Demonschool is a stylish tactics game that pulls inspiration from several different titles while still forming its own identity. It feels like a mix of Into the Breach and Persona, with touches of Shin Megami Tensei and light horror elements. Even at first glance, before you know anything about it, the game’s art style and overall design stand out and immediately grab your attention.
The story follows a college student named Faye, who travels to a strange island to continue her studies. The setup is intriguing, drawing the player into the mystery surrounding both the island and the university she is about to attend. Faye soon teams up with a group of like-minded companions and faces threats tied to both the human world and a parallel demon world.
The gameplay shares many similarities with the Persona series, including a calendar-based progression system, a day and night cycle, and a focus on a group of college students. While the story begins with a strong sense of mystery, it does not fully maintain that quality throughout. Once the plot reaches the midpoint, there is a noticeable drop in momentum. The pacing is also often disrupted by frequent combat encounters which, while enjoyable, tend to slow down the narrative.
While Demonschool has addictive gameplay, it is held back by weak writing. The story does not carry much emotional weight, the twists are predictable, and the world-building fails to offer meaningful development. It is a fairly linear RPG with choices that affect the ending, which would be fine if the narrative were stronger. It is clear that the developers aimed to create something in the spirit of Persona 2, an older style JRPG, but they did not fully succeed in making it satisfying.
The cast is where Demonschool shines. There are more than a dozen characters, each with their own personality. Faye is presented as a tough lead who will not let anything stop her, but even her character arc is uneven. While the group as a whole is decent, not all of them work. Some characters are written poorly, trying to be funny but missing the mark. At times, the game feels like it is trying too hard to appeal to a modern audience.
Visually, Demonschool is striking, blending an old-school art style with modern presentation. The character portraits are beautifully drawn, and every part of the game, from battles to exploration, feels carefully crafted. Artistically, it is an appealing title that draws inspiration from older Persona games while still offering something unique.
The game offers plenty of customization, allowing you to go through the story with builds that fit your playstyle. Skills can be swapped easily, which encourages experimentation. While I liked the rank grading system at the end of each battle, it starts to feel pointless since most of the rewards are not very impactful. The game has a solid length, taking more than 30 hours to finish, so there is a good amount of content.
The soundtrack is enjoyable and fits well with the mix of classic visuals and modern style. It is one of the game’s stronger elements and helps smooth out the slow pacing. Even so, the overall length could have been trimmed, because as fun as the combat is early on, it becomes repetitive over time. The biggest issue is the lack of enemy variety, and fighting the same types again and again gets tiring.
I found the combat system fun, especially with the ability to rewind moves. Each character starts on a grid at the beginning of a fight, and you plan out your actions before everything plays out when you press the action button and run out of action points. It is a simple combat setup. Most regular battles end with a ranking screen, though boss fights usually skip it.
The combat works like a puzzle, with characters placed in specific spots to take advantage of their skills. There is also a combo system and status effects that boost or weaken damage. The progression system skips the usual experience points and leveling, instead focusing on unlocking and equipping abilities you earn as the story moves forward.
Demonschool is a bit rough technically at launch. There are several crashes on PC, and bugs show up often. These will likely be addressed after release, but they are still worth noting. The game does run smoothly with a gamepad and works well on PC handhelds. Along with the large amount of main story content, there is side content to complete as well. Despite the game’s name, the side missions are surprisingly goofy and funny, more like something you would see in Yakuza than Persona.
Overall, this is a game that will not appeal to everyone. It has a strong art style, a great soundtrack, and an engaging combat system, but it struggles with its story. The linear structure would not be an issue if the narrative were stronger, but it falls short. The pacing can also slow to a crawl because of the sheer number of battles, though I personally enjoyed them enough that it did not bother me.
Demonschool captivates with striking art and addictive, puzzle-like tactics channeling Persona. However, the experience stumbles due to a hollow narrative, repetitive pacing, and technical bugs. It is a stylish student that aces presentation but fails the final exam in storytelling and stability.
