Demon Peak
- July 7, 2017
- Kajak Games
- 6h median play time
Get on SteamDemon Peak is a 2D action-platformer Metroidvania, focused on close combat and movement abilities. Explore interconnected areas to discover abilities, powerups, and bosses, with hand-painted pixel art and a 30-minute soundtrack. This game is a student project filled with numerous abilities, enemies, and rooms for players to enjoy.
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Reviews
- The game features beautiful pixel art and a nostalgic retro aesthetic that appeals to fans of classic Metroidvania titles.
- Combat is engaging and offers a variety of moves and abilities, allowing for creative strategies against enemies and bosses.
- Exploration is rewarding, with hidden areas and upgrades that encourage players to revisit previous locations.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and glitches that can disrupt gameplay.
- Controls can feel imprecise and janky, making platforming and combat frustrating at times.
- The difficulty curve is steep, with some enemies being overly aggressive and punishing, which may deter new players.
- music79 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its nostalgic SNES-style and atmospheric qualities, while others find it repetitive, dull, or mismatched with the game's tone. Many appreciate specific tracks and the overall sound design, but there are frequent mentions of looping issues and a lack of memorable compositions. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's aesthetic for some, but detracts from the experience for others.
“The music is pretty good and makes a great atmosphere.”
“The soundtrack is crazy good, as well as the art style and flow of combat.”
“From the absolutely amazing music and sound effects to the art and design of the levels, this game oozes passion from the developers.”
“The music is awful and bland; the way your character moves is weirdly stilted and glidey, the level design is boring, and the hit detection is all sorts of wonky.”
“The music is so forgettable I want to call it bad, but it's probably just mediocre and uninspired.”
“The music does not fit the game at all.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their vibrant pixel art style and smooth animations, effectively capturing a retro aesthetic reminiscent of classic titles. Many players appreciate the unique art direction and detailed environments, which enhance the overall immersive experience, despite some reports of graphical bugs and control issues. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“The graphics are slick, with smooth animations and a great choice of colors, befitting the multiple areas you'll be going through.”
“Demon Peak is a fun little metroidvania game that allows for a fun experience in a nice pixel graphic display, filled with color and vibrance.”
“The graphics and enemy designs are all really sharp and look pretty good considering the size of the team working on it.”
“Do not let that rating deter you from giving this game a shot. From my understanding, when this game was released, there were several bugs, such as maps that didn't work, save points which randomly teleported you around the map, unfinished textures, and other graphical bugs.”
“The graphics are simple, yet effective and indicative of the dark atmosphere for the game.”
“I really like everything about this game aesthetically; however, like many of the other reviews have said, it's definitely not complete.”
- gameplay37 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its fluid mechanics and satisfying core experience, while others criticize the level design and repetitive nature of the platforming, leading to a sense of frustration. Players noted that the game can be completed in a short time frame, and while it features interesting combat mechanics, it lacks depth in RPG elements and can feel generic or floaty at times. Overall, the game offers a visually appealing experience but struggles with consistency and balance in its gameplay.
“The gameplay feels very fluid and satisfying at its core.”
“The gameplay is fun and challenging while consistently changing and adding mechanics for variety.”
“The mechanics involved in dashing and jumping can become quite complex as you progress through the game.”
“In the end, 90% of the gameplay is dying over and over and doing platforming with bad movement.”
“I hope the developers come back and finish this game someday; the aesthetics, music, and visuals are top-notch, but it's a mess gameplay-wise.”
“Apart from this, you can't really buy that many new attacks and the secrets are a little lackluster, but the game puts core gameplay over extending the playtime, which is admirable, but it makes it very disappointing when you've basically seen everything the game has to offer after 6 or so hours.”
- story21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely considered minimal and forgettable, with many players noting a lack of lore and backstory. While some appreciate the ambiguity and focus on exploration, others feel that the narrative is underdeveloped and could benefit from additional context or notes. Overall, the story does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience, which is primarily driven by mechanics and design.
“Demon Peak is a pretty good Metroidvania game, but it’s now time for the story.”
“I can't wait to play more and piece the story together.”
“You can tell early on while exploring the levels whether it be a platform just out of reach or a strange looking wall that you'll be retreading areas (for better or for worse, I don't mind) with new abilities to unlock the next part of the story once you can 'use the mist.'”
“There really isn't much of a story, nor much lore or backstory to research.”
“If you're looking for a story, you won't find it here.”
“Speaking of the story, it seems very minimal at this point, which I don't mind ambiguity in a game's storyline, but you're pretty much just thrown in to explore without much incentive beyond seeing the new areas and enemies.”
- stability11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting a variety of bugs and glitches, including wall clipping, freezing issues, and gameplay imbalances. While some users experienced minimal problems, many recommend waiting for patches before purchasing due to the prevalence of these issues. Overall, the game's stability remains a major drawback, impacting the overall experience.
“The game is still buggy as hell in 2021.”
“However, I have found several bugs in the game; wall glitches, a freeze here or there, and the directionless feel you get; especially early on, has an unforgiving difficulty spike.”
“Whether you're clipping through areas, spawning in different rooms from your save spot, or getting hit by nothing, there are glitches and bugs riddling this game.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it infinitely replayable, others criticize it for lacking late-game content and offering only one difficulty level. The New Game Plus mode is seen as disappointing since it closely mirrors the base game, diminishing its replay value.
“Infinitely replayable (or almost).”
“The game offers a wealth of content that encourages multiple playthroughs.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh due to the variety of choices and outcomes.”
“My biggest gripe about this game is the lack of replayability and late game content, with there only being one difficulty and New Game Plus being identical to the base game apart from keeping your upgrades.”
“I am a little bit angry at the developers because they pushed a balancing update and did not change the New Game Plus difficulty (there goes all that replay value).”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with compelling music and effective graphics that create a captivating dark ambiance. Players are drawn in by the well-designed creatures and enemies, contributing to an immersive experience that enhances the challenging gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that keeps players engaged.
“The music and atmosphere of the levels are the first things that capture you, and with the wonderful creature and enemy designs, this is a hard game to put down.”
“I still choose to recommend the game for its great controls, atmosphere, and challenging Souls-like setting.”
“The graphics are simple, yet effective and indicative of the dark atmosphere of the game.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding amusement in the absurdity of negative reviews and quirky elements like the music and a comically bad skeleton background. Overall, while not universally praised, the humor resonates with some players, adding a lighthearted touch to their experience.
“Some of the negative reviews are rather hilarious: 'You can cheese the enemies with normal attacks'... yeah, and?”
“The music in the starting level made me laugh, though.”
“There was also a pretty ridiculously bad background of a skeleton which made me laugh and I sent a picture to all my friends.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the lack of save points near challenging bosses and a small game world that offers limited enemy variety. This combination contributes to a repetitive experience that detracts from overall enjoyment.
“What made it worse is the boss was nowhere near a save point; it just became tedious.”
“The game world itself is pretty small, but I think that if it were a lot larger, the lack of variety with enemies would have just made the game seem tedious.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Initial performance issues and bugs plagued the game at launch, but by 2020, players reported a significantly improved experience with no notable problems during gameplay.
“It seems that there were a lot of performance issues and bugs in this game on release; however, as of 2020, I just beat the game and had no issues whatsoever.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of frustration and intensity in emotional encounters with major bosses, highlighting the unpredictability of combat mechanics that can lead to sudden deaths despite seemingly safe actions. This creates a heightened sense of tension and emotional investment during battles.
