I had a pretty good college experience overall. I met some great people. Got better on bass. Was introduced to my favorite book. Totally worth the decade of debt. Iâm not sure theâŠsurvivors of Demonschool will be able to say the same.
This RPG from Ysbryd Games begins with our protagonist, Faye, taking a boat to the remote Hemsk College that even she knows is pretty sketchy. Faye comes from a history of demon hunters, it seems, and there are plenty of demons on this island.
Itâs up to Faye to put together a team of fighters to take them out, and she approaches this with the verve of a sorority social chair recruiting pledges.
Her classmates are hesitant to believe her, but we know sheâs right. Almost right away, we see a group of students obliterated by demons while their professor nonchalantly records the results and walks away. This is not a good school, but I imagine most arenât when you have to arrive by boat.
Upon setting foot on the island, Faye and her first reluctant recruit, Namako, are thrust into a tutorial battle.
This is where we learn that things are going to be different for the player, too, which Iâll expand upon in a bit. After that battle, we get another one while Faye and Namako are simply trying to check out the social aspects of the college town.
You can see where this is heading; itâs right there in the title, after all. Throughout Demonschool, youâll be balancing college life with demon hunting in that Persona/Buffyesque manner that continues to work surprisingly well. Itâs worn ground, sure, but the developers at Necrosoft Games understood this and played up to it. The writing is sharp and often comical, fully embracing the tropes and influences. We get an interesting (and quite large) cast of characters to follow throughout, and youâll be able to focus on your favorites if thatâs what you choose to do.
Gameplay centers around the turn-based battles on an isometric grid, but they donât play out in the way youâd expect. Theyâre more puzzle-centric than tactical. For each, youâll pick the combatants from your available party members (with Faye always involved), and are then charged with clearing out the grid as quickly as possible. You do so by using your teamâs specific skills to create combo attacksâusing one member to pull enemies into specific positions, for example, so another memberâs line attack can hit them all.
Your team gets a set number of action points to plan your attack, and you have total freedom of whom to move when. The first move of each party member uses one AP. Move that character again, and itâll take two. With all of the attack types, available buffs, etc., itâs a lot to plan. Thankfully, you get the ability to rewind your moves until youâre happy. Once committed, you get to watch them all play out. Then, itâs the enemyâs turn. The quicker you complete the objective, the better your grade for higher rewards.
As mentioned earlier, this approach feels more like puzzle gameplay than tactical combat. Your goal is less about surviving levels than about completing them efficiently. Itâs weird, but itâs a welcome change that distinguishes the game from the countless other turn-based RPGs available to us. It also helps that the combat grids are quite diverse once things really start moving (which they admittedly take a bit too long to do).
Speaking of diversity, Demonschool gives you plenty to do when youâre not confronting demons. Building relationships with classmates improves their combat abilities, and Faye can do so by engaging in social activities such as karaoke or cooking. Choosing the correct dialogue options can help, too, but completing companion sidequests seems to be what matters mostâŠjust like in real life.
Your social schedule is limited, so prioritizing relationship-building with your key fighters means some will be neglectedâŠagain, just like in real life. Unlike in real life, however, you can always go back and play it again.
The retro visuals and upbeat audio cues keep things bright and lively throughout. Demonschoolâs content is actually pretty gory, but everythingâs presented in a goofy manner thatâs hard to take seriously. This would be a detriment if the tonal balance wasnât handled well, but this game never loses sight of what it is. Thatâs important, because you could spend upwards of 50 hours on the game if you donât cut any classes, as it were. The developersâ ability to maintain the pacing throughout is pretty impressive.
As such, itâs easy for me to recommend Demonschool to fans of tactical RPGs and just puzzle games in general. Your time spent tinkering with your party and their abilities isnât about survival, itâs about efficiency. That and the gameâs visual and narrative tones create a unique experience that help it rise above the tropes it honors throughout. Its minimal challenge and lighthearted approach mean it wonât stick with you when youâre done, but you at least wonât be compelled to drop out.
