Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons

About

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons is a single player and multiplayer role playing game. It was developed by @unepic_fran and was released on May 21, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons is a cooperative metroidvania where players control two heroes swapping between them or teaming up locally or online. Explore a vast castle with over 200 rooms, collect powerful artifacts, and complete divine quests while battling monsters and demons. The game blends retro 8-bit style with modern cooperative gameplay and mythological elements.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons screenshot

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 214 reviews

gameplay14 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Fast-paced gameplay with a focus on exploration and minimal hassle, making it enjoyable for both solo and co-op play.
The game features a well-designed map with a variety of quests from Greek gods, enhancing the overall experience and providing useful items.
Challenging yet rewarding boss fights that require strategy and skill, with a fun co-op dynamic that allows players to switch between characters.

The final boss is frustratingly difficult, especially in co-op mode, as certain attacks are unavoidable for one character, making it feel unfair.
Achievements are disabled in co-op mode, which is disappointing for players who enjoy completing challenges together.
Some dungeons and bosses are designed in a way that makes one character feel useless, leading to moments where one player has to wait while the other progresses.

gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
57%
8%
The gameplay is generally praised for its fun mechanics, solid exploration, and engaging map design, reminiscent of classic metroidvania titles. However, players have noted significant difficulty spikes, particularly during boss fights, and some frustrating mechanics that can hinder cooperative play. Despite these issues, the game offers a nostalgic experience with a variety of character abilities and secrets to discover, making it enjoyable for most of its duration.
- “The gameplay is fun, the map is a decent size, and the difficulty progression is on point.”
- “The general gameplay and exploration are fantastic, and even though you don't get many new traversal abilities, running about the map and finding items was a lot of fun.”
- “With its delightful visuals and an epic and catchy soundtrack, it has a superlative presentation that matches the quality of the gameplay, where a carefully crafted map invites you to explore its many secrets and lets you tackle the various bosses with more freedom than usual for the genre.”
- “The difficulty spike from normal gameplay to bosses is so bad.”
- “Mean-spirited mechanics and sloppy controls make this a needlessly frustrating game.”
- “It becomes clear about halfway through the game that it isn't designed for co-op, as bosses have attacks that are only dodgeable by one character or another, forcing the other player to just follow along and wait.”
story
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
73%
8%
The game's story is set in a vast, open world inspired by Greek mythology, where players embark on quests assigned by various gods to gain essential upgrades and items. While the narrative is straightforward and somewhat minimal, it effectively supports exploration and gameplay, allowing for a non-linear experience filled with secrets and interactions. However, some players feel the story lacks depth and investment, with a mix of fetch quests and a nostalgic retro vibe that may not appeal to everyone.
- “The world is inspired by Greek mythology where you meet gods and goddesses and do their quests to gain power-ups.”
- “Follow the adventure of Pampas and Selene in this game, which tells us a story of a kingdom that lived in peace for nearly 40 years.”
- “You perform quests for the different gods you find across the central game world, and as a reward, you get important and often progression-blocking upgrades and items.”
- “A metroidvania-lite that captures a lot of the retro/nostalgia vibe: a story that's shorter than this paragraph, characters that handle poorly, and oft-frustrating gameplay by modern standards.”
- “Less variety of content, less depth of content, a good amount of very obvious nearly copy-pasted content, platforming is just worse, the story is badly written...”
- “That fight wasn't for my old reflexes or gaming-to-relax hobby, and I had no investment in the story or characters, so no loss.”
music
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
40%
12%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its atmospheric quality and nostalgic appeal, with options for both modern and retro 8-bit soundtracks that enhance the overall experience. Many players appreciate the catchy and engaging compositions, particularly those crafted by gryzor87, which complement the charming pixel art and exploration-heavy gameplay. However, some users noted that the default music in the Steam version is less impressive compared to the original, suggesting that enabling the original soundtrack is essential for the full experience.
- “With its delightful visuals, and an epic and catchy soundtrack by the always awesome gryzor87, it has a superlative presentation that matches the quality of the gameplay, where a carefully crafted map invites you to explore its many secrets, and lets you tackle the various bosses with more freedom than usual for the genre.”
- “The music is atmospheric, exploration is well rewarded, and it is an engaging game.”
- “The sound effects are crunchy and the music is bombastic and full of adventure.”
- “The default music of the Steam version (which was included in the MSX release too, as extra content in a music CD) is more like an afterthought, and it's really dull and boring in comparison.”
- “Bear with me, I'm not exaggerating: you don't get the full game experience as intended by the game creators if you don't enable the original game music.”
- “The music is very SNES sounding, though it has an option to toggle it to 8-bit (assuming this is the original version?), which I ended up preferring as I find NES even more charming.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
