Mahluk:Dark Demon

About

Mahluk:Dark Demon is a single player and multiplayer casual hack and slash game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by Serkan Bakar and was released on July 19, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

Mahluk is a hack and slash platformer game with pixel-art style graphics and retro style addicting gameplay.

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52%

Audience ScoreBased on 64 reviews

graphics9 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

Engaging retro-style 2D hack-and-slash platformer with a goth/dark fantasy aesthetic and solid pixel art.
Tight, responsive controls and enjoyable combat with permanent upgrades adding depth to gameplay.
Good soundtrack and voice acting in the opening segment that sets a fitting atmosphere, plus local co-op multiplayer modes.

Poorly designed difficulty curve with frustrating platforming segments featuring unfair instant-death traps and sparse checkpoints.
Numerous bugs and glitches including broken achievements, inconsistent controls, lack of full controller support, and save system issues.
Low visual polish, repetitive level design and enemies, and a short overall game length limiting replay value.

graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
45%
14%
The graphics feature a dark, old-school pixel art style reminiscent of Limbo, appealing to fans of retro aesthetics though sometimes criticized as overdone or simplistic. While some find the visuals atmospheric and fitting for classic platformer gameplay, others note issues like low resolution, limited customization, and occasional difficulty distinguishing gameplay elements. Overall, the graphics are appreciated for their nostalgic, minimalist charm despite some shortcomings in clarity and polish.
- “Mahluk: Dark Demon is an excellent game for anyone who loves classic platformers and wants to have an engaging experience with beautiful graphics, fantastic music, and interesting gameplay.”
- “It's got great art style and worth it at the current price point.”
- “Simple 2D platformer with good, chunky pixelated graphics and varied enough gameplay and platforming so as to remain fresh.”
- “In this iPhone mobile app, you control some monster thing using an art style ripped off from Microsoft's Limbo (dark foreground, etc.), so overdone, but amateur devs love it because it's easy to do and requires little effort or talent.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
60%
15%
The gameplay is a straightforward hack-and-slash, side-scrolling platformer with simple mechanics centered on double-jumping, basic attacks, and occasional spells. While controls and platforming can feel occasionally clunky or uninspired, the gameplay remains engaging enough for fans of classic retro-style platformers, though some players find it lacking depth and innovation. Overall, it offers a nostalgic, modestly enjoyable experience with a mix of fresh and familiar elements.
- “Mahluk: Dark Demon is an excellent game for anyone who loves classic platformers and wants to have an engaging experience with beautiful graphics, fantastic music, and interesting gameplay.”
- “A fine double-jump-based platformer with tight gameplay and great music.”
- “Simple 2D platformer with good, chunky pixelated graphics and varied enough gameplay and platforming so as to remain fresh.”
- “Gameplay is uninspired.”
- “Some of the jumping and crouching mechanics are hit or miss and feel a bit clunky.”
- “The gameplay is a bit basic with up, down, and side-to-side movement as well as attack and interact.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
67%
8%
The story in Mahluk: Dark Demon is generally viewed as simple and straightforward, centered on a classic hero versus villain theme with a grimdark swords and sorcery vibe. While some players appreciate the added depth it brings to the platformer genre, others find it bland and basic, serving more as background than a compelling narrative. Overall, the story is considered adequate but not a significant draw for most players.
- “The story was okay, nothing too complicated other than kill evil king, but it had a nice grimdark swords and sorcery kind of vibe to it.”
- “As a platformer that imitates its 80s-90s forefathers, it has a little bit of story that adds some depth to the game and sense to the action.”
- “Story, as far as I'm concerned, is a kind of throw-away since you're only given a basic view on what happened in that world and the character you're playing as; a nameless warrior amongst anguish who is in search of retribution.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
17%
25%
The music in the game is generally praised for being good, engaging, and fitting well with the overall experience, though some users mention that the soundtrack can become repetitive and suffers from occasional audio glitches. Overall, it adds positively to the game's atmosphere despite minor flaws.
- “Mahluk: Dark Demon is an excellent game for anyone who loves classic platformers and wants to have an engaging experience with beautiful graphics, fantastic music, and interesting gameplay.”
- “The game is tough enough to keep your interest, the controls are silky smooth, and the music and visuals are both nice.”
- “A fine double-jump-based platformer with tight gameplay and great music.”
- “Then there's the terrible combat, laughably bad sound effects, repetitive music, awkward level design, etc. The game might be alright for $1 if you have really low standards and just want something to play but for anyone else, definitely pass.”
- “Audio glitches, sometimes music and effects are suddenly hard panned with no reason.”
- “Repetitive soundtrack.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including buggy controls, inconsistent lives count, audio glitches, and various gameplay bugs and glitches that affect the overall experience.
- “The controls are very buggy, and I have seen games with partial controller support that had better controller support than this.”
- “Buggy lives count: 3 lives -> die once -> 1 life left... come on.”
- “Audio glitches: sometimes music and effects are suddenly hard-panned with no reason.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of Mahluk: dark demon is criticized for feeling like a cash grab, as it is a mobile app repackaged for PC without added value. Users view it as part of a flood of low-quality, cheaply monetized 2D pixel platformers that diminish the overall quality of games on Steam.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is subtle and arises from playful challenges, such as mistakenly pressing the wrong buttons during setup, which leads to amusing and unexpected outcomes like reversed controls.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is highly praised for providing an immersive and enjoyable escape, creating a captivating environment that enhances the overall gaming experience.