Book of Demons (PC) Preview

Everything, from the NPCs and the main hero, to the world and the monsters that inhabit it, are made out of cardboard. No, that's not to say that they lack depth and character. They really are made out of cardboard! Book of Demons borrows the look of those children pop-up books, with the result being very unique stylistically. Does it look good? Actually, it looks awesome, and fits like a glove to Thing Trunk's attempt to take something dark and ominous, and make it look childlike and light-hearted.

What's that? Well, take a look at any random screenshot and the answer instantly pops into your head. Diablo!!! This is the cardboard version of freaking Diablo! No, it's not 'similar,' it's almost identical. The dark, gothic catacombs of the demon-filled cathedral and the hellish dominion under it, the things that the hero and his enemies say, the look and names of the iconic bosses, the piano/bell/church organ-filled OST that sounds like it came straight from an evil spirit's iPod, and the town, oh, dear Lord Satan! *passes away from nostalgia-orgasm*

Apart from audio-visuals that even non-Diablo fans will love, this also plays like it - granted, with several important differences that offer a pure, more straightforward experience that is simple, yet not simplistic. For starters, it's only possible to move on a path like a train on rails, but while this might sound restricting in theory, it's handled perfectly in-game. In order for the hero to interact with his surroundings, he doesn't have to come close to an enemy of treasure, since, as long as it falls on the light radius around him, he simply clicks on them and done!

The developer has made it so that everything, from the loading and the UI, to the action and looting business is super-fast. Furthermore, there's a certain mechanic here that lets the player choose the length of each gaming session, which is great for those occasions when you don't have much time on your hands. This system calculates your overall speed and play style, and while it's not clear how it works or if it is accurate enough, the fact that it alters the size of each dungeon can be quite helpful to both those that like levels to be short and sweet, as well as those who prefer bigger areas.

Fast or not, it all comes down to the actual fighting, therefore, the real question is whether its good or not, and, thankfully, it's pretty enjoyable, despite the fact that, like with its far more popular "sibling," it can get repetitive after some hours of continuous play. The vast majority of enemies don't just attack, but use certain skills - they carry shields that must be first destroyed, they poison, freeze, or stun you, they cast a variety of spells, and they even summon more baddies, with mini-bosses being even better, since they actually use more than one skill.

Of course, enemies that do all these are nothing special. The fun part is how their attacks require you to be actively involved in the battlefield. Some examples are how, when poisoned, the player can (and must) click on the health meter sphere in the bottom in order to heal; when stunned, click on the rotating stars that appear on the screen to get well; and when an enemy casts a spell, quickly dispel it by pushing the button above its head. Oh, and don't expect any one-on-one fights here, but chaotic arenas with more than ten foes, all doing their thing at the same time.

The main character's skills revolve around a pretty neat system of cards that can be found and placed on a quick access belt. These range from active skills that require mana, passive ones that "lock" a certain percentage of the mana pool, and some item cards like potions and bombs that have a limited number of uses before they require a refill. It's a simple system, and yet, it's a very good one, mainly because it makes the game more dynamic, since it's possible to quickly choose a couple of different cards while fighting, while the world goes into slow motion mode.

The core of Book of Demons has been explored here, but there are tons of little great innovations that haven't been mentioned, but it's already pretty clear that this is an extremely fun and perfectly fine-tuned title, even at its current, incomplete state. The only flaws? First, while later difficulties are enjoyable since they force you to try different card combinations by temporally disabling a few of them, the challenge is not as high as it should be. Secondly, not enough end-game material, something that will probably change in the full version, with more enemies, cards, and available classes - the author of this review simply can't wait to play with the upcoming Mr. T-like mage.