Don't All Schools Have Demons?
It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually, it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. This time we're looking at Demonschool on the Nintendo Switch 2. For this video, I played about 2 hours to give the full experience of the game.
I was lucky enough to play Demonschool at PAX East a few years ago. Fast forward to the present and I'm playing the full version for Chichuki Plays. I really like to see the full version of games that I have played early in development because it's fun to see what aspects of the game has changed.
We start out as Faye, a young girl on her way to college on the mysterious island. She is a demon hunter who believes in odd things. While on the ship, we run into our first party member and friend, Namako. Namako loves taking pictures and feels like she drew the short stick in being stuck with Faye. Faye turns to fighting first and asking questions second. There are battles in the game that you form a four person party but you don't get four party members until about an hour or so into the game.
The combat system feels like a cross between turn based attacks and tactical strategy. You'll be able to set up attacks before the enemy has a chance to move. I really like that you have the option to try attack patterns and rewind if you need/want to. The combat takes a little getting used to as it felt over complicated at times. You can set up combo attacks with party members so try different team combinations. Different party members have different skills and powers. For example Namako can slow enemies or stun them. Stunning them will prevent them from moving. I found myself using her powers a lot to set up later turns. Faye is a strong attacker and can use strong moves.
Later in the game, we add two more party members, Destin and Knute. Destin felt like another Faye in terms of focusing on strength and Knute was a healer. Knute doesn't have the option to attack enemies but can heal party members as well as set up combo attacks. You need four people to form a club at school so welcome Destin and Knute to your party!
You might thing 4 party members would be tough to manage but I found things easier to deal with when I had four. To exit a battle level, you have to defeat a certain number of enemies. You get bonus points if you clear the level in a certain number of turns. Spoiler: I always came up a turn short in clearing the level so maybe you'll have better luck.
You'll have time at school and time on your own. There will be different quests/missions to discover all over school and the island as there are several locations to explore. You can check things out in the town or head to the cemetery. You never know where you'll find something beneficial for you. I pet a dog in the cemetery and then again in town and that dog had money in his mouth for me. I made a wish in the town fountain and gained a new ability for my trouble. You could also go down a dark alley and find a new shop to buy things like new moves. Your team needs to be taught new moves, similar to studying in school so plan accordingly. Travel is easy to do since you have location access on the menu. You can also check out the status of your party on the menu too. You'll also be able to develop relationships with your various party members. You'll have opportunities to make choices and in turn make friends like you more. We found a weird fish and I asked Namako. Since I asked her, my relationship with her became better.
Fights in the game range from simplistic to challenging. The first main story objective has our team finding a haunted VHS tape. It turns out it was in the abandoned area of the school and we had to find a giant pile of TVs as the boss. The boss had a large attack radius and I have to say, was a really fun boss fight.I love the way Demonschool looks and sounds. I also love the way the characters are written. They already have me wanting more. The combat system is tough but I think I'm getting the hang of it. RPG fans will have to give Demonschool a look!
Make sure you check out the hands-on video below!