31%
16%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and nostalgic 2D pixel art style, which resonates well with fans of retro aesthetics. Players appreciate the attractive visuals and the seamless integration of graphics with the gameplay, complemented by a catchy soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. While some younger players may find the retro graphics less appealing, many reviewers celebrate the game's artistic design and its ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia.
- “The 2D graphics are very attractive and charming; great music and even two soundtracks!”
- “With its delightful visuals, and an epic and catchy soundtrack by the always awesome gryzor87, it has a superlative presentation that matches the quality of the gameplay, where a carefully crafted map invites you to explore its many secrets.”
- “Sprites and aesthetics are well done and charming.”
- “Young players may cringe at the graphics, but this is what playing games was back in the day.”
- “This is a pretty easy and mostly enjoyable platformer, with the beep boop retro music and pixel retro graphics.”
- “Not only is the art cute (I love the scanlines aesthetic!), but the gameplay seems pretty fair, and I've been having fun despite normally struggling with anything that involves jumping around on a 2D plane.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in this game is noted to be less pronounced than in the developer's previous title, "Unmetal," which is praised for its genuine comedic elements. However, players still find the game enjoyable and funny, particularly in a multiplayer setting, highlighting its engaging and entertaining nature. Overall, while it may not reach the same comedic heights, it still offers a fun experience with moments of humor.
- “A great game developed by unepic_fran, which has already accustomed us to a huge dose of quality, humor, playability, and surprises.”
- “Interesting, funny, and addictive old style game.”
- “It was really funny to play with my buddy.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is significantly reduced compared to traditional retro titles, offering a more refreshing experience. While some players appreciate the ease of healing and leveling up through monster encounters, others feel the absence of a free health restoration option could detract from the experience. Overall, the game strikes a balance that may appeal to those weary of excessive grinding.
- “I feel like the game desperately needs something like La-Mulana's hot spring, just a free way to restore health without grinding.”
- “For some, this might feel unpleasant, but it's not that far of a run (or teleport) to hit the shop and heal up for cheap (you can also level up by grinding some monsters for a full heal).”
- “I'm way too used to retro games being a grindy cycle of way-too-hard levels that I almost didn't give Pampas & Selene a go, but it's really refreshing.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its emotional depth, effectively capturing the nostalgic essence of late 80s metroidvania experiences while serving as a heartfelt tribute to the genre.
- “A heartfelt homage to the Maze of Galious, it beautifully captures the emotional experience of the late 80s metroidvania.”
- “The game evokes a deep sense of nostalgia, making players feel a profound connection to its characters and story.”
- “Every moment in the game is filled with emotion, drawing players into a world that resonates with their own experiences.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Replayability is largely influenced by the number of friends you play with, as the game offers a rich experience enhanced by its graphics, music, and various evolutionary features. The inclusion of seamless saving, diverse game modes, and cooperative multiplayer significantly boosts its replay value, making it an expansive and addictive adventure.
- “The game doesn’t just adhere so well to the tone of the graphics and music, but also introduces several evolutionary features that fit so naturally, from small ones like the seamless saving system or questing, to bigger changes like game modes and co-op multiplayer, which add to the replay value of a game that is already so big and addictive, with its sense of exploration and adventure.”
- “Replayability is only based on how many friends you want to play this with.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is noted to be somewhat clunky and buggy, particularly in co-op mode, which requires further balancing. However, players find the pricing reasonable given these issues.
- “It's a bit clunky and buggy, but it's got co-op and the price is reasonable.”
- “As of right now, co-op is a bit buggy and some things still need to be balanced out.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by its immersive music and rewarding exploration, creating an engaging experience for players.
- “The music is atmospheric, exploration is well rewarded, and it is an engaging game.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy is well-received, with users appreciating the developers' efforts and the inclusion of meaningful DLC, such as one that supports a charitable cause. The positive experience has led to purchases driven by effective advertising.

Skip Game Offers

Buy Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons
€9.75
See offer on Steam

8h Median play time

8h Average play time

8-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons

87%887reviews

Astalon: Tears of the Earth

2021

Platformer

74%205reviews

Cathedral

2019

Platformer

74%355reviews

AGGELOS

2018

Role Playing

73%1.4kreviews

Chasm

2018

Role Playing

78%2.1kreviews

The Last Faith

2023

Hack and Slash

More games like Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons is a role playing game.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 8 hours playing Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons was released on May 21, 2024.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons was developed by @unepic_fran.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Astalon: Tears of the Earth, Cathedral, AGGELOS, Chasm, The Last Faith and others.

Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons

Platforms

About

Buy Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons