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I come to you as a frustrated gamer after playing Demon’s Mirror. It’s not because it is bad or anything. On the contrary, it is one of the best roguelike deckbuilding games, with all the potential to rival the likes of Slay the Spire. However, it was too short! Right now, I feel like the meme from that guy screaming, “Let me in…Let me in!” because I want more. Demon’s Mirror is an amalgam of intricate and well-designed gameplay mechanics that, while on paper, might seem weird, make an extremely well-oiled machine everyone will love jumping into.
Slay the Spire Meets Candy Crush
I know Slay the Spire and Candy Crush are a weird combination. My mind read that and thought, “No, that can’t work.” Well, that’s what Demon’s Mirror is in many ways, and it works flawlessly. My short playtime allowed me to play with Draga, one of the game’s three planned characters. As soon as I started the match, I was dropped into a map where I could choose where to go. The design is similar to the ones we’ve seen in Ship of Fools and other recent roguelike games. After picking my first fight, I faced a wraith-like creature and saw a screen full of cards to draw and play and a Candy Crush-like window full of tiles to connect. At first, it seemed a little overwhelming, but these seemingly complex mechanics mesh together perfectly.
You see, the essence of Demon’s Mirror relies on a “simple” gameplay of using certain elements to lower the HP of your opponents to win the match. What you use, though, is up to you. Contrary to other deck builders, you don’t rely on cards alone. If you don’t have a specific card to play and damage your opponent, you can use your action points to connect tiles and have them do damage for you. Or if you don’t have any protective cards to give you a shield, connect some tiles and get some armor for your character. Given how roguelikes tend to punish every decision you make, seeing the many approaches to combat in Demon’s Mirror was refreshing.
Furthermore, there are many effects you can focus on to make a powerful deck. For example, I saw some cards that had the ‘Influence’ effect. While the tooltip wasn’t that clear, each card you played with that effect would consume an opponent’s HP. After reaching a certain threshold, the effect would trigger and almost instantly kill your enemy. So, I built my deck around this effect and was able to beat the first boss effortlessly. However, there are more tactics you can use. Whether you want to connect tiles and gather Willpower to activate your character’s special skill or gather Essence to improve a card’s power, the possibilities are endless.
Roguelike At Its Finest
If you thought Demon’s Mirror was only about building a deck and linking tiles, there’s even more. Like any great roguelike, there’s the element of an ever-changing environment. Since I only had access to the first area and up to the first boss, I couldn’t see much. Still, every run presents you with different enemies, rewards, cards to obtain, and events. Furthermore, navigating on the map is quite entertaining and adds difficult choices to your adventure. Should you go to the nearest campfire to rest or upgrade cards? Is it better to risk everything by heading to an event square? Do you feel prepared to face an elite foe?
However, there’s one thing I feel needs a bit of work. Now, since what I experienced doesn’t reflect the final product, it will likely get fixed. But I strongly believe a clearer explanation for some buffs and debuffs is in order. While you can guess most of them by the hands-on experience you get, some are a bit confusing. Adding a glossary of sorts would make everything much better, but that’s about it. Everything else in Demon’s Mirror is pristine and perfectly executed.
A Challenging But Bright Road Ahead
Usually, I feel nailing down the aspects of a good roguelike with extra mechanics is difficult. Some developers make them too challenging, which deters players from sticking around, or the gameplay is too simplistic and stops feeling like a roguelike. However, despite the many interwoven gameplay systems, Demon’s Mirror does everything perfectly. It features balanced gameplay with sufficient rewards and punishing effects that’ll make you think twice about your choices. Also, something I loved is that it brought many staples of the genre I was familiar with but stayed fresh enough to create its own identity. Ultimately, Demon’s Mirror is a must-play for anyone who likes deck builders with roguelike mechanics. Personally, I’ll be putting it at the top of my wishlist until its release.
Demon’s Mirror will launch sometime during 2024.
