Demoniaca: Everlasting Night

Another example of when what at first sight might look like a distinctive looking potential indy gem in a tried and true genre is ruined when the actual gameplay of the game is an active impediment to actually playing the darn thing.

I see a lot of potential here. A metroidvania with beat 'em up/fighting game motions and inputs is a really awesome concept I wish was explored more often. For SNK fans, the main heroine shares a lot of moves similar to K', almost frame-by-frame. Below is just what I discovered so far but I'll update this as needed. Pros: -Mobility options like Teleport while grounded can act as an animation-cancel, removing recovery frames and getting you out of dicey situations at the cost of meter/DP if you're about to get smacked, or whiffed an attack. -Backstep is Guard+Back and is great for creating distance, but I haven't found a great projectile move as of yet. -There's NSFW content like nudity here apparently, but it can be turned off in options if you prefer. Cons: -Since there are fighting game motions and inputs, I expected there to be better hit-stun feedback and that the MC's moves would seem more impactful. Because of this, the bread and butter beginning combos of Light Punch/Kick > Heavy Punch/Kick are almost always unsafe and lead to a trade at best without moves like Teleport to get away. Better to Jab > Jab > Guard and never overextend. -Meter/DP management is tough, especiall…

What is a game but a miserable pile of bad decisions...such an odd game...it just fails at what makes a game fun. The platforming starts out frustrating and settles into tedious... The combat "looks" cool but just feels...off...and encourages avoidance... There is no true sense of progressing. It just feels like you're pushing further while spinning your wheels at the same time. Equipping stat boosting items quickly falls into irrelevance once you realize that inventory management becomes a chore...the game gives you limited inventory then gluts you with middling items that sometimes literally materialize in your path...then tasks you with grinding them into dust ONE BY ONE to make room and to create a different type of currency to buy questionably better items... It's actually difficult to properly describe what makes playing this game...tedious? Best way I can put it is...you will be traveling along hitting every jump and somehow almost zen like hitting enemies...you were not even looking to attack...then one odd miscalculated jump will lead to you bonking around platforms and enemies whiffing hits, jumps and falling the entirety of a vertical shaft like area ending up being p…

Pretty cool, not very fun. I'd still pay these devs any day over buying AAA slop like bloodlines 2

Works great on Steam Deck although the default layout takes some getting used to, and can be customized in-game if you dont like the default. A decent Metroidvania game with light brawler/fighter mechanics and a just-okay 2nd player experience that elevate it from the mediocre story and repetitive exploration. If you havent played Symphony of the Night, try that first and come back to this game if you love that genre and want to explore Metroidvanias further.

A rather specific game with an incomprehensible plot, old-school, pixelated graphics, amazing musical accompaniment and, of course, it is worth noting the hardcore of this game. So if you have strong nerves, can definitely play)))