Demonicon Review (PC)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Demonicon
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: Yes  
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The Dark Eye: Demonicon

I’ve been trying to forget the nightmare called Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny and decided to give Demonicon, another game set in the Dark Eye universe, a try.

Those unfamiliar with the former title shouldn’t bother too much with it, but The Dark Eye gamers who remember the old Realms of Arkania released in the early ‘90s surely know what I’m talking about.

The first details on The Dark Eye: Demonicon emerged last year and the game was even demoed this year during a handful of important events in the gaming industry, E3 2013 included.

I’m sure fans of The Dark Eye universe have been anxiously waiting for this one since it got the first impressions from the media earlier this year.

But for those who have no idea what The Dark Eye is, I recommend reading the Wikipedia’s page, which offers plenty of details on this setting. Long story short, this is the German version of Dungeons & Dragons, but much more complex.

There are several games made by German developers that are based on The Dark Eye universe, such as Realms of Arkania and Drakensang RPGs, as well as the Chains of Satinav and Memoria adventure titles.

  Demonicon is another title in The Dark Eye universe, which means that it comes with a complex level-up system and a pretty dense skill tree, exactly what every RPG fan would want its favorite game to offer.

However, unlike the other titles in the Dark Eye setting, Demonicon is really dark and gritty. It’s dark because it doesn’t present you with moral choices that could define your character as good or evil. Instead, you are to decide between the greater or lesser evil. And it’s gritty because there’s nothing heroic in the deeds you accomplish while exploring a world almost completely dominated by demons.

Story

There’s a lot going on in Demonicon, but rest assured I’m not going to spoil it for you. Developers, and when I’m saying developers I’m talking about Kalypso Media, because Noumena Studios is owned by the publisher, offer only a bit of info on the game’s plot and more on the background.

So, you’re playing a demon. I’m just kidding. Or not. You’ll discover this for yourself, but what’s certain is that you possess some powers that have nothing to do with the Old Gods.

As this is a game set in The Dark Eye universe, expect Demonicon to take you to another part of Aventuria, the continent on which the tabletop game is set.

Demonicon is completely different in comparison with Drakensang and Realms of Arkania. Starting with story, visuals, sound, combat system, everything is new. I love it when developers innovate on old franchise, especially when the results are positive.

In Demonicon, players will visit the Dark Lands. As the name suggests, the Dark Lands are governed by despair and destruction. It’s a region roaming with undead, demons and other mysterious creatures far more dangerous than the former.

   Although you start the game in a cave, your base of operations is the only region free of demonic influence, the city of Warunk. But things were not always good for Warunkians , as the city was previously the lair of a powerful dragon that decimated half of the population just to turn it into mindless zombies that would replenish its vast army of undead.

But then, Goddess of War Rondra liberated Warunk from the necromantic reign of terror imposed by the evil dragon and people thought they would live in peace and prosper.

You are Cairon and, tohether with your father and sister, you roam The Shadowlands looking for a safe place to settle. You’ve been on the road for all your life and The Shadowlands is a harsh environment even for the most well-trained adventurer.

The action of the game takes place several years after a war between demonic forces that made a large area of Aventuria uninhabitable, which is now called The Shadowlands. The city of Warunk is now the only possible place where Cairon and his family would be safe from the creatures of The Shadowlands.

This should set you up for what’s to come, but prepare for an RPG marathon as Demonicon offers around 25 hours of gameplay, if you only follow the main quest.

Gameplay

Demonicon is set for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well, which is why I’m pleased to inform RPG fans that this game has full controller support.

Although you’ll encounter many allies in your quest, Demonicon is not a party-based game. Your sole army will be Cairon and you will have to improve his powers and enhance his battle skills as much as possible.

The combat system is solid. I like it and I have noticed some similitudes with Witcher 1 combat, as you have to execute a series of melee combos and mix them with special and magical abilities. The result is different whenever you use other combos, so there’s plenty of experiencing.

   But overall, combat felt smooth and easy to master right from the beginning. Well, that’s understandable as Cairon only knows a few melee powers at the start of the game, but as you advance, you’ll have to make good use of various abilities, martial or magical.

Some enemies may be susceptible to poison, while others will be resistant to magical or physical damage, so you’ll have to find each enemy’s weaknesses.

I should also mention that your rhythm of blows will give higher bonuses to various stats. The more you hit without being hit and the more combos you use, the higher the bonuses and the faster the blows will land.

This might be a bit of a spoil, but the mana you use for you magical powers replenishes with the essence of your enemies. Every time you land a blow on an enemy or kill one, you get a portion of his essence translated into mana. There are no mana potions, but you can concoct lots of elixirs just as in, again, Witcher.

The leveling up is quite different than in any other RPG game, but those who have played any of the previous games in the Dark Eye universe know what I’m talking about.

For each encounter that you successfully complete, you get a number of AP (Adventure Points), which you can then distribute to improve various Stats and Skills.

Each stat in Demonicon has two related attributes. There are two types of attributes, combat and adventure. Combat attributes improve you combat prowess, so make sure you put some AP in strength, agility, constitution and courage.

Each of these combat attributes has two related “sub-values.” They either improve automatically when you increase a combat attribute related to them, or when you specifically improve them. You will need to improve an attribute sub-value four times to level it up.

I won’t list them here as this is not the point of this story, but rest assured that each comes with some explanation, so you will know how they’ll help you during your adventure in Aventuria.

Adventure attributes are more general attributes that help you ease the interaction with the harsh environment. You can increase your cleverness, intuition, charisma and dexterity. Once you increase one of these adventure attributes, the related Talents will be automatically improved as well.

Both combat and adventure attributes require you to spend AP to improve them, but these are not the only things you can improve. Talents that you may want to improve include Pick Locks, Blacksmith, Medicine, Fast Talk, Haggling and others.

Combat moves are special abilities that Cairon can use in battle to give him an advantage over various enemies. They use endurance, so make sure you increase this attribute consistently if you plan on using these combat moves a lot.

Each combat move has two additional specs that you can learn and, obviously, you must spend a fair share of AP for each. Keep in mind that these combat moves can be triggered using a specific key.

Last but not least, there’s the spells tree. They are referred in the game as Gifts, but I’m not going to explain why because that will be a spoiler. You only have two offensive spells and two support ones, but each can be upgraded four times.

Gifts cannot be upgraded using AP, you will need GP (gift points) and you won’t get these so often. Each spell has two available specs and can be assigned to a specific key. As mentioned earlier, they don’t use mana per se because you’re not a mage, instead they use essence that you steal from your opponents.

Let’s talk a bit about the loot in Demonicon. Well, from what I can tell, it’s not randomly generated. This means that if you pick lock a chest twice after reloading, you will get the same contents.

Another positive aspect is that you won’t have to roam the battlefield in search for drops. After each battle, a window will pop up with all the loot you’ve won. Some might not like it, but I have found it refreshing and practical for my needs.

There are two types of weapons in the game: bladed and blunt. Some can be upgraded with different stats and the ability to apply poison on them. Cairon also has some throwing knives that can be used for range attacks. You can replace these later into the game.

There are also magical weapons that are of outmost importance, as some enemies don’t take physical or poison damage.

Speaking of which, weapon poisons can be looted or concocted if you know the recipe and have the right ingredients. They can be very powerful against certain types of enemies.

The armor you can use in Demonicon is comprised of torso and leg armor, as well as wrists. The heavier the armor, the better protection you will get, but beware that the plate armor has a certain encumbrance value that will slow down your blows.

    Armor can also be upgraded, just like the weapons, but you will need Glyphs for that. You can either be rewarded with Glyphs after successfully completing some quests or you can buy some from local merchants.

I would characterize the gameplay in Demonicon as brutal. Once you know your moves and enter the flow, Carion can be disturbingly powerful. The mixture of spells and combat moves is required in case of bosses and more powerful mobs, so you better learn to use them both instead of relying solely on one.

Overall, I’m more than content with the level of innovation regarding the combat system and I’m certain it will be improved in the next games (if any).

Graphics and Sound

Demonicon has been developed using the last version of Havok Vision engine. Arcarnia: Gothic 4 and Dark are some of the games that take advantage of the same graphics engine, but I believe they use older versions.

My personal opinion is that the graphics is not terrible. It’s not great either, but it’s more than decent. Don’t expect it to look like Skyrim or other triple A title, but I can vouch that it doesn’t suck. There are lots of places in the game where I found the artwork pretty impressive.

So yes, Demonicon looks decent enough for a 7 or 8 out of 10, but I don’t believe this is what a Dark Eye fan is looking for in a game set in this universe.

I would also like to mention that some areas in the game are stunning and really fit with the whole dark atmosphere. The music is better than the graphics and I know this is more important because it can put you right in the shoes of your character easier.

I wasn’t expecting this but voice acting is quite good as well. I have only noticed a handful of glitches where some lines are skipped, but other than that, I’ve enjoyed every conversation in the game.

Conclusion

Demonicon is a third-person action RPG set in a twisted world governed by powerful demons. It heavily relies on the story to keep players engaged, but it also offers a solid combat system. Obviously, not every story-driven RPG tells a good story, but Demonicon unfolds an amazingly well-written plot in front of the players.

The choices you make can influence the world around. It can shake the entire world of a small community or save the life of a certain individual. This is all you will get because Demonicon, as mentioned earlier, is not about moral choice.

There’s no good or evil in Demonicon and you won’t be rewarded if you take a certain path that might sound closer to good. But the choices you make will tell another story, you can be the savior of a high-profile citizen and nemesis of an entire community at the same time.

I’m certain Dark Eye fans will devour Demonicon in just a few days even though it promises 25 hours of gameplay, if you only follow the main quest.

Demonicon introduces players to the “dark side” of The Dark Eye universe where players can’t just mindlessly hack their way through the finish line while looting the corpse at their feet.

The lineup of games based on The Dark Eye setting has just expanded with an exceptional game that perfectly captures a post-apocalyptic world dominated by demons.

   
   
   
   
  
story 9
gameplay 8
concept 9
graphics 7
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 8.5
Editor's review
very good
 

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