Ran那句 别告诉我我现在也该提防女人 我真的笑晕。然后是Leona，感觉她好可怜...可能确实有点偏执有点过于正义了，[spoiler] 但被自己信任的同伴，同是士兵的Ran砍头而死这个结局好让人唏嘘。这之后我对Ran不太能喜欢的起来... [/spoiler] 感觉女主的cg比立绘好看，不知道为什么cg里很美但立绘有点看不下去（ 根据社区讨论和自己打出来的总结了一下结局【注意有剧透】 Bad Ending 1：[spoiler] Ch3血液测试选择攻击Kaisar [/spoiler] Bad Ending 2：[spoiler] Ch3选择攻击Bane和Janiya [/spoiler] End1：[spoiler] 女主、Ran、Bane存活，Vita死亡 [/spoiler] End2：[spoiler] Ran在地下墓穴救女主，没有浪漫关系 [/spoiler] End3：[spoiler] Ran、Bane、vita和女主存活 [/spoiler] End4：[spoiler] Vita在地下墓穴救女主，不杀Kaisar也能解锁结局 [/spoiler] End5：[spoiler] Kaisar线最后在地下墓穴杀了Kaisar [/spoiler] End6：[spoiler] 自愿和Kaisar离开 [/spoiler] End7：[spoiler] 被Kaisar绑架 [/spoiler] Sole Survivor：[spoiler] 唯一幸存结局。Kaisar线杀Vita和Kaisar [/spoiler] 刷了好几遍都没刷出end1，开始怀疑是不是bug。end2也没打出来所以这两个不确定，不过其他结局应该是准确的。

Thank you for this amazing game! I bought this game because of Kaisar, and I fully enjoyed his route) Also the plot twist were incredible) Another masterpiece from the developer) The only thing I disliked were the news about Raze breaking up with Bright and looking for a new girl... I had chosen that their relationship was romantic, and remained really disappointed after finding out that he's looking for a new pet :(( that was really upsetting...

个人自制的机翻润色汉化魔改补丁地址：https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV174wFzQEQy 注意英文原版游戏可以输入中文名游玩，但是一旦存档读档就可能乱码，汉化魔改版可以使用中文名，兼容原版存档。 如果有名字乱码情况或者想中途修改主角名可以尝试用一下我自己写的这个工具：https://qingdengbuyi.top/save-repair.html 其他请注意查看汉化说明文档 —— 依然是恶魔之心系列作，有这个系列独有的风味，比如很多人会口出狂言 当某人突然冒出“怎么了，你把她肚子搞大了？”的发言的时候我的大脑皮层褶皱都被抚平了 而女主，能够一本正经地内心os：我们恶魔之心不孕不育哒 我觉得我彻底被这个系列的文本打败了（ 言归正传，主要攻略角色2+1，虽然有个疑似百合线但因为体量和cg都不够所以不太能算，不过有个HE 两个男主各有特色，非常有特色，嗯……到底谁家dlc是给男主戴嘴套的我请问 推荐去体验一下kaisar线被创一下，此人完全不按常理出牌，恶人自有恶人mo 按理说这游戏是个暴风雪山庄+悬疑的设定，打到最后感觉真相不重要了活下去最重要（ 总之题材还是挺有意思的，就是cg和语音数量有点少，感觉原价贵了建议等打折 ——话又说回来现在就在打折，请一起品鉴一下我之前汉化的另外两部吧（递

God, you can't imagine how much i love this game and i keep repeating it after awhile, and every time i do it's like i'm playing it for the first time, i only wished there were more intimate scenes with the love interests, especially Kaisar since he was the one who caught my eye and i immediately pursued him, i'm a sucker for toxic men what can i say heh, anyways i also wish that you'd make a sequel on what happens after, like i get this one was more focused on the thriller/mystery genre, but i wished there were more interactions, so that's why i'm kindly asking for a sequel, whenever the dev wants tho!! i'm looking forward to anything, i just love the other stories as well.

After playing through the first three DH series, would rather have waited to review TCT until it's fully out of Early Access, but couldn't resist forging ahead. Edit: Forget initial impressions. Guess the game's okay but, like DH3, some characters are so unlikeable, there's hardly even a way to love-hate them. [spoiler]Also, found Raze acting as servant to the insufferable Esmius difficult to bear. As for Kaisar route.. can't make protag stupid enough, and Ran doesn't feel considerably better. Similar to DH3 in that respect.[/spoiler] Honestly rec if DH players want to complete the series. It has interesting qualities. Don't necessarily dislike it, but neither love this one.

推荐还是推荐的，但是我个人觉得感情线写得没有前作吸引人。 感谢此作让我得以享受一些低级趣味——emmmm，Kaisar的确在一众乙女中都是比较特别的存在，好这口的真的很难找到代餐，可惜我还是偏好健全的感情（确信）