It’s easy to forget that the popular roguelike genre started decades ago on classic systems. Thanks to the leaps and strides of modern technology and sleeper hits like The Binding of Isaac and its kin that built upon the early groundwork, we’ve seen more and more of what used to be a niche that only housed a few titles. One of the more recent incarnations found in Demon’s Tier+ aims to take the genre further back to its roots, incorporating a retro-inspired presentation.

The retro look and feel is pulled off flawlessly in this. It was super easy to zone out and forget I was playing this on an Xbox One instead of a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo. The short, cutesy characters with gigantic heads successfully call back to the days of the original Zelda games, and the upbeat polyphonic music really hammered home that nostalgic feeling of sitting in my parents’ living room 30 years ago in front of their wood-paneled TV on a Saturday morning. The only thing that really set it apart from any of the classic games was the use of the second thumb stick that functions as your attack button, much like those found in your favorite top-down shooter, and that performs just as well.

Despite the immaculately crafted world, the issues start falling into place once the roguelike mechanics come out to play. You begin each run in a small town that has a few shops where you can purchase weapons, health, and additional characters while a large hole is in the middle of the area. You begin your journey as what I would describe is a hobo since you don’t have a coin to your name and are essentially sent off into the hole with nothing but your basic throwing knives, a few hearts, and the shirt on your back.

While the dungeons are randomized, they all play out the same way. You’ll be tasked with an objective, typically requiring you to kill all the monsters on the floor more often than not. The real challenge is in finding all of the little nooks and hidden paths in the darker than average areas within the time limit; if it is not met, Death is sent after you. Since Death cannot be damaged, your options include completing the mission and seeking the exit; dying (obviously); returning to town to regroup and spend your previously earned coin. The issue that this causes is that upon returning to the gigantic crater in the town, you’ll have to start the game over from scratch, with only your coin and upgrades earned. This makes a game that already runs the risk of becoming repetitive excessive in regards to the grind.

When you don’t take into account this setback, the game is on the difficult end, even when comparing it to similar games. The narrow corridors found in most of the maps leave you little room to maneuver around the surprisingly robust cast of enemies, most of which come fully equipped with a bullet spongey health bar, in addition to range as well as melee attacks that force you to focus on offense and defense at the same time. I always felt like I was under-powered at every turn. In my 10+ runs, I rarely encountered anything other than gold in the randomly placed chest that litter the world, which could be attributed to poor coding or simply bad luck, but regardless, I never hit the jackpot getting something of substance that tipped the scales in my favor. When I bit the bullet and returned to town on the few occasions I felt like it would be worth my time opposed to restarting from scratch (as death wipes all progress), I found that the upgrades and additional characters are super expensive. Outside of a few health refills, I never had enough money to make any worthwhile purchases.

If you’re the type that enjoys co-op play, you can add a second player locally; however, since I have yet to unlock any of the additional characters, we were limited to playing as the same nameless knight or hobo, depending on how you want to look at it. This resulted in my partners and me losing ourselves on the screen quite frequently, souring the experience early into the adventure. Even when bringing my wife into the fray, who is one of the best The Binding of Isaac players I have ever seen, we struggled – as of this writing, we have been unable to defeat the first boss encounter.

Demon’s Tier+ succeeds at bringing a picture-perfect retro aesthetic with overly punishing gameplay. The difficulty turned me off from it, but I can definitely see the appeal for the hardcore roguelike fans out there. If you’re a casual player, I would highly recommend avoiding this one and seeking out a similar title that offers a more accessible experience.

5 out of 10

Pros

• A Genuinely Impressive Retro Look and Feel
• Wide Cast of Enemies
• Controls Like Your Favorite Twin Stick Shooter

Cons

• The Hole Mechanic Makes for a Repetitive Experience
• Under-powered Heroes
• Broken Economic System

Demon’s Tier+ was developed and published Diabolical Mind in conjunction with COWCAT. It was released on NS, PC, PS4, PS Vita, and X1. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Demon’s Tier+, check out the COWCAT’s press kit.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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