Developer: Rogueside Games
Publisher: Rogueside Games
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Switch (2)
Tested on: PC
Devil Jam – Review
For our next backlog review, we’re staying close to home. Devil Jam was developed by Rogueside Games, a Belgian developer that we’ve crossed paths with already: we looked at their games Best Served Cold and Shootas, Blood & Teef. This time around, our fellow countrymen bring us their take on the classic Vampire Survivors formula. Now, we may not be above a little chauvinism, but that’s not going to stop us from giving you our honest opinion about Devil Jam.
Story
Over the years, we’ve played plenty of Survivors-likes. These have varied widely when it came to their setting, but the one thing they had in common was that they underdeliver in terms of story. Devil Jam is no different. The premise acts more as background flavor rather than a fleshed-out narrative. That premise revolves around a rockstar who signs a cursed contract with the Devil himself, who apparently is a bigwig in the music industry. Deals with the Devil tend to go sideways, and it is for this very reason that our musician finds himself trapped in the underworld. The only way out is to defeat Death himself. Our hero is granted powers from personified versions of the Seven Deadly Sins. The base idea is simple enough, but with no substantial cutscenes and little in-game dialogue, we can’t help but feel like what little narrative is here is wasted, despite Devil Jam’s strong aesthetic and concept.
Graphics
Of course, Devil Jam’s visuals are where that aesthetic really comes into its own. The hand-drawn 2D art features bold, expressive character designs, reminiscent of those of Hades. While the similarities are undeniable even to a casual observer, Devil Jam manages to maintain a visual identity of its own by heavily leaning into the iconography of the metal subculture. Neon colors contrast against the dark, hellish backdrops. Fire, smoke, and flashy attack visuals sync up with the music, tying things together. In fact, the music and the visuals flow together so well, that it becomes noticeable just how smooth playing Devil Jam feels. Even when there is a lot going on at once, which is often, the game keeps up a stable frame rate with no notable performance issues. The only thing that holds back Devil Jam’s visuals is a lack of environmental variety, as the game only takes place on a single map.
Sound
With music as Devil Jam’s central theme, this is the one aspect that the game had to get right, more so than story or graphics, maybe even more than gameplay. Unfortunately, Devil Jam fails to deliver here. The game features a metal-focused soundtrack that feels explicitly designed to line up with the gameplay. Attacks and abilities trigger on musical beats, making the music mechanically important, not just atmospheric. Perhaps this is where things went wrong though, as the songs feel -by lack of a better word- overdesigned. They’re too polished and predictable for metal songs, substituting raw emotion for something that perfectly hits every beat because it has to line up with the game. It doesn’t help that it’s lacking in variety and tracks loop over and over again. The music also takes center stage in the game’s soundscape, with ambience and sound effects taking a backseat and coming across as filler noise. The cheering of a crowd really would’ve made Devil Jam feel more alive. Not even the limited voice acting of the Seven Deadly Sins can inject life here.
Gameplay
If you’ve ever played a Survivors-like game, you’ll immediately feel right at home with Devil Jam. The core experience sticks close to the familiar formula, blending bullet heaven and auto-attacking mechanics with a roguelite progression system. Runs are all about surviving the onslaught of an ever-escalating horde of enemies. Every 10-ish minutes, a boss shows up, and eventually you’ll face off against Death himself. Devil Jam may be very much a by-the-numbers game in this regard, but there are a plethora of reasons why Luca Galante’s formula has inspired enough developers to spawn a genre in and of itself. By our reckoning, Survivors-likes aren’t ripoffs. Instead, think of Vampire Survivors as a recipe, with other developers recreating it in their own way, adding flourishes to create a personal touch.
The touch that sets Devil Jam apart from other Survivors-likes is a rhythm-based build system. Abilities you gain are placed on a 12-slot grid, styled like a guitar fretboard. Each of its four columns represents a beat in the music, with those abilities triggering in sequence to the game’s soundtrack. Some upgrades don’t provide direct buffs but instead boost adjacent slots. This invites you to experiment with different layouts. Positional synergy lets you stack attacks, amplifiers, and passive effects so that you can create different builds that fit your playstyle. Not only does this make Devil Jam stand out from the crowd by being different from other genre entries, but the grid system is also a genuinely engaging mechanic that does a lot of heavy lifting for the game’s appeal.
It’s a shame then that Devil Jam doesn’t capitalize on the potential of that mechanic. Like other Survivors-likes, the game is built around short-to-medium runs of about 30 minutes. However, those other Survivors-like titles offer much more variety when it comes to stages and enemies. Here, you’re looking at the same stage every time, and enemy variety also feels comparatively limited. You can try out different builds and strategies when it comes to the grid, but repetition inevitably kicks in after a handful of runs. Even for Devil Jam’s low price of €7.99, we expected more content.
Conclusion
The first thing that comes to mind when we reflect on Devil Jam is “one hit wonder”. While the game nails the look and introduces a genuinely engaging twist on the Survivors formula with its grid system, it is lacking in staying power. It comes across as a proof of concept that was stretched into a full game, but without the content needed to back it up. We’re not staying for the encore.
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