Demigod Review - 50-foot man-castle rampage

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 10:13

Entertainment

The arena’s, or maps are a disappointing, whilst evocative in background design, they are little more than symmetrical flat fields of inter connected path-ways.  Obviously this is to make things fair in a diametrically opposed battle where the only thing that should swing the day, is the skill of the demigods.  It would have been nice though to have some extra terrain.  It could have added another layer of game-play, with different demigod abilities being more effective over grassland or snow for example.

But it is not out of the question, Gas Powered Games has stated that they will be listening to player feedback, and fully expect to increase the amount of customisation within the game.

As a single player experience, Demigod feels quite casual, there are really only two options, play through a customised single game where you select opponents, game-type, allies, map and a whole host of other options.  Or play through a series of arena battles known as the Pantheon where god favour points are awarded at the end of each battle, to determine the demigod that will ultimately transcend to god status.

Demigod is at its best in multiplayer arenas though, and here, be it online or as part of a LAN it is great fun.  The combination of pooled resources, the feel of a larger battle, and subsequent teamwork requirements makes this release an ideal party game.

Party game yes, but one that rewards the player willing to dig further, each demigod is an individual, with strengths, weaknesses and roles that can be defined, explored and mastered with each outing.

Brad Wardell has said that his team wanted to make a game that virtually anyone could sit down and play and didn’t require many hours of investment just to get the basics down.

“We also wanted a game that was as fun to play after 50 hours of gameplay as it was in the first hour,” he said.

 I’m not sure about “50 hours” but in many ways this has been achieved, given most games are 20 minutes to half an hour there is a just-one-more-game addition that will provide plenty of chance to nail early-game strategies and get to grips with your favourite demigod.

7.5 bouncy thorn-queens out of 10