Demonlore

About

Demonlore is a single player survival role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Barrel Smash Studios and was released on May 12, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

"Riftbound" is a single-player fantasy real-time strategy game with a campaign featuring over 50 levels. Choose from over 40 spells and evolutions, summon and evolve elementals, and use tactical spells to stall, interrupt, and control enemies. The game offers more than 30 gameplay-changing upgrades and a new roguelite mode in a free content update. The game takes about 8 hours to beat and has no microtransactions.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 73 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Riftbound offers a fun and engaging gameplay experience that builds on the classic Plants vs. Zombies formula with new mechanics and a roguelike mode.
The game features a variety of spells, units, and upgrades, allowing for diverse strategies and replayability, making it enjoyable for both casual and hardcore players.
The art style is charming, and the game successfully captures the nostalgic feel of PvZ while introducing fresh elements that enhance the overall experience.

Many players find the game to be repetitive and lacking in depth, with some design choices leading to a frustrating experience, such as the need to reselect units for each map.
The balance of the game is criticized, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped or irrelevant, leading to a lack of strategic depth in gameplay.
Technical issues, such as poor UI design and unclear objectives, detract from the overall enjoyment, making it feel unfinished and in need of further polish.

gameplay
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
57%
9%
The gameplay of Riftbound is described as a fun and engaging evolution of the Plants vs. Zombies formula, introducing unique mechanics such as spell casting and lane management that enhance strategy and replayability. While some players note a lack of depth compared to its predecessor, the game compensates with a solid introduction to mechanics, entertaining challenges, and a variety of upgrades that keep the experience fresh. Overall, it offers a casual yet satisfying gameplay experience, making it worth the investment for fans of the genre.
- “Definitely worth the purchase; it's not just a PvZ clone. There are unique and transformative mechanics like upgrading your plants, casting spells (unlike PvZ, this doesn't cost real money), and when a zombie reaches the end of a lane, you don't lose the game, you lose that lane. This is a cool mechanic that forces you to deal with the same number of zombies but in fewer lanes, allowing for continued victory.”
- “Riftbound introduces new mechanics at a nice pace that doesn't overwhelm, while also allowing for branching off the main story to unlock extra upgrades such as spells and new units through challenges that can be used moving forward.”
- “The basic gameplay is the same (lanes, gather energy, defenders, etc.), but Riftbound goes beyond that, making for a more interesting game and removing some of the busywork inherent in PvZ.”
- “Ultimately, the gameplay boils down to spamming units down in lanes as fast as you can until the battle ends and then doing it again and again with basically no strategy.”
- “This, coupled with the casual nature of the gameplay, ends up making you feel like how far you make it in a run is dictated almost entirely by luck and where you are in meta-progression.”
- “PvZ is still the gold standard though - this doesn't match the charm and whimsy of PvZ, or the variety of gameplay.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The story in the game is described as lacking clarity and depth, with cryptic objectives that can confuse players. While some reviewers found the narrative to be uninteresting and secondary to the gameplay, others appreciated the charm and intrigue of the plot, which involves a basic conflict against an evil mage alongside a tree guardian. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the engaging mechanics and challenges of the game, with a mix of modes that enhance the experience.
- “A fun little PvZ-style tower defense with a decent enough story that I admittedly wasn't here for, but still played a lot of because it was a good way to explore the game's mechanics and how all the cogs work together.”
- “It has a fun story mode and an even better rogue-lite mode.”
- “I like that the story tells you what is going on with an element of intrigue without having to read too much.”
- “Zero clarity: you have missions where you have to use towers you have never seen before and don't know what they do.”
- “Cryptic objectives: for special missions you have unexplained obscure objectives like 'charge your crystal' - what does that even mean?”
- “There's not much of a story setup here other than evil is afoot and you happen to end up in cahoots with a tree guardian trying to stop the bad guy mage.”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
23%
33%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, featuring a cute art style reminiscent of Pokémon, which enhances the overall charm. While the performance is technically sound, some reviewers noted that the battlefields lack depth and can appear flat. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the gameplay experience, with many players enjoying the aesthetic and artwork.
- “The art style is super cute and it's great to see your little guys evolve Pokémon style into bigger and better defenders.”
- “The game has cute graphics, with a fun pace; I was playing for several hours before I knew it.”
- “Graphics are well done.”
- “The art style looks nice even if I don't like the Pokémon games, but it looks exactly like that with its evolutions.”
- “Graphics and sound are sufficient to my needs, and when chain lightning, blizzards, and firestorms wreak havoc on the undead - well, they don't deserve any better...”
- “Sometimes, you don't need a game with graphics that simulate the real world.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is praised for being dynamic and enjoyable, complementing the charming visuals and polished gameplay. Reviewers highlight its effectiveness in enhancing the overall experience, particularly during the introduction to the game's mechanics.
- “The music is nice and dynamic.”
- “It has a good introduction to learn the mechanics and the music is awesome!”
- “It's got a good amount of polish, a charming visual style, great music, and most importantly, fun gameplay.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's roguelite twist on the Plants vs. Zombies formula enhances its replayability, making it engaging for players. However, there are concerns about the replay value in non-campaign modes, with hopes for future content to boost this aspect.
- “The roguelite twist on the Plants vs. Zombies formula makes for a very compelling and replayable game.”
- “I'm not sure how much replay value there is in the non-campaign modes, so I'm hopeful that additional content of all kinds might be added in the future.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unnecessary, suggesting it detracts from the overall experience.
- “It's tedious and unnecessary.”
- “The grinding feels like a chore rather than a rewarding experience.”
- “I find the repetitive tasks to be frustrating and time-consuming.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that the game demonstrates strong stability, running smoothly without any noticeable bugs or glitches.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game's performance is generally solid, players feel that the visuals, particularly in the battlefields, are lacking depth and appear flat, detracting from the overall experience.