Developer: Ludus future
Publisher: Buka Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Demon Skin – Review
It seems that games love to compare themselves with more popular titles, even if they don’t really have too much in common. On the Steam page of Demon Skin, the game references that its combat system is in the same vein as Dark Souls, yet it more closely resembles that of For Honor. Nevertheless, Demon Skin is a great Hack & Slash Adventure gale that holds a high production value and isn’t as frustrating as a Dark Souls game.
Story
Demon Skin is set in a rough fantasy world where darkness lurks around every corner and is threatening the world. The order of Wanderers is the only faction that can stop this, as the members possess superhuman powers. When one member tries to stop an ancient ritual, he is struck by the energy and turns into a demon. While the Wanderer tries to regain his composure, he will not stop before he is able to return to his former self, but to do so, he must find the stolen artifact that made him a demon in the first place.
The story’s pacing and flow are amazingly handled. You fight your way through the various locations in the game while meeting characters that guide you through. While the people you meet will turn up multiple times, not everybody can be trusted.
Graphics
The game takes place in a dark fantasy world and this is perfectly depicted in the locations, scenery and atmosphere. Every place you visit is dark, cold, creepy, and uses a rather sober color pallet. Demon Skins is a 2D game, yet the platforming and fighting take place in (what feels like) a 3D environment. The characters are nicely animated and there is a noticeable difference between really lively characters and clunky skeletons. Fights are impressive and will alternate between normal hits, stomps and even spectacular finishing moves.
Sound
The nice thing about Demon Skins is that the developers decided to leave the voice acting to people with experience. Every main character is fully voiced and your wanderer comments on the many events that take place in the world. Each individual has its own unique accent that makes them easily recognizable once you meet them for the first time. Besides the nice acting, you will certainly appreciate the background music that sets the right mood while on this arduous adventure.
Gameplay
Demon Skin is a 2D Hack&Slash game that uses the same block mechanics as games such as For Honor, Griefhelm, and Nidhogg. The game starts with the Wanderer losing all his powers and turning into a demon. At first, you are greatly hurt but you don’t stop and fight your way through the hordes of enemies. Piece by piece you will collect parts of the stolen artifact that turned you into a demon and will regain your strength bit by bit. The game has a few interesting RPG mechanics, such as an unlockable skill tree when you progress with weapons, and each time you level you can invest skill points into either attack, health, or stamina.
The most important mechanic in Demon Skin is combat. The latter works in three directions; high, medium and low. You can block incoming attacks by defending at the same height as the attack of the enemy. Then some enemies have armor so they can only be hit on certain parts, others with high health have the weakness of being able to be shoved, to stagger them. Also, when you bring their health down, a cool finishing move becomes available when you attack in the right place.
With combat comes weapons and Demon Skin has no shortcomings here either. There are two kinds of weapons that provide either slashing and blunt damage. Slashing weapons, such as swords and axes, are more effective on living creatures with soft skin, and blunt weapons, like hammers, are great for skeletons and spiders. Each weapon has its unique attack and defense stats. You will find crude ones on your enemies and can find rare ones hidden in treasure chests scattered all over the map.
For a game that combines intense combat and platforming parts, it does control pretty well. Inputs are decent and the character responds quickly to the given commands. The fights are won with tactics, and dodging your way through bosses feels great and rewarding. Therefore boss fights are not that hard and feel fair all the time. The game will give you a great challenge and rewards the player with a good progression curve from start to finish.
Conclusion
Demon Skin is an interesting title that combines an interesting story with great graphics, high-quality voice acting and fun gameplay mechanics. Build your character, find new weapons and destroy the evil that reigns over the world while searching for the stolen artifact. If you’re into the aforementioned titles, be sure to look into this one, as it offers similar mechanics, albeit in a different format and settings.
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