Update 3/10/2023: changed name from Grim Guardians to Gal Guardians due to a trademark complaint from the owners of GRIMGUARD.

Inti Creates is a studio I became familiar with because of my adoration of Mega Man. They created the Mega Man Zero series, and also made the 9th and 10th entries in the blue bomber’s titular series. Later on, I played through Azure Striker Gunvolt, and have been eager to see where they go since their recent odes to Castlevania within the Curse of the Moon games. One thing I never played beyond the Japanese demo of was Gal*Gun. When I saw their newest game was going to use characters from Gal*Gun, I thought it’d be a neat way to expand upon their IP, and hopefully with less fan service. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your tastes), there’s still plenty of fan service.

At a glance, it’s hard to understand why Konami hasn’t gone the Silent Hill route with Castlevania yet. Netflix created a resurgence of interest in their IP, so not taking advantage of that in the way Sony or CDPR has seems like a missed opportunity, especially if they’re willing to partner with external developers. The last few games are proof that Inti Creates could handle this task, and Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is further proof of that fact.

The game puts you (and a friend if you want) in the role of a couple demon hunters. Upon returning to school, it’s been replaced with a demon castle, and it’s up to them to figure out what’s going on and bring the normal world back. Unlike most Metroidvania games, this one eschews a large map for levels. You can return to them after beating one, or from the hub following your first run through of them all. If you’re playing alone, you’ll be able to switch between the two female protagonists. Shinobu is the elder sister, has more life, and focuses on ranged combat with her machine gun. Starting out you’ll only be able to shoot left and right, but she’ll later be powered up to do more. Maya is stronger with her close quarters combat using origami, creating a risk vs. reward mechanic between the two. They can be switched to with the press of a button, and should one die, you’ll start over the room/checkpoint with the other sister and have the opportunity to revive them, or continue on without.

While I was expecting a big map to navigate with secrets to uncover, the level based nature of the castle serves the game well. The reliance on each character’s different abilities will also determine which path you ultimately take, and may force you to die just to go the way you want to rescue a classmate. Between an umbrella to slow your descent, a grappling hook to navigate, a penguin that freezes enemies and makes them platforms, and many other abilities, there’s plenty of things to try and learn. Of course, the player is welcome to progress using the most basic of strategies, but the game really opens up once you learn its intricacies. One of the coolest details from the combined special attack is seeing the demon realm break, revealing the actual part of the school building they are in briefly.

The levels themselves are all pretty fun, and each have their own themes that build up to the boss at the end. Some that stand out include a nature based level that includes blood activated plants that go crazy, but are harmless without activation. There’s the classic clock tower with gears to navigate and avoid while platforming. And of course, a courtyard entrance to the castle with a wall you can break just where you’d expect. The bosses are absolutely gorgeous to look at – as is custom with Inti Creates, the pixel art is stunning, and that extends to the rest of the game as well.

As much as I love the gameplay, the dialogue is another story. I enjoy anime, so when my brother said the aesthetic was a put-off, I wanted to look past that so I could recommend it to him. However, the further I got into it, the harder it became. Between “tentacles,” pheromone powers, getting a teen boy hyped and the grunts/moans of the characters that you can’t turn down (I played with Japanese VO), I found it difficult to play this around my family in earnest. The biggest problem with this is that much like Neon White, the anime tropes/dialogue will likely cost it sales. And that’s a shame given the quality of everything else.

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is a wonderful addition to the genre with lots of ideas taken from Iga-era games, while adding their own high impact gameplay into it. If you like, or can at least tolerate the anime tropes that lean into what Gal*Gun was dominated by, this is very much a worth while experience. If not, grab one of the dev’s other great games and see what they’re all about. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this become a series, or at the very least, for these characters to make it into another game in the future.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Level Designs
• Unique Character Abilities/Fighting Styles
• Easy to Pickup, Difficult to Master Gameplay

Cons

• Dialogue and Inability to Adjust Volumes

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge was developed by Inti Creates and was published by PQube. The game is available on NS, PC, PS4, and PS5. The game was provided to us for review on PS5. If you’d like to see more of Gal Guardians: Demon Purge, check out the publisher’s site.

 

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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