Daemonica

Monsters lurk everywhere these days, and yes … they certainly do in real life. You know, murderers, arsonists, basically the kinds of folks that wind up getting big book deals, big money, and interviews on 20/20 or something. Well, in real life, a lot of the crimes committed wind up going into a cold case file and labeled as unsolvable … at least for the time being. What if the investigators could actually talk with the deceased victims or wrongly accused in order to get info to help them solve the case? Daemonica, a new game by Meridian 4, checks into this theory.

At first glance of screenshots, this game may look like another Diablo clone with a top down perspective, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Daemonica instead follows a character named Nicholas Farepoynt as he arrives in a small medieval town upon request by the mayor, and then launches an investigation into a grisly murder of a young woman. The prime suspect has already been hanged, and the town seems torn on whether or not the right man was punished. So … how’s he going to get the answers he needs to track down the real perpetrator and hand out justice? Well, aside from questioning the local townsfolk, Nicholas is what is known as a “Beast Hunter”. Using a variety of herbs and flowers that he gathers, he can leave this world and summon demons to bring the soul of the deceased to him to be questioned. (***Disclaimer *** I tried this at the mortuary service where I work by the way, and it’s important to say that IT’S JUST A GAME … IT DOESN’T ACTUALLY WORK. Now I have to come in on my day off and landscape due to “damaged shrubbery and dandelions”. Thanks Meridian 4!)  Along the way, you will not only gain clues to help solve the murder … but also to gain more information into the Nicholas Farepoynt character as well, who happens to be just as mysterious as the murder and the town that he’s in.

Sticking with that whole “Diablo” reference in the last paragraph, anyone familiar with action games of that style will immediately be able to pick up and run with Daemonica, since left clicking moves, talks, fights, etc. and hotkeys are mapped in like “I” for inventory or “M” for map, but as I previously warned … don’t think that this game is another hack and slash dungeon runner even though the graphics and gameplay engine is set up like one. Instead, it focuses more on investigation and figuring out puzzle like elements (figure out how to get the mayor’s wine carafe from his housekeeper who won’t let you take it or how to get the body of the hanged suspect from a wary guard) in order to help you progress. You also have to keep your eyes open for herbs to gather along the way as well, since these are used to make healing potions, potions to help you solve some of the puzzles, and the all important “Soulgreef” potion so you can communicate with the dead.

OK … so what’s not to like about Daemonica? I mean it’s more of an “intelligence” based adventure game than Diablo, it’s got a cool and deep storyline that offers up some well written characters (many of whom spiral into madness as the game progresses), and some pretty cool graphics that are eerie to go with a foreboding soundtrack. Well, for starters, you die hard action gamers looking for the next top down hack and slash will find this game a little too slow for your tastes. When you aren’t fighting (which is a lot of the time), you are either questioning locals, looking for clues, or gathering herbs … lots of herbs … to make potions. In addition to that, there’s not a whole lot of exploration that really goes on since barrels and boxes are inaccessible to be searched and many of the houses cannot be explored.

Overall, Daemonica was a good switch off from the normal hack and slash gaming that I usually play, but it’s important to remember that this is an adventure game and is not meant to be a straight action RPG. Due to that fact, don’t let the screenshots fool you if you are looking for some mindless killing or treasure hunting. If you are looking for a game that features a decent storyline, good character writing, and a really cool concept to try out your murder investigation and crime solving skills in a medieval backdrop, this could be a good title for you to check out. Those of you who are big adventure gamers should definitely keep an eye out for this one.

Gameplay: 7.9
As many adventure games as I’ve played over the past couple of years, I’m really happy to see one that controls more like a 3-D adventure game instead of the standard static, 2-D backdrops. In addition to smooth and simple controls, this game has a cool storyline, decent characters, and a creepy main character to keep things interesting. I would have liked to see a little more action and RPG element added in to really round this one off.  

Graphics: 7.5
Not bad, but not a whole lot to them. The game does a good job in using low lighting and simple textures to set a dark and eerie backdrop for players to move in, and there are some good lightning and rain effects tossed in here and there to give it an extra horror touch.

Sound: 7.8
The music was good, and did a good job in setting the tone … even if some tracks seemed to pop up and not really add or take away from anything going on at the moment. Nicholas’ voice acting was good, and had a haunting kind of tone to it, but other characters could have used some good voice acting versus simple dialogue only. In addition, some creepy ambiance noises would have been nice to really set the dark and sinister tone.

Difficulty: Medium
While the puzzles aren’t groundbreaking or super difficult, many of them require different steps to be performed which really don’t seem to be related … but all tie in after they’re done. Some of them really make you feel like you’ve accomplished something when you figure them out.  

Concept: 8.1 
Really the highlight of my personal gaming experience. I thought this was a great concept and interesting twist on an adventure game. The story, as stated before, was really well written and interesting, and the whole “Beast Hunter” concept was great.

Overall: 7.9
While Daemonica isn’t going to be for everyone, those looking for an entertaining and well written title will have a good time with it. You adventure game fans looking for something a little different that will offer up some pretty solid yet simple gameplay with some creative twists and puzzle elements added in should give this one a run for sure, and you action gamers looking for something that will lead you into familiar gameplay territory with an opportunity to slow it down and get immersed in a creepy world may have a good time with it as well.