Demonicon is the latest action RPG by Kalypso Media. It takes place in The Dark Eye universe, which is a German tabletop RPG along the lines of Dungeons & Dragons. Demonicon has an extraordinary story that contains mature content, endless possibilities and world-breaking decisions.
Unlike other role-playing games where your decisions don’t actually shape the world, everything you do in Demonicon has a direct impact on the story, changing the world around you. A simple decision like saving someone’s life can alter the story. Even deciding to kill someone can have a cataclysmic effect on the game’s outcome.
Demonicon is built around a morality system – the more evil deeds you commit, the more ‘demonic’ the main character will become. You have the choice to be either good or evil; it is entirely up to the player. No matter which side you decide to play, everything in the world of Dark Eye has its own benefits. Some skills and talents can only be acquired if you are more ‘demonic’ than good.
Just about everything the player does will grant them either AP (Adventure Points) or GP (Gift Points) or in some cases both. Adventure Points are basically your standard experience points that are used to level up standard skills and other talents such as combat skills. Gift points, on the other hand, are used to purchase and upgrade the main character’s demonic skills (i.e. abilities and magic spells).
The combat system in Demonicon is action-based, but it requires a little bit of finesse – button mashing will not be rewarded. Racking up a perfect combo chain will grant additional demonic bonuses that will allow your character to inflict more damage. The third-person camera shows the entire battlefield; there are no awkward camera angles to worry about.
The player can fully customize their character by choosing which skills, talents and weapons to use. Different weapons can have a dramatic affect on combat. Some weapons require more stamina than others, making combat that much harder. Heavier weapons like the sledgehammer require excessive amounts of stamina, eliminating the hacking/twitch-style method of gameplay seen in other games.
Even though Demonicon is action-based, the weapon system adds an element of strategy to the gameplay. I like this new mechanic; it helps to balance out combat and prevents button mashing.
Additionally, the game includes an extensive crafting system where you can make items from alchemy and blacksmithing.
The decisions you make will shape your destiny in the world of Demonicon. And due to its morality system, there are multiple endings that add an enormous amount of replay value to the game. The main story alone for Demonicon is roughly around 30 to 35 hours of continuous gameplay, and this is not counting the additional side quests or the multiple endings.
Please stay tuned for a complete review of Demonicon.
Demonicon Screenshots:
