While the gameplay can get quickly repetitive, Book of Demons makes up for it with rewarding card collecting mechanics.

Book of Demons is the first in a series of games based on cult classics, called Return 2 Games. To start things off, the developers at Thing Trunk have come up with a pop-up book interpretation of the Diablo series, dipped in CCG mechanics and with a humorous spin.

Reading Dungeons Like a Book

In Book of Demons, you arrive at your hometown to find it in bad shape: a demon overlord is terrorizing the town from the depths of a dungeon, and it’s up to you to keep everyone safe from the evil demons and skeletons.

You go out on excursions into the depths of the dungeons and battle monsters in procedurally generated floors. As you delve deep into the dungeon, you’ll encounter new types of enemies, procedurally-generated mini-bosses, and boss battles, each offering unique challenges to overcome.

Book of Demons gives you the option to choose the game length you’re setting out to, which is a welcome feature.

Book of Demons review

Just Like a Game of Cards

At the heart of Book of Demons lie the cards and deckbuilding elements. Exploring the dungeons will earn you loot, including cards which will give you passive and activated abilities.

Looting the dungeons would typically be challenging work, but in Book of Demons, you get clear indications for paths you have yet to explore fully, and the loot you still haven’t picked up, making it very easy to grab all of the treasures along the way.

It’s always accomplishing to gain new cards, and this is what drives Book of Demons. With every card you earn, you find new ways to combine them and become an even more destructive force.

You can return to the town at any time during or in between quests. Returning there will let you upgrade your cards and unlock more slots for them. These two elements help you to steadily grow your character and maintain that feeling of accomplishment.

Book of Demons review

The different NPCs you meet in town also offer fun pieces of dialogue that are fun to listen.

World of Paper Craft

As an action RPG, Book of Demons lets you pick a class. When you first start the game, you can only play as the warrior, but after you play a while and level up, you can unlock the mage and rogue.

The different classes offer slightly different gameplay and different cards for you to collect, giving you the incentive to return and create new characters.

But when it gets down to swinging your sword, things can get repetitive fast. Gameplay is limited to choosing your target and activating your abilities. There are a few more elements, but you will generally find yourself repeating the same action, while occasionally moving around the map to take cover from enemies.

Book of Demons review

Exploring the dungeons isn’t much better either. You are limited to moving on rails within the dungeon, which is very restricting when you battle hordes of enemies that can freely move around you. It also makes the game feel very linear, despite its randomly-generated nature.

These two aspects of the gameplay turn Book of Demons into a surprisingly casual game. A game that, while hardcore players might find unappealing, makes for a great title to introduce new players to the world of RPG gaming.

Love the Smell of a New Book

Book of Demons has a pop-up book theme, and everything you see in the game has paper aesthetics. It is a unique aesthetic; it is fresh, clean and pleasing to behold. The exceptional visuals make the journey a colorful one that all players will appreciate.

All of the characters in the town are fully voiced, and even your player character has a few spoken lines that are generally ridiculous puns about the genre’s tropes – just the way I like it.

Book of Demons review

The casual nature of Book of Demons is both its strength and weakness. As a veteran gamer, I found the gameplay is somewhat limiting and gets repetitive very quickly. At the same time, it can very easily be an entry point to new players.

However, despite it getting repetitive, I could not stop myself from playing Book of Demons. Earning new cards and upgrading them is rewarding and kept me curious to explore the dungeons further.


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