The Vita is fast becoming the platform of choice for both
developers and players who want a slice of JRP action in their lives. Demon
Gaze continues this trend and also adds to the recent resurgence of games
taking on the first person dungeon crawler genre. It’s bright and colourful, it’s
got questionably drawn female characters and it’s absolutely hard as nails.
You awaken in a basement without knowledge of who you are. You
are quickly thrown into a battle with a demon. After defeating it you find out
you are a Demon Gazer with the ability to capture strong demons and harness their
abilities. You then have to venture into the worlds many dungeons to find more
foes to defeat and hopefully find out all those things you can’t remember. We’ve
been here before with the story certainly but there are numerous twists and
turns along the way to keep this one interesting.
The game is split into two different sections. First of all
you have the inn. Here you can talk to NPC characters, accept quests and stock
up on gear and weapons. You can also revive fallen characters and just about
everything else we have come to expect from this type of game. You rent a room and
every time you return from the world you have to pay up. If you can’t afford it
the mysterious girl running the place will let you off but you’ll lose out on
bonuses and some facilities won’t be open to you.
In order to venture into the world you have to build a
party. Starting with just one member, each time you want to add someone you have
to rent them a room. It’s expensive but worthwhile as you won’t be getting far
without a full complement of heroes. The dungeons in Demon gaze are tough and
you’ll be hammered early on if you don’t keep an eye on what you’re doing.
Perhaps more than any other game in recent times you really need to keep on top
of your skills and how different status effects work. Mastering the elemental strength
and weaknesses of attacks is also key to survival.
Dungeons are grid based and the game will auto map for you
as you progress. The aim is to find demon circles. Placing gems on the circles
will someone monsters and once defeated you will take control of the circle.
The circle can then be used to save and change equipped demons while placing
gems with different properties will alter the items dropped by slain foes. You’re
real aim is to control all the circles in a given area as this makes the lord
demon of the realm appear. Defeating the lord demons binds them to you and also
progresses the story.
You can only have one demon tied to you at any one time and
they all have their own styles and advantages in the over world and combat. For
instance, one demon will let you walk on lava, allowing you access to
previously unreachable areas, while another makes hidden doors glow. Most are
also tied to a particular element such as earth, fire or darkness and thus are
best employed when dealing with a lord demon weak against that element. Be warned
though, these demons are seriously tough. Battles can rage for a long time and
if you die it’s straight back to the title screen.
Combat is turn based and happens randomly as well as when
you walk into certain symbols in dungeons. It’s fairly standard stuff except
for the inclusion of being able to unlock a demon to assist you. When summoned,
the demon will act independently to help you while a timer ticks down each turn.
If you don’t lock the demon back away before the timer runs out it will go into
chaotic mode and start attacking the party as well. More turns are gained by
defeating enemies and demons also level up and become more loyal as you
progress.
Despite the difficulty the game is also incredibly
rewarding. Every time you venture that bit further it feels like an achievement
and your characters learn new skills every few levels or so. It may require a
bit of grinding to break the back of the difficulty curve but it’s a game well
worth sticking with.
Overall, Demon Gaze is another excellent addition to the
dungeon crawling genre. It’s certainly not a game to cut your teeth with but
for those versed in the ways of turn based combat and elements it’s a worthy
and challenging adventure to undertake.
Overall 8/10
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