We all know the satisfaction of defeating the final boss in a game and rolling credits, but what then happens to your thwarted opponent? Demon Lord: Just a Block is a stunningly good turn-based action-roguelite in which you play as the defeated Demon Lord, trying to put his life back together after his epic defeat. It’s time to get revenge on those pesky heroes.
Set in a grid-based world, Demon Lord: Just a Block is a fascinating combination of tactical battles and a towering pile of roguelite systems, with such an intricate selection of variables that each run can feel extraordinarily unique. As the defeated Demon Lord, you are just a skull, the only surviving remains of a boss character who was demolished by a game’s hero at some point before you started playing. Hellbent on revenge, you shuffle his detached head across the tiled locations, battling enemies who can only move when you do. At first this begins with relatively simple mechanics, headbutting opponents when adjacent to their tiles, then evading them when they signal their attacks. But oh my goodness, it gets so much more involved so very quickly.
As you play through the areas of the early game—which are broken up into battle areas, shops, gambling locations, puzzles, new item selections and so on—you encounter a range of characters who express an interest in returning to your base castle, and each of them is going to open up another feature of Demon Lord. There’s Lulu, an extremely upbeat and enthusiastic young imp who wants nothing more than to sell you upgrades bought with the souls of your fallen enemies, and Murphy who will open up a range of weapons that drastically change how you play any run. They’re followed by many others, including a cat who’ll add new play styles based on how many bosses you’ve beaten, and a card-playing former hero who lets you try to prioritize specific “decks” for your next trip.
I should explain decks. This is not a deckbuilder in any sense, but rather this is the term used for the choices that determine the sorts of upgrades you’ll gather on any given run. This adds yet another layer of variety to the experience, as you lean toward, say, bomb-based upgrades, or those using lightning, or the harder-than-it-sounds Invincible Deck. And hoo boy, do you upgrade. As you play you can fill the bottom of the screen with literally dozens of pick-ups and improvements, which often interact in really fascinating ways. Combine that with your weapon choice (the Lighting Chidori adds long-distance thrust to your attacks, but flings you to the opposite side of opponents, while the Chargeable Greatsword requires you to dangerously stand still as you charge up your attack—contrast that with the Godslayer Repeater crossbow that only fires when you move), and how you even play the game begins to dramatically change.
And I’m only just getting going with this. Of the 14 unlockable weapons I currently only have four, as well as just a couple of the stickers you can apply that add another change. I’ve only completed three of the six pages of upgrades, and just six of the 23 hidden golden skulls that improve health and revivals! It’s remarkable to realize I’ve yet to encounter vast swathes of this game’s variety after so many very happy hours.
This really is tremendously good, deeply interesting, and about as replayable a game as I’ve encountered. You can pick up Demon Lord: Just a Block from Steam for $12.